In November 2013, the Croatian peace activists Vesna Teršelič from the NGO Documenta - Center for Dealing With the Past visited Myanmar (the former Burma) on behalf of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She shared her impressions with us:
In November 2013 I spent ten days in Myanmar on invitation of Igor Blažević from Education Initiatives, as part of a Women’s Leadership for Peace Program, which is supported by the Government of the Republic Croatia. The purpose of my visit was to discuss what would be the most appropriate ways of exchange of experience regarding the transition process in Croatia and other post-Yugoslav countries with civil society organisations. Representatives of local women, youth, human rights and development initiatives as well as associations of former political prisoners were keen to continue a dialogue in order to search for suitable activities including study visits and programs aimed at women’s empowerment and direct support to survivors of gross human rights violations.
Democratic transition in Myanmar is challenging, as fights between the central government and non-Burman ethnic groups started immediately after the independence in 1948, and partly are still ongoing, following British colonial control and Japanese occupation during World War II. The violent conflict between the Burmese Army and ethnic armed rebel groups is the longest ongoing civil war in the world. Burma was ruled by successive military regimes from 1962 until November 2010, when it held its first elections in two decades and transitioned into a civilian-led government, headed by President Thein Sein. However, these elections were widely criticized for being neither free nor fair, and the 'civilians' who came to power were simply the same generals who had been ruling for decades, though no longer in uniform. Still ongoing fights in Myanmar in border areas are accompanied by ethnic violence.
For more information, please contact Vesna Teršelič, vesna.terselic@documenta.hr
Information provided by Vesna Teršelič, Documenta
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Foundation from Malta Opened Orphanage in Madagscar
The “Arnaud Guesry Foundation” is a Maltese registered charity set up in 2012 with the idea of using a small budget and efficient facilitation to make a real difference. Since then they have opened an orphanage in Northern Madagascar in an attempt to tackle extreme poverty through child development.
The focus of the foundation, which is also member of the Maltese NGDO platform SKOP, is to provide a safe and happy domestic environment in as much of a family setting as possible for children for whom they are the only option. The foundation takes full moral and legal responsibility for the health and happiness of the children in their care. Children are provided with education, nutrition, security, healthcare and everything else any normal family would provide.
The Arnaud Guesry Foundation is currently preparing to move into a new, purpose built, establishment, which will see a growth from a capacity of 20 children to 60. To that end they are currently having a drive toward increasing interest in our child-sponsorship, volunteering and donation programs. Whether you are interested in fundraising, volunteering or can simply help to spread the word, we encourage you to read more about the project either on the website at www.arnaudguesryfoundation.org or through the Facebook page under ‘The Arnaud Guesry Foundation’.
The acting Director, Christina Lejman, would also be happy to answer any questions you might have. Please email her directly at: lejmanchristina@hotmail.com
Photo: Children in front of the orphanage, Arnaud Guesry Foundation
Information provided provided by Christina Lejman
News from DEEEP
DEEEP, a project initiated by the CONCORD Development Education Forum to mobilise global citizens for systemic change and global justice, launched a new online platform movement.deeep.org. Focusing on their recent conference for the moment, this portal will progressively replace the current website.This will be soon the perfect place for you to search for information about global education, meet new people active in Global Justice, find resources on the online library, exchange about the latest hot topics...
Two articles including the input of DEEEP research officer, Amy Skinner, have been published in November 2013:
Article 1: Development Education in International Development Policy: Raising Quality through Critical Pedagogy and Global Skills. The essay provides a background overview of the key challenges of the education goals in international development up until now and provides some food for thought and initial arguments for why it is important to make global citizenship education a key focus of any education initiatives on the post-2015 framework.
Article 2: Catalysing the shadow spaces: challenging development discourses from within the DEEEP project. This article explores the idea of applied development education at organisational level in order to critically reflect on current development paradigms within which we are working and how we as development educators can promote change from within.
Source: DEEEP Times December 2013
The European Economic and Social Committee on the European Year of Development 2015
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the fact that the European Commission has responded to the joint initiative by civil society and the EESC to nominate 2015 as the European Year of Development. The aim of the proposed European Year of Development (EYD) 2015 is to inform EU citizens about EU development cooperation, highlighting what the European Union can already achieve as the biggest aid donor in the world and how it could do even more with the combined strength of its Member States and its institutions. The European Year of Development will be the first European Year with a strong global and rights-based dimension.
The EESC calls on the EU institutions to do their utmost to reach the goals as stated by CONCORD: this Year is "a unique opportunity for a broad public discussion and meaningful civic engagement on the vision of Europe on Global Development, within Europe as well as for other continents, with its dimensions of Human Rights, environmental sustainability and social cohesion." Engaging and involving European citizens and civil society organisations and their partners throughout the world in development and in a political dialogue on global development and global justice is seen as the key to the success of the Year and development as such.
The EESC comments that CSOs play a key role not only in implementing development activities, but also in political processes and expresses its concern that at this stage only a very small percentage of the funding for the EYD is earmarked for civil society engagement and activities.
The EESC is providing an overview on the initiative to nominate 2015 as the European Year of Development and is gathering opinions how the Year could be designed. HAVE YOUR SAY!
Find the full opinion here (section “Related documents”).
Source: CONCORD / European Economic and Social Committee
First EU Accession Conference with Serbia
Negotiations with Serbia on its accession to the European Union were opened on 21st of January 2014 at the first Intergovernmental Conference at Ministerial level. This follows a decision by the EU General Affairs Council on 25 June 2013 to open negotiations with Serbia.
Several countries in the Balkans have made progress on their way into the EU: Montenegro started accession negotiations with the EU in 2012. The European Commission has also recommended that membership negotiations start with Macedonia. In addition, Albania will probably be granted EU candidate status.
Most striking is the progress seen in Serbia, long considered the eternal troublemaker in the region. The governments of Serbia and Kosovo achieved an historic breakthrough in April 2013 when they completed an agreement concerning the normalisation of their relations. Critical to this agreement was Serbia's concession to dismantle its parallel structures in North Kosovo in exchange for the right to form an association of the Serb-inhabited municipalities and to grant them a high level of autonomy within Kosovo.
Although the EU does not ignore Serbia's deficits, prospects are good that the negotiations will still run smoothly. Serbia's aspiration to accelerate its EU integration process is also clearly influenced by Croatia's EU entry in July 2013, which demonstrated that the prospect of gaining membership can materialize if there is sufficient commitment by the applicant state.
Find out more about the process in this video.
More information on EU Enlargement on the EC website.
Sources: Council of the European Union Press Release and Tolksdorf Dominik: Start of EU Membership Negotiations With Serbia Could Further Stabilize the Western Balkans in The World Post, 10/16/2013
Several countries in the Balkans have made progress on their way into the EU: Montenegro started accession negotiations with the EU in 2012. The European Commission has also recommended that membership negotiations start with Macedonia. In addition, Albania will probably be granted EU candidate status.
Most striking is the progress seen in Serbia, long considered the eternal troublemaker in the region. The governments of Serbia and Kosovo achieved an historic breakthrough in April 2013 when they completed an agreement concerning the normalisation of their relations. Critical to this agreement was Serbia's concession to dismantle its parallel structures in North Kosovo in exchange for the right to form an association of the Serb-inhabited municipalities and to grant them a high level of autonomy within Kosovo.
Although the EU does not ignore Serbia's deficits, prospects are good that the negotiations will still run smoothly. Serbia's aspiration to accelerate its EU integration process is also clearly influenced by Croatia's EU entry in July 2013, which demonstrated that the prospect of gaining membership can materialize if there is sufficient commitment by the applicant state.
Find out more about the process in this video.
More information on EU Enlargement on the EC website.
Sources: Council of the European Union Press Release and Tolksdorf Dominik: Start of EU Membership Negotiations With Serbia Could Further Stabilize the Western Balkans in The World Post, 10/16/2013
EU Support for Rural Development in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
The EU has approved €18 million to support reforms in agriculture and rural development in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This will complement the €56 million already available under the 2012-2013 Instrument of Pre-Accession.
Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle said: "This funding will help improve services and infrastructure in poor rural areas, bringing concrete benefits to local citizens. It will help the country meet the EU standards in agriculture and make further progress in European integration."
The bulk of the programme (€15.5 million) will be implemented under joint management with the World Bank. It will specifically target poor rural areas and municipalities, thus facilitating access to funds.
Read the EC press release here.
Source: CONCORD, EU Monitoring Newsletter 17.01.2014
Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle said: "This funding will help improve services and infrastructure in poor rural areas, bringing concrete benefits to local citizens. It will help the country meet the EU standards in agriculture and make further progress in European integration."
The bulk of the programme (€15.5 million) will be implemented under joint management with the World Bank. It will specifically target poor rural areas and municipalities, thus facilitating access to funds.
Read the EC press release here.
Source: CONCORD, EU Monitoring Newsletter 17.01.2014
E-Course on Human Rights
The next North-South Centre Global Education: the Human Rights Dimension E-course will take place from 17 February - 16 March 2014 and you can apply now.
The application process consists of two steps:
1. Submitting the online application form underneath with your personal and organisational details;
2. Downloading the online MS Word application form and sending this filled-in form by email to: icd@netuni.nl
The deadline for submitting the complete application is 10 February, 2014.
Only applications that are complete will be considered. We will inform all applicants about the selection on 12 February, 2014. Please note that participation in this course requires an active collaborative participation taking at least 10 hours per week for four weeks!
More information online.
Please also visit the website for the Global Education: The Intercultural Dimension course which takes place from 24 March - 20 April, 2014 and apply now.
Information provided by Miguel SILVA, North-South Centre - Council of Europe
The Age of Sustainable Development: Free Online Course by Jeffrey Sachs
First CONCORD Gender and Development Lunch at the European Parliament
In the context of the current processes and discussions underway to determine the Post-2015 Framework, the CONCORD Gender Working Group is organizing, with the support of Mr Gustafsson, MEP – Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality – and Ms Estrella, MEP –Vice chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality - a “Gender and Development Lunch” on 29th of January 2014 (12h-14h) at the European Parliament in Brussels.
The purpose will be to further discuss the outcome of the UN General Assembly held in September 2013 and the next steps the European Union, multilateral organizations, and civil society organizations in Europe and globally can take to ensure the adoption of a Post 2015 Framework in which gender equality and the empowerment and rights of women and girls feature as central elements, with a special focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
More information and subscription here.
Source: CONCORD Member to Member newsletter from 14th of January 2014
National Conferece in Serbia: Define the Civil Society You Want
The Office for Cooperation with Civil Society of the Republic of Serbia has announced a call for participation in a national conference entitled “Get Involved – Define the Civil Society You Want: The Vision for the Civil Society in Serbia in 2018 – creation of the first National Strategy for the enabling environment for the development of civil society”.
The conference will be held on the 20th-21st of February, 2014 in Belgrade. The national scale event will be organized in cooperation with the EU IPA 2011-2013 funded “EU Support Office for Cooperation with Civil Society” project and TACSO Serbia’s People 2 People programme. The conference will bring together around 300 representatives from government and public administration institutions, and civil society to discuss the importance of creating the first strategic framework for the establishment of an enabling environment for civil society in Serbia and is a great opportunity to contribute to the drafting of the National Strategy document.
The conference will also present the best EU and regional examples and lessons learned related to the process of creating and implementing a strategic framework for the development of civil society. Accommodation and travel costs for participants outside of Belgrade are limited and only one representative per CSO will be allowed to register. The deadline for applications is the 4th of February, 2014.
For more information and application procedures follow this link.
Source: BCSDN Newsletter E-Mail Alerts Nr. 285 of January 15, 2014
The conference will be held on the 20th-21st of February, 2014 in Belgrade. The national scale event will be organized in cooperation with the EU IPA 2011-2013 funded “EU Support Office for Cooperation with Civil Society” project and TACSO Serbia’s People 2 People programme. The conference will bring together around 300 representatives from government and public administration institutions, and civil society to discuss the importance of creating the first strategic framework for the establishment of an enabling environment for civil society in Serbia and is a great opportunity to contribute to the drafting of the National Strategy document.
The conference will also present the best EU and regional examples and lessons learned related to the process of creating and implementing a strategic framework for the development of civil society. Accommodation and travel costs for participants outside of Belgrade are limited and only one representative per CSO will be allowed to register. The deadline for applications is the 4th of February, 2014.
For more information and application procedures follow this link.
Source: BCSDN Newsletter E-Mail Alerts Nr. 285 of January 15, 2014
Destination Unknown: Conference about Children on the Move
As the Maltese partner of the Terre des Hommes International Federation and member of the Destination Unknown Campaign, the Maltese NGO KOPIN is happy to invite you to the Destination Unknown EU Public Conference which aims at raising awareness on the reality of children on the move in the light of recent development on EU asylum policy. At the conference, which will be held on 19 February 2014 at the European Parliament in Brussels, Farah Abdullahi will provide his perspective on children on the move, also with a focus on Malta, to Commissioner Malström and other key stakeholders in the field of migration and asylum.
Information provided by KOPIN
European Commission Releases Q&A Regarding the DEAR Call
The European Commission has updated the list of online documents for it’s curent call on Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR Call).
A new "Questions & Answers" document is available on the Commission website.
Source: EC
A new "Questions & Answers" document is available on the Commission website.
Source: EC
ITUC: Development Partnerships Officer
The Trade Union Development Cooperation Network (ITUC) seeks a full time Development Partnerships Officer for their office in Brussels, Belgium.
Apply by 31 January 2014.
Find the job advertisment here.
Source: ITUC
Apply by 31 January 2014.
Find the job advertisment here.
Source: ITUC
Oxfam: EU Partnership Development Adviser
Oxfam is looking for an exceptional, dynamic candidate with high level expertise and professional experience of relationship building, intelligence gathering and influencing EU institutions.
Deadline is 27 January 2014, see full add here.
This is a new post at the Oxfam International EU Advocacy Office in Brussels, and the purpose of which is to work with Oxfam affiliates to develop our strategy to cultivate a closer partnership with the EU Institutions and identify and cultivate new funding opportunities that align with our strategic priorities, in order to increase the income of the Oxfam confederation. The post holder will also work to raise the profile of Oxfam’s development work with key EU staff and departments, and facilitate access to affiliate staff to key fora and opportunities related to their programmes.
Information provided by Oxfam
Deadline is 27 January 2014, see full add here.
This is a new post at the Oxfam International EU Advocacy Office in Brussels, and the purpose of which is to work with Oxfam affiliates to develop our strategy to cultivate a closer partnership with the EU Institutions and identify and cultivate new funding opportunities that align with our strategic priorities, in order to increase the income of the Oxfam confederation. The post holder will also work to raise the profile of Oxfam’s development work with key EU staff and departments, and facilitate access to affiliate staff to key fora and opportunities related to their programmes.
Information provided by Oxfam
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