TRIALOG Training of Multipliers for Liaison Officers from CSO Platforms in the enlarged EU

From 13th to 15th of February 2013, TRIALOG organised its annual Training of Multipliers in Vienna. Liaison Officers from eleven development CSO platforms in the enlarged EU, who are project partners of TRIALOG, formed the target group of the training.

Support and information for them was provided by resource persons form CONCORD, Glopolis and the TRIALOG staff. Together they worked on enabling the Liaison Officers to fulfil their role towards platform members and to be active multipliers of knowledge and capacity. Therefore the training addressed not only selected policy issues but also organisational development, as well as communicational skills.

Several sessions were enriched by inputs of the Liaison Officers to share experience and knowledge among each other. The training – which took place in the TRIALOGs head office in Vienna – focused on three policy topics. It started with an update on the Multiannual Financial Framework by Christine Bedoya, TRIALOG, which was followed by a presentation on Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) held by Petr Lebeda of Glopolis (Czech Republic). The next day, participants debated lively on private sector engagement in development cooperation. The policy topics alternated with instructive exercises, such as strategic communication training or planning advocacy and engagement strategies. There has also been an afternoon session on membership engagement to strengthen cooperation between members and platforms, led by Daniel Nuijten from CONCORD.

The participants contributed actively and enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere of the training. Finally, after two and a half days of working intensively, the participants were exhausted but content and motivated and they agreed that the training has been a full success.

TRIALOG says thank you to everybody involved!

Find the report and photos of the training on our website.

In the photo: participants of the Training of Multipliers 2013.

Information provided by Marlene Radl, TRIALOG

Seminar “Climate Change as a Development Problem?”

On February 21st, Czech Climate Coalition, Glopolis and Czech Forum for Development Cooperation-FoRS organized a seminar for workers of Czech development and environmental NGOs on the impact of climate change on development cooperation.

The aim of the event was to highlight the importance of this issue and the necessity to take it into consideration when making efforts in fighting against poverty given the fact that on the one hand donor governments from the North, including the Czech Republic, provide ODA, but on the other hand they contribute significantly to the climate change.

Juraj Mesik, expert on climate change, actually lecturer at two universities and a consultant for the World Bank, provided the participants with the key facts on climate change and its impact on development and development cooperation. The participants also learned from Lies Craeynest from Oxfam EU, specialist on the EU policy in the area of climate change and agriculture, how the issue of climate change could be reflected in policy work of development NGOs. An important part of the seminar consisted of a discussion among present NGO workers about their work related to climate change and about possible ways for cooperation between Czech development and environmental NGOs.

Information provided by Marie Zazvorkova, FoRS

Together for a World-Wise Europe at the CONCORD PCD Seminar

The Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) annual seminar of CONCORD took place on 30-31 January 2013 in Brussels and gathered many representatives of national development NGO platforms from Western and Eastern Europe.

The basis for the PCD concept is the obligation of the EU, that all European policies must be in support of developing countries’ development needs, or at least not contradict the aim of poverty eradication, which is defined in Lisbon Treaty article 208.

The most important goal of the meeting was the presentation and discussion on the capacity-building and advocacy strategy of CONCORD for the period 2013-2014 and this year's Spotlight PCD report. The priorities for common international work are:
(-) promoting PCD in the EU institutions and Member States,
(-) exposing and adressing the incoherencies of European policies and
(-) promoting PCD beyond the EU.

During the meeting, also various tools for increasing the knowledge and skills of CONCORD members in the field of PCD were presented, as capacity-building is recognized as crucial for CONCORD. One of the tools is a very transparent ”Good practice guide on PCD for CONCORD members”, which explains how to run successful advocacy campaigns on the national and international level, based on the experience of the most advanced in PCD work CONCORD members.

As many representatives of platforms from New Member States were participating, there was the context of their work discussed as well. The common experience is the substantial lack of knowledge both of CSO's and policy-makers on policy coherence and development issues, therefore there is an urgent need for raising awareness activities. A good response to this challenge would be the common 3-year project “World – wise Europe” of seven national platforms, which has just already started.

More information:
- CONCORD Secretariat / PCD working group: Blandine Bouniol, Policy Coordinator blandine.bouniol@concordeurope.org  
- Polish Platform Zagranica Group: Emilia Ślimko, Polish Green Network, emilia@zielonasiec.pl

Information provided by Emilia Ślimko, Polish Green Network

Say YES to Inclusion

2013 is an important year for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in development-cooperation. On the 23rd September, heads of states will come together at the United Nations High Level Meeting on Disability and Development to discuss how development can be made inclusive of persons with disabilities.

With the SAY YES TO INCLUSION campaign, we want to show them that the world is watching! This campaign is an initiative of the End Exclusion – Let’s Enable the MDGs project, led by LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. The idea is to collect videos and photos of people making the YES sign in their local sign language. The photos/videos will be published in a gallery on our website to inspire others to make their own YES. The material we receive until June 2013 will be consolidated into one spot to be shown at the UN High Level Meeting. Our goal is to collect 15.000 YESs, so we need all the help we can get!

How can your organisation support the campaign?
You can help us disseminate the campaign with your networks and inspire contacts to take part. Encourage people to:
1. Find out how to say YES in your local sign language. Or use the international one: http://www.sematos.eu/isl-p-yes-1242-en.html
2. Get their friends together
3. Take a photo/video of themselves making the YES sign
4. Send their photo/video to info@endexclusion.eu with this information: Name/Organisation, City/Place, Country, or by sending us a link (to Facebook, Youtube, etc)
5. Share the message!

Why not get your staff together and make your own YES photo/video to show your organisation’s support for this issue? If your organisation would like to get more involved in the campaign, as an implementing partner visible on the end product, please contact Jess Blijkers at j.blijkers@light-for-the-world.org

What else can be done?
- People can add their Name to the campaign on www.endexclusion.eu/jointheaction  
- Please share the message on social media channels as well. You will find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/endexclusion) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/endexclusion) Why not send a tweet with your message about inclusion and the Hashtag #Yestoinclusion ?
- Get inspired by the story of Daya, a young blind girl from South Sudan


Information provided by Jess Blijkers, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD

EU budget 2014 – 2020: What does it mean for EU Development Cooperation?

On 7 February, after tough negotiations, European leaders agreed on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014 - 2020. For the first time in the European Union (EU) history it concerns a budget-cutting deal.

Even though in real terms EU aid was frozen at current levels, the budget cutting from the original EC proposal makes it harder for the EU and the Member States (MS) to meet their development commitments made in 2002 for spending 0.7 % of gross national income (GNI) on official development assistance (ODA) by 2015.

In comparison with the European Commission (EC) budget proposal that was presented in July 2012, the current agreement cuts over 16% from the Global Europe budget heading, which includes development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The spending within this heading is thus reduced from suggested €69.886 million to €58.704 million. The off-budget European Development Fund (EDF) and Emergency Aid Reserve were reduced by 11% and 20% from what was proposed. In numbers, EDF was cut down to €26.984 million.

Izabella Toth, board member of CONCORD, the European Confederation of Relief and Development NGOs, commented the EU MFF 2014-2020 deal as follows: “EU leaders have dealt a blow to an ambitious future development and humanitarian budget. Instead of supporting a strong aid budget to meet global challenges, and honor their aid commitments, EU leaders have chosen short term fixes over long term strategic thinking. Unfortunately, this comes as little surprise, as several key member states that traditionally support aid have been extra quiet in these negotiations.”

The ball is now in the European Parliament’ (EP) side of the court. The co-decision is not expected to take place before mid-2013. If the Council’s MFF 2014-2020 proposal is approved by the EP, the EC will propose a division of the Global Europe heading instruments. During these discussions civil society organisations have the opportunity to share their views and influence the process.


For more information see:
CONCORD: AidWatch. Who’s on/off target? Available at: http://aidwatch.concordeurope.org/who-s-on-off-target 

EuropeAid: EU Accountability Report 2012 on Financing for Development. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/development-policies/financing_for_development/accountability_report_2012_en.htm

European Council: Conclusions (Multiannual Financial Framework). Euco 37/13. 7/8 February 2013. Brussels. Available at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/135344.pdf

Izabella Toth cit. in Rosenkranz, R.: EU budget deal freezes foreign aid spending. Devex.com. 8 February 2013. Available at: https://www.devex.com/en/news/eu-budget-deal-slashes-foreign-aid/80291.


Information provide by Katarina Sramkova, TRIALOG

International UNITED Conference in Lithuania: Rethinking Diversity - Challenges for Equality in Europe and new Responses

UNITED is organising this conference in Lithuania from 26 to 31 of May 2013.

Rethinking Diversity: Challenges for Equality
"Diversity" has become a key term in contemporary social and political discourse. Diversity is a reality, a value, an aim and a normative prescription for how to achieve the objectives of social cohesion. Despite the openness and fluidity of the concept, we still tend to perceive ethnic, cultural, religious and other groups as homogenous entities. This is particularly visible in the anti-discrimination domain, for instance: discrimination of a Roma person is prohibited on the grounds of ethnicity, but how to deal with situations where ethnic background is not the only factor to cause unequal treatment? What if a Roma woman with mobility disability is being denied employment or housing on the basis of the all the grounds? Many inclusion policies have been reluctant to look beyond the "label" and accommodate the needs of individuals who belong to more than one disadvantaged group. The same is true for many NGOs working within a narrow area who rarely reach out for coalition-based partnerships.

Rethinking Diversity: New Responses
Against this background, UNITED aim at placing the concept of "identity" at the center of the discussion. In particular we will focus on discussing the need to build new coalitions which stretch across NGOs working in a particular field based on a common framework of human rights.

The Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of European Union will take part from the 1st of July, 2013. Preparation for the Presidency and the Presidency itself is a great opportunity for civil society to influence pan-European policies on equality, non-discrimination and minority protection. This UNITED conference provides excellent fora for collaboration and sharing ideas and experience that can be furthered in European level discussions.

Organisations interested in nominating a delegate should send their nomination (including the Expression of Interest form) by email before the deadline 3 April 2013 - 24:00 to lithuania@unitedagainstracism.org

There is a reduced participation fee for participants from the enlarged EU and support of travel made available by UNITED.

Read the full description on the conference online http://www.unitedagainstracism.org/


Information provided by UNITED for Intercultural Action

Peacebuilding Leadership Programmes 2013

Two Executive Leadership Programmes will take place in March 2013 in London, UK.
 
1. Improving Strategic Impact & Effectiveness of Peacebuilding and Peace Support Operations
(18-20 March)

For senior experts, policy makers, government leadership, and staff of national and international organisations working in peacebuilding, stabilisation, peace consolidation, transitions, and prevention of armed conflict.

For more details click here (pdf).

Deadline for application is March 11, 2013

2. Designing and Implementing Effective Monitoring & Evaluation for Peacebuilding Programmes (21-23 March)

One of the most advanced programmes on Monitoring & Evaluation of peacebuilding and peace support operations, designed for experienced M&E practitioners and experts and those implementing M&E for UN missions and peacebuilding programming. Takes experienced participants through practical steps and leading methods for developing and implementing effective M&E and integrating into organisational change and programme development.

For more details click here (pdf).

Deadline for applications is March 13, 2013

ABOUT IPDCT
Executive Leadership Programmes IPDTC Executive Leadership Programmes have been ranked by participants and their agencies as amongst the most professional, intensive and high quality in their field. They provide experienced 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, UN missions and agencies, donors and others. The programmes are thorough, rigorous, dynamic, and highly practical - drawing upon lessons learnt in the field and training people in skills, knowledge and capabilities to directly improve their own and their organisation's capacities for peacebuilding, prevention and post-war recovery, designing of peace programmes and peace support operations. 90% of IPDTC programmes are provided upon request for agencies, ministries and organisations.

For more information on the London Executive Leadership Programmes or to request an IPDTC training for your agency / mission / organisation, please write to: training@patrir.ro   or visit http://patrir.ro/index.php/en/international-training-programmes

Information provided by Kai Brand-Jacobsen  

The CLIMBIZ Challenge 2013 - Appply now!

The Black Sea Climate and Business Initiative (CLIMBIZ) is a regional partnership for action on sustainable development, initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation and BSEC. CLIMBIZ supports BSEC to mainstream climate change and green economy, and to facilitate a green and inclusive marketplace in the Black Sea region. Please find the website link here: www.climbiz.org

As part of the CLIMBIZ Initiative, a Scaling Challenge for Social and Environmental Enterprises was launched. The CLIMBIZ Challenge – implemented in partnership with the UNEP, UNDP and IUCN founded SEED Initiative – supports innovative small-scale and locally driven enterprises in the Black Sea region which integrate social and environmental benefits into their business model. The goal of the Challenge is to identify outstanding social and environmental entrepreneurs with proven solutions that combine environmental protection with inclusion/poverty reduction, and to support them to scale and replicate their activities across the Black Sea region.

For details on the Scaling Challenge visit the CIMBIZ website by clicking here or download the folder (pdf).

Deadline for Application is the 5th of April 2013.

Eligible countries are: Albania, Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Greece, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.

Participating ventures can have a non-for-profit, hybrid or for-profit business model.

CONTACT US FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
UNDP Programme Management Office Athens, Greece
Tel: (0030) 210 770 1661
E-mail: registry.gr@undp.org
Website: www.climbiz.org

Information provided by Georg Schoen, UNDP

Learn Spanish and gain Voluntary Work Experience in Social Projects in Guatemala

INEPAS, a non-profit organization from Guatemala, is performing a range of social, legal, and humanitarian projects within the framework of developing rural communities in and around Quetzaltenango. INEPAS functions solely with the help of national and international volunteers who offer their support, professional talent and work experience in diverse fields. INEPAS generates the necessary funds for its social aid programs through its Spanish language school.

They offer a variety of options for individuals wishing to learn Spanish:

• The Language Immersion Program: for those whose primary aim is to learn Spanish.
• The Service Learning Program: for those who wish to learn Spanish in the context of voluntary work. This consists of intensive one-to-one Spanish tuition each weekday morning and in the afternoons, students can participate in one of our social programs. Working directly with communities increases the desire and motivation to learn the Spanish language, whilst the classroom time enables participants to be more effective in their work in those communities.
• Voluntary Internships: both in Social Projects and as an International Co-ordination Assistant. This may be for gap-year students of social work, education, teaching or psychology, or for students seeking experience in administration, marketing or tourism within a development organization.

If you would like to receive more information about the organisation, please download their folder, visit the website at www.inepas.org or contact INEPAS at info@inepas.org


Information provided by María Antonieta Ixcoteyac Velásquez, INEPAS

Development Effectiveness: Practitioners Activity Guide for CSOs

To further support country level implementation and strategic planning around the Istanbul Principles and enabling environment, Open Forum has developed a Practitioners Activity Guide.

The aim of this new resource is to train CSO practitioners to transmit the concepts and collective experience behind the International Framework and the accompanying Toolkits, and to help CSOs take those first conceptual and planning steps on the path to improving their effectiveness.

The guide is available online in English, French and Spanish.











Source: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness

Report of the Second Global Education Congress available

The final report of the Second Global Education Congress held in Lisbon in September 2012, is available now online.

The 2nd Global Education Congress organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe in partnership with GENE and CONCORD and in cooperation with the Portuguese Platform of NGDO, the Portuguese Institute for Cooperation and Language, the University of Lisbon and with the financial support of the European Commission gathered practitioners and policy-makers to assess the work achieved since the first Global Education Congress held in Maastricht in 2002 -which established the European strategy framework for the enhancement of global education to 2015- and to reflect on issues at stake to be prioritised until 2015.

The report includes the Congress Strategic Recommendations and the Statement of the participants entrusting the outcomes of the meeting. The Lisbon Global Education Congress recommendations result from a consultative process engaging different levels of stakeholders (educators, academia, civil society representatives, parliamentarians and representatives from Ministries), prior, during and after the event. They also build up on the recommendation of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to member States on education for global interdependence and solidarity, the first legal framework for global education.

The Congress recommendations will serve as the workframe for the North-South Centre Global Education Programme for the coming three years.

Find the Congress Strategic Recommendations and the Statement of the participants online via the Congress website http://www.gecongress2012.org/

Information provided by North-South Centre of the Council of Europe

Call for Papers: Disability and the Global South

Disability and the Global South (DGS)   is the first peer reviewed journal committed to publishing high quality work focused exclusively on all aspects of the disability experience in the global South. It provides an interdisciplinary platform prioritising material that is critical, challenging, and engaging from a range of epistemological perspectives and disciplines.

For the issue on Disability, Asylum and Migration, a call for papers has been launched.

This special issue aims to transcend disciplinary, epistemological, and other boundaries, inviting researchers, activists and practitioners to engage in critical debate around all aspects of the migration experience and disability, following journeys for asylum from global South to global North or within the global South. We are keen to hear from those in the global South, in particular empirical work that prioritises and renders visible these lives and voices, and that pushes for disability and migration as a key area of study and practice.

We encourage contributions exploring a range of themes including (not exclusively):
• Causes of forced migration among disabled people in the global South
• Experiences of disabled people during exodus and post-conflict/humanitarian contexts
• Intersections of disability, race, culture, poverty, gender and legal status in the migration process
• Asylum, disabled bodies, and (re)construction of disabled lives across borders
• Globalisation, neoliberalism and the role of the disabled migrant in contemporary imperialism
• Racism, xenophobia and the position of the disabled migrant
• Medicalisation and treatment in the West
• Disabled migrants in policy and practice: critical analyses
• Disabled migrants in resettlement
• Disability and migration in disciplines: reviews and approaches for inclusion (e.g. disability studies and migration studies)
• Disabled migrants, voice, and claims for social justice

Those wishing to submit an article, please email your full manuscript to both Shaun Grech (S.Grech@mmu.ac.uk  and Maria Pisani (maria.pisani@um.edu.mt . Please insert ‘Submission for Disability and Migration Special Issue’ in the subject line. Manuscripts will be sent anonymously for double peer review, and comments and recommendations relayed to authors through the editors.

Papers should be no more than 8000 words, with an abstract of 150-200words. Please follow the journal’s instructions on formatting prior to submission http://dgsjournal.org/information-for-authors
Deadline for submission: 1st September 2013

Information provided by Maria Pisani, Integra Foundation Malta

Human Rights Watch World Report 2013

This 23rd annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide in 2012. It reflects extensive investigative work that Human Rights Watch staff has undertaken during the year, often in close partnership with domestic human rights activists. http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013







Source and Picture: Human Rights Watch

UNDP Human Development Report 2013

The 2013 Human Development Report – "The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World" – will be launched on 14 March in Mexico City by President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.

The 2013 Human Development Report examines the profound shift in global dynamics driven by the fast-rising new powers of the developing world and its long-term implications for human development. China has already overtaken Japan as the world's second biggest economy while lifting hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty. India is reshaping its future with new entrepreneurial creativity and social policy innovation. Brazil is lifting its living standards through expanding international relationships and antipoverty programs that are emulated worldwide.

But the "Rise of the South" analyzed in the Report is a much larger phenomenon: Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia and many other developing nations are also becoming leading actors on the world stage. The 2013 Human Development Report identifies more than 40 countries in the developing world that have done better than had been expected in human development terms in recent decades, with their progress accelerating markedly over the past ten years.

The Report analyzes the causes and consequences of these countries' achievements and the challenges that they face today and in the coming decades. Each of these countries has its own unique history and has chosen its own distinct development pathway. Yet they share important characteristics and face many of the same challenges. They are also increasingly interconnected and interdependent. And people throughout the developing world are increasingly demanding to be heard, as they share ideas through new communications channels and seek greater accountability from governments and international institutions.

The 2013 Human Development Report identifies policies rooted in this new global reality that could promote greater progress throughout the world for decades to come. The Report calls for far better representation of the South in global governance systems and points to potential new sources of financing within the South for essential public goods.

With fresh analytical insights and clear proposals for policy reforms, the Report helps charts a course for people in all regions to face shared human development challenges together, fairly and effectively.

Read the report on the UNDP website: http://hdr.undp.org/en/

Source: UNDP Development Reports 

Finance and Administration Assistant at Beyond 2015

Beyond 2015 is looking for a Finance and Administration Assistant to work at their office in Brussels. This person would be responsible for the financial management of Beyond 2015 resources; monitoring donor contracts, reporting to donors and advising Beyond 2015 on donor relations; development and maintenance of the internal communication systems of the various Beyond 2015 working structures and for the organisation and servicing of key meetings / conference calls of Beyond 2015.

Applications are particularly welcomed from female applicants.
Read the full job advertisement here

The closing date for applications is 3 March, 2013.
Please send a cover letter and CV to lwilliams@beyond2015.org  

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

Project Manager for End Exclusion Project

LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is a European confederation of national development NGOs working for people with disabilities in some of the poorest regions of the world.

Currently they are seeking a Project Manager for the implementation of the EC funded project ‘END EXCLUSION-Let’s enable the MDGs’ to build knowledge, raise awareness and encourage action for the inclusion of persons with disabilities into the Millennium Development Goals amongst Young Europeans.

The project is a three-year EU funded project, and involves besides LIGHT FOR THE WORLD as lead agency four partner organisations in the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as two associate partners in Ethiopia and Southern Sudan.

Deadline for application is March 1st, 2013
See the full job advertisment here

Information provided by Light for the World