TRIALOG will enter its fifth Phase

TRIALOG is almost at the end of its fourth project phase and we are happy to inform our readers that both the European Commission as well as the Austrian Development Agency have approved the co-funding for the next phase of TRIALOG within the DEAR call/NSA-LA programme.

TRIALOG V will start on October 1st 2012 with a project duration of three years. Since the beginning of TRIALOG in 2000 a lot has changed within the scope, mandate and target group of the project. TRIALOG was created to support the enlargement of the European Union through civil society organisations active in development cooperation. This was quite a challenge as most of the twelve countries that have joined the EU since then (EU-12) were receiver countries of Official Development Assistance until they joined the EU and had to create development cooperation structures, policies and programmes from scratch. To support this process, TRIALOG has been leading activities in different fields over the last 12 years including capacity building, information distribution, policy support, networking and last but not least advocacy on national and European level. The situation is quite different now when all EU-12 countries have strong national platforms which are members of CONCORD. But there are still huge challenges to face in all EU-12 mainly related to financial and human resources, expertise in policy and advocacy and their role as “new” donors. TRIALOG’s role has changed towards an accompanying supporter by networking, giving advice, providing good examples, organising exchange and study visits, offering specialised capacity building and placing relevant experts in the national platforms of the EU-12.

For the first time, all EU-12 national platforms and a leading organisation of the platform building in Croatia are partners in TRIALOG. This shows the ownership that they have of TRIALOG and at the same time will strengthen the decentralisation of certain activities such as capacity building activities. To ensure the necessary human resources, a liaison officer will be financed in each platform. HORIZONT3000 is again lead agency of TRIALOG V and some partners from the past are continuing their cooperation in the consortium: CONCORD, AGEH (GE), Light for the World (AT) and PAH (PL).

Within the new phase, TRIALOG will organise centrally two European partnership fairs where NGOs from all over the EU are invited to elaborate joint project proposals. There will be annual exchange meetings for all EU-12/EU-13 platforms and a training of multipliers for the liaison officers in the platforms. In cooperation with CONCORD, we will publish policy briefings and thus support the active policy engagement of EU-12/EU-13 at the European and global level.

For us in TRIALOG this is a great success story. We thank all of you for your cooperation and support and see it as a mandate to continue our TRIALOG work with enthusiasm and energy.

Information provided by Christine Bedoya, TRIALOG

Call for Information about Funding allocated to EU-12 DEAR Projects

All of the TRIALOG team is thrilled that the project has been granted funding to continue in TRIALOG V. We are also aware that many other inspiring DEAR projects have also been granted funding and we would like to encourage you to send any information you have regarding these projects to Rebecca Steel-Jasinska: trialog@concordeurope.org  

Within TRIALOG it is important for us to see how many EU-12 partners are involved in DEAR projects and in which roles, so we are interested in all projects that will be funded, whether your platform/organisation/colleagues are leading or involved as partners. The basic information – partners, budget, grant allocated and so on, will be useful information for follow-up to our partnership fairs, to assess our success in bringing together people who then designed joint projects.

DEEEP, which has also been granted funding for another three years, is also interested in collecting this information to have an overview of future DEAR projects so please include Tobias Troll (t.troll@deeep.org)  in your communication so that the information is shared.

Many thanks to those who have already provided the information and we look forward to hearing about all your DEAR projects.

Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasinska, TRIALOG

The Role of Civil Society in bringing about Change

CYINDEP, the Cyprus Island-wide NGO Development Platform, in partnership with the Peace It Together Network is hosting an Annual Inter-Regional Learning Exchange Conference together with a Euro-Mediterranean ‘Souk’ (a civil society bazaar) from 9-12 October 2012 in Nicosia, Cyprus.

The conference will focus on the role of citizens and civil society in stimulating social change during periods of transition and aims to provide a forum where participants from Europe and the Arab region can share their experiences and can learn from each other.

The learning exchange will focus on three priority areas of clear relevance to the current historical moment in both regions and where an inter-regional dialogue can maximize learning and transfer of practical solutions as well as foster future mutual collaboration.
The event will be organised in a non-conventional way, giving the space to the participants to engage in dialogues and constructive conversations and using methodologies such as Open Space.
The conference consists of three pillars.
Pillar 1 - Social Cohesion explores the role of Civil Society in promoting constructive co-existence between diverse groups and communities in supporting the development of pluralistic societies.
Pillar 2 - Shaping the Policy debate focuses on research in action and the role of think tanks, universities, research organisations, and development practitioners - as an informed and independent voice - in fostering transition towards peaceful and inclusive democratic societies.
Pillar 3 - The right to be heard: community voice for representation examines the role of New Media in promoting equality and diversity and representing marginalized voices with a special emphasis on women and youth.

Deadline for application is Friday, 14th of September 2012.

Please find the application form here.
You can also obtain more information from the CYINDEP website www.cyindep.eu or contact Deniz Usman at deniz.usman@cyindep.org  

Information provided by Deniz Usman, CYINDEP 

Polish NGOs conduct a Peer Review on Global Education

How to ensure sustainability and effectiveness of the activities in the field of global education? Why is fair selection of photographs used in publications and educational campaigns important? What does empowerment and engagement of audiences mean in practice? Conclusions and recommendations from the first peer review of materials and activities in the field of global education are summarized in the report, "How to measure quality of global education". The report was prepared by the Global Education Working Group, which operates within the Polish development NGO platform Zagranica Group.

More and more actors take part in the activities associated with global education, schools more often incorporate the content of global education in the curriculum. With the increasing diversity of educational activities, it is necessary to draw attention to their quality. The Global Education Working Group of the platform started responding to this demand and organized a joint review of activities and educational materials. The aim of this initiative was to identify the challenges that authors of publications and projects in the field of global education face and to make an attempt to formulate practical tips that would be a response to these difficulties. The result of the review was a selection of best practices in the following three areas of activities of organizations and institutions:
1) educational materials,
2) campaign actions and activities proposed to various groups, including students and teachers,
3) support programs for schools and teachers.

Best practices and recommendations were also discussed during a seminar which summarized the process of mutual consultations. Sustainability of educational activities, adapting the message to audiences and the selection of information and photographs were considered the most important quality criteria. The jointly developed recommendations are summarized in the report "How to measure quality of the global education" to serve especially global education practitioners who did not participate in the review. Authors of the report in particular wanted to propose concrete solutions, which put into practice will allow for implementation of the recommendations and thus ensure high quality of prepared materials or activities, such as education campaigns or training for teachers.

The report is available (only Polish version) as pdf file here

On the one hand, the overview is the first step towards improving the quality of global education in Poland and on the other hand it creates a space for constant collaboration within the NGO community and other institutions involved in this field. Individuals, organizations and institutions interested in issues associated with global education and in particular in working on increasing its quality in Poland, please contact Katarzyna Krzemińska, coordinator of the Global Education Working Group at grupa@zagranica.org.pl.

Information provided by Katarzyna Krzemińska, Zagranica Group

Global Growing Project has kicked off!

KOPIN Malta, is partnering up with another nine NGOs from Europe and Africa in a project referred to as Global Growing, which is meant to mobilise support in Europe for actions against severe poverty and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is led by the ICU, Istituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria Onlus and funded by the European Union. The parties coming together for this project hail from 12 different countries which are; Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Malta, Spain, Belgium, DR Congo, Kenya and Ethiopia.

In Malta, KOPIN is aiming at putting the issues of Food Security and EU Policy Coherence on the local agenda. We hope to bring about discussion and instill action in our society. For this purpose, the project includes an awareness raising campaign involving various stakeholders in the private and public sector, while also addressing the wider public. The stakeholders involved include: farmers’ associations, academia, members of the media, as well as, other civil society organisations.

Something for everyone
The activities of this project include information and educational workshops with the aim of improving knowledge and information of Sub-Saharan agricultural development problems. Such workshops are being implemented in each of the 9 European countries involved in the project and are structured according to each national context and need. In Malta, the educational workshops are mainly targeting university students who already have an established interest in the subject, thus, such workshops will reinforce knowledge and allow for a fruitful exchange of insights.

We have also embarked on a data collection initiative and we are compiling a survey on European agricultural policy framework and its impact. This will highlight the current status, the characteristics, the trends, the failures and successes with regard to global market developments. This will then be complemented by a European communication campaign. This campaign aims at spreading the information produced by the project and will contribute to the effort of overcoming the general stereotypes which usually characterize the information on development problems in Africa.

The project partners are in the process of producing a position paper which will be circulated soon.

For more information on the project and its activities please contact Maria Psaila at  maya.psaila@gmail.com   

Source: KOPIN Newsletter issue I/2012 from August 2012

Black Sea NGO Fellowship and Award for Excellency

The Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF) is launching the 3rd phase of the Black Sea NGO Fellowship. The main goal of the program is to contribute to confidence building in the Black Sea region, to encourage mutual understanding and cooperation, to strengthen capacity and coordination of civil society organizations in the region. The program aimes to bring together 12 young civil society leaders from the wider Black Sea region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine.

Profile of the candidates: Young civil society leaders (18 – 27 years old) working with civil society organizations / civil society groups in the targeted countries. The selected candidates will have strong leadership attributes, a good experience of involvement in civil society initiatives, a strong academic background and openess towards regional cooperation. The communication language of the program is English. The candidates will have to prove a good command of English as a foreign language in both writing and speaking.

Selection of the candidates: Each applicant will provide a letter of motivation, a CV and a support letter from the civil society organization / civil society group where they activate. Each applicant will also present, briefly, a project idea that she/he plans to develop with support from the other fellows, indicating how the participation to the program will contribute to the project and what type of involvement she/he will propose to the other fellows.

The program: The Fellowship Program includes 2 phases: a preparatory phase in Romania, around the 5th edition of the Black Sea NGO Forum (24-25 October 2012); bilateral exchange visits and implementation of joint initiatives.

The deadline for application is 21 September 2012.

Please submitt your application forms to the following address: raluca.simbotin@fdsc.ro, mentioning in the subject of the email “Fellowship 2012”. Further details cand be found here and obtained from Ms. Raluca SIMBOTIN (see email above).

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The Representation of the European Commission in Romania will award this year for the third time, within the framework of Black Sea NGO Forum, the Black Sea NGO Award for Excellency in promoting regional cooperation in the Black Sea region. The aim of the award is to enhance the profile of civil society regional cooperation, of the Black Sea Synergy and its role in proposing a regional, cooperative approach in the region as well as the multilateral dimension of EU external policies.
The winners of the award will receive a grant amounting to 5,000 EUR to further support their regional initiatives.

Deadline for receipt of nominations: 28 September 2012

For further information, visit the website of the Black Sea Forum.

Contact persons FOND: Adriana Zaharia - adriana.zaharia@fondromania.org  
European Commission Representation in Romania: Monica Loloiu - monica.loloiu@ec.europa.eu

Information provided by FOND

ADRA Bulgaria thanks TRIALOG for the Partnership Fair

ADRA Bulgaria is happy to announce that its project “Equal Access to Development Education for All’ (EADEA) has been approved for funding by EuropeAid. The project will be implemented in partnership with the Estonian Foundation for Visually Impaired, Südwind Austria and ADRA Rwanda, associated partner is the Croatian Thyphlologic Muzeum of Zagreb.

The idea of this project, as well as its essential partnerships, appeared during the TRIALOG Partnership Fair held in 2011 in Vienna, Austria. In discussions with other participating NGO representatives at the fair, a special gap in the provision of Development Education (DE) has been identified – the lack of specifically designed DE material for pupils with visual impairment  - and the EADEA project was born. The project aims at building capacities in DE teaching, exchange of experience among the partners and associates and at developing learning materials for visually impaired students by a participatory and creative approach.

ADRA Bulgaria is extremely happy to be able to undertake the challenge of pioneering in this field and to further provide visually impaired students the opportunity to become future DE promoters and consultants for designing specific development assistance measures for visually impairment people in developing countries.

For more information on the project, please contact Alya Veder at alya.veder@abv.bg  

Information provided by Alya Veder, ADRA Bulgaria

Civil Society Online Platform for Beyond2015 launched

On 31 June 2012 the World We Want Beyond 2015 web platform was launched as a joint initiative of civil society and the United Nations. www.worldwewant2015.org will host global civil society conversations to help shape the post-2015 development framework, to provide a space for sharing and comparing perspectives and priorities and to give input to, for example, the UN high level panel.

Beyond 2015, GCAP and the UN Millennium Campaign are among the partners who will use the platform to reach out to civil society around the world and bring their voices to the forefront to co-create the post-2015 development framework. The global conversation will also feed into the UN 50+ country consultations and thematic consultations and support Beyond 2015 participating organizations and their partners who have been involved at national, regional and global level.

Over the coming months new features and conversation topics will be introduced so make sure you visit regularly!

Source: Beyond 2015 website 

European Development Days 2012

The 2012 European Development Days (EDDs) will take place in Brussels from 16th to 17th of October.

EDD12 will focus on supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the developing world. Achieving the Millennium Development Goals and implementing the far-reaching priorities laid out in the EU's Agenda for Change go hand in hand with the aim of fostering sustainable growth. On the agenda will also be topics such as sustainable agriculture, food security and resilience, as well as empowerment and engaging the private sector for development.

The Cyprus Islandwide NGO Development Platform CYINDEP will co-organise two high-level panels, one on the right to food (with CARITAS and CIDSE), and the other one (with CONCORD) on Biofuels.

Participation is free of charge but only possible with an invitation by the organisers.
Deadline for application is the 1st of October 2012.

For more information visit the official EDDs website.

Source: EDDs website

European Congress on Global Education

The 2nd European Congress on Global Education will take place on 27-28 September 2012 in Lisbon and will bring together the main Global Education stakeholders from all over Europe and the neighbouring regions.

In 2002, the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, Global Education Network Europe and partners agreed in Maastricht on a strategy for the promotion and support of Global Education in Europe until 2015. The Maastricht Declaration established the first framework for improving, through education, public awareness and understanding of global challenges and how to meet them. Ten years after, the same stakeholders and new actors in the field meet again to assess achievements made since the Maastricht Declaration and define a plan of action for remaining objectives until 2015.

The Congress enjoys the financial support of the European Commission and will be co-organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, the Global Education Network Europe (GENE) and the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development (CONCORD). Local partners are IPAD - Camões – Institute for Co-operation and Language, the University of Lisbon and the Portuguese NDGO Platform.

Please note that participants' registration is available only through nominal invitations, according to availability of space. Public registration may open, close to the dates of the Congress. TRIALOG will be represented by our director Christine Bedoya.

For more information please visit the official website.

Source: http://www.gecongress2012.org/

Course Offer in Malta on Disability in the Global South and Engaging Communities

Integra Foundation Malta, in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), organises two short courses in 2013. For both courses, participants can apply for a Grundtvig grant (adult education).

Disability and Poverty in the Global South: Activating European Movements for Change
04/02/2013 – 08/02/2013 in Malta
The recent World Report on Disability estimates that some one billion people around the globe are disabled and some 80% live in the global South. Around 20% of the world’s poorest are said to be disabled people. This course builds on the EU development policy and its commitment to raising awareness of development issues, promoting development education and mobilizing support for poverty reduction. A team of transnational experts from academia and civil society will help to engage critically and discuss these themes.Do you want to engage critically and discuss key themes on disability and poverty in the global South? Do you want to raise awareness on inclusive development issues and promote development education initiatives? Then come and share your experiences and reflections.
Find more information here

Engaging communities: the psychology of collectives and supporting activism for a united Europe
21/01/2013 – 25/01/2013 in Malta.
Participants will come together to share their own experiences and engage in constructive dialogue. It is hoped that the knowledge and ideas generated in this course will feed back into genuine EU level movements for change supporting the development of more inclusive communities. Are you interested in the concept of communities and want to debate on them from a variety of theoretical and practice positions? Do you want to share your experiences with others? Then come and join us on the island of Malta in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere to discuss and work together.
Course information here or on the Grundtvig website.

To register click here   

Apply for a Grundtvig grant (adult education) with your national agency to participate in the training. See full list of agencies here

The deadline for grant application is 17th September 2012. Once you register, you will be contacted and your booking and all other arrangements will be taken care of.

Should you have any questions on the grant application or the course, please feel free to contact Maria Pisani at integrafoundation@gmail.com 

Information provided by Integra Foundation

Peace Building Seminar in Romania

The International Peace and Development Training Center (IPDTC), a training wing of the Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR), is inviting expert professionals, policy makers and practitioners for its upcoming Autumn Programs. The programmes are designed for UN agencies, governments and national and international organisations. IPDTC programmes have been ranked by participants and their agencies as amongst the most professional, intensive and high quality in their field. They provide participants with the opportunity to train together with an exceptional group of experts and practitioners from around the world, coming from governments, community-based, national and international organisations, military and security forces, donors and others.

TRIALOG would like to draw special attention to a training in Romania on:

Designing Peacebuilding Programmes : Improving Sustainability, Impact and Effectiveness in Peacebuilding & Peace Support Operations (DPP) - Advanced Certificate Programme (ACP)

Location: International Peace and Development Training Centre (IPDTC) Cluj-Napoca, Romania 
Dates: November 26th – 30th, 2012

To apply, please contact : training@patrir.ro or visit www.patrir.ro/training

Information provided by IPDTC

European Civil Society against Discrimination

“Wake Up Europe: It’s Time to Act! Creative approaches to tackle discrimination” - a conference organised by UNITED from 12 to 17 November 2012, in Finland.

All across Europe political groups and subcultures that feed off racist ideologies are on the move, penetrating mainstream politics with devastating consequences for the minorities targeted. The impact of racism and discrimination on our societies today is severe: it affects all of us in various ways – whether we are its subjects or objects – making social cohesion impossible and paving the way for conflict. On the background of these examples and many others, UNITED is organising this upcoming international conference to be held in Finland. Creative approaches to tackle discrimination During the conference, we will share fresh strategies and best practices for the European antidiscrimination movement. In a time when far-right groups are more and more successful in addressing a large part of the population, our response needs to be visible and creative: It’s time to ACT!

We will make use of a variety of working methods: thematic working groups, plenary sessions and workshops on:
* Just Roma -The right-less communities
* The InVisables - Which rights for undocumented migrants?
* School for All - Antidiscrimination education in school
* Power to the Youth! Volunteering in NGOs
* Online (H)Activism - New media in our struggle
* Artivism - Creative action against racism

Board and lodging is free and there is the possibility for financial contributions to travel costs. All information and the e-nomination form can be found  on the UNITED website.  

Organisations interested in nominating a delegate should send their nomination (Expression of Interest form below) by email before the deadline: 19 September 2012 - 24:00 to finland@unitedagainstracism.org

Information provided by UNITED

Enhancing Policy Coherence within the European-Arab Relations

The Arab NGO Network for Development, in cooperation with EuroStep and CNCD- 11.11.11, will be organizing a delegation of human rights and development civil society organizations from around 10 Arab countries to visit the European institutions in Brussels, between 17th and 21st of September 2012.

The visit seeks to deepen dialogue and exchange with European policy makers at the Parliament and Commission around policy reforms pertinent to the future of the relations between the European Union and the Arab countries. The visit aims as well at strengthening dialogue and widening opportunities of cooperation with European civil society organizations on issues of concern. One of the main challenges to be addressed is seeking coherence among the various levels of cooperation between the EU and Arab countries, specifically among development cooperation and the economic partnership, including the trade and investment relations.

We invite you to consider participation in various spaces to be organized on September 18th and 19th 2012 in Brussels, including:

• All Day Open Forum entitled “Dialogue on Policies of Cooperation and Partnership between European and Arab countries; Enhancing Policy Coherence Within the Partnership”, which will include: roundtable discussion among civil society groups, policy-discussion with Commissioner of Enlargement, and discussion on mechanisms of engagement of the EU with civil society.
• 2 discussion sessions at the European Parliament entitled “Unpacking the More for More Approach; Seeking Mechanisms to Ensure Policy Coherence” and “DCFTAs and implications of trade and investment policies with policy space for development”

Download the programme here.
For further information or for confirming participation, please contact: Arab NGO Network for Development; Kinda Mohamadieh at kinda.mohamadieh@annd.org and Bihter Moschini at bihter.moschini@annd.org

Source: www.eurostep.org  

Study Trip to Romania: Open call for Participants

TACSO (Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations) organises a Study Trip under the topic ‘Partnership making and enhancing your organisation’s role in addressing policy issues’ to Bucharest, Romania from 15 to 19 October 2012 .

The overall objective of the study trip is to contribute to capacity building of CSOs from Western Balkans (WB) and Turkey. More specifically, it is planned to bring together representatives of the CSOs from IPA region and their counterparts in order to exchange experience in what is needed to enhance organisation’s role in addressing various policy issues and to contribute to partnership making.

Download the Open call and the Registration form.

Conclusions and recommendations drawn will provide the basis for the follow-up actions to be undertaken regionally as well as in the individual countries in order to support the greater participation of the CSO networks in addressing policy issues.

Interested CSO from the IPA region are requested to submit in English:
• Updated Curriculum Vitae of the nominated candidate (EU format to be used),
• Motivation letter in which the expected contribution of the study trip to the development of the CSO and its contribution to the policy issues in their respective countries
• Registration form

Please send your application to the email address of your local TACSO office (list see here) by 13 September 2012 with the subject heading: ROMANIA STUDY TRIP.

Source: TACSO website

Assessment of the European Citizens’ Initiatives In Practice

. Conference on Friday 5th October 2012, 09:30-18:00 Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, Vienna

Since May 2012, the first European Citizens' Initiatives (ECIs) are trying to collect their signatures to influence EU legislation. Much pan-European engagement has been seen through this new instrument over the last months. Nevertheless, significant problems with this new right have stopped the first Citizens' Initiatives from collecting signatures for months. In order to develop the European Citizens' Initiative, the Austrian Institute for European Law and Policy in co-operation with ECAS will therefore organise a conference to bring together initiators, officials, politicians, academics and interested public to evaluate the ECI and discuss the future development of this innovative instrument of direct democracy.

The conference is part of a series of conferences all over Europe in 2012, which will together take stake of the state of the ECI and best practices in EU campaigning. The experiences and success of the first initiatives will be the key for the future development of direct democracy in Europe. This event will give all participants the unique chance to directly get in contact with all those responsible for this future and will therefore allow you to directly influence the development of European democracy.

We would be happy to welcome you to Vienna on October 5th.
Registration will be free and open to all subject to availability. Click here for the programme.   

Should you wish to participate, please send us an e-mail with your name and contact details to office@legalpolicy.eu.  If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at the same address.

Source: ECAS website

European Cooperation Day: 21 September 2012

More than 160 events are celebrating the European Cooperation Day on 21 September 2012: Celebrating Territorial Cooperation—Sharing borders, growing closer!

The European Cooperation Day will be celebrated across Europe and in neighbouring countries for the first time ever. With over 80% of all European Territorial Cooperation programmes on board, more than 160 local events will take place across Europe on 21 September and throughout that week.
The wide variety of events includes cross-border races, children’s theatre, photography contests, nature hikes, project showcases, and so much more.

The aim of the campaign, which carries the slogan “Sharing borders, growing closer,” is to celebrate the achievements of cooperation between European regions and countries. Since the beginning of the 1990s, more than 20,000 projects, co-funded by the EU, have contributed to improving the lives of European citizens across borders, from creating jobs to protecting the environment to improving health care services, transport and energy. EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, has shown his support for European Cooperation Day and will be participating in the celebrations. “This will be a great opportunity to recognise how territorial cooperation helps to bring Europeans closer together, share ideas across borders and solve common problems,” commented Commissioner Hahn. “I’m very impressed that so many European Territorial Cooperation programmes, and external cooperation programmes, have decided to participate in European Cooperation Day.”

The European Cooperation Day campaign is coordinated by the INTERACT Programme in association with the European Commission, and supported by the Committee of the Regions and the European Parliament.

For further information and a detailed list of local events and examples of cooperation projects, visit www.ecday.eu.  You can also like us on Facebook (facebook.com/cooperationday) and follow us on Twitter (@cooperationday/#ecday)!

Source: INTERACT 

ERSTE Foundation Award for Social Integration 2013

The ERSTE Foundation Award for Social Integration honours outstanding social projects that show high quality, innovation and sustainability. The goal is to promote and contribute to the development of an inclusive, dignifying and more just society, where nobody is left behind.

The Award is offered biennially for social integration projects from 13 European countries: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

ERSTE Foundation supports the 30 winning organisations with prize money, visibility in the media, integration in local and international networks as well as opportunities for further organizational development.
Eligible are non-profit legal entities of all sizes (e.g. associations, foundations, public institutions or non-profit limited liability company). The project applied with has to be ongoing or finished and has to have presentable outcomes, results, and/or sustainable outcomes.

The application period ends on the 11th of November 2012, at midnight.

You can apply in all languages of the participating countries and English.
For more information please download the information material  or visit the Social Integration website  http://www.socialintegration.org/.

Source: Social Integration website

Consultancy Opportunity with CONCORD

CONCORD is offering two consultancy opportunities at the moment:

One is on Gender Equality and Human Rights-Based Approach for the autumn of 2012 to conduct a two-day training on HRBA and Gender for the staff.

DEADLINE for applications: 15 September 2012
Details on the goal of the consultancies, expected tasks as well as candidates profiles and information on how to apply can be found here. For further inquiries, please contact Julieta González: Julieta.GONZALEZ@concordeurope.org

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Furthermore CONCORD AidWatch is looking for a consultant for the briefing paper on the future of ODA/FFD.

Essential requirements are:
• Excellent knowledge and extensive research experience in the field of ODA/financing for development (at least 5 years of relevant experience);
• Excellent writing and editing skills;
• English mother tongue or equivalent;
• University level education in a relevant field;
• Ability to take part in the teleconferences and meetings in Brussels. Desirable
• Experience with working in the NGO environment and with complex multicultural networks;
• Post-graduate degree in a relevant field;
• Good experience in political communication.

DEADLINE for application: 14 September 2012, 10:00am Brussels time.
Please send your CV, cover letter, written assignment and list of your publications to Zuzana Sládková, CONCORD Secretariat, zuzana.sladkova@concordeurope.org. Also feel free to request further information.

Source: CONCORD

INTERACT is recruiting a Communications Manager

The INTERACT Joint Technical Secretariat is recruiting a Communications Manager for its office in Bratislava.

Please find the vacancy announcement here.
Should you have any doubts or queries regarding this vacancy, kindly contact us at any time at interact@interact-eu.net.

Information provided by the INTERACT Programme Secretariat 

New CONCORD Publications available

CONCORD, the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development, published two documents on the European external actions.

The Reader 2012 is helping tool for EU Standard Contract Management. It is based on the March 2011 update of EuropeAid’s 2010 Practical Guide (PRAG) for external actions. This reader was compiled in 2012 and based on outcomes of regular meetings with the European Commission’s Development and Cooperation Office EuropeAid – DEVCO. While the core report has been formally endorsed by EuropeAid’s unit R3 in May 2012, the annexes haven’t and are indicative.

The Reader is an important tool for NGOs and EU officials to interpret the complex rules of the European Commission. Indeed, it provides a clear explanation on all articles in the 2010 Practical Guide (March 2011 update). The Reader is conceived as a concrete instrument that should help CONCORD members and other NGOs to better address different contractual issues concerning the implementation of grant contracts. Meanwhile, we remind you that the final interpretation of the rules always falls within the mandate of the European Commission and EU Delegations.

Available here with annexes.

The EU Delegation Watch report monitors the experience of NGOs working with the EU's overseas Delegations in developing countries.
The report finds that:
• EU Delegations lack transparency and predictability in handling call for proposals, which creates barriers for CSOs to access EC funding.
• Efficiency of development aid projects delivered by CSOs is hampered by serious delays in approvals by EU Delegations through all phases of the project
• Useful monitoring activities led by EU Delegations of development projects are diminished by limited preparation and a lack of feedback towards CSOs.

Transparency and predictability are serious concerns: “There’s a real need for EU Delegations to ensure maximum predictability, transparency and accountability in the programming, selection and award of funds processes. A way to this would be for example to ensure timely and systematic consultation with CSOs in EC programmes planning; to standardly use the restricted procedure for all calls for proposals; and to give a comprehensive feedback on the reasons why a proposal was rejected. This would take out some of the mystery around how to access EC funding. ” Says Nils Rocklin from CONCORD member Handicap International.

Efficiency of EU Delegations’ work with CSOs in the field can be improved: “CSOs are still detracted from their main purpose of delivering development aid by an excessive administrative burden and serious delays in grant management issues by EU Delegations. This is increased by the inconsistency and restrictive approach to the interpretation of the Standard Contract requirements by Delegation staff. The EC should develop a “Code of Good Practice” to provide a consistent interpretation and encourage flexibility wherever it brings simplification.” Says Nils Rocklin from CONCORD member Handicap International.

Download here

Source: CONCORD 

Development Effectiveness in Practice: a new Tool on the Way

The Open Forum launched the consultation on a new resource for implementing CSO Development Effectiveness – the DRAFT Practitioner’s Activity Guide, which will supplement the International Framework for CSO Development Effectiveness and its accompanying Implementation and Advocacy Toolkits!

The aim of the Practitioner’s Activity Guide is to train CSO practitioners to transmit the concepts and collective experience behind the International Framework and the Toolkits, and to help CSOs take those first conceptual and planning steps on the path to improving their effectiveness. The Draft Practitioner’s Guide is available in on the Open Forum website!

At present, the Practitioner’s Activity Guide is in its pilot testing phase. Between August and October 2012, one testing workshop is planned in each of the following regions: Africa, Asia, Latin America, MENA, North America and Europe (see the schedule of consultations). Based on the inputs from these consultations, a finalized version of the Practitioner’s Activity Guide will be completed by early December 2012.

For more information please contact Olga Kozhaeva OFASSISTANT@concordeurope.org or visit  www.cso-effectiveness.org

Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness

EC Publications on the Performance of Development Cooperation

This summer the European Commission (EC) published two reports on the progress and effectiveness of the European Union’s development cooperation efforts.

The 2012 “EU Accountability Report on Financing for Development”, which analyses and illustrates how the EU and its Member States fulfilled their commitments for more and better financing for development was published on 9 July 2012. The report confirms that the EU as a whole has kept up progress delivering on its pledges, although the situation differs greatly between issues and Member States. It covers previous year's efforts by the EU and its 27 Member States to support the mobilisation of development finance.
Read more and download the report here.

The 'Annual Report 2012 on the EUs Development and external assistance policies and their implementation 2011', gives and overview on the European Union’s development efforts during the past year. Especially in the areas of food security, humanitarian aid, good governance and human rights improvements are reported. The biggest challenge will be the shrinking contributions of Member States, due to the multiple crises of the past years. The experience from the Arab Spring underlines the importance of strengthening civil society. Therefore human rights, democracy and good governance, together with promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, should be the focuses of the next years.

Download the report here. 




Source: GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY – Austrian Platform for development and humanitarian aid

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012

This year’s report on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) highlights several milestones. The target of reducing extreme poverty by half has been reached five years ahead of the 2015 deadline, as has the target of halving the proportion of people who lack dependable access to improved sources of drinking water. Primary school enrolment of girls equalled that of boys, and we have seen accelerating progress in reducing child and maternal mortality. The report says that meeting the remaining targets, while challenging, remain possible – but only if Governments do not waiver from their commitments made over a decade ago. A lot has been achieved and significant strides have been made, however some impediments to reaching all the MDGs by 2015 remain. The 2012 report spells out that recent natural disasters and the global financial crisis has slowed progress and that inequality remains. A particular area of concern includes the slow decrease in levels of vulnerable employment. Lastly, and perhaps most concerning is the fact that hunger remains a global challenge.

Download the report here

Source: UN Website 

Improving the EU’s Support for Civil Society in Its Neighbourhood

This study reviews the ways in which EU provides support and cooperates with civil society in its neighborhood and provides a diagnosis of EU-civil society relations by paying specific attention to EU’s assistance procedures for CSOs. It examines furthermore each support mechanism and provides conclusions and recommendations for further improvement of EU’s record of promoting a better environment for the civil society in EaP countries. The study concludes that despite recent improvements in developing better environment for CSOs, still a lot has to be done. EU needs to think long term and embark on a proactive strategy of turning civil society in neighboring countries into a real reform partner. This entails to better include CSOs in the EU-partner countries dialogue and policy process, to better monitor civil society’s situation in partner countries, to pay increased attention to the regulatory framework and effectively applying targeted conditionality.

The study is developed by IRIS (Institut de Relations Internationales et Strategiques) and can be downloaded here.  

Source: BCSDN E-Mail Alerts nr. 254