February 15-17, 2010: 2nd Edition of the Partnership Fair in Vienna: Apply now!

Due to the significant success of the previous edition of the TRIALOG Partnership Fair held in October 2006, when many of the later EC-funded development education projects under the Non State Actors and Local Authorities (NSA-LA) budget line were conceived, TRIALOG in partnership with DEEEP and CONCORD will host the second edition of this event on February 15-17, 2010. Reserve the dates now and apply the latest by January 15, 2010!

The partnership fair is a learning, networking and project-designing event, gathering more than 150 participants mainly from development CSOs from across Europe coming from different sectors (development education, human rights, environment, gender etc). The Partnership Fair facilitates partnerships, cooperation, learning and exchange at an international level for joint projects for development. Many key development actors (representatives of the EC, universities, local authorities, and trade unions) will contribute either as speakers, facilitators or participants.

Find more information (incl. agenda, description and application documents) at: http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=209 Send the Application form (http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/applicationform_de_partnershipfair.doc) to TRIALOG Capacity Building Officer Andra Tanase a.tanase@trialog.or.at by January 15, 2010 the latest! Note that applications will be processed on a rolling basis.

Important information regarding financial assistance and reimbursements:
Financial Assistance for travel and accommodation in the Partnership Fair is available to successful applicants from New EU Member States only. Applicants needing financial assistance should also fill in the Application Form for Participation in an Event: http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/application_for_events.doc (in addition to the Partnership Fair Application Form above) .

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG

Documentation of Expert Seminar on the Future of CSOs

Around 40 participants met at the TRIALOG-CONCORD Expert Seminar on November 10-11, 2009 to deepen the discussion on the future role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in development, in times when the overall political environment for the work of genuine CSOs is getting less and less favourable.

The seminar sessions and working groups touched on various relevant aspects regarding the work of CSOs, such as e.g. the role of Southern CSOs versus the role of European CSOs, the values and factors that motivate and influence our work, faced dependencies and how to avoid them, similiarities and differencies between new EU member states (NMS) and old member states (OMS) in the development cooperation processes, hindering and helping factors for the work of CSOs, the influence of the current crises, the CSO development effectiveness and other topics. Last but not least the question around the necessity of a Code of Conduct for CSOs provoked a vivid exchange of views.

The discussions showed that there is an interest and clear need to confront each other with the topics and different opinions around the role and future of CSOs. Such kind of clarifying discussions and productive debates are needed to find out which approaches drive our day-to-day work and what do we really want to jointly achieve in future. The debates are interlinked to the processes which are going on in the CONCORD family of organisations in the frame of the CSO Development Effectiveness agenda and its global CSO Forum as well as the 2nd CONCORD strategic aim of "Promoting the rights and responsibilities of civil society".

The recent Expert Seminar was a preparatory event for a further conference planned in autumn 2010 in Managua, Nicaragua (November 24-26, 2010). The idea of continuing a dialogue and self-reflection on our role as development actors in a conference in the South was an outcome of the 2008 Prague conference "Are we on the right track? Paradigm Review by CSOs as Development Actors" (see http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=155). At that time, many of the participants felt that an open dialogue between CSOs from „West", „East" and „South" should be intensified for reflecting together upon the principles which underlie our work and that such a dialogue should take place in the South. As for the recent expert seminar, participation in the Managua conference will not be limited to those who have been involved in the process since the Prague conference. The process is open for everyone who is interested to reflect on our collective approaches and responses to poverty and global inequalities and to work on practical orientations for the CSO community.

Find the documentation of the November Expert seminar on the TRIALOG website at:

http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=208

Information provided by Anita Bister, TRIALOG

Provisional Results of last EC development education call

The EC made available the first results of the 2008 call for proposals on “Public Awareness and Education for Development in Europe.” Please note that slight changes could still be possible as these are provisional results and the final ones should be released shortly.

The data shows that compared to the previous call, no single trend can be identified, the picture is complex with some clear advances but also spaces to make some improvement.

If we were to compare the number of concept notes received, only 4 out of the 12 New Member States submitted more concept notes than in the year before, which shows rather low productivity in terms of participation in this call for proposals. Numbers only, the average number of concept notes submitted by Old Member States is 21.13 compared to only 5.25 in New Member States.

However, the success rate shows a different picture. The vast majority of New Member States improved significantly the success rate. If in the 2007 call, 9 out of 12 had 0 next to the success rate, this year it seems like only 4 countries among the 12 New Member States did not manage to secure any projects as main applicants. Development Education projects have this time lead applicants in Bulgaria (2), Cyprus (2), Czech Republic (6), Hungary (2), Latvia (2), Poland (3), Slovakia (1) and Slovenia (2). Numbers are this time favourable, with an average success rate of 29.5% in New Member States compared to ´only´ 15.7% in the Old Member States (Full Applications selected / Concept Notes received). Thus, quality instead of quantity seems to be the way forward. Furthermore, although not visible in this information sheet, the number of successful applications in which New Member States are involved as partners in a consortium is thought to be high.

Download the preliminary results at: http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/prov-results-ec-decall2008.pdf
For comparison with the previous 2007 statistics see: http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/stakeholders-meeting-25-02-09-final.pdf; http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/ed2007-preliminary-results.pdf

But certainly numbers do not tell the entire story, and certainly there is no score to be kept like in a sports competition. Deeper processes need to be investigated. We need to look more on whether receiving easier conditions from the EC (such as the 10% versus the 25% of co-financing) made the New Member States more attractive and thus more likely to be main applicant in the consortium. We also need to look more on whether the EC was influenced by the voices asking for more countries being beneficiaries of development education calls (in the 2007 call only 11 countries received contracts, compared to 21 countries in the 2008 call).These are just some hypothesis inviting further analysis. What seems to hold true is that the results of the capacity building activities are starting to show and now there are more solid applications.

TRIALOG will continue to support the New Member States in finding partners, improving project writing skills and also having a stronger voice vis-à-vis the European Commission. Awaiting the next Call for Proposals, expected to be released in the spring of 2010 TRIALOG organizes the 2nd Edition of the Development Education Partnership Fair to be held in Vienna between the 15th and the 17th of February 2010. To read more about the event and the application process please see the Events section of TIS or visit http://www.trialog.or.at/

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG

Coordination meeting between CONCORD, DEEEP and TRIALOG

In early December 2009, the secretariats of the European NGO confederation for relief and development CONCORD and of the two projects DEEEP and TRIALOG met in Brussels to coordinate their activities for the upcoming year 2010.

The timing was right for such a coordination meeting: Both the DEEEP and TRIALOG projects have recently entered into their new 3 year project phases and a number of new staff members have started their work within the CONCORD secretariat. The objectives of the meeting included information sharing as well as the identification of specific synergies with regard to the action plans 2010. It was also an opportunity to get to know each other and share the objectives of our work in order to get a better understanding of our specific tasks as well as of our joint mission. In smaller thematic groups, the coordination procedures for each working field were discussed in more detail in order to ensure that the dialogue will go on on a regular basis.

Related links:

TRIALOG calendar with key events for 2010:

http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/trialog-annual-plan2010.pdf

Presentation about TRIALOG's objectives, structure and activities:

http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/trialog-brussels-coordination-meeting09.pdf

DEEEP website: http://www.deeep.org/

The recent DE Times incl. articles about the new DEEEP team and project phase - Developing Europeans' Engagement for the Eradication of global Poverty will become available at http://www.deeep.org/detimes-downloads.html (in the meanwhile the newsletter can also be requested by email from Chiara Tripepi: c.tripepi@deeep.org.)

CONCORD website: http://www.concordeurope.org/

Presentation with key information on CONCORD:

http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/internetdocumentsENG/2_About_CONCORD/2_Information_about_CONCORD/About_CONCORD/CONCORD-descr-orga-En-2010.ppt

Information provided by Anita Bister, TRIALOG

Search for partners in NMS for joint actions on Colombia

OIDHACO, the International Office for Human Rights - Action on Colombia (a network of more than 30 civil society organisations), is inviting NGOs from new member states (NMS) to join or support the coalition which works to improve human rights, promote democracy and the search for peace in Colombia.

Possibilities for cooperation range from becoming members or observers to organising advocacy and awareness raising activities on Colombia or any kind of support in terms of organising meetings, inviting Colombian representatives who are travelling to Europe, sending on key messages proposed by OIDHACO to NMS governments and MEPs or exchanging newsletters etc.

Find more information at http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/oidhaco-partner-search.pdf. For further details please contact Emmanuel Raison at emmanuel.raison@oidhaco.org, oidhaco@oidhaco.org or visit http://www.oidhaco.net/.

Information provided by Emmanuel Raison, OIDHACO

Parliamentary debate: Current Challenges of Czech Development Cooperation

On 3 December 2009, the Czech Platform for Development Co-operation (FoRS) organised a parliamentary debate on “Current Challenges of Czech Development Cooperation“ in the course of the historically first meeting of the Subcommittee for Development Cooperation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security of the Senate of the Czech Republic. The debate was attended by Czech Members of Parliament, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Development Agency, Business Platform for Foreign Development Cooperation and representatives from Czech NGOs.

On this occasion, NGO representatives introduced the position document “What kind of Czech Development Cooperation do we want? – Contribution of FoRS to the new conception of the Czech Development Cooperation.” In addition, topics discussed at the debate included the importance of development cooperation including the legitimacy of particular goals and interests, financing, effectiveness and political coherence.

For related information, see also the article “Study: Czech Development Cooperation at a Crossroads" in this TIS.

Information provided by Katerina Gabrielova, FoRS

Promoting development in Europe: Conference and Toolkit on HRBA

"Promoting development in Europe: Towards a critical mass and beyond" was the title of a conference on the role of the civil society campaigning for International Development in New EU member states which took place in Budapest, Hungary, on 19-20 November 2009.

The event was organized by the Minority Rights Group International and their project partners within the 2-year Promoting Development in Europe project. It attempted to promote a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) to development cooperation and to build the capacity of NGDOs from New Member States and other actors (teacher training institutions, teacher associations, universities, journalists etc) on raising public awareness mainly on the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and incorporate or advocate for the implementation of HRBA in their development work.

About 30 participants attended the Conference, the agenda of which included a good balance between workshops (How to Use the Media, Strategic Planning and Campaigning, Monitoring and Evaluation and Development Education) and plenary sessions (presentations of the project and project outcomes, of what a HRBA to development is, of the situation of development education in New Member States, and concrete development problems in the field).

An interesting take-home item and also a good resource to be used is the Toolkit on HRBA to campaigning and development education in the new member states downloadable at: http://www.minorityrights.org/9380/toolkit/development-education-toolkit.html (or direct link: http://www.minorityrights.org/download.php?id=729) The toolkit is supposed to soon become available also in Hungarian, Latvian, Polish, Slovak and Slovenian language.

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG

CONCORD welcomes two new members: Cyprus and Estonia

At the CONCORD General Assembly in November 2009, the national platforms of development NGOs in Cyprus and Estonia were accepted as the newest members of the confederation.

24 of the 27 member states of the EU are now officially represented in CONCORD, with Bulgaria, Romania and Lithuania the only platforms to still join in future. TRIALOG will continue to support the active participation of the New Member States platforms in CONCORD working groups and activities.

We congratulate CONCORD’s newest members: the Cyprus Islandwide Development NGO Platform (CYINDEP) and the Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation (AKÜ)!

Link to CONCORD members: http://www.concordeurope.org/Public/Page.php?ID=17

Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG

Towards Global Education in Slovenian schools?

More than 100 teachers, university professors, researchers, NGO and governmental representatives gathered on 17th November 2009 at the City Hall of Ljubljana in Slovenia where the seminar "With global education to global solidarity: building intercultural competencies and global citizenship in schools" took place. The seminar, organised by the Platform of Slovenian NGOs for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid SLOGA and supported by the North South Centre of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, focused on inclusion of global education into Slovenian formal and non-formal education. The introductory speaker - Slovenian minister of education dr. Igor Lukšič – emphasized the necessity of teaching youth values of solidarity, equality, justice, freedom as key values of global education. During two panels and three workshops, which also included international guest speakers from Great Britain, Czech Republic, Norway and the North South Centre, participants discussed why there is a need for global education in Slovenia, what is already included into the Slovenian school curricula, what could be improved and how, and what roles various stakeholders play in systematic inclusion of global education into school curricula.

Participants moved beyond differences in definitions of global education but emphasized that there is unclearness which leaves global education ‘hanging’ between Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Slovenian Ministry of Education. A strong point was made on the necessity of including global education into school curricula as a horizontal dimension, which relates to all school subjects. It was mentioned that “global education is not an extra curricular but a cross-curricular activity”.

There was a clear recognition that a national strategy for global education is needed; and this topic was further elaborated in the workshop "Slovenian national strategy for Global Education". The workshop was also attended by various ministry representatives although unfortunately the representative from the Ministry of Education who had planned to attend this particular workshop had to be excused at the last minute. Nevertheless the initiative for a multistakeholder group was taken up and actions for its establishment were ageed which will hopefully lead to concrete steps in the year 2010.

Information provided by Barbara Vodopivec, SLOGA

Study: Czech Development Cooperation at a Crossroads

On 13 November 2009, the Czech Forum for Development Co-operation (FoRS) launched the new evaluation study on the Czech Official Development Cooperation between the years 2008 and 2009. The publication is entitled “Czech Development Cooperation at a Crossroads.”

The study “Czech Development Cooperation at a Crossroads” is a follow-up to the publication “How the Czech Republic helps—Study on the Czech Official Development Cooperation” in 2007 published by FoRS in 2008. The aim of both studies is to provide an outlook on the content and form of the Czech Official Development Cooperation from the NGOs' perspective. The publication represents the FoRS effort to point out what development cooperation should be about: increase of the standard of living of poor people in developing countries.

The study “Czech Development Cooperation at a Crossroads” analyses the present process of transformation of the Czech Official Development Cooperation and focuses on the structure and the amount of the development aid in 2008 as well as on the planned budget for the future period of 2010 -2012. The study also focuses on the impacts of the financial and economic crises on the development countries and how the crisis influenced development aid of other donors.

A summary of the study can be found at http://www.fors.cz/en/news/news/czech-development-cooperation-at-a-crossroads
Direct link: http://www.fors.cz/assets/files/Dokumenty%20k%20ceske%20ZRS/AWSum.pdf

Information provided by Katerina Gabrielova, FoRS

20 Years of Czech Development Cooperation

On 9 November, 2009, the Czech Platform for Development Co-operation (FoRS) and the organisation People in Need launched the media campaign "20 years of Czech Development Cooperation". The campaign not only brings attention to the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain but at the same time evaluates successes and falls of the Czech Republic during the past 20 years. On this occasion, Czech non-governmental organisations would like to point out that besides increasing the GDP or the membership in important international organisations, there is still one more thing which Czechs can be proud of and that is the Czech development cooperation.

Between 1989 and 2009, Czech non-governmental organisations helped in more than 60 countries in the world. Czechs have shown their solidarity not only in a number of countries troubled by natural disasters or wars but have also directly or indirectly supported many long term development projects focusing on education, health care, infrastructure and other fields.

The campaign shows that even though we live in times of economic crisis, we should not forget that in many parts of the world people still live in much worse conditions than we do and thus they need our help.

The campaign has launched a website which presents all FoRS members and successful projects, media articles, and promotion materials. The internet site of the campaign is http://www.ceskapomoc.cz/

Information provided by Katerina Gabrielova, FoRS

FOND launches research paper "It's our turn to help"

On the 6th of November 2009 the Romanian NGDO Platform (FOND) organised a conference to launch a research paper regarding development cooperation issues in Romania. The paper was prepared by Mirela Oprea (FOND Board Member / World Vision Romania) and Rodica Novac (ADO SAH Romania). Among the guests invited at the event there were representatives of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Romanian Ministry of Interior and Administration, the European Parliament, FOND members, embassies in Bucharest, mass-media, private sector, academia and students. The event was part of a project currently implemented by FOND and financed by the Presidency Fund.

The research paper “It’s our turn to help” not only reflects the present state of affairs, but it also considers the past, drawing our attention on Romania’s pre-’89 policy towards the developing countries. Other issues taken into consideration revolve around the current Romanian institutional framework for development cooperation (local capacity building, the role of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the coordinator of this policy, the Romanian National Strategy on Development Cooperation) and the Romanian ODA projects and initiatives (including the creation of the Romanian NGDO Platform, cross-border co-operation and NGO awareness and development eduction campaigns).

The conference opened an interesting debate on Romania’s past experience with international development matters; for the first time sources showing that before 1989 Romania ‘was by far one of the biggest donors of foreign assistance in Eastern Europe’ were brought into a public debate. This new approach may help define better Romania’s role as a “new” donor.

The paper is available on the FOND website: http://www.fondromania.org/eng/library/research.rar. For further information please contact Adela Rusu: adela.rusu@fondromania.org. Feedback is very much welcome as well!

Information provided by Adela Rusu, FOND

Black Sea NGO Forum 2009: „NGOs in Times of Crisis”

The second edition of the Forum was organized by the Romanian NGDO platform FOND in Bucharest, on 29-31 October 2009. Over 180 participants from 21 countries attended the event. The topics of the Forum were selected based on a consultation process that was launched in early summer 2009. Based on the first edition’s evaluation and suggestions, the second edition of the Forum included more space for discussion and participation: 2 series of 5 parallel panels, on the following topics: democracy, human rights, environment, children rights, social protection, strengthening civil society, advocacy & policy, financial sustainability & fundraising, legitimacy of the sector & relations with governments, volunteering & citizen participation.

Study visits to Romanian NGOs were organized for the participants in order to help them become better acquainted with the contribution of local civil society to the process of transition and reforms before and during the accession to the EU. Participants had the possibility to choose to visit NGOs in their specific field of work (democracy and good governance, human rights, freedom of expression and mass media, environment, child protection, social services, health).

The Black Sea NGO Forum was launched in 2008 by the Romanian Federation of Development NGOs (FOND) and its partners throughout the region with support from the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation in the framework of the Black Sea Synergy. It has continued in 2009 in cooperation with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation.

For more information please visit: http://www.blackseango.org/

Information provided by Adela Rusu, FOND

Round Table to conclude the Presidency Fund project in Bulgaria

On October 30, 2009, the Bulgarian Platform for International Development (BPID) organised a Round Table on the “Participation of Bulgarian Civil Society in EU Development Cooperation”. The Round Table was the closing event of a Presidency Fund supported project which aimed at building the capacity of the Bulgarian National NGDO Platform BPID and its member organisations to engage in policy work.

While the opening remarks of Mr. Kostov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, showed a picture of Bulgaria as engaged member of the European Union in the field of international development cooperation, the following speaker, Mr. Belev, Head of the Department “Development Policy” in the MFA, brought the audience back down to earth and the poor reality of Bulgarian Official Development Assistance (ODA). Despite the years of preparation of his unit for becoming an important donor country of ODA and many efforts to create a strategy for Bulgarian ODA, Mr. Belev had to commit that the quantity of ODA is very poor and perspectives for 2010 are even worse. In the draft national budget the amount foreseen for ODA was zero (version end of October). This limits not only the governmental bilateral development cooperation but also any attempts for supporting civil society engagement in this field.

The Bulgarian NGDO platform BPID was legally established in January 2009 and is not yet member of the European confederation of NGDOs – CONCORD. Annamaria Kekesi, board member of CONCORD participated in the Round Table and presented the confederation and its role on European level. TRIALOG supported the creation and establishment of the Bulgarian platform since the very beginning in 2005 with seminars, conferences, trainings, study visits, advocacy, advice and other support. Christine Bedoya, director of TRIALOG, explained the role of TRIALOG in establishing partnerships between the 15 old EU member states, the 12 new member states and the Global South.

The second part of the Round Table was dedicated to presentations of examples of national ODA systems of other countries, explained by the Ambassadors or Deputy Head of Missions from the Netherlands, Hungary, Japan, Czech Republic and Great Britain. All these presentations showed not only a profound knowledge of the speakers on their national ODA but confirmed also the importance of the active participation of Civil Society Organisations in development cooperation.

Links:
Information on the Presidency Fund supported project: http://www.presidencyfund.org/wcm/projects-supported-by-the-presidency-fund/call-5/103-ecip-foundation.html
Bulgaria country information on the TRIALOG website: http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=75

Photos: BPID

Information provided by Christine Bedoya, TRIALOG

Development Day in the National Council of Slovakia

The Slovak NGDO Platform has appealed to the Members of the National Council of Slovakia to not forget and turn back on the developing countries during the economic crisis. The importance to provide development assistance was presented through the means of an exhibition – photographs from Sudan and original paintings of the young artist Adam Masava Onyango from Kenya who was invited to address the audience. The exhibition included the presentation of some development projects of Slovak NGDOs, printed materials and fair trade products directly at the premises of the National Council.

The exhibition was held on 22nd October 2009 on the occasion of the International Day against Poverty (17th October), and its aim was to alert the Members of Slovak Parliament to the poverty in the world especially when dealing with the state budget. "Assistance to the countries and people who do not have the resources and means to help themselves, is more important than ever in times of crisis. I consider it as a scandal that today - in the 21st century - people are dying of hunger", said the Chairman of the Slovak NGDO Platform Marian Čaučík in his speech.

The Platform has already previously warned that Slovakia will not fulfil its international commitments on increasing the volume of aid to the developing countries. The volume of funds for development assistance in the draft of the state budget is even decreased in comparison with the last year.

Find further photos from the event at: http://www.mvro.sk/sk/fotogaleria/category/7-rozvojovy-den-v-nr-sr

Photo: Slovak NGDO Platform

Information provided by Lenka Nemcova, Slovak NGDO Platform "Platforma MVRO"

Slovak development bulletin "Why Development Assistance"

On the occasion of the Day against poverty, the Slovak NGDO Platform has issued the bulletin "Why Development Assistance". The bulletin aims to be a development magazine for a large public with the focus on explaining the importance of development assistance and presenting the results of the work of Slovak NGDOs. Readers can become familiar with the topic through a couple of published interviews with development experts, politicians and other stakeholders. In this first issue of the bulletin, the Slovak NGDO Platform also presents specific projects of nine Slovak NGDOs in developing countries - Afghanistan, Kenya, Angola, Cambodia, Serbia and Belarus.

The Bulletin is available for download in Slovak language:
http://www.mvro.sk/sk/na-stiahnutie/category/2-publikacie
Direct link: http://www.mvro.sk/sk/na-stiahnutie/category/2-publikacie?download=105%3Apreco-rozvojova-pomoc-bulletin

Information provided by Lenka Nemcova, Slovak NGDO Platform "Platforma MVRO"

European Union Enlargement

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the EU’s enlargement strategy on 26 November 2009. In it, MEPs reaffirm their commitment to continued enlargement “of the area of peace, security and prosperity in Europe” but highlight the importance of strictly respecting the Copenhagen criteria and the absorption capacity of the EU.

The resolution also points out that if enlargement is to be supported by citizens, both in current and future EU member states, it is essential that they get “clear and comprehensive information on the advantages and consequences of this policy”.

At a Council meeting on 7 December 2009, Serbia moved slightly closer to applying for EU membership. Serbia’s movement towards membership was halted by the Netherlands, which has put increased pressure on Serbia to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but foreign ministers activated an interim trade agreement with Serbia, and moves are being made to unfreeze the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

Find the EP resolution at the following link: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2009-0097+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN

Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG

Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) Civil Society Forum (CSF) met for the first time in Brussels on 16-17 November 2009. It was created as part of the EU Eastern Partnership, inaugurated in May in Prague and designed to strengthen the relationship between the EU and six countries along its eastern border.

The European Commission chose 220 civil society organisations to take part in the forum of the 439 that expressed their interest in attending, including the EPAN working group (http://www.trialog.or.at/workinggroupepan) as a whole representing CONCORD and several individual member organisations that specialise in the Eastern Partnership countries. Participants were divided into four working groups, based on the themes of democracy, human rights, good governance and stability; economic integration and convergence with EU policies; environment, climate change and energy security; and contacts between people. These working groups produced recommendations, which were presented at the end of the forum to External relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Swedish Presidency representative Carl Bildt.

A steering group was also elected to lead the future work of the forum. This is composed of two representatives per working group (one from the EaP countries, one from the EU), six country facilitators from the EaP countries and three EU representatives. The steering group will meet next in January 2010.

All documents related to the EaP CSF process so far can be found on http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/eastern/civil_society/index_en.htm

Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG

European Citizens as Catalysts for Change: the film!

The European Multi-stakeholder group on Development Education organised a side event in the frame of the European Development Days (EDD), which were hosted by Sweden in October 2009.

Citizens should be at the heart of the global poverty debate, as they are the ones to ask for change and be the change. However, they need to be empowered to fulfil their democratic potential as change actors. Development education, moving form awareness on global challenges, through understanding of causes and consequences of global inter-dependencies to informed action and critical involvement of each citizen is the tool to empower citizens to be “catalysts of change”.

All speakers at the EDD side event made strong statements on the importance of development education. So emphasised Justin Kilcullen, CONCORD president, the central role of citizen’s engagement and development education in the new CONCORD strategy. Eva Joly, MEP and Chair of the European Parliament (EP) Development Committee, committed to support a EP report on the status of Development Education in Europe.

Another aspect explored during the talk show was the need for national strategies on Development Education, still missing in many EU member states. Manuel Correio highlighted the example of Portugal, that has recently endorsed the national strategy, and underlined that political advocacy and campaigning is explicitly included in the strategy as a four pillar, taking development education beyond a purely pedagogic agenda. This strategy was elaborated in an inclusive, multi stakeholder approach, an aspect also underlined by involved other speakers. As Anja Frings put it: “Change can only be achieved if we work together”.

A short film, with the main higlights of the side event is now available! Watch it on http://blip.tv/file/2942358/

Information provided by Chiara Tripepi, DEEEP

ODA Evaluation in Visegrad Four region

The Pontis Foundation presented the publication "ODA Evaluation in the Visegrad Four", a landmark study into the evaluation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) within the Visegrad four region.

Despite some good intentions and tentative steps, none of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries undertake full and independent evaluations of their Official Development Assistance (ODA) policies, programmes or themes. This important study, funded by the International Visegrad Fund, maintains that the main challenges to progress comprise budgetary constraints, the lack of personnel capacity and limited policy leadership on the issue from V4 Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

Using the Western Balkans as a case study, Pontis Foundation estimates that the V4 countries have collectively spent over 40 million Euro in aid to the Western Balkans since 2003. This significant sum has been spent without knowing the impact or outcomes of its use. Evaluation is the basis on which programming adjustments are made. Without evaluation, ODA funds from the V4 countries will continue to be spent without regard to value for money, policy priorities, or impact on development in the recipient or partner countries.

Non-V4 ODA agencies freely provide a spectrum of tools and mechanisms from which V4 countries can learn best practises. The V4 should use these lessons learnt as a basis for constituting their own evaluation policies. But moving forwards can only come from arriving at the final decision to make evaluation a central component of ODA policy.

The Pontis Foundation welcomes comments on the study and is looking forward to taking the next steps, to enable the issue of evaluation to be discussed at the V4 level and beyond.

Download the study from: http://www.nadaciapontis.sk/tmp/asset_cache/link/0000023707/091201_V4ODAEvaluation.pdf
Information provided by Pontis Foundation, http://www.nadaciapontis.sk/en/14521

Twenty Years of Transition and Human Development

The December 2009 issue of "Development and Transition" is devoted to ‘Twenty years of transition and human development’, marking the twentieth anniversary of the end of communism and of UNDP’s first Human Development Report. Articles consider both the human development and transition paradigms, as well as country experiences during the past two decades.

The content covers a wide range of issues, reaching from crisis impacts in the region to survey results and articles on specific areas (e.g. Russia, Ukraine, South Caucasus,..) as well as many other topics.

Read Development and Transition online at http://www.developmentandtransition.net/index.cfm?module=ActiveWeb&page=WebPage&DocumentID=734 or download the pdf version from http://www.developmentandtransition.net/uploads/issuesAttachments/26/DEVTRANSeng%2014.pdf.

Information provided by Development and Transition, LSE/UNDP

CONCORD Flash

The latest issue of the CONCORD Flash - which reports news from the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development - was published recently and covers the period of September/October 2009.

In the issue:
- CONCORD at the European Parliament from the start
- A time to meet the political parties
- What’s wrong with Development Aid?
- CONCORD report on the coherence of European policies
- CONCORD and the Council of the EU discuss coherence of policies and aid
- CONCORD at the Development Days
- CONCORD and the European Court of Auditors on the same line
- Meeting President Barroso again
- How to strengthen democracy: the CSCG in action
and other topics.

Download the CONCORD Flash from: http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/internetdocumentsENG/4_Publications/1_CONCORD_Flash/Flash2009/September-October-EN.pdf

Information provided by Agnès Philippart, CONCORD

Seasonal office closure

We would like to inform you that the TRIALOG head office in Vienna will be closed during the Christmas and New Year period from Monday, December 21, 2009 until Wednesday, January 6, 2010. The TRIALOG Brussels office will be closed from Wednesday, December 23, 2009 until Monday, January 4, 2010. We send early season greetings to all partners and are looking forward to be in touch again in the New Year!

TRIALOG is searching for an intern to support the DE Partnership Fair

TRIALOG (http://www.trialog.or.at/) is searching for an intern based in the Vienna office for the period January - February 2010 to mainly work on the logistical preparation and implementation of the 2nd Edition of TRIALOG´s Development Education Partnership Fair. Duration: 2 months. Deadline for applications is January 7th, 2010. Start of the Internship: January 11th, 2010.

Find more information on the tasks and requirements for this internship in the area of development cooperation event management at: http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/de-fair-internship-announcement.pdf

If you are interested, please send your CV, contact details (email and phone number) and 1 - 2 paragraphs explaining why this position interests you to Andra Tanase, TRIALOG Capacity Buidling Officer at a.tanase@trialog.or.at

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG

DEEEP is now recruiting an intern

DEEEP (http://www.deeep.org/) is currently seeking for an intern, starting in February 2010, for a 6 months collaboration in the office in Brussels. A full job description is available at: http://www.deeep.org/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/Job_descriptions/DEEEP_Internship_-_job_description_2010.pdf

If you want to apply, please send your CV and motivation letter to vacancies@deeep.org. Deadline for receiving applications is January 8, 2010. Only short listed candidates will be contacted for an interview. For further information, please contact Cinthia Alaerts c.alaerts@deeep.org

Information provided by Chiara Tripepi, DEEEP

Call for GLEN Tutors 2010

The GLEN Multipliers Training Cycle (MTC) has started! On this occasion, the Global Education Network of Young Europeans (GLEN) is looking for tutors who will train, prepare and accompany the participants of GLEN MTC 2010.

Please find the Call for GLEN Tutors 2010 at http://www.glen-europe.org/index.php?lnk=9&bc=439. The deadline for applications is January 10th 2010. Please Note! The venues and dates of the Team Seminar and 1st seminar of GLEN Eng have slightly changed since the call was first published. Please check your availability on the dates stated in the call.

Information provided by Kasia Szeniawska, GLEN

Development Education Summer School: Call for facilitators and candides

Each working group of the Development Education Summer School (DESS) to take place in June 2010 in Hungary (see Event section in TIS) is composed of participants (of course!) but also of one facilitator and one candide, who will together guide the participants through the week. DEEEP is now seeking 4 facilitators and 4 candides. Download the job description at http://www.deeep.org/summerschool2010.html and send your application (a CV and a motivation letter) by January 15, 2010 to Cinthia Alaerts (c.alaerts@deeep.org) and to Gabriella Nagy (artemisz@artemisszio.hu).

Information provided by Chiara Tripepi, DEEEP

January 24-29, 2010: Training course - New Media for NGOs, Prague

Transitions Online (TOL) is pleased to announce its "New Media for NGOs" training course, which will be held in Prague from January 24-29, 2010. The course will train non-profit organisations how to use new media to spread their message wider and faster, manage IT projects, improve internal efficiency and revamp their online strategy – even with a minimal technology budget.

Transitions (TOL) is a non-profit organisation that supports other non-profit organisations and independent media through a variety of training courses, seminars and internships. Last year, TOL trained over 300 people from some 50 countries. TOL also published an internet magazine, Transitions Online.

More detailed information about the course can be found on the following website http://journalism-courses.tol.org. For further questions please contact Joann Plockova at plockovaj@tol.org.

Information provided by Joann Plockova, TOL, http://www.tol.org

June 6-13, 2010: Development Education Summer School - Call for Participants

The Development Education Summer School (DESS) 2010 will be hosted by Hungary, from June 6 to June 13, 2010. Artemisszio and the Hungarian Interchurch Aid, on behalf of the Hungarian NGDO platform HAND and in coordination with DEEEP are finalising the programme. The overall theme for this year is "Schools as Key Actors in Promoting Global Education", and the overall objective is to improve quality and quantity of NGOs and school cooperation in the field of Global Education.

Participants will be divided into 4 working groups, focusing on the following topics: 1) Environmental sustainability, 2) Trade and Consumption, 3) Poverty, 4) Diversity. Participants will also have the opportunity to follow some thematic sessions, according to their personal and professional interest. The following thematic sessions will be made available: a) NGO/School cooperation, b) Quality and evaluation of global education projects, c) Teacher trainings, d) School curricula and whole school approach.

A local Action Day - during which participants will go to a local school, and implement some global education activities - is foreseen on Friday June 11. Organisers have also included - following the success such activities had in previous DESS editions - the "market place", where participants can introduce their work and organisations, the cultural evening, to learn more on each other's cultures and countries, the audiovisual evening, to share movies.

The Summer School can host 54 participants from the EU, 10 from Network NGOs of CONCORD, and up to 16 from Economically Less Developed Countries. Participation fees depend on the country of residence. Travel costs will be reimbursed by DEEEP after the DESS (up to EUR 400).

Participants interested can fill in the application form, and send it to their National Platform for the final selection, before January 24, 2010. To find the list of national representatives visit http://www.deeep.org/usefullinks.html. If you have further questions, you can contact Cinthia Alaerts (c.alaerts@deeep.org), DEEEP Coordinator. To learn more on the Summer School, and to download the application form, please visit http://www.deeep.org/summerschool2010.html

Information provided by Chiara Tripepi, DEEEP

July 18-23, 2010: International AIDS Conference, Vienna

The International AIDS Conference is convened every two years by the International AIDS Society (IAS) in partnership with local, regional and international partners. The XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) will take place in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 23 July 2010. Those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals and organizations committed to ending the pandemic from all over the world will take part.

AIDS 2010 will mark an important milestone: the deadline by which world leaders have committed to ensuring universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The conference will be an opportunity to evaluate progress to date and to identify what must be done, both individually and collectively, to achieve this critical goal. With an estimated 25,000 participants and 2,500 media in attendance, the eyes of the world will be upon Vienna.

The theme of AIDS 2010 will be "Rights Here, Right Now" and emphasizes the central importance of protecting and promoting human rights as a prerequisite to a successful response to HIV. It also stresses the need for concrete human rights measures to protect those most vulnerable to and affected by HIV. One part of the conference will be the Global Village which is open to the general public as well as to conference delegates. It aims to intensify the involvement of affected and marginalized communities in the conference and in the global response to HIV/AIDS.

For more information about the global village please see http://www.aids2010.org/Default.aspx?pageId=164, for the youth programme http://www.aids2010.org/Default.aspx?pageId=178. Registration and submissions for global village, youth programme, abstracts, workshops, exhibition space, scholarship applications etc. are now open. For more key dates please take a look at http://www.aids2010.org/Default.aspx?pageId=177. You may wish to also sign up for the AIDS 2010 eUpdate: http://www.aids2010.org/Default.aspx?pageId=160 For further information please refer to the Fact Sheet (http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/aids2010-fs.pdf) and the website http://www.aids2010.org/. Alternatively, you can also contact the Community Forum Austria organizing the civil society participation in AIDS 2010: Christine Keplinger at keplinger@aids.at.

Information provided by Tina Hofstätter, AIDS 2010 - Local Secretariat