Update on Forecast for up-coming Global Calls

The forecast of the up-coming 2011 global calls for proposals has been updated.

The budgets for the NSA-LA programme have changed (compared to the previous forecast):
- Objective 2 (Development Education) has increased from 27 million € to 55 million €
- Objective 1 (In-country calls) has increased from 15 million € to 32 million €
- Local Authorities (Obj 1 & 2) has decreased from 36 million € to 16 million €

Download the document (pdf).

Information provided by Elise Vanormelingen, CONCORD

EU Earmarks €5.5 Billion for Reforms in the Western Balkans, Turkey and Iceland

The European Commission has finalised its plans for financial support for ongoing reforms in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Kosovo for 2011–2013. The plans, called Multi-Annual Indicative Planning Documents (MIPDs), outline a revised strategy for funding under the EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA). The funding will focus on areas such as reform of the judiciary and public administration, enhancing regional cooperation in the fight against organised crime and corruption, building up a vibrant civil society, fostering reforms and regional cooperation in education, as well as underpinning sustainable recovery from the economic crisis through investment in strategic infrastructure projects. Around 10% of the available IPA funds will be allocated to strengthen multilateral relations in the Western Balkans and Turkey, in areas identified as crucial for European integration and stability in the region where there is a clear need for regional co-operation: tackling cross-border problems, seeking greater efficiency through closer co-operation, leveraging existing instruments and facilitating networks of experts. Funds available for this will total around €521 million for the period 2011-2013. To find out the Indicative IPA financial allocations for the period 2011-2013 click here.

Source BCSDN No. 233

International Framework by Global Civil Society on its Own Role in International Development finalised

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from across the globe, represented by some 230 delegates from over 70 countries, gathered in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from June 28 to 30, 2011 to finalize the International Framework for CSO Development Effectiveness at the second and final Global Assembly of the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, organized with the support of Cooperation Committee for Cambodia.

The International Framework for CSO Development Effectiveness represents a statement from global civil society on principles, guidelines and external conditions from governments and donors for CSO development effectiveness, and is the culmination of two years of work to consolidate the views of civil society around their own effectiveness as development actors and the enabling environment needed to conduct their work. Finalizing the International Framework is a remarkable success for civil society worldwide as it consolidates a collective voice from the sector on CSO Development Effectiveness that civil society can use to guide their own work and advocate with governments and donors, and that applies to national contexts across the globe. In the next months, CSOs will be widely disseminating the final draft International Framework and prepare to take it to multilateral negotiations at the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4) in Busan, South Korea, on the 29 November – 1 December 2011.

Find the International Framework for CSO Development Effectiveness and related press release.

Information provided by Open Forum for CSO Effectiveness

TRIALOG Partnership Fair 19-21 September 2011, Vienna

Due to the significant success of the previous editions of the TRIALOG Partnership Fair held in October 2006 and February 2010 when many of the later EC-funded development education projects under NSA-LA line were conceived, TRIALOG will host the third edition of this event in September 2011. This time, we expect around 80 participants from across the EU to work on possible projects for the NSA-LA Development Education call, Investing in People and EIDHR.

The partnership fair is a learning, networking and project-designing event from development CSOs from across Europe coming from different sectors (development education, human rights, environment, gender etc). The Partnership Fair facilitates partnerships, cooperation, learning and exchange at an international level for joint projects for development. Key development actors (donors, representatives of the EC and NGOs) will contribute either as speakers, facilitators or participants.

As in the previous editions, the organizers expect that the Partnership Fair will represent a valuable moment of finding new partners, learning from experts, dialogue with the Commission representatives and other key actors and more importantly a moment where successful projects in true partnership are agreed upon and drafted. We expect participants to come to the Partnership Fair, with concrete ideas on possible projects, with complete information and knowledge on their organisations and with decision making powers to commit their organisation to projects in partnership.

Deadline for Applications: 15th of August 2011, with applications processed on a rolling basis, preference to those received before July 19th. For the agenda and application form please visit our website.

Back to the Future! Volunteers returned from overseas to engage in DEAR in Germany, Ireland and Poland

With a kick-off workshop in Esslingen (Germany) on end of May 2011 a new project in cooperation between partners from Germany (finep), Ireland (Comhlamh) and Poland (SWM) has been launched. The horizon of DEAR in Europe will soon be enriched by activities aiming at empowering returned volunteers to become development education multipliers. Financed by the European Commission in the framework of NSA LA in Development, (the Development Education Programme of the EuropeAid Office) the 36-month project will target 2250 volunteers by the end of the implementation period, raising high expectations and even higher excitement among the partners.

The initiative is the result of a meeting among partners during TRIALOG’s Partnership Fair in 2010, and a common view on the problem of low involvement of returned volunteers, with a parallel difficulty of low capacity among volunteer sending organisations to adequately support the volunteers. Therefore, the work plan includes direct work with the volunteers (training scheme, publications, supporting small-scale actions), and activities targeting Sending Organisations and Development Education institutional actors (meetings, consulting, capacity building, among others). Advocacy and promotional activities are planned, in order to mainstream the issue tackled, with a conference in Warsaw, Poland planned for autumn 2011, in the framework of the European Year of Volunteering and the Polish Presidency period.
For further information on the project you can contact the partners in respective countries: Germany: Kai Diederich, Ireland: Grainne O'Neill, Poland: Elzbieta Jakubek.

Check also the Facebook fanpage.

Information provided by Elzbieta Jakubek (SWM Poland) in cooperation with Comhlámh, Finep

TACSO Manuals

The Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organisations (TACSO) in Western Balkans and Turkey is an EU-funded office supporting national NGOs to access EU financial assistance by keeping them aware of funding opportunities and training them to develop, write and submit suitable project proposals.

It can be extremely challenging for individual CSOs which are trying to understand how investment decisions are made within EU institutions and how to successfully apply for EU funding. Indeed, for many CSOs the challenge seems like an insoluble mystery, and for organisations in the Western Balkans region and Turkey, despite being geographically and, in terms of forthcoming accession, close to the EU, the EU’s funding processes can appear mysterious and at times frustrating. To help clarify and explain this process we have produced this Manual. It and the accompanying Toolkit is aimed at assisting CSOs in the Western Balkans and Turkey to understand the process of accession to and subsequent successful management of EU funds. It is intended to show CSOs how they can become both more effcient and more effective in accessing and managing EU funds. Download: Manual on Developing and Managing EU-Funded Projects (pdf). This is particularly for funding under the IPA and is the main reason why this Manual and Toolkit is specifically designed for CSOs in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

TACSO has also published for a new manual on citizens’ participation. The Manual is made up of three main parts. The first part deals with the concepts and general approaches, mechanisms and methodologies for effective citizens' participation; the second one looks at citizens' participation in action, at both the local and national level and the last is a 'Toolbox' which contains checklists and examples of templates and methodologies to be used in support of citizens' participation. Here you can download the Manual on CSOs and Citizens' Participation (pdf).

European Development Days 2011, 15-16 December, Warsaw, Poland

The sixth edition of European Development Days will take place on 15-16 December 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. The EDD is the leading European forum where the questions and issues about international development cooperation are debated. All information, powerpoints and the EU Commission’s meeting report will be available on the website soon: http://eudevdays.eu/index.cfm. You can also contact CONCORD Communications Officer Daniel Puglisi at dpuglisi@concordeurope.org for more information. Be aware that the number of places is limited. Application deadline is 19 August.

OECD Agricultural Outlook

The OECD Agricultural Outlook report provides world market trends for biofuels, cereals, oilseeds, sugar, meats, dairy products and, for the first time, the fisheries sector over the 2011-20 period. This edition also includes an evaluation of recent developments, key issues and uncertainties in those commodity markets. The projections are the result of close co-operation with national experts in OECD and non-OECD countries. A jointly developed modelling system, based on the OECD’s AGLINK and on the FAO’s COSIMO models, facilitates consistency in the projections. In the context of the G20 discussions on agriculture, a section of the report is devoted this year to the policy responses to price volatility. It is the seventeenth edition of the Agricultural Outlook and the seventh co-edition prepared jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Go to the website of the OECD Agricultural Outlook.

Humanity in Action Conference, London 5-7 October

The British Red Cross is running a three day conference (5-7 October 2011) in London on migration and conflict in order to celebrate the conclusion of two educational projects, Positive Images and Justice and Fairness. The conference is designed to encourage teachers and youth workers to discuss and learn new methods of approaching the issues of migration and conflict with young people. Find out more about the conference here.

International Documentary Film Festival HumanDOC, Warsaw, Nov 12-17

The International Documentary Film Festival GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT IN CINEMA is the first festival in Central-Eastern Europe that is solely dedicated to show documentary films and social commercials on various themes and issues concerning development of poor and vulnerable communities from around the world. Through the screenings of selected productions we would like to bring our festival audience closer to current problems of people living in developing nations, and to provide them with deeper insights into the politics of global development and various issues related to international aid for economically depressed countries.

FESTIVAL GLOBAL DEVLOPMENT IN CINEMA OPENED THE CALL FOR FILMS! The organisers are looking for Documentary films, Reportages, Social advertising/campaigns related to development issues. Deadline for sumission is 31st of July.

More Information: http://festival.humandoc.net/en/

European Forum on Food Sovereignty, Krems, 16-21 August

From August 16th to 21st 2011 the Nyeleni Europe Food Sovereignty Forum will take place in Krems, Austria. Nyeleni, the first European Forum for food sovereignty will gather around 600 people from all over Europe that are engaged in promoting the concept of food sovereignty - the right of all peoples, countries and country groups to define their food politics themselves. With the future of European agriculture currently being debated, increasing world hunger, disappearing farms and the collapse of biodiversity, it is vital that new solutions are found urgently. This Forum will be a key cornerstone to developing the idea of food sovereignty, making concrete proposals for decision-makers and developing an action plan for a future joint work between food sovereignty movements from all over Europe. For more infomration visit the website http://nyeleni2011.net/.

See also the related article Torwads a European Forum for Food Sovereignty.

BCSDN Survey on Funding Civil Society Development in the Balkans

At a time, when major (foreign) donors are largely exited/exiting the region, the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) deems it strategically important to review the past and current state of affairs, identify gaps and present lessons-learned and recommendations for effective and locally-owned models for sustainable civil society development. For this reason, the School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) has prepared a survey aimed at local CSOs that will provide information on the effects of the different types of funding (i.e. core funding, domestic, international funding) has had on development of CSOs and the sector as well as experiences and perceptions on donor-CSOs relations. The deadline for submission of the survey is 22 July, 2011.

A similar survey is being administered also to the major civil society-related donors.

The findings from the survey, together with analysis of secondary data, interviews, case studies etc. will be channeled into a policy paper to be presented at a stakeholder policy workshop in autumn 2011.Thank you for taking time for answering the questionnaire and contributing to the findings of a research that we consider a real necessity for further development of civil society in our region. We will be happy to share with you the findings of the survey as soon as possible.

If you have further questions, comments and suggestions, do not hesitate to contact the BCSDN Executive Office.

Balkan – What to do? European Perspectives

EU commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood, Stefan Füle, presented his view on the Western Balkan countries in an event organized by the permanent representation of the European Commission in Austria, the European Parliament, the Austrian Society for European Policy and the Institute for the Danube Region and Middle Europe on June 16, 2011 in Vienna.

In his keynote speech, Mr. Füle put emphasis on the fact that the Western Balkan countries are committed to a future EU membership as well as the EU is committed to give EU membership to these countries in future. For this, a balanced view on what has been reached but also on what still needs to be achieved is necessary.

Due to Croatian’s demonstrated political consensus and hard work in the whole process that started six years ago, negotiations with this country could be completed within the next few weeks. The EU accession on 1st of July 2013 (or 1st of January 2014) would be a great signal to all countries on the Western Balkan. The key issue in the accession process is credibility. Reforms have not only to be realised but also have to bring value for the citizens, they have to feel the results of the reforms in all areas. The EU is keen of strengthening the credibility of the accession process in all Western Balkan countries and Croatia proved to be an extremely effective partner in making the process credible. Technical negotiations with Croatia will soon be over but this is not the end of the process. Monitoring of the implementation both from EU and from the EU member states is needed till the date of accession. Enlargement has to be seen as political and technical process with monitoring.

With the extradition of Mladic to The Hague, Serbia eliminated the main obstacle for EU Accession negotiations to start. Another important aspect is Serbia’s engagement in the regional cooperation which will be strengthened once pragmatic results of the Belgrade –Pristina meetings will be seen. In October 2011 the EU will publish an opinion on Serbia where concrete results of the dialogue with Kosovo will be demanded. Füle could not imagine that the EU would accept a new member which is not in peace with its neighbourhood. Thus, the recognition of Kosovo by Serbia might be a pre-condition for Serbia’s accession. According to Commissioner Füle, negotiations with Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia could start soon.

Commissioner Füle noticed enlargement apathy of some political leaders in some countries in the region. The EU has to send clear signals to these countries. Main challenges he sees in Albania which is risking to be left behind, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Kosovo. Strengthening of political institutions, rule of law, reforms in public administration, freedom of expression and the fight against corruption and organised crime are key factors that need to be achieved. Asked about the EU membership of Turkey, Commissioner Füle stated that Turkey does not want to become member of the European Union.

In the following panel discussion, Erhard Busek (Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe from 2002 to 2008), Valentin Inzko (High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and European Union Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina), Sonja Licht (President of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence) and Albert Rohan (Vice president of the Austrian Society for European Policy) confirmed the achievements of the Western Balkan countries in their way towards EU accession but also mentioned additional problems than those mentioned by the commissioner. Kosovo is not recognized by five member states of the EU and has a lot of internal problems, due to the fact that it got independency only three years ago.

All experts see positive signals in the political and economic development of the region, in the regional cooperation and the reconciliation process. The EU has to open doors for all European countries that share the common values of the European Union.

Information provided by Christine Bedoya, TRIALOG

TRIALOG Study Visit to Brussels

The study visit is an activity in the current phase of TRIALOG, which foresees annual study visits for a group of CSO representatives from selected NMS platforms. This year, NGO and platform representatives from Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia took part in the study visit to European Union institutions in Brussels, organised by TRIALOG from the 6th to 10th of June 2011.

The objective was to help the participants get a better understanding about relevant EU institutions and how to get involved with them in fulfilling the platforms’ tasks. The program included meetings with representatives of the European Economic and Social Committee, the Development Committee of the European Parliament, DG DevCo, DG Enlargement, and the Slovenian and Maltese Permanent Representations in Brussels, which increased the knowledge of the participants on the European development policy and on the advocacy role of development NGOs. A preparatory session was held, in the relaxing ambience of the park just across the Concord office, on the basics and good practices of lobbying and advocacy.

One of the main highlights of the visit was the meeting with DG Enlargement, Mr Henk Visser. The meeting not only provided an insight in the working of the EU institution, it was also informative and above all, inspirational.

Overall the study visit increased the participants’ understanding of EU development policies, with a focus on important issues such as the transition experience, Policy Coherence for Development (PCD), or the DEAR Study and provided useful contacts for them. Also, it emphasized the need for further strengthening of the policy/advocacy capacity of the represented platforms to engage more actively in development cooperation at the European level. The visit gave additional and practical information on the activities of TRIALOG, CONCORD, DEEEP and EUROSTEP.

As for concrete follow-up activities, the organizers will publish the report of the study visit. Participants will follow-up with the people met during the study visit and encourage platform members to become more active at the European level. The report of the study visit will be available shortly on the TRIALOG website.

Information provided by Max Zimani, SLOGA and Institute for Global Learning and Projects Development