Against the backdrop of rising food prices and a growing global economic crisis with detrimental impact on the world’s poor, European development Ministers convened at an informal meeting in Bordeaux. European civil society representatives addressed the ministers, urging them to fulfil their responsibilities to increase financial flows to developing countries, as well as actions to clamp down on capital flight.
CONCORD, the European Confederation of Development NGOs urged ministers to agree an ambitious and specific common EU position for the United Nations “Financing for Development” summit which starts on 29 November. Citizens in developing countries have little impact on the decisions of global traders who have abused and destabilised the financial system, but they will feel the effects of the financial crisis for years to come. The civil society organisations present in Bordeaux called for low-income countries to also be represented at the proposed Bretton Woods II conference to ensure their interests are represented when the financial system is reviewed.
Henri Rouille d’Orfeuil, President of Coordination SUD, the platform of French development NGOs, commented “It is essential that at this time of crisis Europe looks for a way forward, and does not signal that it is walking away from its political commitments and abandoning developing countries.”
“Money leaked through capital flight from developing countries to rich countries is an estimated 300 billion euros per year,” says Alex Wilks, Director of the European Network on Debt and Development. “This is an unforgiveable situation, and European governments must immediately take action to regulate the many European tax havens.”
CONCORD called upon EU Member States to agree a strong and unified European position on the Doha Financing for Development process. They urged heads of State to attend the conference in November to ensure real progress can be made in reforming the financial system in the interests of all citizens in Europe and in developing countries.
For further information, please visit http://www.concordeurope.org/
Source: CONCORD Press release, 30th September, 2008; Information provided by Agnes Philippart, CONCORD
Thursday, 30 October 2008
The EU and its neighbourhood in a changing world
The Polish think tank, demosEUROPA – Centre for European Strategy, has published a report/policy paper about "The European Union and its neighbourhood in a changing world. Defining a new strategic relationship with the Eastern and Southern neighbours." The publication is available by following this link:
http://www.demoseuropa.eu/upload/editor/demos/File/demosEUROPA_The%20European%20Union%20and%20its%20neighbourhood%20in%20a%20changing%20world..pdf
Information provided by Marta Pejda, Polish NGDO platform Grupa Zagranica, marta@zagranica.org.pl
http://www.demoseuropa.eu/upload/editor/demos/File/demosEUROPA_The%20European%20Union%20and%20its%20neighbourhood%20in%20a%20changing%20world..pdf
Information provided by Marta Pejda, Polish NGDO platform Grupa Zagranica, marta@zagranica.org.pl
Joint EC funded project to stop malaria calls for public support
Malaria continues to be a major threat to health and development in many endemic countries, leading to about 1 million deaths annually. STOP MALARIA NOW! is a two-year awareness campaign of nine non-governmental organisations from Germany, Italy, Kenya, Poland, Spain and Switzerland aiming to increase awareness about malaria and to remind European decision-makers of the urgency to act in order to prevent more than one million malaria-deaths every year and to combat malaria in the long-run. The search for a new member state partner in the project consortium was facilitated by TRIALOG and the cooperation with the Polish NGO further deepened during a TRIALOG training in preparation of the EC Call to which the consortium applied successfully.
With the slogan “Show your face against malaria” STOP MALARIA NOW! calls for public support to increase political, strategic, and financial commitments on behalf of European governments to fight the illness. Everyone is encouraged to upload his or her photo on the campaign website as a sign of support. All photos will be included in an Africa-shaped photo mosaic, which will be handed to the European Commission and other relevant decision-makers at the end of 2009. Every single photo makes a difference.
Join campaigners across the globe and be a part of an international action against malaria. Take action and show your face against malaria using the following link: http://www.stopmalarianow.org/your-face.html
For further information please contact Antje Mangelsdorf, Project Coordinator, STOP MALARIA NOW! at: info@stopmalarianow.org
Information provided by Antje Mangelsdorf, STOP MALARIA NOW!
Join campaigners across the globe and be a part of an international action against malaria. Take action and show your face against malaria using the following link: http://www.stopmalarianow.org/your-face.html
For further information please contact Antje Mangelsdorf, Project Coordinator, STOP MALARIA NOW! at: info@stopmalarianow.org
Information provided by Antje Mangelsdorf, STOP MALARIA NOW!
Volunteer Network Project in Cyprus
Every year thousands and thousands of people volunteer for different causes all over the world. It has become a ‘second nature’ of individuals to offer their services to the many sectors that always need volunteers - whether it is the health sector, education sector, environment sector, arts and culture sector, youth or development sector.
As it has been seen worldwide what volunteers can achieve for a good cause, the Turkish Cypriot organisation 'The Management Centre' along with the Greek Cypriot partner 'The NGO Support Centre' has been implementing the Voluntee
r Network Project within the island in order to raise awareness for volunteerism. Nearly all civil society organisations (CSOs) in Cyprus require the assistance of volunteers to help them meet their organisations' goals.
r Network Project within the island in order to raise awareness for volunteerism. Nearly all civil society organisations (CSOs) in Cyprus require the assistance of volunteers to help them meet their organisations' goals. Through extensive advertising of the volunteer network project, posters, brochures and stickers have been created and disseminated to all ends of the island. Meetings with a steering committee and an advisiory board have been convened throughout the lifecycle of the project so that the project team has always been in touch with what the CSOs wanted to achieve and what they understood by the term ‘volunteer’. Television advertisements and radio annoucements have been accepted by most of the media who supported the projects aims. The project has already managed to match individuals with CSOs and still continues to do so.
A volunteer website http://www.volunteercyprus.org/ has been established and is frequently updated. A database of CSOs needing volunteers and individuals that want to be a volunteer has been created and will be uploaded to the website.
For further details on the island-wide project and how to become a volunteer in Cyprus please contact Tulin Aker taker@mc-med.org or Tanyel Oktar toktar@mc-med.org.
For further details on the island-wide project and how to become a volunteer in Cyprus please contact Tulin Aker taker@mc-med.org or Tanyel Oktar toktar@mc-med.org.
Information provided by Tulin Aker, taker@mc-med.org
Millenium Development Goals Report 2008
According to the UN’s Millennium Development Goals Report 2008, "the world has made strong and sustained progress in reducing extreme poverty, but this is now being undercut by higher prices - particularly of food and oil - and the global economic slowdown".
Find the UN report at the following link:
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/The%20Millennium%20Development%20Goals%20Report%202008.pdf
To read about the high-level event in New York on 25 September 2008, convened by the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN General Assembly to renew commitments to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and to set out concrete plans and practical steps for action, please visit: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2008highlevel/
Source: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals
Find the UN report at the following link:
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/The%20Millennium%20Development%20Goals%20Report%202008.pdf
To read about the high-level event in New York on 25 September 2008, convened by the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN General Assembly to renew commitments to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and to set out concrete plans and practical steps for action, please visit: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2008highlevel/
Source: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals
Terra Viva Grants: Website about grants in the green sector
Terra Viva Grants is a new website for identifying where to look for grants in the "green sectors" of international development. The website includes profiles of about 300 grant makers worldwide in agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources.
The profiles of grant makers can be browsed in lists, or searched in a database to speed up filtering and comparison. Users can search for grants made by foundations and NGOs, companies, government organizations, and international organizations. Grants are for technical assistance (development projects), education and capacity building, research, and prizes and awards.
Access to the website is free. Visit it at: http://www.terravivagrants.org/
Terra Viva Grants welcomes partners who are willing to recommend grant-making organizations to add to the profiles, and to translate the site into languages other than English. For further information or if you would like to place a link to Terra Viva Grants on your website, please contact Jan Laarman at terravivagrants@gmail.com.
Information provided by Jan Laarman, Terra Viva Grants
The profiles of grant makers can be browsed in lists, or searched in a database to speed up filtering and comparison. Users can search for grants made by foundations and NGOs, companies, government organizations, and international organizations. Grants are for technical assistance (development projects), education and capacity building, research, and prizes and awards.
Access to the website is free. Visit it at: http://www.terravivagrants.org/
Terra Viva Grants welcomes partners who are willing to recommend grant-making organizations to add to the profiles, and to translate the site into languages other than English. For further information or if you would like to place a link to Terra Viva Grants on your website, please contact Jan Laarman at terravivagrants@gmail.com.
Information provided by Jan Laarman, Terra Viva Grants
International Fellowship Programme: Call for Applications
The International Fellowship Programme for Learning and Exchange in Philanthropy (IFP) invites applications and searches for host institutions for its fourth round, beginning in spring 2009. This programme offers European foundation and NGO staff (young leaders as well as executives) the opportunity to work for up to 6 weeks in non-profit host institutions abroad. For every programme cycle, approximately 10 to 15 fellows are accepted. Two categories of fellowships (fully funded and partly funded) have been defined.
The deadline for applications is Friday, 14 November 2008. Fellowships will usually take place between March and September 2009, with a minimum duration of three and a maximum of six (in exceptional cases eight) weeks. Detailed information and the application form are available at http://www.efc.be/ifp.
The IFP was launched in 2005 by a group of European and international donors. From 2005 until 2008, a total of 51 fellows were supported, working in fields such as the environment, youth, community development and business-NGO relations.
Information provided by European Foundation Centre, ifp@efc.be
The deadline for applications is Friday, 14 November 2008. Fellowships will usually take place between March and September 2009, with a minimum duration of three and a maximum of six (in exceptional cases eight) weeks. Detailed information and the application form are available at http://www.efc.be/ifp.
The IFP was launched in 2005 by a group of European and international donors. From 2005 until 2008, a total of 51 fellows were supported, working in fields such as the environment, youth, community development and business-NGO relations.
Information provided by European Foundation Centre, ifp@efc.be
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Nov. 8, 2008: Conference on Youth Inclusion and Youth Participation in Cyprus
On Saturday, 8 November 2008 youth from Cyprus will meet with other youth from 11 European Union countries at the "European Conference on Youth Inclusion and Youth Participation" in Larnaca, Cyprus. They will hear from distinguished leaders across Europe, present results of an International Youth Survey, discuss outputs of regional youth Structured Dialogues held in Cyprus, Italy and Romania and present a joint declaration on citizenship and youth participation across Europe.
This conference is part of the European Union Youth in Action Programme project called "UCYVROK" which is short for "Uniting for Citizenship and participation: Youth promoting Vulnerable groups' Rights, Opportunities and Knowledge". The UCYVROK project is coordinated by a Cypriot non-governmental organisation, Future Worlds Center, and is implemented in partnership with eleven youth non-governmental organisations from across Europe.
Confirmed speakers at the conference include Panayiotis Demetriou, MEP from Cyprus, and Jaco Cilliers, Programme Manager from the United Nations Development Programme - Action for Cooperation and Trust (UNDP-ACT).
For more information please visit http://fwcis.blogspot.com/ or contact Project Coordinator Larry Fergeson at Future Worlds Center, larry.fergeson.cyprus@gmail.com
Information provided by the Future Worlds Center, Cyprus, futureworldscenter@gmail.com
This conference is part of the European Union Youth in Action Programme project called "UCYVROK" which is short for "Uniting for Citizenship and participation: Youth promoting Vulnerable groups' Rights, Opportunities and Knowledge". The UCYVROK project is coordinated by a Cypriot non-governmental organisation, Future Worlds Center, and is implemented in partnership with eleven youth non-governmental organisations from across Europe.
Confirmed speakers at the conference include Panayiotis Demetriou, MEP from Cyprus, and Jaco Cilliers, Programme Manager from the United Nations Development Programme - Action for Cooperation and Trust (UNDP-ACT).
For more information please visit http://fwcis.blogspot.com/ or contact Project Coordinator Larry Fergeson at Future Worlds Center, larry.fergeson.cyprus@gmail.com
Information provided by the Future Worlds Center, Cyprus, futureworldscenter@gmail.com
Nov. 15-17, 2008: European Development Days, Strasbourg
The third edition of the European Development Days (EDD), a meeting of different development cooperation stakeholders and decision makers organised by the European Commission, will take place in Strasbourg (France) on November 15-17, 2008.
This year, the central theme will be "local authorities and development"; eg. twinning initiatives between local authorities in the "North" and "South" will be encouraged. A lot of organisations, including NGOs, will present themselves in the so-called "Development Village".
Humanis, a French network of NGOs from the Strasbourg region, is inviting to a common reflection on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 entitled "European Meeting of NGO networks: key actors for development aid". The meeting will bring together NGO networks from old and new EU member states in order to share experiences and practices, to identify the expectations of each network and to build partnerships. A few parallel workshops will be offered. TRIALOG Director Christine Bedoya will lead a workshop on cooperation between NGO platforms from old and new EU member states and participate in the conference debate on "European NGO Platforms : Essentials Actors for Development Cooperation." Download the meeting programme from http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/european_meeting_ngo_networks.pdf.
For further information on the Humanis meeting, please visit http://www.humanis.org/ or contact Julie Martineau, martineau@humanis.org.
For more information and the agenda of the entire Development Days please visit the official EDD website: http://www.eudevdays.eu/Public/index_en.html
Sources: http://www.eudevdays.eu/Public/index_en.html and information provided by Julie Martineau, Humanis.
This year, the central theme will be "local authorities and development"; eg. twinning initiatives between local authorities in the "North" and "South" will be encouraged. A lot of organisations, including NGOs, will present themselves in the so-called "Development Village".
Humanis, a French network of NGOs from the Strasbourg region, is inviting to a common reflection on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 entitled "European Meeting of NGO networks: key actors for development aid". The meeting will bring together NGO networks from old and new EU member states in order to share experiences and practices, to identify the expectations of each network and to build partnerships. A few parallel workshops will be offered. TRIALOG Director Christine Bedoya will lead a workshop on cooperation between NGO platforms from old and new EU member states and participate in the conference debate on "European NGO Platforms : Essentials Actors for Development Cooperation." Download the meeting programme from http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/european_meeting_ngo_networks.pdf.
For further information on the Humanis meeting, please visit http://www.humanis.org/ or contact Julie Martineau, martineau@humanis.org.
For more information and the agenda of the entire Development Days please visit the official EDD website: http://www.eudevdays.eu/Public/index_en.html
Sources: http://www.eudevdays.eu/Public/index_en.html and information provided by Julie Martineau, Humanis.
Nov. 15-23, 2008: Global Education Week
The tenth annual European Global Education Week (GEW) will take place from the 15th to the 23rd of November 2008, at the initiative of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.The Global Education Week (also known in some countries as One World Week) supports teachers, youth leaders, young people and other formal and non-formal educational constituencies to engage in education for global citizenship; and enhances the effectiveness of this endeavour nationally and throughout Europe, through co-ordination of initiatives and sharing of best practices. All schools and youth organisations in the Council of Europe’s member States are invited to take part in the event, as well as any other interested educational practitioners.
For more information, e.g. about national contacts and activities, please visit the Global Education Week webpage: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/GE/GEW/0GEW2008_en.asp#TopOfPage
Source: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/default_EN.asp
Advance Notice: WorldAidsConference 2010 in Vienna
Following the World Aids Conference 2008 in Mexico City, Vienna will host the next WorldAidsConference from July 18-23 in 2010.
The World Aids Conference seeks impact on the emerging epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. 33.2 million people live currently with HIV, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa, 1.6 million in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Between 2001 and 2007 the number of HIV positive people has grown by 150% in this region.
Nearly 90% of the newly reported HIV diagnoses in this region in 2006 were from two countries – the Russian Federation (66%) and the Ukraine (21%). Numbers from the Central Asian countries are increasing continuously. Regarding the mode of transmission, as far as reported in 2006, it was attributed to injecting drug use in two thirds of cases, but in more than one third it was ascribed to unprotected heterosexual intercourse. Migration and trafficking makes particularly women highly vulnerable to become infected.
In the Austrian capital where 15 years ago the UN World conference on Human Rights took place, the link between HIV/Aids and Violations of Human Rights will certainly be a focus. The International Aids Society (http://www.iasociety.org/), the main organizer of the conference, hopes that political leaders, scientists, NGO activists and HIV positive people themselves will be able to participate and take the opportunity to present their work and ideas and exchange experience with actors of other world regions who are involved in the fight against the pandemic.
Development NGOs from new member states and accessing countries are invited to participate! Contact the Community Forum Austria (CFA), an NGO Network which prepares the civil society participation in the conference and the global village – an NGO Fair, where it will be possible to have a stand.
For further information on the 2010 conference please contact Christine Keplinger from CFA at keplinger@aids.at or have a look on the internet page of the upcoming conference: http://www.aids2010.org
Further links:
The Austrian Aids Assistance Organisation in Vienna coordinates the CFA: http://www.aids.at. The Austrian Action Alliance against HIV/Aids consists mainly of NGDOs working with HIV/Aids affected people in their projects and is part of CFA: http://www.aidskampagne.at. World Vision Austria is member of both networks: http://www.worldvision.at/
Information provided by Lisa Sterzinger, World Vision Austria, lisa.sterziner@worldvision.at
WIDE conference 2008: Feminist visions for a just Europe
The WIDE Annual Conference 2008 "Feminist Visions for a Just Europe" took place in The Hague, Netherlands, on October 9-11.
The conference documentation including some presentations, radio- interviews and the daily feminist news are available on the following websites:
http://www.wide-network.org/
http://feministvisionsforeurope.blogspot.com/
Source: http://www.wide-network.org
The conference documentation including some presentations, radio- interviews and the daily feminist news are available on the following websites:
http://www.wide-network.org/
http://feministvisionsforeurope.blogspot.com/
Source: http://www.wide-network.org
DE Times - October 2008
The new issue of the Development Education (DE) Times is now available on the website of DEEEP, the Development Education Exchange in Europe Project.
Download it from http://www.deeep.org or use the direct link http://www.deeep.org/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/DE_Times/DE_Times_October_2008.pdf
Information provided by Chiara Tripepi, DEEEP
Download it from http://www.deeep.org or use the direct link http://www.deeep.org/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/DE_Times/DE_Times_October_2008.pdf
Information provided by Chiara Tripepi, DEEEP
CONCORD Flash - Summer 2008
The summer issue of the CONCORD Flash - which reports the latest news from the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development - was released in October.
During the three months (July-September) there were four major development-related meetings: the G8, the UN Development Cooperation Forum, the Accra High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness and the meeting of EU development ministers. In collaboration with other civil society organisations, CONCORD mobilised its forces to make its voice heard at these events.
Download the Flash from the publication section of the CONCORD website http://www.concordeurope.org/ or use the direct link: http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/internetdocumentsENG/4_Publications/1_CONCORD_Flash/Flash2008/Summer-Flash-EN.pdf
Information provided by Agnes Philippart, CONCORD
During the three months (July-September) there were four major development-related meetings: the G8, the UN Development Cooperation Forum, the Accra High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness and the meeting of EU development ministers. In collaboration with other civil society organisations, CONCORD mobilised its forces to make its voice heard at these events.
Download the Flash from the publication section of the CONCORD website http://www.concordeurope.org/ or use the direct link: http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/internetdocumentsENG/4_Publications/1_CONCORD_Flash/Flash2008/Summer-Flash-EN.pdf
Information provided by Agnes Philippart, CONCORD
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