Private Sector in Development

How can CSOs and Private Sector work together towards Development? Discussions on the role of the private sector in development have taken place for a long time. However, the EU’s new development policy – Agenda for Change – puts more focus on the role of economic growth to ensure development. This places private sector in the centre of the development debate.

This TRIALOG Policy Digest explores different forms the private sector is engaged in development, while putting special attention on civil society organisations’ (CSOs) cooperation with the private sector in development activities. Another focus is on EU level policy processes on the topic and suggestions how to get involved and influence them through civil society actions.

Download the digest here.


The digest was written by Inese Vaivare of the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation - Lapas and Gordan Bosanac of the Croatian Centre for Peace Studies in coordination with Mirjam Sutrop, TRIALOG Liaison Officer.

The TRIALOG Policy Digests provide insight to currently discussed development policy topics. They are written by drafting teams made up of TRIALOG partners and are published on a regular basis every other month. Find digests on more topics here.

Information provided by TRIALOG

Czech Development Actors Discussing the Role of Czech ODA and NGOs

Representatives of Czech development NGOs, Czech Development Agency, private and academic sector gathered on two interlinked events in Prague on May 14th and 15th to discuss some key topics in the current aid and international development cooperation debate. The events were organized by the Czech NGDO platform FoRS.

On May 14th, the event Czech Development Cooperation on the Crossroads: What is the contribution of development cooperation for Czech Republic in the global context? was held. Three keynote speakers: Sara Worku Zergaw (representing Ethiopian civil society), Šimon Pánek (director of the Czech NGO People in Need and member of FoRS Board) and Olivier Consolo (director of the European NGO confederation CONCORD) opened ground for further discussions related to Czech aid in the current context characterized with new challenges and issues for development actors. The debate turned around the role of Czech aid, how it is perceived by us, whether we fulfil its expected goals, how to get prepared for the upcoming changes and what is our ability to influence them. The first day was concluded by a session on gender mainstreaming in development cooperation.

During the second event, FoRS´ Development Day, FoRS members and observers discussed in more depth and shared their experience in four topics: how to better link the experience from development projects with development education and awareness raising and policy and advocacy work; how to ensure financial sustainability and/or independence; how to ensure positive impact and sustainability; and what are the possibilities for cooperation with the private sector in development. The crosscutting question was on how to communicate these issues to the media, general public and politicians.

FoRS is currently elaborating the outcomes of this event in a substantial material and is going to use it both in the process of creating its own communication strategy and to feed in the work of CONCORD on a new political narrative. Both events were held in the framework of the project RESAREAS on Cooperation Network for Research of Non-European Countries supported by the Czech Ministry of Education and the European Social Fund.

In the picture: Panel at the Czech Development Cooperation on the Crossroads event, FoRS

Information provided by Marie Zazvorkova, FoRS

Who Should Feed the World? Discussion on Food Security in Estonia

The Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation (AKÜ) organised the conference WHO SHOULD FEED THE WORLD? Politics of Guaranteeing Food for the World. Key topic of the event, held on 14 May 2013 in Tallinn, was food as a human right and Estonia’s opportunities of helping to guarantee a decent life for the whole world.

The keynote speaker Ms. Marikki Stocchetti from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs explained how trade and development policies can contribute to food security for all people. A global perspective was added by H.E. Ricardo José Alvarado Noguera, Ambassador of Nicaragua to Estonia.

Climate change will change more than just the climate.
Mr. Patrick Worms from the World Agroforestry Centre described the effects of climate change on food security and offered using trees in agriculture as the solution. Participants also learned about the Estonian start-up company Vital Fields that provides unique field-based weather forecast for farmers. In addition, several experts from Estonia and abroad shared their thoughts and engaged with the audience.

Read more here.


Source: Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation (AKÜ)  

Visegrad Group and International Development Cooperation Towards Africa

On 16th May 2013 the Slovak NGDO Platform MVRO and Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia (PDCS) welcomed, in cooperation with their Visegrad 4 (V4) partners from the Czech Republic (People in Need), Hungary (DemNet Foundation) and Poland (Polish Humanitarian Action) participants to the conference “Visegrad Group and International Development Cooperation towards Africa”.

The event was held under the auspices of the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Slovak Parliament František Šebej and took place at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. The conference aimed at searching synergies among development activities of V4 countries in Africa. It was opened by the State Secretary of the MFaEA SR Peter Burian, the member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic František Šebej and the Chairwoman of the Slovak NGDO Platform Zuzana Fialová.

Before the panel discussions, main findings of the report based on the predecessor conference Visegrad Countries in International Development Cooperation, which took place in January 2013, were introduced. In the panel discussions representatives of the national parliaments of V4 countries as well as the European Parliament, executive bodies and the International Visegrad Fund discussed further possibilities of V4 cooperation with African countries. In the last panel representatives of V4 academia and NGOs discussed the involvement of private sector in development cooperation and shared experience from their countries.

To introduce the panel a video interview with a Slovak company active in Kenya was shown.
The programme of the conference can be found here.

On 18th May 2013, PDCS in cooperation with the Society Development Institute and the Slovak NGDO Platform organized a celebration of the Africa Day in the Medická záhrada (Medical Garden) in Bratislava. Visitors had an opportunity to discover the diversity of languages, literature and cuisine of some of the African countries. The events were supported by the European Union (V4 Aid - United Support for Millennium Development Goals project) and the International Visegrad Fund.



Information provided by Andrea Girmanova, MVRO - Slovak NGDO Platform

Global Education Exchange in Search of a Common Ground

The International Seminar on Global Education has brought together teachers and Global Education experts from six countries to work together on a Global Learning Framework, which could help in mainstreaming Global Education in the formal education sector.

The seminar which took place in Wilga near Warsaw from April 10-12, 2013 was at the same time a kick-off meeting for the World-Class Teaching project which has been initiated in January this year. The project has been created at the TRIALOG Partnership Fair in 2011 by organisations from Austria, Slovakia, United Kingdom and Poland.

The first phase of the project is focused to develop a common Global Learning Framework which will help in mainstreaming Global Learning in teaching. The Framework will be used by teachers to develop subject-specific teaching materials and by trainers who will develop training programmes to assists teachers of selected subjects like languages, English as a foreign language, science, biology, geography, history, civics and art. The seminar was designed as a consultative process which allowed the project team to share outputs from its first phase and discuss it with teachers who will later work within the project. It has also been a chance to get a constructive feedback from education experts from Brazil (CECIP) and Benin (NEGO-COM). For the teachers participating in the meeting it has also been an opportunity to exchange on the way they work with students and to learn more on how the school systems work in their countries.

World-Class Teaching is run by Centre for Citizenship Education (Poland), People in Peril Association (Slovakia), Südwind Agentur (Austria) and Leeds Development Education Centre. The project is funded by the European Union and co-financed withinthe Polish development cooperation programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2013.

For more information please see the project summary or contact jedrzej.witkowski@ceo.org.pl.

In the photo: Participants of the Global Education Seminar in Warsaw.


Information provided by Jedrzej Witkowski, Centre for Citizenship Education

Global Campus - Students for Global Justice

The project Global Campus, jointly implemented by Suas (Ireland – lead organisation), Cardet (Cyprus), Südwind (Austria) and KOPIN (Malta), focuses on providing awareness raising, educational and action-oriented activities on the campuses of 13 universities across the four EU member states.

“Inspire, Educate & Engage” is a step-by-step participatory approach to motivate students as well as university staff to become active agents of change for more global social justice.

The three-year project (beginning 2013 – end 2015) focuses on issues related to the MDGs and the post-MDG agenda, i.e. on topics of global importance. In each country, the partners provide three activity cycles per annum, aiming at the involvement of 36,000 students, academic and administrative staff. Following the establishment of the consortium, the choice of a project name and logo (voted for by students themselves) and a baseline study on the knowledge of students about development issues, the partners are now planning the actions on campus, which will kick-off this summer.

The project is co-financed by EuropeAid of the European Commission, Irish Aid, Ireland’s aid agency, and the Austrian Development Agency, among others. For further information, contact the project partners whose details can be found on the respective websites, and soon also on the project’s website www.globalcampus.eu and social networking profiles.



Information provided by KOPIN Malta

Raising Awareness on the Sustainable Management of Forests

In collaboration with P.A.R.K. and the 34U Campaign, KOPIN presented the “FORESTS IN THE WORLD” Film Festival & the “Plant for the Future” audiovisual and interactive exhibition on 17th of May 2013.

FORESTS IN THE WORLD – Film Festival
In the wonderful setting of Buskett Gardens, Malta’s best known woodland, KOPIN screened a number of short movies that critically deal with issues related to forests – from the sustainable use of forest products to the impact of uncontrolled deforestation on indigenous peoples, to the crass negative impact of big business on people and the environment.

“Plant for the Future” – Audiovisual Exhibition
An unique audiovisual installation,  guided through some of the most gorgeous green lungs of the Earth in a forest-like environment!

The Exhibition aimed to
- raise awareness about world forests and about their environmental, cultural, social and economic importance;
- highlight the main problems related to deforestation and the other destructive and exploitative practices;
- raise awareness about the direct links between current lifestyles and their environmental and social impact on world forests;
- contribute towards changing consumption patterns towards a fairer and sustainable use of forest resources, in particular by promoting the selection of certified products and services above others.


Both events were opened by Hon Leo Brincat, Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change.

In the frame of KOPIN project FOREST IN THE WORLD, that deals with issues related to sustainable consumption of forests’ products and its social impact, an Italian delegation made up of four students and two teachers from two different Italian secondary schools, visited Malta between 9th and 11th of April. The group, accompanied by Samanta Musarò, a representative from Italian NGO COSPE, also partner in the project, took part in several activities organised by KOPIN staff, with the help of different Maltese stakeholders.
On the morning of their first day in Malta, the Italian group, together with two KOPIN members, joined some students at Birgu Boys’ secondary school in Verdala, to discuss topics related to environmental and social aspects of forests’ resources consumption. There was an introduction by teacher Ms Rita DeBattista, followed by a presentation of fair trade market and its principles held by some volunteers from Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust. In the afternoon the Italian group visited Manikata Rural Cooperative and was leaded through its “Heritage Trail” to discover some techniques of organic farming and cultivation.    

For further information about the project, visit the website www.forestintheworld.org or also contact KOPIN info@kopin.org


Information provided by KOPIN Malta

Fit for Fair: Global Learning for Decent Work in the Sportswear Industry

Organisations from Bulgaria, Moldova, Germany, Romania, Slovakia and the UK have joined their efforts to work on the problem of poor working conditions in the garment industry in less developed countries. The three-year project “Fit for Fair” aims to develop a critical approach to buying sportswear by the consumers in the developed countries and thus it is expected to improve the working conditions for the workers who produce these goods.

The project includes a strong gender aspect since the workers of garment industry are mainly women. The initiative is a tool for bridging the cultural gap related to decent work in various countries of European Union and beyond. The activities within the project are to provoke a change of the mindset and behaviour patterns of youth and teenagers as a result of increase of understanding of the human costs related to the production of high quality sportswear. The project is designed to benefit both: developed and developing countries by providing insights into the differences between the ideas of labour rights and responsibilities of consumers and the workers, and thus contribute to decreasing the gap between them.

The project is jointly financed by the European Commission and other sources and it will be implemented by partner organisations including Christliche Initiative Romero - CIR and Germany Gender (D), Education, Research and Technologies Foundation – GERT (BG) Labour behind the Label (UK) Slovak Centre for Communication and Development and Slovakia Gender - Centru (SK), Gender Centrum Moldova and AUR – National Association of Human Resources (RO). GERT and AUR will create a multiplier effect with respect to the distribution of learning approaches, contents and materials in other Eastern European EU member states.

For more information please contact Jivka Marinova from GERT at: gert@mbox.contact.bg

Source: KARAT Newsletter from 6th of May 2013

Stories from Slovenian Development Assistance in Montenegro

Institute Circle focuses its development work in the north of Montenegro, where a high poverty rate leads to many environmental, social, education and economic problem.

In April 2013, Institute Circle, in collaboration with Emma and the Centre for Social Work Šiška Ljubljana, organised a technical seminar for the judiciary and the police on domestic violence in Plav, Montenegro. The Director of the Centre for Social Work Plav, which is a partner organisation in the project, invited participants to work together, for a cooperation of governmental and non-governmental organisations, and she expressed a desire for better conditions and a lower level of violence in the city. Seminar participants signed a declaration against violence in the family and society. Seminar participants expressed the opinion that Montenegro needs to improve cooperation between non-governmental organisations, the judiciary and the police. They also agreed on the fact that any seminars on this topic are welcome because there is a lack of education of government organisations and all present participants wanted to help improve the current situation. Above all, it is very important to share the conscience that we are all responsible toward society and, consequently, we have a duty to declare any form of violence. For this is the purpose in Plav there will be implemented a local social campaign against violence “Instead slaps, give a flower”.

Another seminar was organised for employees of the Day Centre for Children with Special Needs in Lipa. The activity took place within a three-year development project, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia. Representative of the Embassy of Slovenia in Montenegro visited the Centre.

Further, representative of the Institute Circle visited children and teachers from three primary schools, that took part in the sustainable project "From the environment to the family", in years 2010, 2011 and 2012. The children spent a rehabilitation week in Slovenia. With children and teachers stories and experiences that from our holiday were revived, we laughed, joked and sung a few songs. The representatives of the Institute Circle were very glad to have the opportunity to meet all. It was a pleasant feeling to see that they thought of us, of the events in Slovenia and everything they have experienced with us in Slovenia, they are carrying in their hearts. We were pleased that our project left a great impression to them and that the positive results of their stay with us are visible.


Photo: Group of school children from the project "From the environment to the family"

Information provided by Emina Hadžić, Zavod KROG

More Than 11 000 People Worldwide Say YES to Inclusion!

With its campaign SAY YES TO INCLUSION, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is mobilising public support for the inclusion of persons with disabilities into development programmes.

With a High Level Meeting on Disability and Development taking place at the United Nations in New York on the 23rd September 2013, this campaign wants to bring a fresh voice to the debate. It sets out to encourage political leaders to take long-term decisions ensuring that all development programmes are inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities.

Over 11 000 people from 51 countries have said YES until now, by sending a photo or video of themselves making the YES sign in their local sign language. Check out the gallery to see the YESs collected so far.

Have you said YES yet?
This is a unique opportunity to show you and/or your organisation’s support to a fight against poverty that actively includes those who are often the most vulnerable members of the community: Send a photo or video of yourself, your team, your family making the YES sign to info@endexclusion.eu. Please also let us know where the photo was taken (town and country).

This campaign is an initiative of the End Exclusion – Let’s Enable the MDGs project, led by LIGHT FOR THE WORLD and funded by the European Union.

For more information, visit www.endexclusion.eu or contact info@endexclusion.eu.

Photo: Light for the World

Information provided by Jess Blijkers, Light for the World

EU-China-NGO-Twinning-Exchange-Programme

In order to strengthen alliances between civil society organizations in Europe and China the German Asia Foundation supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung launches the EU-China-NGO-Twinning-Exchange-Programme

The program is now open for applications.Deadline for application: 15th of June 2013 This exchange is designed as a twinning exchange, i.e. two organizations working on similar thematic issues exchange a member of their staff. Members of staff will be given the opportunity to work and study in Europe or China for 4-8 weeks. The period of stay in the partner country is scheduled for September/October (in Europe) and November/December (in China). The participants will take part in preparatory seminars. The goal of this program is to establish long-term cooperation between Chinese and European NGOs, to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and to obtain a better understanding of developments in both regions.

Participating organizations and participants should be able to provide an English working environment. Organizations from all thematic areas dealing with environmental and social justice are welcome to apply.

Please see the application document for detailed information.
Please send your application to the following address: eu-china-ngo-twinning@asienhaus.de.

For more information and any queries please contact: mailto:inga.gebauer@asienhaus.de

Information provided by German Asia Foundation

EC Annual Action Plan 2013: Rules and Priorities for Upcoming Calls

The European Commission (EC) has published its Annual Action Programme (AAP) 2013 for Non-State Actors and Local Authorities (NSA-LA) in Development.

The AAP contains rules and priorities for the upcoming calls under this programme as well as the amounts available for which country. This information is relevant when preparing concept notes under NSA LA calls for proposals. Detailed information is to be found in the Annexes. Relevant for activities in Global Education (Objective 2) is Action Fiche 11.

Thematic priorities for Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) activities will be public support for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) agenda with focus on Africa and Policy Coherence for Development (PCD). Interventions supported under this programme will follow two main approaches, namely Global Learning either within or outside the formal education system and Campaigning/ Advocacy.

The indicative amount for 2013 for this component of the thematic programme amounts to EUR 28 million. For Local Authorities there will be additional an amount of EUR 7 million summing this up to EUR 35 million for raising public awareness of development issues and promoting development education in the European Union.

AAP 2013 is available here and Action Fiches here.
Dates for Calls are to be found here. 

Information provided by Ulrike Bey, TRIALOG

Czech Republic Becomes Member of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC)

On May 14, 2013 the Czech Republic has become a full member of OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and thus joined the world's 25 most developed donors which together provide as much as 95 % of total global development aid.

After 18 years of membership in OECD, the Czech Republic has completed its transformation from being a recipient to becoming a donor of development aid. Just in 1995, the Czech Republic joined OECD and renewed its national program of development assistance. Currently the Czech Republic provides 0,12 % of its GNI to aid.

The Czech Republic is the first country among the new EU member states which becomes a part of this prestigious club. “The decision of DAC to offer the Czech Republic full membership is wonderful news, a positive assessment of the transformation which the Czech development cooperation has gone through. Czech development cooperation is to a great extent professional. There is still a long way to go, but we are approaching the experienced donor countries“, says Šimon Pánek, the director of the Czech NGO People in Need. At the same time, becoming a full member of DAC represents further requirements for the Czech Republic on the effectiveness of its national development assistance program. “I hope that our membership in DAC will contribute to a higher quality of the provided aid, of its system and the way it is distributed, in accordance with the basic principles of development cooperation“, adds Šimon Pánek.

The recommendation of OECD in this sense focuses mainly on the issue of so called “tied aid“, meaning aid where the donors condition the realization of the development project by purchasing only goods and services from its own country. “The purpose of the Czech development assistance shouldn´t be a support of the Czech goods or services“, explains Jana Milérová, the director of FoRS - the Czech Forum for Development Cooperation. Šimon Pánek appreciates that: “the Czech programs and projects are mostly designed in order to really help and not to primarily support the interests of donor or implementing entities.“ The first step for the Czech Republic is to establish a monitoring of the tied aid, which will permit its reduction. By entering DAC, the main international forum for development assistance, the Czech Republic, so far an observer, can better profit from the shared international experience. The possibility to vote on the Committee decisions and become actively involved in the debate on the future of development assistance is another important gain.

Among other countries that initiated the preparation process of entering DAC or at least expressed an interest to do so, belong Slovenia, Slovakia and Poland. The last member which entered DAC was Iceland this March.

For more information, please contact Jana Milérová, the director of FoRS - the Czech Forum for Development Cooperation, jana.milerova@fors.cz

Source: Press Release from FoRS available here. 

Making Migration a Driver for Development

The EU Commission has released a new communication that looks at how migration can contribute to development. Entitled “Maximising the Development Impact of Migration”, the communication will provide the starting point for the EU’s position at a meeting on migration and development to be held in October. According to Andris Piebalgs, the EU Commissioner responsible for Development, “migration should be recognised as a driver of inclusive economic, social and environmental development” which is reflected in the EU Commission’s work with nearly €1 billion’s worth of migration-related projects have been put in place.

Read more here. 

Source: CONCORD EU Monitoring Newsletter from 23/05/2013

Vote and Share Your Ideas: You can Change the NGO Sector

These are challenging times for the fight against poverty and injustice. The current unsustainable economic model and its consequences requires new answers from all of us. CONCORD needs to take on a new role and tell citizens, professionals and politicians a new and sharper story about who we are and what we believe in.

How will my idea make a difference?
Because it feeds directly into the solutions that CONCORD will use to help reshape the future of NGOs. On June 5-6, 2013 CONCORD will hold its 10th General Assembly where we will discuss your ideas, your concerns and concrete suggestions for action. Write your own ideas and suggestions in 1 of 4 categories – Give up 10 votes to any ideas you or others come up with.

Got questions?
Feel free to write us at soledad.briones@concordeurope.org

Participate online!

Information provided by CONCORD

Strengthen Links with the Western Balkans

Under the title “Civil Society Transformations on the Way to the European Union”, Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations (TACSO) hosted an international Conference from 17 – 19 April 2013 in Zagreb, Croatia. TRIALOG director Christine Bedoya was in Zagreb and spoke about TRIALOG's experience in "Linking EU and Western Balkans through Development Cooperation".

The Conference presented experiences and challenges, which the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are facing in the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey, during the European Union (EU) accession process. Interesting speakers with experience in civil sector guaranteed that the Conference covered various topics that were not opened before. Christine Bedoya reports, that there is a very high interest of Balkan CSOs to participate in development projects on European levels, also beyond IPA funding. Under the new EC funding guidelines it is expected that also Balkan countries will be eligible to apply for Development Education grants.

Find out more about the conference on the TACSO website and download the TRIALOG presentation here.

Source: TACSO /TRIALOG

Towards Post-2015 with Unique Experiences: Discussion in Latvia

LAPAS invites you to discuss: Towards Post-2015 with Unique Experiences: Is there anything to contribute from EU12 perspective? Special guests A.Piebalgs (European Commissioner for Development) and René Mauricio Valdés (UNDP).

Date: 14.06.2013
Time: 11:30 - 15:30
Place: MFA, Kr.Valdemāra ielā 3, Riga, Latvia
Working language: English
Registration till 02.06.2013 by filling the registration form 

Background
In September 2010, the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals requested the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) to make recommendations to advance the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015. In order to respond to this task the UNSG has initiated a broad process of consultations and debates aimed at defining a “development framework” to substitute the current Millennium Development Goals when their deadline is reached in 2015. Thousands of civil society organizations worldwide have actively participated in consultations. Often they have initiated consultations and launched their own events. CONCORD as the European NGO confederation for relief and development has taken an active role in shaping the new development framework.

The aim of this debate is within EU12 (EU member states after 2004):
• to understand the role of NGOs in framing post-2015 agenda;
• to examine the negotiation results at EU level and worldwide;
• to get to know if there are EU12 specific objectives for post-2015 framework;
• to inspire national level activities to stir up debate in EU12.

Agenda available online.
 
There is a possibility for all participants to share their information on development cooperation, development education, post-2015.

The discussion is organised in cooperation with Nordic Council of Ministers, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, TRIALOG. Project partners: Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU, Eastern Europe Studies Center, Estonian Roundtable for Development.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Evija Goluba: evija.goluba@gmail.com 

Information provided by LAPAS

The Romanian Development Camp: New Strategic Perspectives for the Romanian Development Cooperation

The Romanian NGDO Platform FOND will organise together with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 6th edition of the Romanian Development Camp (RDC) from 15th to 17th of July 2013. This is a unique event which takes place annually and aims at reuniting the national community of actors active in development cooperation: governmental actors, civil society, experts from European and international donors, partner countries, academia, local authorities, mass-media and the private sector.

This year’s edition is part of a process which started in 2012 and initiated a multi-actor revision of the national strategy on development cooperation. As a result, a joint action plan and policy recommendations for 2012-2013 were disseminated among the main important actors. This edition will bring new strategic perspectives for the Romanian development cooperation, based on other EU countries and experiences. The main focus will be to discuss the first draft of the new national strategy.

Among the guests invited will be representatives from European institutions - EC, OECD, EU countries, Romania’s partner countries (Republic of Moldova, Egypt, and Tunisia). The sessions will be structured in a very participatory way, giving the opportunity to share ideas, best practices and solutions and to ensure a proper participation and input from all the stakeholders. The RDC will also engage the national community in the European debates on relevant topics such as Beyond 2015 and Multiannual Financial Framework, 2014-2020.

FOND invites representatives from EU12 Platforms to join this event. If you have experience with similar processes on elaborating/ revising development cooperation strategies and working with the relevant institutions in this field, please contact the Romanian NGDO Platform, Adriana Zaharia, Liaison Officer – adriana.zaharia@fondromania.org (deadline 3rd of June, 2013).

Information provided by Adriana Zaharia, FOND

A Decent Life for All: European Development Days 2013

European Development Days (EDDs) is Europe's premier forum on development cooperation committed to eradicating poverty and ensuring a sustainable development by engaging international organisations, business, political, academic and civil society leaders to shape a new development agenda. It brings together thousands of development stakeholders, practitioners and advocates, in informal sessions for though-provoking debates, exchanges of best practices, networking and brainstorming of creative solutions.

Thread, themes and topics
The thread of this year's edition, which will take place in Brussels from 26-27 November 2013, is the post-2015 debate and the need to build a consensus for a strong common European position in advocating a joined-up approach to address global poverty and sustainable development. The working title is "A decent life for all by 2030 - Building a consensus for a new development agenda".

This year's forum will be structured around four themes:
- Scaling up and improving the ongoing work
- Upholding universal rights and values
- Ensuring inclusiveness and sustainability
- Acting together in coherence

To discover the topics to be addressed during the 8th edition of the European Development Days, please consult the Programme overview and visit the website.

Information provided by EDD Secretariat

Putting People and Planet First: Business as usual is not an option

Human rights and a focus on the multidimensional scope of poverty should be at the centre of the agenda that replaces the Millennium Development Goals - due to expire in less than two years’ time - according to a new position from CONCORD’s Beyond 2015 European Taskforce. The report was presented to the European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, and the European Commissioner for the Enivironment Janez Potočnik on 2 May in Brussels.

Progress on healthcare and education but poverty still major problem
The United Nations established 8 anti-poverty goals in the year 2000, with huge progress achieved in areas such as healthcare, education and millions more have access to safe drinking water. Yet poverty still affects billions of people across the world. And the world is a very different place to when the goals were designed at the turn of the century. A number of challenges, such as climate change, have emerged while others such as inequality have taken deeper root, while the systems by which we live our lives have been shown to serve the interests of only a select few, unsustainable and destructive in the long term.

A new approach to tackling poverty
The position proposes that poverty be looked at from a multi-dimensional perspective that encompasses a shortage of capabilities, choices, security and power as well as resources such as income. “Measurements of Gross Domestic Product fail to capture the entire picture as benefits of growth are not shared equally. We therefore propose focusing on a well-being measure rather than having a goal on income poverty alone which would be used as an overarching indicator comprehensively measuring the outcome of the whole framework. “
The interlinked nature of issues must be reflected in a comprehensive post-2015 framework which addresses all three dimensions of sustainability (social, economic and environmental).

Not just for developing countries
Given the nature and scale of the global challenges the world is facing, it is no longer possible to imagine a framework which is designed predominantly for implementation by developing countries. The post-2015 framework must be universal, with global goals pertaining to all countries and all countries contributing to their achievement. Key principles for a post-2015 framework First and foremost, the principles of human rights like equality, and nondiscrimination, participation, empowerment and responsibility. Therefore the most marginalised must be prioritised including girls’ and women’s empowerment through gender equality.

Download the report here.

Source: CONCORD

The CIVICUS State of Civil Society 2013 Report

The State of Civil Society 2013 Report presents insights from over 50 civil society experts from around the world.

Alongside the report, CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation is publishing a draft methodology for an Enabling Environment Index (EEI) that seeks to measure how well countries around the world are doing on creating positive conditions for civil society.

Amidst the challenges facing civil society, the CIVICUS State of Civil Society 2013 report highlights good practices around the world and challenges on the horizon for citizens and civil society around the world.



Download the full report or read its summary.








Source: CIVICUS

Guide to European Funding for the Non-profit Sector

If you are looking for funding opportunities, this guide, published by European Citizens Action Service (ECAS) represents an essential starting point to finding your way through the labyrinth of EU funding.

The Guide provides you not only:
- Information on relevant internal and external Budget lines along with useful contact details
- Information and contact details on the Pre-Accession Instrument and the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument as well as the Structural Funds
- Advice on co-funding, including a list of European Foundations

But also:
- An overview on how the EU Budget is created and operates
- Handy tips on how to gain EU funding
- A look forward to future funding developments

Download the order form and send it to publication@ecas.org



Source: ECAS

Comics for Equality: A Creative Call for Migrant Artists

The “ComiX4= Comics for Equality Award” is a competition for artists with migrant backgrounds living in an EU country or in a country on the way to EU membership (Western Balkan and Turkey).

The Award is part of the a project funded by the European Union and is led by Africa e Mediterraneo  (Italy), in partnership with NGO Mondo (Estonia), Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (Bulgaria), ARCA (Romania) and Grafiskie stasti (Latvia). The project fosters intercultural dialogue to combat racism, xenophobia and discrimination in Europe, with a particular focus on Italy, Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania and Latvia.

Until 30th of June 2013, comic strip authors can submit their contributions under the three categories: The fight against racism, stories of migration and stereotypes and win EUR 1000.

For details, please see the call or visit the project website.


Comic: www.comix4equality.eu


Information provided by Michela Bignami, Africa e Mediterraneo