Slovak - Balkan Public Policy Fund: Raising the Policy Development Capacity of CSOs

In cooperation with Pontis Foundation and with the financial support of SlovakAid, BCSDN will be launching a pilot grant scheme for CSOs and individuals. The aim of this program is to build the capacity of CSOs and young experts through offering them a grant support. The pilot phase running between September 2011 and October 2012 will cover 3 countries: Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. The kick off meeting of the partners implementing the project, BCSDN and Pontis Foundation, took place in Skopje on the 26th of September which served as a starting point defining all the general procedures on how to continue the project. The fist call for proposals should be expected by the end of October. More information is available at the BCSDN website.

Source: BCSDN No. 238

Integration of the Human Rights Based Approach into Development Policies and Programmes: A guide for the New EU Member States

The human rights based approach (HRBA) is a powerful and pragmatic framework which offers practical solutions for the new EU Member States to overcome some of the specific challenges they face as relatively new donors. This guide by the Minority Rights Group (MRG) provides a range of programming tools for policy makers and programme developers to enable them to integrate and thus capitalize on this framework in their specific context.

The new landmark publication, intended as a follow-up tool to MRG’s policy paper on the relevance of the HRBA for new EU Member States, provides an overview of the policy and programming processes of official aid administrations and identifies entry points for the integration of the HRBA to policy development and programming. The tools presented provide a general guide to development planning and implementation. They are applicable to any thematic area, ranging from infrastructure development to social development and beyond.

Specific focus in the guide is given to three countries, all of which are holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during 2011 and 2012: Hungary, Poland and Cyprus. The countries were selected because the Presidency provides some political space for agenda-setting and brings increased attention to the respective countries, including to their development cooperation activities and frameworks.

The toolkit also provides HRBA project management tools tailored for the needs of new EU Member States’ NGDOs to integrate HRBA principles into their projects. See the toolkit by following the link.

Information provided by Bernadett Sebály, Minority Rights Group Europe

European Network Academy - ATTAC Summer University

It’s been the second time that Polish delegates participated in the ATTAC Summer University. This year the event took place in Freiburg, Germany. Around 1200 people from different European countries (mainly Western Europe) participated. From Central and Eastern Europe, where there is lesser social activity, the Polish delegation was the largest with 6 persons. Attac Poland has been involved in a worldwide movement criticizing the neoliberal globalization for 10 years now. They took part in many events, beginning with the 1st European Social Forum, ending with the ATTAC University. Other countries of the region, for example, Hungary or the Czech Republic were represented by only two persons, which might mark a large crisis in social activity the region.

The academy itself was very well organized. It took place in the university building, where the offices of the event organizers were located, as well as rooms for translators and coordinators, meeting halls, registration and information for participants. Overnight stays were organised in local schools, camps or hostels. The organisation was impressive, there were no problems what-so-ever with registration and other administrative matters.

Representatives of ATTAC Poland participated in a number of meetings, for example, against privatization of public services, entitled “PrivatAttac”. Here also members of German and French Attac participated. The issues discussed there are crucial discussion points of all social movements. This event will be cyclically repeated in the future. Polish participants took part in numerous debates, seminars, integrating with activists from Western Europe.

Soon we are facing next meetings of Attac and other social movements. Hopefully, one day the countries from the Eastern Europe will become more active.

TRIALOG supported the participation of 8 persons from new member states in the European Network Academy in Feiburg.

Information provided by Piotr Kawiorski, ATTAC Poland

UNDP Lithunia is Looking for Partners for an International Student Exchange Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Lithuania and 5 main high education establishments of Lithuania are looking for organisations that might be interested in cooperating with and receiving Lithuanian students for international internships. Participation costs would be sponsored by the Lithuanian Government. The aim of this initiative is to provide Lithuanian undergraduates / graduates with real-life work experiences to: a) back up their studies, b) provide them with international profile for advancement of their early careers and c) contribute to “brain circulation”. Receiving organisations will in their turn benefit from new ideas, qualified temporary assistance and a talents pre-selection opportunity. Find more information...

Danube Road of Learning for Culture

FIDE (Romania) is looking for project partners for a network of organisations of 10 countries sharing the Danube river in the area of tourism, culture and local development. Please read more.

Evaluation of the Implementation of the Paris Declaration

An independent group has evaluated the effects of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The evaluation looks at how the principles of aid effectiveness have been put into practice and what results this is having in developing countries. The outcomes of this important international evaluation include a synthesis report, 21 country evaluations, 7 donor studies and several thematic reviews (see further down). The evaluation was managed by an independent reference group that includes country partners and will be a key input to the Busan High Level Forum in November 2011. For more information follow the link.

Source: OECD

Food Sovereignty: Exploring Debates on Development Alternatives and Women’s Rights

AWID – Association for Women’s Rights in Development has published an article on Food Sovereignty. This article compiles and analyzes current debates about food sovereignty from a gender perspective, in which the international and Latin American peasant women movement have played a central role. It explores the challenges and promotes debate among gender equality advocates on how to connect with the peasants’ movement vision of food sovereignty and peasants’ rights. The Feminist Perspectives Towards Transforming Economic Power series shares experiences from the ground and testimonies from diverse groups of women; provides analysis; and builds knowledge on alternative visions and practices of development, with a vision of transformation. Download the article.

Conference: See People Behind Politics. Why Effectiveness Matters. 10 October 2011 Warsaw

Zagranica Group, the Polish platform of development NGOs, invites you to the international conference: See People Behind Politics: Why effectiveness matters? Perspectives from the Global South, which takes place in Warsaw on 10th October 2011. Please find the agenda and additional information of the conference here. Some travel and accomodations costs can be covered. Deadline for registration is 30th September at event@zagranica.org.pl.

V4 Aid Transparency Conference 4 October 2011, Prag

Currently, the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) is the most comprehensive effort to improve transparency in development cooperation. Created in 2008 by key OECD donors IATI developed an open data standard for aid information open to bilateral, multilateral and private donors, including foundations and NGOs. OpenAid e.V. together with Visegrad non-governmental development organisations are organising the V4 Aid Transparency conference in Prague to explore the relevance of IATI and of open data generally for emerging donors such as the EU12 countries. Concrete examples of open data initiatives in other public sectors will stimulate the debate on the possible uses of aid data. Deadline for registration is 29th of September.

Find more information on the FoRS website.

TRIALOG starts into a new project year of Phase 4

After the summer break in August the TRIALOG team is now back and complete in its offices in Vienna and Brussels. Our Policy Officer Rebecca Steel-Jasinska is back in the Brussels Office, and we welcome our new Capacity Building Officer Faika El-Nagahsi, the maternity leave replacement for Andra Tanase.

We are happy to present our TIS newsletter in a new format and hope that you will enjoy reading it. We have been busy preparing our next activities including the Partnership Fair (19-21 September 2011). At the Partnership Fair we will welcome more than 100 participants from all over Europe - we were pleased by the high interest that the event generated.

We would also like to announce the publication of our annual Bulletin - fresh off the press. This issue includes a review of the conference and field visits in Nicaragua in November and December of last year, highlights relevant policy processes like the Structured Dialogue, the Multiannual Financial Framework and CSO Effectiveness as well as providing new perspectives on the transition experience of new EU member state. There are articles focusing on the EU presidencies in Poland (2011) and Cyprus (2012) as well as on Croatia as a future member of the EU. We hope you enjoy it! Please find the pdf-version online; hard copies can be sent upon request to office@trialog.or.at

The Black Sea NGO Forum 2011, 6th-8th of October, Bucharest

The 4th edition of the Black Sea NGO Forum will take place on 6th - 8th of October 2011 in Bucharest, Romania. The event is being organized by the Romanian NGDO Platform (FOND), with support of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Representation of the European Commission in Romania and the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation.

Recent developments in the EU neighborhood have revealed once more the essential role of civil society and its potential as a positive force for change. The 4th edition of the Black Sea NGO Forum will explore the role and needs of civil society in the region, its vision(s) and solutions to the current local and regional problems and will include dedicated panels on different topics – democratization, leadership, regional cooperation models, monitoring of social models, education and children rights, environment, lessons learnt from the transition period. Representatives of Government, both from Romania and other foreign countries, European Commission, NGOs from the Black Sea Region, donors will debate on the European Strategy for the Black Sea Region, the impact of NGOs on programming process.

The Representation of the European Commission in Romania will award this year, within the framework of Black Sea Forum, the Black Sea NGO Award for Excellency. The aim of this award is to enhance the profile of the Black Sea Synergy and its role in proposing a regional, cooperative approach in the region, as well as the multilateral dimension of EU external policies.

The Black Sea Forum was launched in 2008 by FOND with the support of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation in the framework of the Black Sea Synergy. The Forum aims at increasing the level of dialogue and cooperation among NGOs in the wider Black Sea Region, strengthening the NGOs capacity to influence regional and national policies, and to increase the number and quality of regional partnerships and projects. The previous editions focused on good practices in various fields and countries and successful cooperation initiatives in the region, the main challenges and opportunities in the region and gathered more than 500 participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelorussia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Republic of Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Russia, and other EU member states active in the wider Black Sea region.

Find more information about the event on the website http://www.blackseango.org/pagini/index.php and www.fondromania.org/eng.

Information provided by Adriana Zaharia, FOND

Conference National Identity in the Context of Global Citizenship 17-18 October, Slovenia

SLOGA, the Slovenian NGDO platform kindly invites you to the regional conference “National Identity in the Context of Global Citizenship” co-organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe (NSC). The conference will take place on 17-18 October 2011 in Jable Castle, near Ljubljana in Slovenia. The objective of the conference is to discuss concepts of global education, global citizenship and national identity throughout the region of South-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean EU countries, and to increase understanding of the subject. Another objective is to explore the similarities and differences in definitions of these concepts and to seek ways of working together to attain common goals and actions despite - or because of - such differences. The accommodation and travel cost are not covered. If you would like to attend the conference, please contact Ms. Dunja Segrt dunja.segrt@sloga-platform.org or Ms. Gordana Berjan gordana.berjan@coe.int and see the detailes on http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/GE/JMA/SEE-Med-regional-seminar-concept%20paper.pdf.

Information provided by Dunja Segrt, SLOGA

HOC Action for the Children of Somalia

With 12.4 million people in need across the Horn of Africa, the region is facing the most severe drought and food crisis in decades. The worst affected country is Somalia, with an estimated 3.2 million people believed to be on the brink of starvation. That’s why the Humanitarian Response Center – HOC of Slovenian NGOs, who is functioning under the Platform SLOGA, decided to take an urgent action. 10 HOC member and support organizations accepted a decision to launch an action “Against hunger. For the children of Somalia!” The main aims of the action are to raise the awareness of the general public about the humanitarian situation and challenges that the Horn of Africa is facing, and raise funds to address humanitarian needs in Somalia. Collected funds will be used for the purchase and local transport of milk powder for 1500 households or at least 9000 people in three villages in Somalia - Baidoa, Hudur in Belet Weyne. This supply will be sufficient for one month in which each family will receive 2.5 kilograms of powder milk. For the purchase and local transport of milk powder we need to collect 24.000 euros. The action is the part of the ADRA Somalia project.

Information on the fundraising is available at the HRC website http://www.humanitarni-center.si/ along with all other information on the action and relevant data from the field. For more information contact Janja Mikulan - info@humanitarni-center.si.

Information provided by Janja Mikulan, SLOGA

Latvian Perspectives on Nyeleni

The Latvian delegation arrived in Krems, Austria, with an enthusiastic attitude, ready to expand their horizons by participating at the Nyeleni European Forum on Food Sovereignty taking place from 16th to 21st of August 2011. Food sovereignty is an aspiration, a vision that all people should have the right to define and shape their own food systems. The food sovereignty movement has been working to achieve that goal by struggling against the powerful forces that control the dominant industrial food system, and by providing a space to develop positive alternatives. The purpose of this forum was to bring together representatives from all over Europe to formulate a regional plan for food sovereignty. The week-long forum was filled with activities, including intense policy-related discussions, educational fieldtrips and related recreational events.

The Latvian delegation consisted of a birch juice producer, and representatives from various NGOs, an alternative school, and the Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre. For the Latvian delegates, the forum was very educational, serving to improve understanding on a wide variety of topics, from GMO food to local food systems. Importantly it provided a space for the national delegates to network with each other, as well as with other delegations. In particular, learning about the common problems faced by Eastern European countries has helped form a basis for cooperation on food sovereignty issues in the region. For Latvia, and other Eastern European countries where small-scale producers are numerous but struggling, food sovereignty is an especially important concept to mobilize around.

Inspired by the energy and creativity of the Forum, and the diverse and insightful perspectives of its participants, the delegation has returned home and has already started working to foster the nascent food sovereignty movement in Latvia. The final Nyeleni declaration has been translated into Latvian (available at http://www.nyeleni2011.net/), and work is continuing in education and outreach.

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

Information provided by Renāta Blumberga (rblumberg@gmail.com), Agnese Radžele-Šulce, Zane Ruģēna-Bojāre