The steering group of the working group on Enlargement, Pre-Accession and Neighbourhood (EPAN) met at the beginning of July to update one another on the work that has progressed since the working group met as a whole in Vienna in March, and to plan the next few months before the next meeting in Brussels in October.
Things have been progressing in each of the working group’s three subgroups – on eastern neighbourhood, southern neighbourhood and pre-accession. The group exchanged information about events that have been held and discussed the pressing issues in each case. These include the lack of progress in the Union for the Mediterranean, how to engage most effectively in the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, which will meet again in November and moving forward the building of links with grassroots organisations in the Western Balkans and Turkey.
There was also discussion on the importance of linking EPAN work more closely with CONCORD priorities and processes, including southern engagement, where the Mediterranean has been identified as a priority for 2011.
The group finalised a date for the next meeting – 5/6 October 2010 and drafted a framework agenda. The agenda will include sessions on various topics: how to engage in the southern neighbourhood given the fact that the political process of the Union for the Mediterranean has stalled, with a guest speaker from another sector – an environmental NGO; how to link the MDGs with the neighbourhood following the MDG summit in September, with a guest speaker from the UNDP; a follow-up session on the European Transition Compendium with a guest speaker from DG external Relations of the European Commission and the usual sessions of information sharing, presidency updates and CONCORD priorities.
More information about the next EPAN working group meeting will be made available on the CONCORD extranet.
Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG
Friday, 23 July 2010
New EC Report on Development Cooperation in 2009
At the end of June, the European Commission adopted its Annual Report on the EU's development cooperation in 2009. Divided into 5 main parts (Policy, Implementation, Featured Articles, Performance and Results, and Aid Management) the report reminds yet once again, that the EC prides itself with being the second largest provider of development aid in the world, discusses the broad policy objectives and principles of actions of the EC and outlines the range of new financial instruments adopted by the EC in order to tackle the development challenges of the present and covers the programmes implemented in 140 countries.
The policy priorities outlined are not new to the ears of development workers: coherence, mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues, effectiveness and multi-actor cooperation. The EC promises to continue its work both with traditional donors and emerging partners and to keep the policy coherence very high on the agenda. In the implementation section, the report outlines all the funding instruments.
For the "Non-State actors and local authorities in development" budget line the section states the importance of this line in bringing participation into development projects, and mentions, that from the 53 projects monitored in 2009 (4% of the total number of projects) "In general, the ongoing CMTP [centrally managed thematic projects] which were monitored performed in a positive way in 2009 with regard to all five criteria. No projects with overall really serious deficiencies were identified." The performance, according to the ROM (results-oriented monitoring) seems satisfactory (see graph below), especially in the areas of relevance and impact with efficiency and effectiveness needing some improvement.
However, the Commission identifies some areas which need closer thought and consideration: a) more attention to the analysis of problems, risks and needs during the early programming phase; b) continuous monitoring and readjustment from project managers and c) better and closer involvement of various stakeholders. The report ends with a graphical representation which summarizes the main data on development assistance in 2009. Overall, the document encompasses some food for thought, some good statistics and definitely a worth-while reading for anybody working on Development Cooperation in the EU.
The policy priorities outlined are not new to the ears of development workers: coherence, mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues, effectiveness and multi-actor cooperation. The EC promises to continue its work both with traditional donors and emerging partners and to keep the policy coherence very high on the agenda. In the implementation section, the report outlines all the funding instruments.
For the "Non-State actors and local authorities in development" budget line the section states the importance of this line in bringing participation into development projects, and mentions, that from the 53 projects monitored in 2009 (4% of the total number of projects) "In general, the ongoing CMTP [centrally managed thematic projects] which were monitored performed in a positive way in 2009 with regard to all five criteria. No projects with overall really serious deficiencies were identified." The performance, according to the ROM (results-oriented monitoring) seems satisfactory (see graph below), especially in the areas of relevance and impact with efficiency and effectiveness needing some improvement.
However, the Commission identifies some areas which need closer thought and consideration: a) more attention to the analysis of problems, risks and needs during the early programming phase; b) continuous monitoring and readjustment from project managers and c) better and closer involvement of various stakeholders. The report ends with a graphical representation which summarizes the main data on development assistance in 2009. Overall, the document encompasses some food for thought, some good statistics and definitely a worth-while reading for anybody working on Development Cooperation in the EU.
Performance by evaluation criteria
The full report is available on the EC Website http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/publications/publications/annual-reports/2010_en.htm
Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG
Capacity Building in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene - open for application
The Austrian Red Cross conducts a training program in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene in disaster relief and development cooperation. Between September 2010 and June 2011 a range of different training events offer the opportunity for humanitarian actors to build up capacities in the WatSan sector. Beginners as well as advanced relief workers will find workshops that suit to their levels. For example, a WatSan Induction Workshop will be held on 21st and 22nd September 2010 in Romania. The Application process is now open until 9th of August.
Participation, accomodation and meals are covered due to the support of the European Commissions Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO). Find more details at www.redcross.at/watsan . The trainings might also be an excellent possibility to strengthen the capacities of local implementing partners in developing countries. We are looking forwards to receive applications. The complete Training Porgramme you find here.
Information provided by Jürg Graf, Austrian Red Cross
Participation, accomodation and meals are covered due to the support of the European Commissions Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO). Find more details at www.redcross.at/watsan . The trainings might also be an excellent possibility to strengthen the capacities of local implementing partners in developing countries. We are looking forwards to receive applications. The complete Training Porgramme you find here.
Information provided by Jürg Graf, Austrian Red Cross
CONCORD General Assembly: one and only one
For its sole general assembly of the year, CONCORD dealt with a consistent pack of statutory matters, reforming its way to approve its budget, defining its members’ fee for 2011 and welcoming its 43rd member: the Bulgarian platform. 4 board members were also elected. Amongst them are Andrea Maksimovic from Solidar (re-elected), Harry Goddard from Plan, Daniel Verger from Caritas Europa and Johannes Trimmel from the Austrian Platform. They are replacing Jake Bharier (Bond), Eva-Christina Nilsson (Aprodev) and Annamária Kekesi (Hungarian NP) that CONCORD thanks greatly for their commitment during all these years.
For CONCORD participants, it was the political debates that were of significant interest. The policy debates reflected CONCORD 2010 priorities: Policy coherence for Development, Aid Watch/MDGs, the impact of the European institutional reform and the quadrilogue process.
Other thematic information was shared on the Spring Alliance work, how to increase the partnerships with the South (a first meeting will take place on 27 July), the upcoming Belgian presidency of the European Union, the progress and plans of the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, the Development Education Watch report, the non-eligibility of taxes within EC-funded projects, the workshop on how to improve members capacity in lobbying parliaments (a second meeting will be organised end of September in on lobbying national governments).
One of the high point on the agenda was of course the debate with Development Commissioner Piebalgs who proposed to build an EU development acquis, looking for opportunities to use directives and legislation, and stressed that he wanted civil society organisations to be more consulted and more active.
For further information: aphilippart@concordeurope.org
Information provided by Agnès Philippart, CONCORD
For CONCORD participants, it was the political debates that were of significant interest. The policy debates reflected CONCORD 2010 priorities: Policy coherence for Development, Aid Watch/MDGs, the impact of the European institutional reform and the quadrilogue process.
Other thematic information was shared on the Spring Alliance work, how to increase the partnerships with the South (a first meeting will take place on 27 July), the upcoming Belgian presidency of the European Union, the progress and plans of the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, the Development Education Watch report, the non-eligibility of taxes within EC-funded projects, the workshop on how to improve members capacity in lobbying parliaments (a second meeting will be organised end of September in on lobbying national governments).One of the high point on the agenda was of course the debate with Development Commissioner Piebalgs who proposed to build an EU development acquis, looking for opportunities to use directives and legislation, and stressed that he wanted civil society organisations to be more consulted and more active.
For further information: aphilippart@concordeurope.org
Information provided by Agnès Philippart, CONCORD
Roundtable "Bilateral and Multilateral Mechanisms of the fight against Climate Change in Developing Countries"
On July 13th, 2010 a roundtable on the bilateral and multilateral mechanism of the fight against climate change in developing countries was organized by Sloga. The roundtable was opened by Monique Barbut, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). GEF is an independent international financial organization, that provides grants to developing countries and countries with economies in transition for projects related to environmental issues.
Monique Barbut highlighted the special nature of GEF and its way of financing huge projects that are worth more than 1 billion dollars as well as small projects implemented by smaller NGOs. The financial crisis will affect the functioning of GEF, but despite this fact, donors, including Slovenia, have raised their contribution to GEF. The Panelists agreed that multilateral agencies play an important role in fighting against climate change but at the same time we cannot forget activities of NGOs and other bilateral actors with their effective impact in preventing further negative causes of climate change. Panelists also highlighted the importance of new and additional sources dedicated to climate change in developing countries.
Information provided by Janja Mikulan, Sloga
Monique Barbut highlighted the special nature of GEF and its way of financing huge projects that are worth more than 1 billion dollars as well as small projects implemented by smaller NGOs. The financial crisis will affect the functioning of GEF, but despite this fact, donors, including Slovenia, have raised their contribution to GEF. The Panelists agreed that multilateral agencies play an important role in fighting against climate change but at the same time we cannot forget activities of NGOs and other bilateral actors with their effective impact in preventing further negative causes of climate change. Panelists also highlighted the importance of new and additional sources dedicated to climate change in developing countries.
Information provided by Janja Mikulan, Sloga
Visit of the Turkish Cypriot NGO Network in Slovenia
In the beginning of July (4th to 11th) 2010 twelve representatives of the Turkish Cyprus NGO network visited Slovenia to learn about Slovenian NGO networks. Sloga, who was coordinator of the visit, enabled meetings with more than 20 NGO from different sectors (healthcare, human rights, environment, education, culture, poverty) and 4 ministries. They were also welcomed by ambassador of Cyprus. The purpose of the visit was to understand slovenian NGOs, the process of building networks and cohesion among them, to learn about their projects and work with media. The most important and useful information they received was on influencing the legislation and on cooperation with government.
Information provided by Dunja Segrt, Sloga
EC Application proposal writing trained in Slovenia
On 14th and 15th of June TRIALOG conducted an educational seminar “European Commission Application Proposal Writing”. The purpose of the seminar was to present project proposal writing rules and processes when applying for EC co-funding to members of Slovenian NGOs.The Seminar was led by Andra Tanase from TRIALOG. On the first day the participants were presented with EU funding possibilities, an overview of the guidelines for grant applications, the components of the application form (including problem analysis, target group, partners etc) and the Logical Framework. On the second day participants were introduced to monitoring, evaluation, sustainability and visibility rules that must be considered when applying for EC co-financing.
The seminar improved the capacity of Slovenian NGO members for applying for co-financing of their projects from EC funds. Participants will now be able to successfully apply for EC co-financing. This will improve their chances for successful application and consequently their contribution to development cooperation. The evaluation results show that the participants were satisfied with the training. They suggested however, that in the future such seminars would last longer, especially if they contain workshops. They also hope that in the future more application proposal writing seminars will be held, so that they could improve the knowledge they received here.
Information provided by Vlado Odar, Sloga
Asia Europe Peoples' Forum: Challenging and Eroding Corporate Power - Building states of citizens for citizens
In October 2010, heads of state and governments from across Asia and Europe will meet in Brussels for the eighth Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM-8) to discuss their future priorities and plans. Just before this high-level summit, the 8th Asia-Europe Peoples’ Forum will be held in Brussels.
The Asia Europe People’s Forum (AEPF) began in 1996 in Bangkok, in parallel, and in response to the first ASEM summit which pushed for stronger regional blocs and the promotion of corporate power. AEPF is grounded in the common desire of people’s organisations and social justice networks across Asia and Europe to open up new venues for dialogue, solidarity and action.
On 2-5 October 2010, the 8th Asia-Europe Peoples' Forum will be held in Brussels where a series of events will be conducted. Events will focus on the relation of corporate power to: trade/investment, food sovereignty, climate change, decent work (including social protection) and peace and security. The AEPF will be a series of interlinked dialogues, workshops, actions, tribunals and policy debates with the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament. Events are being co-ordinated by Belgium organisations, Brussels-based European networks and the AEPF International Organising Committee.
AEPF provides a space for citizens to share, strengthen struggles and develop recommendations, campaigns and alternatives for both regions. AEPF has actively engaged with ASEM, lobbying for the integration of people’s rights into ASEM. AEPF has contributed to building stronger networks at national and regional levels and has implemented cross regional initiatives on peace and security, economic and social justice, democratisation and human rights.
Deadline for registration and organisation of an event is August 2, 2010 at http://www.aepf.info/register-now.html
More information: http://www.aepf.info/
EC website on ASEM http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/asem/index_en.htm
The Asia Europe People’s Forum (AEPF) began in 1996 in Bangkok, in parallel, and in response to the first ASEM summit which pushed for stronger regional blocs and the promotion of corporate power. AEPF is grounded in the common desire of people’s organisations and social justice networks across Asia and Europe to open up new venues for dialogue, solidarity and action.
On 2-5 October 2010, the 8th Asia-Europe Peoples' Forum will be held in Brussels where a series of events will be conducted. Events will focus on the relation of corporate power to: trade/investment, food sovereignty, climate change, decent work (including social protection) and peace and security. The AEPF will be a series of interlinked dialogues, workshops, actions, tribunals and policy debates with the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament. Events are being co-ordinated by Belgium organisations, Brussels-based European networks and the AEPF International Organising Committee.
AEPF provides a space for citizens to share, strengthen struggles and develop recommendations, campaigns and alternatives for both regions. AEPF has actively engaged with ASEM, lobbying for the integration of people’s rights into ASEM. AEPF has contributed to building stronger networks at national and regional levels and has implemented cross regional initiatives on peace and security, economic and social justice, democratisation and human rights.
Deadline for registration and organisation of an event is August 2, 2010 at http://www.aepf.info/register-now.html
More information: http://www.aepf.info/
EC website on ASEM http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/asem/index_en.htm
EuroNGOs Conference “Gender and SRHR at the Heart of the MDGs”
By acknowledging that attaining the MDGs will not be possible without a much stronger focus on gender issues in general and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in particular Marie Stopes International (MSI), the host of this year’s EuroNGOs conference, the EuroNGOs Secretariat and the EuroNGOs Steering Committee are warmly inviting you to our Annual Conference 2010, entitled “Gender and SRHR at the Heart of the MDGs”. The conference will take place 8-9 November 2010 in the Grosvenor Hotel, London/UK.
In cooperation with expert speakers, policymakers and participants both from the “Northern” and “Southern” hemisphere, and a broader community of development cooperation, women’s, human rights, and humanitarian organisations and experts, it will provide a space to find common grounds and joint ways forward. The conference will allow for the opening up to and bringing in a broader constituency of NGOs working towards poverty alleviation from a rights-based perspective. It will also foster support for the South-North partnership cooperation and promote EuroNGOs’ pilot project on this.
For more information, background and registration please visit http://www.eurongos.org/Default.aspx?ID=1571
In cooperation with expert speakers, policymakers and participants both from the “Northern” and “Southern” hemisphere, and a broader community of development cooperation, women’s, human rights, and humanitarian organisations and experts, it will provide a space to find common grounds and joint ways forward. The conference will allow for the opening up to and bringing in a broader constituency of NGOs working towards poverty alleviation from a rights-based perspective. It will also foster support for the South-North partnership cooperation and promote EuroNGOs’ pilot project on this.
For more information, background and registration please visit http://www.eurongos.org/Default.aspx?ID=1571
Bulgarian NGO is looking for partners in the field of sports and migration
The Organization "Association Sport in school" in Sofia, Bulgaria is looking for partners in the area of sports for the Europaid call for proposal EAC/22/2010 “Preparatory Action in the field of sport”. Deadline for getting in contact with the organisation is August 4th, 2010. More information is available on the TRIALOG website. Contact: Rayko Ivanov, r.ivanov@scan.bg.
Setting the Framework for Development Education in Romania
The FOND Working Group on Development Education organised the National Seminar on Global/ Development Education “Setting the national framework for development education in Romania” on the 8th and 9th July 2010 , in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Romanian Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports. The event took place in cooperation and with the financial support of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and the European Commission.
The objective of the seminar was to bring together key Romanian stakeholders in the field and raise awareness on development education among governmental and non-governmental actors in order to create a multistakeholder process to prepare the national global/development education strategy. Among participants invited were representatives from central and local authorities, ministries, civil society, academia and media.
The event focused on the communication and collaboration between NGOs and the governmental actors and the presentations covered interesting topics such as: theoretical approaches on development/ global education concepts, good practices in the field of development education in Europe, financial opportunities and the national context in development/global education.
The conclusions of the seminar emphasized the need for a common vision of the national community involved, on the two concepts of development education/global education as well as coherence and communication between all the relevant actors. The FOND Working Group on Development Education will ensure the follow-up of this event by initiating and facilitating a national multi-stakeholder group including the participants at this seminar.
Information provided by Adela Rusu, FOND
The objective of the seminar was to bring together key Romanian stakeholders in the field and raise awareness on development education among governmental and non-governmental actors in order to create a multistakeholder process to prepare the national global/development education strategy. Among participants invited were representatives from central and local authorities, ministries, civil society, academia and media.
The event focused on the communication and collaboration between NGOs and the governmental actors and the presentations covered interesting topics such as: theoretical approaches on development/ global education concepts, good practices in the field of development education in Europe, financial opportunities and the national context in development/global education.
The conclusions of the seminar emphasized the need for a common vision of the national community involved, on the two concepts of development education/global education as well as coherence and communication between all the relevant actors. The FOND Working Group on Development Education will ensure the follow-up of this event by initiating and facilitating a national multi-stakeholder group including the participants at this seminar.
Information provided by Adela Rusu, FOND
BE FAIR International Contest – Call for proposals
On the occasion of the 9th Fair Trade Week, the Belgian development agency (BTC), through its Trade for Development Centre, organises the “Be Fair" contest. The organisers invite organisations established in developing countries that are engaged in Fair Trade to participate in the contest for one of the following two categories: BE FAIR Award South-South (second edition): Best initiative for the promotion and sales of fair trade products/services within the domestic market and/or in markets of other developing countries
BE FAIR Award for Her (first edition): Organisation that best encompasses women's participation and development
The two winners are granted a BE FAIR Award and prize money of Euro 5,000. Winners are invited to attend the BE FAIR Award ceremony (costs related to attendance are paid by BTC) that will take place in Brussels on September 30th. Deadline for submission of proposals: August 23rd 2010. Information for participation you find at BE FAIR Award South-South and BE FAIR Award for HER
Tools for Global Education
The European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity of the Council of Europe - more commonly known as the "North-South Centre" - offers a variety of tools for Global Education. On the website of the North-South Center at http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/GE_en.asp there are "Global education guidelines" and a "Global education on-line training course". They provide methodological advice for teaching about development issues.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
AidWatch Report 2010 launched around Europe
The 2010 AidWatch report “Penalty Against Poverty: More and Better EU aid can score Millenium Development Goals” was officially launched on 10 June, at a press conference in Brussels that was echoed in similar events around Europe.The report, which chastises European governments for missing their official development aid targets and jeopardising global efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, was released the week before the European leaders’ meeting in Brussels to decide a common position to take to the September MDG summit.
The launch event in Brussels brought together representatives from the three main EU institutions as well as a spokesperson on the report, a representative of Southern civil society and a representative of CONCORD. The EU Commissioner for Development, Mr Andris Piebalgs, also commented on the report following its launch, saying that “This report comes at the right time [...] Europe’s credibility rests in sticking to our commitments. [...] We need to scale up aid, make it more effective and make other EU policies work for development. We have just five years for the Millennium Development Goals to become the Millennium Development Achievements. This is doable and the MDGs are just too big to fail.”
Other AidWatch events around Europe included launches in a number of the new member states. The Bulgarian platform for example is planning a launch event and most NMS will send out press releases and review the coverage they receive around the launch. In some new member states, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, the report will be launched with national reports after the summer break.
Links: The 2010 AidWatch report can be downloaded from the CONCORD website www.concordeurope.org or directly here (10MB, zipped)
Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG
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