New TRIALOG Management Structure in Place

We are very happy to announce that the TRIALOG project will be coordinated from now on by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska (project management) and Ulrike Bey (financial management). Both are experienced TRIALOG team members.

While the general project management will be done from Brussels, the financial management will remain in Vienna in close cooperation with the lead agency HORIZONT3000.

Rebecca Steel-Jasińska has been working with TRIALOG in Brussels since 2008 where she was performing as Policy Officer and convenor of the CONCORD working group “Enlargement, Pre-Accession and Neighbourhood – EPAN”. In these positions she supported development CSO platforms from the enlarged EU to engage in European policies and to liaise with partners and stakeholders on development issues. TRIALOG will profit from her in-depth knowledge of the development cooperation sector, especially in countries of the EU13 and her familiarity with relevant structures in Brussels.

Ulrike Bey has been coordinating the project over the past six months. As Capacity Building Officer she organises TRIALOG events and advises the EU13 platforms on the planning and implementation of their capacity building activities. Her organisational skills will ensure the smooth management of the financial issues of the project.

Furthermore we are very happy that Mirjam Sutrop will stay with the team as Liaison Officer and we warmly welcome Oana Badan as Junior Liaison Officer.

The team will be composed of Rebecca Steel-Jasińska (Project Manager) and Mirjam Sutrop (Liaison Officer), currently assisted by Oana Badan (Junior Liaison Officer for six months) in Brussels; and Ulrike Bey (Capacity Building Officer and Financial Manager), Elisa Romero (Information Officer) and Pily Lendl (Project Assistant) in Vienna.

In the Photo:  Rebecca Steel-Jasińska (left) and Ulrike Bey (right).

Information provided by Elisa Romero, TRIALOG

About Change, Campaigns and Strategies

Once a year the TRIALOG “Training of Multipliers” (ToM) gathers representatives of EU13 CSO platforms, all partners in the project, to meet for two and a half days full of sharing, learning and networking. The participants of the ToM are EU13 Liaison Officers, who are responsible for coordinating the TRIALOG supported capacity building plans of their platforms, co-write Policy Digests and support their members to actively engage in development cooperation issues. The group decided that this year the thematic focus would be on communication strategies and European Elections.

“It’s all about change” 
TRIALOG invited Matthias Schickhofer, an expert on campaigning who worked with Greenpeace for many years, where he was Campaign Director and also involved in the establishment of regional offices in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Romania. The participants explored with him innovative ways to engage with people and the media. With many examples Matthias Schickhofer illustrated how to create a campaign and what works i
n communication, how to define objectives, target groups and dramatic plots of a campaign and how to evoke reaction to messages and to find supportive followers. He gave the participants practical tools to achieve the desired change with means of campaigns and communication.

Campaigns: How can it work?
The Austrian NGDO platform Global Responsibility is running a campaign http://www.mirwurscht.org/ to stop the government from cutting the budget for development cooperation and calls upon reaching the 0.7% target for ODA. Valentin Schmiedleitner, campaign coordinator of the platform, shared the experience of the campaign, first successes and good practices. The personal lobbying towards Members of the Parliament (MPs) turned out to be a very successful tool, as well as public actions attracting media attention and an interactive website where everyone can engage and send a letter to MPs.

From CONCORD Sabine Terlecki, Head of Policy, joined us for a session to give an update on the European Election Campaign of CONCORD and to identify with all EU13 platforms how they could will further engage in the campaign and plan activities on national level. Therefore the platform worked on their own campaign strategies based on the tools of the morning session with Matthias Schickhofer, who then gave feedback to the ideas.

Food for Thought: Post-2015 
Our guest Daniel Bacher, Advocacy Officer of the DKA, a member organisation of TRIALOG's lead agency HORIZONT3000 opened up the space for discussions on the Post-2015 Agenda focusing on the question how to anchor Human Rights in this framework. He underlined his thoughts with practical examples of organisations and institutions engaged.

Additionally the Training of Multipliers provided plenty of space for EU13 Liaison Officers to share their experience with the capacity building plans (supported by TRIALOG) and to present their activities planned for 2014. We thank all participants and resource persons for their input and openness to share experiences and look forward to the next ToM in 2015!


Photo by TRIALOG: Participants ToM 2014
Find more pictures on our website.

Information provided by Elisa Romero and Ulrike Bey, TRIALOG

Join the Team: Maternity Replacement for the Capacity Building Officer

TRIALOG is looking for a part-time Capacity Building Officer (30 hours/week) based in Vienna. The position is a maternity replacement for one year, starting May 1st, 2014. Find more information on tasks and responsibilities, requirements and the application process here (pdf).

Deadline for applications is 14th of March 2014.


Information provided by TRIALOG.

After the EU Presidency: Lithuanian NGOs Continue Raising Awareness on Development Cooperation

When the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council was transferred to the government of Greece on the 1st of January 2014, the Presidency related activities initiated by the Lithuanian Umbrella (LU) are still going beyond the date.

Lithuanian AidWatch report 
The first Lithuanian Aidwatch report for the years of 2012 and 2013 is in process of launching by the expert group of LU member LITDEA. The report is going to provide the analysis of Lithuanian ODA effectiveness focusing on four main themes:
• awareness raising and development education;
• promotion of the democracy;
• equal rights;
• sharing the transition experience.

The report will be published in English and Lithuanian in March 2014.

Private sector involvement and cooperation with the municipalities 
The other package of activities is aimed to reveal the contribution of public and private sector in transferring Lithuanian transition experience, raise the awareness of the national authorities and speed up the ongoing processes of the development of national law on Development Cooperation.

For this matter a research on the involvement of private and public sector into the activities of Development Cooperation and Developing Education in developing countries is being conducted. External experts made the analysis of the strategic papers and surveyed a number of representatives of private businesses and at local authorities. The analysis will be published at the end of February 2014.

In the upcoming month LITDEA is starting a series of 20 round table discussions with local authorities, private sector, NGOs and civil society in various regions of Lithuania in order to discuss the results of the research, draw recommendations and promote new partnerships for development, policy coherence for development.

International NGDO Forum/ 10th Anniversary of Lithuanian Development Cooperation 
This year Lithuania is celebrating the first decade anniversary of being a EU member state what is a great inspiration in framing the theme of the NGDO forum which will be held in Vilnius in April 2014. A number of NGOs from Lithuania and partner countries will be welcomed to discuss the Lithuanian Development progress achieved in the period of ten years and challenges to face together with the representatives of European Commission, European Parliament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Local authorities and private sector.

For more information, please contact Agne Baleisyte at info@litdea.eu 


Information provided by Agne Baleisyte, LITDEA Partnership and Communication Officer

Lithuanian NGO Database is Online

The Lithuanian non-governmental development cooperation organisations (NGOs) launched an online database available at www.pagalba.org/partnerships .It contains information about the specific expertise of the Lithuanian NGOs in the field of development cooperation and development education. Open to everyone and constantly updated, the database is created to help find partners, share experiences and project ideas.

Created by the National Non-Governmental Development Cooperation Organisations’ Platform (NGDO Platform), the database represents the first attempt ever to systemise experience of the Lithuanian NGO sector in this sphere. We hope the database will be popular among development cooperation practitioners and will encourage joint projects, especially trilateral programming with the old EU member states.

Visit the database if you are looking for development cooperation partners from Lithuania! You can find information about implementers of development cooperation projects: their contact details, project themes, brief summaries, best practise examples and conduct search for partners for further projects. The database has been created implementing the project "Quality Partnership for Development - EU Presidency Project for the Lithuania EU Presidency, 2013", which has received the financial assistance of the European Union. The project is co-funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania  through the Development Cooperation and Democracy Promotion Programme.


Information provided by Marta Čubajevaitė, Pagalba

Radio Show on Global Issues in Cyprus

CYINDEP and two of their member organisations, NGO Support Centre and Future Worlds Center, are cohosting a radio show at MYCYradio, the first multi-lingual radio in Cyprus. The show, named "Let’s Go Global" is an effort to raise awareness about global issues and especially around international development, global education, social and environmental justice and sustainability with news from around the world, interviews, special features and themed discussions, always aiming at making the link with the local context.

Some of the issues discussed so far include global education, the MDGs and the Post-2015 framework, GMOs, seed preservation and biodiversity, the AidWatch etc. The show is also informing the audience about local and international events around these areas.

With the beginning of 2014, Let’s Go Global has started a collaboration with Radio ORANGE 94.0  in Vienna and the radio programme "Global Dialogues", broadcasted by ‘Women on Air’ and there will be exchange of shows and ideas around global issues. The shows are broadcasted online and are in English so feel free to listen to us every Friday at 12 pm CET (one week is the live show from Cyprus and the next is the recorded show from Austria).

Furthermore, if your organisation has a relevant project, or organizing an event around these areas and you would like to talk about it in the show, please contact us at letsgoglobal.mycy@gmail.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter!


In the Photo: The broadcasters Annagrace Messa, Louisa Hadjivassiliou and Sophia Arnaouti.


Information provided by Sophia Arnaouti, CYINDEP

AKÜ Encourages Responsible Traveling in Developing Countries

Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation (AKÜ) calls on travellers to behave responsibly when traveling to developing countries, so the adventure would benefit the local people as well as the environment. Travelling to developing countries is a growing trend among European adventure-seekers. It is wise to consider what impacts the transport, accommodation and entertainment program will have on the local community. Buying from local merchants is not the only way visitors can contribute to the local growth, they can also have an effect on school attendance, conservation of nature or women’s employment.

AKÜ’s policy officer Evelin Andrespok explains: “During a recent study trip to Cambodia we learned how the explosion of the tourist industry has also brought about the business of orphanage tourism, where children are often used for profit from tourists. A responsible traveller should avoid encouraging such behaviour and support the children through more effective means, like the abundant social entrepreneurship restaurants and shops found in Cambodia.”

Responsible and ethical tourism is doable for everyone, but it requires a little bit of extra planning and dedication to a just cause.

More information available in Estonian on AKÜ’s blog.

Photo by AKÜ: Tourists at the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia. 


Information provided by AKÜ

News from the Polish NGO Platform Grupa Zagranica

The Istanbul Principles in Grupa Zagranica 
Since 2012 Grupa Zagranica (GZ) has been working on the standards of activities, responding to one of the main objectives of the platform, which is to build an efficient and competent CSO sector in Poland, which effectively supports the development of less affluent countries.

In the first quarter of 2014, GZ will launch an information and education campaign targeted to improve the quality of actions platform member organisations undertake in the field of development cooperation. The process will start from the promotion of the Istanbul Principles as widely accepted and well-thought-out standards for organisations involved in development cooperation.
GZ prepared a presentation, available here, which will be updated weekly with information about the Istanbul Principles (in Polish), including: definitions, impact on practice, interviews and films with the participation of members, as well as good examples from Polish and foreign organisations.

In April 2014 Grupa Zagranica is planning to conduct three workshops in three Polish cities (Krakow, Wroclaw, Warsaw) for the following three Principles: # 2 Embody gender equality and equity while promoting women’s and girls’ rights # 3 Focus on people’s empowerment, democratic ownership and participation # 8 Commit to realising positive sustainable change The aim of this process (campaign, workshops, and discussions) is to adopt the Istanbul Principles (possibly with amendments) at the General Assembly of Grupa Zagranica in June 2014.


Polish Development Cooperation – Infographic 
In 2012 the total value of Polish development aid amounted to 437,7 million USD, which accounted for 0.09 % of GNI. This level did practically not change over the last five years. Observing this negative trend it seems unrealistic to achieve the, declared by the Polish government, target of 0.33 % of GNI in 2015.

The priority countries (mainly the Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) received only half of Polish bilateral development assistance. Whereas 40% of the funds went to China as preferential loans. China is the largest individual beneficiary although it is not a priority country of Polish development cooperation. Preferential loans are due to long-term economic agreements implemented by the Ministry of Finance. However, not understandable is why these costs are included into ODA, taking into account that these amounts have been spent on services and goods produced in Poland and helped primarily our economy. The amount of aid for China seems to be particularly important when compared to the LDCs, as well as countries from sub-Saharan Africa. According to a data from 2012 they receive only 3% of bilateral Polish aid.

This year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will start the process on a new Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme, which Grupa Zagranica will attend as a consultant. During the consultation GZ will bring up valid NGOs demands, including the international commitments which Poland has taken (e.g. the Millennium Declaration, the international aid effectiveness agenda), as well as the need for appeal to the overriding objective, which is to reduce poverty, especially in the poorest countries. In the current – deeply criticized by Grupa Zagranica - Multiannual Programme are listed only priority countries and areas suggested to support.

Download infographic here (pdf).


Information provided by Magdalena Trojanek, Grupa Zagranica

CONCORD Puts Gender and Development in the Spotlight at European Parliament

The CONCORD Gender working group – which encompasses organizations working on gender-related issues in both development and humanitarian settings – as part of its monitoring and advocating for the inclusion of improved gender-focused actions within the development policies of the European Union and its Member States, is organising a series of gender and development lunches at the European Parliament.

In the context of the current discussions underway on the Post-2015 Framework, the first gender and development lunch took place yesterday 29 January 2014 at the European Parliament. The lunch was hosted with the support of Mr. Mikael Gustafsson, MEP – the Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) – and Ms. Edite Estrella, MEP – Vice chair of the FEMM Committee. This inaugural meeting, which brought together representatives of the European Parliament, civil society, the EU institutions and EU Member States representatives , and the United Nations focused on the outcome of the UN General Assembly held in September 2013 and the current debate on the Post-MDGs framework. Speakers and participants took stock and debated the next steps that the European Union, multilateral organizations, and civil society organizations in Europe and globally can take towards a singular target: the adoption of a Post 2015 Framework in which gender equality, together with the empowerment and rights of women and girls, feature as central elements, with a special focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights

See more at the CONCORD website.

Photo: CONCORD Gender and Development Lunch at the EP.


Source: CONCORD 

Integration of Refugees in Malta

The Maltese NGO KOPIN is active in development education and advocacy work on North-South issues. The former TRIALOG consortium partner is also very much engaged in the integration of refugees in Malta. Two projects are specially focused on women, young migrants and families.

Befriend: Integration of Refugee Women
The Befriending pilot project was kick-started in April 2013 and has been jointly implemented by KOPIN and the Maltese UN Agency for Refugees (UNHCR Malta). The project aims at facilitating the process of integration of refugee women through the creation of one-to-one mentoring relationships between refugee women and local volunteer women. The programme specifically targets refugee women who represent a particular vulnerable group, due to the fact that they are less well-equipped than men to integrate into Maltese society as they have never taken any regular language course, nor have they participated in any skills training. The project foresees for mentors and mentees to meet at least once a week and to undertake social and cultural activities together. Mentors are expected to contribute as much as they can to the integration of women by organizing visits and activities which foster the understanding of the Maltese culture and customs. In particular, mentors are to discover the interests and desires of their refugee friends and show them the opportunities that the Maltese context offers to fulfill them. The aim is to facilitate the access of refugees to public events and public places which may be of interest for them and which may be useful to create a social network within the local context.

The activities in 2013 included, first of all, a training for the mentors concerning asylum and migration issues and communication skills and later, among others, excursions around Malta to discover local culture and customs, social events to enlarge the refugees’ network and specific activities to overcome integration barriers mainly related to language, employment, childcare, housing and access to health care. The project will come to an end in February 2014, but the programme will continue throughout the year with new activities suggested by the experience of the pilot and new participants.

Dar il-Liedna: Provision of services to Refugees
Since 2010, KOPIN has been conducting empowerment and inclusion activities in the refugee centre Dar il-Liedna (DiL). Located in the Southern part of Malta, DiL hosts both families and unaccompanied migrant minors. Until November 2013, this house accommodated seven families which were benefitting from the activities KOPIN provides.

Since the beginning of 2014, KOPIN not only organises activities for the families but also for the minors, based on needs assessments with both residents and centre coordinators. People living here have a vast cultural background and come from various parts of the globe such as Somalia, Nigeria and Syria. KOPIN takes this fact into consideration and believes that one-to-one activities with the beneficiaries provide more fruitful results. In fact, the activities, which are being conducted by a team of five dedicated volunteers and interns, include English and Maltese language classes, homework support for children and job and course searching training on a weekly basis.

In addition to the activities, KOPIN maintains positive relationships with the beneficiaries by supporting their ad hoc needs, such as drafting Curricula Vitae, communicate any job offerings that might be of interest or enrolment into any course they desire by giving them course information and contact details. KOPIN’s engagement in Dar il-Liedna forms part of its wider efforts to support refugees and asylum seekers in Malta, to promote human rights and to contribute to a more just society in Malta and the world.


For more information please contact dominik.kalweit@kopin.org and visit the KOPIN website. 

Photo: Participants of the refugee-volunteer programme in Dar il-Liedna, KOPIN

Information provided by: Article provided by Sarah Perrella (Befriend) and Adriana Grech (Dar il-Liedna), KOPIN 

Refugee Empowerment Project in Malta

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Malta has just launched a project titled “Refugee Empowerment and Action for Community Transformation” (REACT), which is partly funded by the European Refugee Fund (ERF). REACT aims to facilitate the integration of beneficiaries of international protection and asylum seekers, empowering them to be agents of change and foster a culture of welcome and inclusion, by raising awareness of their experience, fostering a deeper understanding of the causes of forced displacement, promoting greater respect for human dignity and appreciation of the diversity of people and cultures in Malta today.

 During the first phase of the project, the eight beneficiaries of international protection participating in this project are participating in capacity-building activities focusing on: language training (English and basic Maltese); Maltese History and Culture; Human Rights and the rights of beneficiaries of protection; Communication and Public Speaking Skills.

At a later stage, and upon successful completion of the training, participants will be engaged in awareness raising activities organized by JRS Malta targeting children in local primary and secondary schools, using drama, story-telling and culture-based activities with a view to promoting a better understanding of refugee issues.

 For more information contact Stephanie Micallef: stephanie@jrsmalta.org or vitis the JRS website.


Information provided by Stephanie Micallef, JRS

FACES at the Malta Marathon 2014

For the third year, FACES will be participating in the annual Malta Marathon. This race will see over 3,500 individuals. While the marathon is often an opportunity to put one’s long months of training to the test on a taxing run through Malta’s beautiful countryside and villages, it is for others, also an opportunity to raise funds for a worthy cause.

FACES is a registered voluntary organisation, set up in Malta in 2003 with the aim of improving the quality of life of individuals who due to poverty, displacement and other adverse situations are unable to access vital services such as health care and education.

FACES is currently running 2 projects in Nakuru, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania providing housing and education to orphaned children and supporting local health services. Sustaining these ongoing projects requires an expenditure of around 25,000 euro per year and as an organisation FACES hence constantly strive to procure the necessary funds through fund applications, sponsorships and fundraising activities.
This year, 19 individuals will be participating in the Vodafone Malta Marathon on the 23rd February with the aim of raising funds to support FACES’ capacity building project with Cardinal Rugambwa Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Funds raised will go towards the purchasing of emergency medical equipment to enable this hospital to provide safe and effective medical care.

More information on FACES’ projects can be found FACES website.


Article provided by Claude Vella Bonanno (FACES, claude@facescharity.org)

#DAREtalks: DEEEPs webinar series started this month!

Among the various activities, organizing webinars is an important mission for DEEEP in 2014. The first one on global education in the Post-2015 debate successfully took place last week!

Watch the video here. 


The webinars are divided in 2 strands with different focuses: Firstly, "The world citizens’ conversations" which will be the perfect tool to keep discussing in an innovative way within the Global Citizens Movement which had its birth at the Global Conference in Johannesburg last year. It will allow the participants of our online platform to continue exchanging in a more personal approach and to foster the involvement of the participants in a subject-oriented way.

Secondly, DEEEP offers "The transformative conversations". These webinars will be ideal to explore and discuss the experimental and transformative journey DEEEP is taking towards new ways of thinking and working in the development and global education sector. The webinars are open for your input and your contribution.

The webinars will take place on a monthly basis and will be announced on our platform www.movement.deeep.org and through social media. The videos will be available on YouTube. 

For more information check out www.deeep.org or contact us helene.debaisieux@concordeurope.org

Video about the Global Conference in Johannesburg out now! 
DEEEP is happy to finally share with you the long awaited video documentation of the Global Conference! You can see it here. In November 2013, in the framework of the Civil Society Week, 200 citizens from around the world met in Johannesburg (South Africa). This conference co-organised by CONCORD, CIVICUS and GCAP aimed to start building a Global Citizens Movement.

In 2 days, a lot of connections were created and all the participants endorsed the "Johannesburg Compass: questions and orientations", text aiming to evolve parallel to the Movement, as a first engagement of the participants towards this community.

More info and text on http://movement.deeep.org/.


Information provided by Carolin Erikson, DEEEP

The European Endowment for Democracy after Lift-off: Opinions and Expectations

A recently published paper by the Institute of Public Affairs in Poland presents a brief overview of the origins of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) and the state of play almost one year after it was established.

 The paper also offers an analysis of the expectations and the challenges that arise from these expectations among two groups who engage in democracy support: donors and beneficiaries. The long-term discussions and promotional activities done when the Polish EU Presidency and other actors were seeking support for the new initiative have resulted in great expectations in the beneficiary countries, and the establishment of the EED was connected to criticism towards current EU institutions of their bureaucratic and slow procedures, the report states. This resulted in greater demands on the new institution, which was created in opposition to existing mechanisms. These expectations constitute a significant challenge for the EED, especially in a situation when its resources are rather limited in comparison to the existing mechanisms.

Download the paper here (PDF).


Source: Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) Email Alerts nr. 286 from 1.2.2014

Results in Advocacy: Course for Development Organisations

Pamoja is organising an exciting advocacy evaluation training course, 'Results in Advocacy', which is designed to assist participants to better demonstrate results in advocacy. The course will be delivered in English and held in Central London at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) on the 22nd and 23rd May 2014.

‘Results in Advocacy’ has been designed specifically for development organisations, and already has an acclaimed portfolio of interna
tional alumni, including members of Save the Children, Oxfam, Action Aid, Sightsavers International, Plan International and Water Aid. Over two days this new course takes participants on a journey through the advocacy evaluation landscape.

The course begins by highlighting the unique challenges faced in advocacy evaluation, supporting participants to understand which approaches, methods and tools will work best for their contexts. Learn how to get the best from theory of change processes in advocacy evaluation and learn the key steps in Process Tracing, a rigorous non-experimental advocacy impact assessment approach.

Find here a comprehensive overview of the training course.
Please see also www.pamoja.uk.com/training for more information, or alternatively contact Stephen Hunt at info@pamoja.uk.com if you have any further questions.


Information provided by Stephen Hunt, Pamoja

EEA and Norway Grants – Opportunities for European NGOs

The new CONCORD Director Seamus Jeffreson and Soledad Briones from the Concord Secretariat met with representatives from the EEA (European Economic Area) and Norway Grants. The goal of this meeting was to better understand their project and identify possibilities for CONCORD member to access to these grants.

In the funding period (2009-2014) around €147 million is on offer to NGO programmes in 15 countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

NGOs are also eligible for funding under many of other thematic EEA and Norway Grants programmes, such as mainstreaming gender equality, promoting work-life balance, environmental protection and climate change, health and youth. The NGO programmes channel funding to support activities at the heart of NGOs mandate, such as fostering active citizenship, advocacy, watchdog and monitoring activities. A specific focus is placed on ensuring capacity building of sector itself.

There are currently 44 ongoing calls, see here. 
More information on the EEA webiste.  


Source: CONCORD Member to Member newsletter from 28th of January 2014

Fair Trade Coalition Poland: Join DEAR projects

Foundation of the "Fair Trade Coalition" (Poland) is interested in joining DEAR project consortia as associate or sub grantee. In the current EC NSA LA DEAR call, a good moment to step in will be during the elaboration of the full proposal.

More information here and see tje coalition website.
  
Information provided by TRIALOG

Human Rights Watch: World Report 2014

World Report 2014 is Human Rights Watch’s 24th annual review of human rights practices around the globe. It summarises key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events through November 2013.


Download the report from their website.

Photo: Cover of the Human Rights Watch report.





Source: Human Rights Watch   

How to use the Children's Rights and Business Principles: A Guide for Civil Society Organizations

Save the Children Sweden published "How to use the Children's Rights and Business Principles: A Guide for Civil Society Organizations".
This Guide is written for civil society organizations that use or wish to use the Children’s Rights and Business Principles to engage with businesses in monitoring, enforcing and advancing children’s rights. To give a broad perspective on the ways that civil society might seek to work with companies, organizations’ diverse missions, goals and methods of working are taken into account. As a result, this Guide can be used by a wide range of civil society actors in considering, developing and reviewing their approaches to and relationships with business entities.


Download the guide from here.




Source: Save the Children Sweden

Author to design online course on “Minority needs in Local governance and planning”

Minority Rights Group Europe (MRG), a Budapest-based NGO is seeking to engage an author to design 6 weeks interactive training curriculum content on raising awareness of LAs representatives in addressing minority needs. The training will be part of an EC-funded programme in the Eastern Partnership (EaP countries, especially Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) that aims at increased capacities and networking between minority activists and organisations.


More information here (pdf) and on the MRG website: http://www.minorityrights.org/




Information provided by MRG 

European Center for Not-for-Profit Law: Senior Legal Advisor

The European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) is currently seeking a Senior Legal Advisor to join its team in Budapest. ECNL is the leading European research and policy center promoting the strengthening of a supportive legal environment for civil society. Over the past 10 years, ECNL has demonstrated deep commitment to empower local partners to lead reforms, and has contributed to the development of over 6o laws and policies supporting civil society organizations (CSOs). ECNL is the European affiliate of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law.

Main duties and responsibilities
By joining ECNL, the senior legal advisor will become part of an international network of CSO lawyers working on issues such as: framework laws for CSOs; policies and laws for CSO sustainability; models for CSO-Government partnerships; participation and policy dialogue; and counter-terrorism initiatives affecting CSOs. The Senior Legal Advisor will engage in legislative processes affecting CSOs in the developing countries and will work closely with the Executive Director on initiatives at a European level. S/he will help build capacity of local partners, research frameworks and practices that support or impede CSO work, help develop advocacy strategies. S/he will also participate in ECNL’s work to promote CSO development effectiveness and will engage in initiatives at the EU and UN level affecting freedom of association and assembly.
The position requires intensive travel.
Apply until 24th of February 2014.
More information: please see pdf and online.



Information provided by Andrea Judit Toth, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law