A Window of Opportunity Towards a Challenging Context: CYINDEP Organisational Development Workshop

Following the request of the Cypriot NGO platfom CYINDEP, and taking advantage of the Presidency workshop, TRIALOG also supported the Organisational Development efforts of the island-wide platform through a seminar which aimed at reviewing, planning and setting in place key elements (documents, processes and structures) of the platform. Andra Tanase and Christine Bedoya planned and facilitated the workshop in May.

Having in mind the context of Cyprus, the different level of awareness on development cooperation among NGOs, and the low volume of real development cooperation activities (even development education activities in the North), the workshop reviewed at the beginning the context for development cooperation, summarizing then the functions, structure and benefits of having a development NGO Platform. With this in mind, the next step focused on the local context, where the capacities and gaps of CYINDEP were analyzed. The challenges are numerous, resulting from the divided reality of the island, yet CYINDEP insists in setting a good example of collaboration among NGOs and in finding creative solutions to transcend all the gaps. In our context it is fundamental not to loose sight of the focus on development cooperation that the platform committed to or to clearly mark the difference between the different foci of the platform, i.e. bridge towards the EU, reconciliation and development education/development cooperation.

The last part of the workshop aimed at looking into the future and in identifying strategies to fill in the gaps. Among the action points were mentioned the review of the main vision and mission, setting in place basic functional tools mainly for information, networking and capacity building, improving the communication flow where significant gaps exist and developing working procedures such as foundation charter reviewed, criteria for participation in meetings etc.

The tasks are many, the actors are dedicated but also very busy yet with the upcoming Presidency, and the presence of different financial resources in the island CYINDEP has an opportunity of a significant step ahead for consolidating the civil society development cooperation field in Cyprus.

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG

CYPRUS – EU presidency of the divided island in 2012

After the EU presidencies of Hungary, Poland and Denmark, Cyprus will have this “honor” in the second half of 2012. EU-presidencies are generally challenging for all EU member states, especially for smaller ones. In the case of Cyprus, this challenge is even more severe due to internal problems of the country. Cyprus is a divided island which joined the European Union in May 2004 but for the Turkish part of the island, the European Acquis communautaire is suspended. The European Union only recognizes the Greek Cypriot government as representation of the member state Cyprus and all national and international suggestions and attempts for a political solution which is acceptable for both parts have not shown results up to now.

Unlike the governmental level, civil society already engaged in some island-wide links. With the creation of CYINDEP,development NGOs from both communities created for the first time a real network which works as island-wide platform. Despite political and legal hindering factors, CYINDEP will be the civil society platform responsible for development related activities during the EU presidency.

TRIALOG has not only been supporting the creation and strengthening of CYINDEP since 2005 but also assists the platform in the preparation for the EU presidency. On May 12 and 13, Christine Bedoya and Andra Tanase from TRIALOG organized the first planning workshop for CYINDEP where they also invited the director of the Danish national platform Morten-Emil Hansen to present the plans for the Danish EU presidency and to agree on cooperation in topics that will be handed over and influence both presidencies. There will also be cooperation on other topics which might be led by Denmark both on governmental and on CSO level even beyond the Danish presidency period due to capacities and experiences, such as climate change and environment, the multiannual financial framework 2014 – 2020 and the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) review.

CYINDEP will concentrate its presidency activities on three areas:

EuroMed Policy with a main conference

Social agenda – based on the World Bank report linked to gender equality there should be prepared shadow reports for both parts of Cyprus

Global/Development Education on three levels: (i) DEAR in the EU multiannual financial framework 2014 – 2020; (ii) Policy recommendations for National DE Strategies (expert seminars) for both communities separately; (iii) advocacy campaign on development issues

Following, participants agreed on a concrete action plan, time frame and responsibilities within the “Presidency Task Force” of CYINDEP. Of course, there are still a lot of open questions related to activities in the Turkish part of Cyprus, the cooperation partners for activities, co-funding strategies etc. but the first big step is taken. TRIALOG will support the whole process and the linking with the other Trio members Poland and Denmark.

Information provided by Christine Bedoya, TRIALOG

TRIALOG Central Training 2011 on transition experience

This years' TRIALOG Central Training / Annual Exchange of New member states development NGO platforms was coordinated together with the Hungarian NGDO platform HAND and DemNet. TRIALOG wanted to create synergies with the ongoing Hungarian Presidency and a conference organised by DemNet on the transition experiences and the role of the New EU Member States (NMS) in development cooperation and focused the event around the same ideas.

At this meeting around 25 people gathered representing 8 national platforms of development NGOs from the EU-12 countries as well as two representatives from the candidate countries Croatia and Macedonia. The annual gathering provides the opportunity for the NMS development NGO platforms to get updated about the status of each other, to exchange experiences and share developments in their respective countries.

After this sharing a session on the transition experience followed. Leading question was whether transition could be a value added expertise when talking about development cooperation. Panelists were Jan Latas from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Barbara Erös, DemNet and organiser of the conference, and Gordan Bosanac from the Centre for Peace Studies, Croatia. Another session looked into ongoing Hungarian, the upcoming Polish and Cypriote EU presidencies and platform representatives reported on their presidency programme.

The full report and country presentations you find on the TRIALOG website.

Presentations of the DemNet – Conference Civil Society Development – In Trance or in Transition? Improving New Member State and Eastern Partnership Exchange for Strengthening Democratic Processes are also available online on the DemNet Website

Information provided by Ulrike Bey, TRIALOG

AidWatch Report: EU ‘self-interest’ inflates aid by over €5bn in 2010

Launched in Brussels on 19th May, this year’s AidWatch report Challenging self-interest: Getting EU aid fit for the fight against poverty says that:

• Aid is becoming increasingly dictated by domestic political agendas and tied to security, immigration and commercial objectives.
• In 2010 EU member states inflated official aid spending by more than €5bn.This is equivalent to almost 10% of the total aid provided by the EU to partner countries last year. €2.5 billion of this amount was debt cancellation, roughly €1.6 billion was student costs and about €1.1 billion was spent on refugees in donor countries.
• The EU is the world’s biggest aid donor but in 2010, only nine countries1 met their EU aid targets.

This analysis is based on figures released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in April, which showed that the EU spent €54.82bn on aid (0.43% of GNI) falling short of its commitment by nearly €15 billion.

Of the EU-12 countries none reached the 2010 target of 0.17 % of GNI spending on ODA with the exeption of Cyprus which reached 0.19% GNI. The general trend of inflating official aid spending is also common in EU-12 countries.

CONCORD has launched a website dedicated to explaining the trends underpinning EU and member states’ aid decisions, including country by country reporting at http://aidwatch.concordeurope.org/

Information provided by CONCORD

DEAR podcasts on DEEEP website, Dossier on Ethical Communication

DEEEP has launched a first set of three podcasts, on development education roots, quality in development education and how to measure the impact of development education. The podcasts have been produced with Douglas Bourn, Director of the Development Education Research Centre of the Institute of Education of London, and are available on the DEEEP website. Viewers can leave comments/questions on the content of the podcast. Please go to the DEEEP website to see the podcasts.

DEEEP also launched a thematic dossier on Ethical Communication: the European NGOs Code of Conduct on Messages and Images, best practices and challenges. The overall aim of this dossier is to present best practices linked to the implementation of the Code, as well as trying to understand the limits of such tool. It focuses on the European NGOs Code of Conduct on Messages and images, and gathers articles on best practices and challenges linked to the use of the Code. Read now the Dossier "Ethical Communication: the European NGOs Code of Conduct on Messages and Images, best practices and challenges"

For more information contact Ana Biurrun Ruiz, DEEEP communication officer, a.biurrunruiz@deeep.org

Information provided by Chiara Tripepi, DEEEP

Global Action Schools 2 Project: time for an action!

The project “Global Action Schools 2” is implemented in 5 partner countries by 6 organizations: Polish Humanitarian Action (Poland), People in Need (Czech Republic), People in Peril Association (Slovakia), KOPIN (Malta), Welthaus Graz (Austria) and Suedwind Wiener Neustadt (Austria).

The activities included awareness raising activities among pupils. In Austria for example, the school PTS Pottenstein (Austria) worked on a Fair Trade issue and the pupils from the school not only developed a video about it (www.schools2communities.eu/index.php/act/a-video-from-austria.html) but also interviewed people in the streets about their knowledge about Fair Trade. The other action in Austria took place at the primary school Eisteich. Pupils from this school have explored a project how to minimize their ecological footprint. The project “So much waste, is it necessary?“ raised the pupils’ awareness of avoiding plastic packaging and the responsible use of natural resources. In different workshops pupils were not only taught the effects of their lifestyle on the environment but also how waste is handled in developing countries like El Salvador.

Another action was conducted in Poland: Four schools from Zielona Gora, active in the field of preventing climate change in order to increase the level of life of the global South inhabitants, decided to switch to using recycled paper in their day-to-day activities and they have also addressed the same claim to the city council. Their other claim was to have bicycle stands in front of the schools so that their students could come to school without emitting CO2. The final action was the participation of ca 100 students and school coordinators in the Bicycle Critical Mass in May, where the students have collected signatures under two petitions regarding paper and bicycle stands.

There are many other actions, which schools from Global Action Schools 2 Communities project are organizing or participating in. To follow them, please visit: http://www.schools2communities.eu/. For more information contact katarzyna.zwolak@pah.org.pl

Information provided by Katarzyna Zwolak, Polish Humanitarian Action

Civil Society Forum Romania – Republic of Moldova II

The Romanian NGDO Platform (FOND) organized the second edition of the Civil Society Forum Romania – Republic of Moldova, during 27th-28th of May, in Chisinau. The event was held with the financial support of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first edition of the Forum, launched in 2010, aimed at strengthening the relations between the NGOs from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, being a good opportunity to define a common agenda for priorities and joint activities and resulted in a resolution with concrete recommendations for both Governments.

This year the intention was to focus on the bilateral transfer of experiences, best practices and expertise. Although there is an increasing dialogue between the two societies, there is still the need for a thorough involvement of both governments and NGOs to develop a common action plan. The Forum gathered representatives of civil society, government, mass-media, academia, both from Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

The NGO communities from both countries addressed a strong message to the governmental representatives to elaborate a coherent ODA country strategy for the Republic of Moldova, including funding programs for fostering partnerships and exchanges between the two civil societies. Also, the Forum launched a project initiative for establishing a Cross-Border Mobility Fund between Romania and the Republic of Moldova in order to increase the number of experts’ exchanges, youth mobility, focused programs and working meetings on specific issues. The Republic of Moldova is the main recipient of Romanian development assistance.

For more information please see AidWatch Report 2011 - Romania’s Country Page: http://aidwatch.concordeurope.org/ or contact Adela Rusu, platform coordinator, at adela.rusu@fondromania.org.

Information provided by Adela Rusu, FOND

Agreement on Global Education in Poland signed

Zagranica Group, The Polish NGDO platform, through its Global Education (GE) working group, continues the multi-stakeholder process, initialized in December 2009. After a series of meetings among the representatives of different sectors and actors involved in Global Education in Poland which took place in 2010, the GE working group prepared a consensus to be signed by the main parties involved.

The document, as well as the process itself, was discussed during a panel that took place at the conference organized on 26-28th May in Warsaw (by Polish Humanitarian Action and the Global Development Research Group). The discussion focused on the effects of the process after 18 months and its future development, including a possible institutionalization. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, civil society and academia have been invited to participate in the panel. Afterwards the agreement has been signed (between MFA, ME and NGDO platform). The “Report on the multi-stakeholder process on global education”, as well as the minutes of the multi-stakeholder meetings will be published on the website of Zagranica Group: http://www.zagranica.org.pl/.

The follow-up planned for the forthcoming months includes national and international seminars. The multi-stakeholder meetings will be continued, with the aim of monitoring the implementation of the agreement. For more detailed information please contact Katarzyna Krzemińska, katarzyna.krzeminska@zagranica.org.pl

Information provided by Katarzyna Krzemińska, Zagranica

Conference “Global Development and the EU New Member States – time for a re-launch?”

The conference Global Development and the EU New Member States – time for a re-launch? took place in Warsaw, May 26-28, 2011. The event was jointly organized by the Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH), Global Development Research Group and Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, in cooperation with UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and the City of Warsaw (venue contribution).

Key speaker of the conference was professor Jerzy Buzek, President of European Parliament. He gave a lecture „Solidarity for development” in the framework of “Kapuscinski Lecture” series organized by the European Commission and UNDP. Prof. Jerzy Buzek also participated in a panel discussion related to the topic of solidarity for development, community participation and democratisation. Other speakers in the panel were: Mrs. Janina Ochojska (president of PAH), Mr. Krzysztof Stanowski (vice minister for development in MFA), Jens Wendel (Head of UNDP Bratislava Regional Office). The Discussion was moderated by one of top polish journalists – Jacek Żakowski.

During the conference speakers, partner institutions and participants reflected on the role of EU New Member states in the changing context of development cooperation and discussed present and future challenges. Key issues addressed during the conference in discussion panels and key-speeches were: development and global studies experiences in OMS and NMS, global education – multi-stakeholder consensus in Poland, development practice vs development studies, solidarity for development, climate change – road to Durban, aid effectiveness – road to Busan, policy coherence for development, democratization and peace building in North Africa, Millennium Development Goals in practice, Beyond MDGs and Development, development critique within and outside mainstream, de-growth concept.

Approximately 160 representatives of NGO community, academic institutions in Warsaw (students and academics), members of polish parliament and government institutions, journalists, representatives from high schools (esp. teachers and students cooperating with PAH and other development NGOs). The conference was organized by PAH in the framework of the project “Knowledge Makes Change (KMC)! Strong co-operation between NGOs and academics in promoting development among politicians and public”. This project is implemented in cooperation with Foundation Pontis from Slovakia and the NGO Support Center from Cyprus. All materials from the conference will be available online on www.pah.org.pl including video recording of panels and lectures.

Information provided by Aneta Sarna, PAH

Values and Frames: New ways to engage the public in global justice

Why is active public support for development remaining at low levels, despite huge campaigning efforts by NGOs and ever increasing public donations? How can NGOs contribute to the creation of a critical mass of engaged citizens, who shape the public discourse on global justice and other bigger than self issues? How to overcome the Live Aid legacy, which put charity instead of justice in the centre of public conception of development and reinforces the idea of a powerful giver and a grateful receiver?

The DARE Forum - the working group on development education and awareness raising of the European NGDO confederation CONCORD held its workshop Values and Frames: New ways to engage the public with global justice on 17th May 2011 in Brussels. The workshop featured Martin Kirk (Head of Campaigns at Oxfam UK, and author of the recent study “Finding frames – new ways to engage the UK public in global poverty”), who presented his research on why civil society should put positive values at the very heart of their campaigning, communication, education and fundraising activities, if they intend to deepen and mainstream support for collective challenges like global justice. Three eminent discussants from the CONCORD constituency reacted to his presentation before the audience was involved in the Presentation and report y can download from the DEEEP website.

Information provided by Tobias Troll, DEEEP

International humanitarian conference in Slovenia

At the end of May the Foundation “TOGETHER” (Slovenia), Platform SLOGA (Slovenia) and People in Peril (Slovakia) organized a two day international conference titled “Improving relief work of NGOs in Central Europe: From constraints to opportunities”. The event was organized with the financial support of European Commission’s humanitarian aid department (DG ECHO). During the conference speakers discussed about overcoming challenges of humanitarian NGOs in Central Europe, setting standards for effective humanitarian aid provision and quality standards in relief work.

The directors of “TOGETHER” Foundation and Development NGO Platform SLOGA presented the difficulties faced by Slovenian humanitarian NGOs, especially with regards to cooperation, coordination and the lack of adequate knowledge and experience. It was highlighted that the newly established Humanitarian Response Centre (HRC) offers an opportunity to overcome these challenges. Marginalization of smaller NGOs was also identified as one of the major concerns. The mentioned problems were also confirmed by participating NGOs from Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. Panels were also enriched by speeches from the representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia and Slovakia, VOICE and Sphere. The speakers welcomed the idea of more intensive regional cooperation and improvements in cooperation and coordination between governmental and NGO relief activities.

The conference also served as an opportunity for the presentation of the 2011 edition of the Sphere handbook that presents humanitarian charter and minimum standards in disaster response. On 31 May representatives of Slovenian and foreign NGOs participated in the workshop titled “Creating a network of humanitarian NGOs in Central Europe” where systems and processes that need to be established for the network to function effectively were discussed and a plan for further activities was made.

Information provided by Janja Mikulan, SLOGA

EuroNGOs Conference and Annual General Meeting 2011

Registration is open for this years' EuroNGOs conference “Future Perspectives on Development Cooperation – Putting SRHR on the Right Track”, October 13/14 2011
Warsaw, Poland

On behalf of this year’s host, The Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning, the EuroNGOs Steering Committee and the EuroNGOs secretariat, you are warmly invited to the EuroNGOs Conference and AGM 2011, ‘Future Perspectives on Development Cooperation – Putting SRHR on the Right Track’, on 13-14 October 2011 at Hotel Jan Sobieski III in Warsaw, Poland. Discussions on the development cooperation agenda per se beyond 2015 are becoming more and more prominent. They identify opportunities and deficits of the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approach, and suggest new options for the future. Some also discuss the current, predominant and (neo-) liberal development cooperation model focusing on economic growth and suggest alternative development models focusing more on distribution, environmental, gender and (social, economic and cultural) human rights.

On the other hand, current development cooperation policies and funding structures have been adapted in many sectors in the last years to meet the principles of ownership, harmonization of donor systems, mutual accountability, achieving development results and fostering “global partnerships”. Although these changes can no longer be regarded as “new”, the SRHR community is still struggling to understand the respective consequences to their work, to react to and use them appropriately. Against this background, it is vital that the European SRHR community and partners from all over the world come together to learn about these discussions and strategize the way forward to safeguard Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in general and the ICPD PoA in particular. Therefore, this year’s conference will be an interactive, thought-provoking, strategic and unique “hub”, a practical think-tank to discuss new visions in development cooperation as well as the implications of current development cooperation policies for SRHR and the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD PoA). It will allow to formulate – jointly with partners from the “Economic South” and representatives from Youth networks - concrete strategic advocacy actions and identify (new) partners for work towards 2014-15 and beyond. Ample time will be set aside for networking amongst participants to consolidate old and build new and lasting partnerships.

For more information on the conference theme and format, a preliminary program, logistics, and to register to the conference and AGM go to http://www.eurongos.org/Default.aspx?ID=1571.

Education for Peace: 2 new publications

As part of its “Education for Peace III” initiative, funded by the European Commission, POST Research Institute (POST RI) launched 2 new publications in 2010. “Re-writing History Textbooks – History Education: A tool for Polarisation or Reconciliation?” is the first and only research of its kind to offer such comprehensive account of Cyprus History books used in the northern part of Cyprus since 1971. Available in paperback and also online, this publication is a useful resource for anyone interested in history education in conflict and post-conflict areas and how the political changes of a country are often mirrored in the history that is taught in schools. A “Handbook for Educators: New Ideas for Formal and Non-Formal History Education” is a stimulating resource for educators, academics, policy makers and researchers, in providing an overview of the work of POST RI, as well as access to useful resources and references for use in the classroom.

Since 2006, POST RI has undertaken extensive research into the Cyprus history textbooks in secondary schools in the northern part of theCyprus, including an account of the changes that have occurred, as well as the political influences dominating these changes. POST RI is a non-profit, non-political organisation, established in 2002 by a group of individuals whose aim is to work for the social, cultural and environmental betterment of Cyprus. POST RI has conducted various projects and activities since its establishment, including three Education for Peace projects, Exploring Europe with partners Cyprus College, Divided Communities Project in Mostar, as well as various human rights seminars and film events. POST RI’s work has been presented in various European counties’ and the US.

The aforementioned publications can be downloaded from POST RI’s Blog: http://postresearchinstitute.wordpress.com/publications/ To obtain a hardcopy of the publication, please contact: postresearchinstitute@gmail.com

Information provided by Post Research Institute

KOPIN releases special edition of newsletter

This Special Edition of the "Raising Awareness on Development Cooperation" e-Newsletter features articles of students from the European Documentation and Research Centre (University of Malta). The Newsletter is available for reading online or as pdf on the KOPIN website.

Yanika Chetcuti’s contribution discusses women and poverty issues in Kenya. Gaynor Saliba presents an essay on the relation between human rights and poverty, and Jacqueline Calleja looks into development in Zimbabwe, with a focus on the European Union’s role.

RADC is one of KOPIN's project's which is currently being implemented with the financial contribution of EuropeAid. In Malta, this international project is being implemented by KOPIN, a Maltese non-governmental organisation active in the fields of international development cooperation and global education, and the Centre for Environmental Education and Research (CEER), University of Malta.The project is internationally led by the Cypriot non-governmental organisation CARDET. You will find further information in the newsletter and on KOPIN's websites, as well as on the project website http://www.developmenteducation.org/.