Fondation de France launched the Call for projects 2008 on "The Enlarged Europe! European citizenship and sustainable development”.
Deadline for sending files: May 16th or September 26th 2008.
The programme “The Enlarged Europe!” launched by Fondation de France has supported since 2003 European partnerships between French non-profit organizations and organizations of the EU recently entering countries.
In 2008, the Foundation will support either projects in partnership with at least one (or more) “new members”, or projects concerning partnerships in order to make them known or valorised, creating or developping network, and finally, expertises aiming at strengthening said partnerships or projects.
This year, the Foundation will give its support to initiatives relating to sustainable development, projects of common interest to civil society in Europe.
Find more information in the following document:
http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/fdf_europe_2008.pdf
Weblink: http://www.fondationdefrance.org/
Information provided by Olivier Consolo, Director of CONCORD and Martin Spitz, Project leader, Fondation de France
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Monday, 7 April 2008
EU Neighbourhood Conference in Slovenia
Civil society actors from the European neighbourhood gathered in Slovenia on 2 April 2008, for an ECAS/CNVOS conference on giving a stronger voice to civil society in the European neighbourhood, hosted by the Slovenian Presidency of the EU.
An NGO roundtable the day before allowed civil society representatives from countries to the east of the EU’s border and the Western Balkans to share findings from a questionnaire that had been disseminated around NGOs in each country. Presentations generally showed that civil society has rarely been consulted during negotiations on EU agreements. There were however also reports of promising developments in several countries, such as Croatia, where the government is actively engaged in improving relations with civil society.
The main conference programme included speakers from EU institutions, national authorities and civil society organisations from all over the region. Topics ranged from the role of the EU in promoting civil society development in its neighbourhood, including the Western Balkans, to involving civil society in the “aid effectiveness” agenda. Working group sessions split participants into groups discussing the Western Balkans and Turkey, and eastern European ENP (European Neighbourhood Policy) partner countries and Russia.
The conference produced the “Ljubljana Declaration”, a text based on findings from the ECAS country reports and fine-tuned during the conference. The declaration calls on EU institutions and national governments to listen to civil society, develop a long-term strategy for its sustainability and put the partnership principle into practice – treating civil society actors as partners rather than beneficiaries. The declaration also asks for the capacity of small organisations to be strengthened and a supportive environment for NGO sustainability to be created.
More information about the conference is available on the ECAS website: http://www.ecas-citizens.eu/ The ECAS country reports will be online soon.
CNVOS: http://www.cnvos.si/
Download the Ljubljana declaration from:
http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/ljubljana_declaration.pdf
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG Policy Officer
An NGO roundtable the day before allowed civil society representatives from countries to the east of the EU’s border and the Western Balkans to share findings from a questionnaire that had been disseminated around NGOs in each country. Presentations generally showed that civil society has rarely been consulted during negotiations on EU agreements. There were however also reports of promising developments in several countries, such as Croatia, where the government is actively engaged in improving relations with civil society.
The main conference programme included speakers from EU institutions, national authorities and civil society organisations from all over the region. Topics ranged from the role of the EU in promoting civil society development in its neighbourhood, including the Western Balkans, to involving civil society in the “aid effectiveness” agenda. Working group sessions split participants into groups discussing the Western Balkans and Turkey, and eastern European ENP (European Neighbourhood Policy) partner countries and Russia.
The conference produced the “Ljubljana Declaration”, a text based on findings from the ECAS country reports and fine-tuned during the conference. The declaration calls on EU institutions and national governments to listen to civil society, develop a long-term strategy for its sustainability and put the partnership principle into practice – treating civil society actors as partners rather than beneficiaries. The declaration also asks for the capacity of small organisations to be strengthened and a supportive environment for NGO sustainability to be created.
More information about the conference is available on the ECAS website: http://www.ecas-citizens.eu/ The ECAS country reports will be online soon.
CNVOS: http://www.cnvos.si/
Download the Ljubljana declaration from:
http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/ljubljana_declaration.pdf
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG Policy Officer
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Expert Sending: TRIALOG Study Visit for NMS
Expert sending is increasingly perceived in Romania and other new EU member states (NMS) as one of the most effective ways to develop capacity for development cooperation and, very important, to create capacity and support for awareness raising and development education. Development cooperation is fundamentally about eradicating poverty and its associated problems throughout the most affected countries in the ACP (Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific).
In Romania/NMS however at present Sub-Saharan Africa and its endemic problems are out of the public agenda. Particularly after 1989 there is virtually no bounds left with Africa. Whatever legacy is left from the relations established with African countries during the Cold War era, this is generally compromised and perceived in a negative way. There is no exaggeration in saying that Africa has fallen off all Romanian/NMS maps. As a consequence, in the absence of direct links to Africa, promoting development cooperation in Romania/NMS, both as a national and European policy, is very difficult. People simply do not feel connected in any way to problems in the global south. Migration has not been an issue for Romania/NMS so far. There are very few migrants coming from poorer countries (mostly from Asia) and very few refugees from Africa. Economic ties with countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are very poor. Political linkages are almost non-existent. Mass media is only marginally interested in issues in this region of the world and usually by simply propagating negative stereotypes.
While most members of the Romanian NGDO platform FOND have contacts in the area covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), very few of them are connected to ACP partners. Therefore identifying ways to send development workers in the ACP countries seems essential to creating a sound basis for development cooperation in Romania/NMS.
It is in this context that the study visit organized by TRIALOG from March 2-8, 2008 has been particularly interesting. The first days were dedicated to an introduction in the concepts and system of expert sending, hosted by AGEH (Association for Development Cooperation) in Cologne and with the participation of Joachim Lindau (Consultant, former Programm Director Bread for the World, Germany) and Cliff Allum (FORUM ids, International FORUM on Development Service, Great Britain). Throughout its long experience in managing expert sending programmes, the German organization has developed an excellent system of recruiting, training, placing and reintegrating development workers. One of the secrets of the German success story is definitely the national Development Worker Act, regulating all this particular section of development cooperation. While the Act is the product of a very favourable political momentum in the 1960s, it is still at the core of German development policy.
The one-day stop in Bonn, at the headquarters of DED (German Development Service), clarified many of the implications of public support to expert sending and volunteer sending programme. It also offered the participants from NMS a more Government-like perspective on expert sending, by introducing topics such as Programming and Controlling of Country Programmes or Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. In the following years the German Government, with the technical support of DED plans to send 10,000 volunteers in developing countries. This dwarfs any possible initiative coming from not only NMS, but also from the other old member states.
Albeit very enriching and with so much useful information, the study-visit days in Germany were felt among the members of the group as rather overwhelming: the situation in the NMS is so far away from the German context, both in terms of scale of the programmes and of the institutional and legal framework, that any thought of comparison can only cause disillusionment.
Therefore, the last stop, at HORIZONT3000 office in Vienna brought more confidence among the participants as the Austrian case is definitely more similar to what could be achieved in the NMS at the moment, in terms of both resources and scope of the expert sending programmes. HORIZONT3000 presented to the participants its own system, more simple and thus flexible, as well as the Austrian Development Workers Act. Also in Vienna, the participants to the study visit had the opportunity to become engaged in the discussion on the f
uture of expert sending programmes during a Roundtable on European “Experts” in Development. Added Value or Time for a Change.
It seems that NMS will have to face a double challenge: the challenge of establishing development worker sending programmes, but also the challenge to adapting them quickly to the changes of a new international context.
View the online documentation of the Study Visit and the Roundtable discussion in Vienna on the TRIALOG website at:
http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=148&b=74
Information provided by Valentin Burada, Civil Society Development Foundation, Romania
In Romania/NMS however at present Sub-Saharan Africa and its endemic problems are out of the public agenda. Particularly after 1989 there is virtually no bounds left with Africa. Whatever legacy is left from the relations established with African countries during the Cold War era, this is generally compromised and perceived in a negative way. There is no exaggeration in saying that Africa has fallen off all Romanian/NMS maps. As a consequence, in the absence of direct links to Africa, promoting development cooperation in Romania/NMS, both as a national and European policy, is very difficult. People simply do not feel connected in any way to problems in the global south. Migration has not been an issue for Romania/NMS so far. There are very few migrants coming from poorer countries (mostly from Asia) and very few refugees from Africa. Economic ties with countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are very poor. Political linkages are almost non-existent. Mass media is only marginally interested in issues in this region of the world and usually by simply propagating negative stereotypes.
While most members of the Romanian NGDO platform FOND have contacts in the area covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), very few of them are connected to ACP partners. Therefore identifying ways to send development workers in the ACP countries seems essential to creating a sound basis for development cooperation in Romania/NMS.
It is in this context that the study visit organized by TRIALOG from March 2-8, 2008 has been particularly interesting. The first days were dedicated to an introduction in the concepts and system of expert sending, hosted by AGEH (Association for Development Cooperation) in Cologne and with the participation of Joachim Lindau (Consultant, former Programm Director Bread for the World, Germany) and Cliff Allum (FORUM ids, International FORUM on Development Service, Great Britain). Throughout its long experience in managing expert sending programmes, the German organization has developed an excellent system of recruiting, training, placing and reintegrating development workers. One of the secrets of the German success story is definitely the national Development Worker Act, regulating all this particular section of development cooperation. While the Act is the product of a very favourable political momentum in the 1960s, it is still at the core of German development policy.
The one-day stop in Bonn, at the headquarters of DED (German Development Service), clarified many of the implications of public support to expert sending and volunteer sending programme. It also offered the participants from NMS a more Government-like perspective on expert sending, by introducing topics such as Programming and Controlling of Country Programmes or Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. In the following years the German Government, with the technical support of DED plans to send 10,000 volunteers in developing countries. This dwarfs any possible initiative coming from not only NMS, but also from the other old member states.
Albeit very enriching and with so much useful information, the study-visit days in Germany were felt among the members of the group as rather overwhelming: the situation in the NMS is so far away from the German context, both in terms of scale of the programmes and of the institutional and legal framework, that any thought of comparison can only cause disillusionment.
Therefore, the last stop, at HORIZONT3000 office in Vienna brought more confidence among the participants as the Austrian case is definitely more similar to what could be achieved in the NMS at the moment, in terms of both resources and scope of the expert sending programmes. HORIZONT3000 presented to the participants its own system, more simple and thus flexible, as well as the Austrian Development Workers Act. Also in Vienna, the participants to the study visit had the opportunity to become engaged in the discussion on the f
uture of expert sending programmes during a Roundtable on European “Experts” in Development. Added Value or Time for a Change.It seems that NMS will have to face a double challenge: the challenge of establishing development worker sending programmes, but also the challenge to adapting them quickly to the changes of a new international context.
View the online documentation of the Study Visit and the Roundtable discussion in Vienna on the TRIALOG website at:
http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=148&b=74
Information provided by Valentin Burada, Civil Society Development Foundation, Romania
New Member States report adopted in the European Parliament
A report on the Challenge of EU Development Cooperation policy for the New Member States (2007/2140(INI)) has been adopted in the European Parliament by an overwhelming majority. A large majority of 338 MEPs voted in favour of the report, with only 11 voting against and 16 abstaining, during a plenary session in Strasbourg on 13 March.
The parliamentary resolution points to the fact that EU Development Cooperation Policy is part of the acquis communautaire, which all member states are bound by. The change in the position of new member states from being development aid recipients to donors has been a challenging transition, with new requirements in terms of official development aid (ODA). The new member states’ priorities of promoting democracy and the rule of law though are key to reducing poverty in developing countries.
The report highlights the new member states’ historical links to EU’s Eastern neighbours and CIS countries, at which most of the countries’ development aid is targeted, but also shows which countries are beginning to have stronger links with ACP countries. As a significant proportion of the aid goes through multilateral channels, there is a strong indirect link with the ACP region already, but individual countries like the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia also have bilateral projects.
Development education is recognised as a priority for new member states, where awareness about development cooperation is not very widespread. The parliament has also called on the European Commission to launch an awareness raising campaign following this resolution, focusing on the advantages and added value new member states can bring to the area of development cooperation. The parliament has suggested that this expertise be drawn on and put to better use.
Related links:
EP press release: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/028-23875-070-03-11-903-20080312IPR23865-10-03-2008-2008-false/default_en.htm
Resolution procedure file: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id=5498252
Full text adopted: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2008-0097+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG Policy Officer
The parliamentary resolution points to the fact that EU Development Cooperation Policy is part of the acquis communautaire, which all member states are bound by. The change in the position of new member states from being development aid recipients to donors has been a challenging transition, with new requirements in terms of official development aid (ODA). The new member states’ priorities of promoting democracy and the rule of law though are key to reducing poverty in developing countries.
The report highlights the new member states’ historical links to EU’s Eastern neighbours and CIS countries, at which most of the countries’ development aid is targeted, but also shows which countries are beginning to have stronger links with ACP countries. As a significant proportion of the aid goes through multilateral channels, there is a strong indirect link with the ACP region already, but individual countries like the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia also have bilateral projects.
Development education is recognised as a priority for new member states, where awareness about development cooperation is not very widespread. The parliament has also called on the European Commission to launch an awareness raising campaign following this resolution, focusing on the advantages and added value new member states can bring to the area of development cooperation. The parliament has suggested that this expertise be drawn on and put to better use.
Related links:
EP press release: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/028-23875-070-03-11-903-20080312IPR23865-10-03-2008-2008-false/default_en.htm
Resolution procedure file: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id=5498252
Full text adopted: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2008-0097+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG Policy Officer
OECD figures: Lack of progress in EU development aid
In 2007, European Aid falls by 1.7 billion EUR, show OECD figures released on April 4. NGOs from across Europe warn European governments that their failure will cost lives and speak of a scandalous lack of progress in EU development aid.
Read the joint Global Call for Action against Poverty and CONCORD press release : http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/internetdocumentsENG/5_Press/1_Press_releases/1_Press_releases_2007/Press-release-04-04-08.doc
Visit the CONCORD press section for more information: http://www.concordeurope.org/Public/Page.php?ID=10856
Release of OECD official development assistance figures:
http://www.oecd.org/document/8/0,3343,en_2649_33721_40381960_1_1_1_1,00.html
Source: http://www.concordeurope.org/
Read the joint Global Call for Action against Poverty and CONCORD press release : http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/internetdocumentsENG/5_Press/1_Press_releases/1_Press_releases_2007/Press-release-04-04-08.doc
Visit the CONCORD press section for more information: http://www.concordeurope.org/Public/Page.php?ID=10856
Release of OECD official development assistance figures:
http://www.oecd.org/document/8/0,3343,en_2649_33721_40381960_1_1_1_1,00.html
Source: http://www.concordeurope.org/
Czech ODA System Transformation and New Czech Development Agency
The Czech NGDOs platform FoRS finds the year 2008 promising from one important view – the long-lasting advocacy efforts reached the partly milestone in kick-off of the transformation process of the Czech ODA system, which was agreed by the Czech Government by the end 2007. The transformation sees the aim of the actual centralisation of the ODA system under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which should lead to more transparency and effectiveness. As part of the process, two new bodies started to work at the beginning of the year as well.
The new Czech Development Agency (CZDA) was set up by the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with effect from January 1, 2008. The CZDA will gradually overtake administration and monitoring of development projects from all ministries. The CZDA is the successor of the Development Centre of the Institute of International Relations. It has only 10 staff in 2008, but should rise up to 30 in two years. The fair relationship of FoRS with the Department of development co-operation at MFA as well as the Czech Development Agency has been kept and is believed to get new impetus to develop further.
The Czech Council on ODA was established as ODA inter-ministerial coordination body and advisory institution to MFA. The Council has 15 members – deputy ministers representing all ministries involved in the development co-operation. The Czech NGDOs platform FoRS has a statute of associated member to the Council (together with CZDA and platform of private sector in development). Thanks to this position, FoRS has direct access to all the matters on discussions and relevant documents, it can be actively participating in the Council working groups on different topics, and rise questions and issues vis-à-vis all ministerial stakeholders in development. The Council will mainly deal with preparation of legal base for ODA, programming, annual planning as well as evaluations of ODA. The Council should meet every 2 months – 1st meeting was in February, the next is on April 18.
The transformation process has only started – it is foreseen to be finalised by end 2010. The procedures and ways of operations are only to be developed and proven. Still, FoRS believes that this necessary transition period will in the end bring its fruits – in having more transparent and effective ODA system. The still challenging issue remains – not only to advocate for better aid but also for promoting the international commitments in financial levels that the Czech Government should meet till 2010 and 2015.
Information provided by Jana Krczmarova, Director of the Czech NGDO platform FoRS, sekretariat@fors.cz
The new Czech Development Agency (CZDA) was set up by the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with effect from January 1, 2008. The CZDA will gradually overtake administration and monitoring of development projects from all ministries. The CZDA is the successor of the Development Centre of the Institute of International Relations. It has only 10 staff in 2008, but should rise up to 30 in two years. The fair relationship of FoRS with the Department of development co-operation at MFA as well as the Czech Development Agency has been kept and is believed to get new impetus to develop further.
The Czech Council on ODA was established as ODA inter-ministerial coordination body and advisory institution to MFA. The Council has 15 members – deputy ministers representing all ministries involved in the development co-operation. The Czech NGDOs platform FoRS has a statute of associated member to the Council (together with CZDA and platform of private sector in development). Thanks to this position, FoRS has direct access to all the matters on discussions and relevant documents, it can be actively participating in the Council working groups on different topics, and rise questions and issues vis-à-vis all ministerial stakeholders in development. The Council will mainly deal with preparation of legal base for ODA, programming, annual planning as well as evaluations of ODA. The Council should meet every 2 months – 1st meeting was in February, the next is on April 18.
The transformation process has only started – it is foreseen to be finalised by end 2010. The procedures and ways of operations are only to be developed and proven. Still, FoRS believes that this necessary transition period will in the end bring its fruits – in having more transparent and effective ODA system. The still challenging issue remains – not only to advocate for better aid but also for promoting the international commitments in financial levels that the Czech Government should meet till 2010 and 2015.
Information provided by Jana Krczmarova, Director of the Czech NGDO platform FoRS, sekretariat@fors.cz
The New Member States Tea Party for FDR
As a regular support and preparation activity prior to each meeting of the CONCORD Working Group FDR (Funding for Development and Relief), TRIALOG created the “Tea Party” for new member states (NMS) representatives in FDR. It is a follow-up of the first preparation meeting, that TRIALOG organised last September to motivate and empower NMS platforms to participate actively in this working group.
The FDR Working Group deals with:
- the EC financing instruments that NGOs have or 'should have' access to;
- the deconcentration process of the EC from Brussels to the partner countries;
- the financial regulations and the modalities of their implementation;
- the overall EC-NGO relationship;
- and a lot of related topics.
The second NMS Tea Party took place on March 17, 2008, prior to the 2days FDR-meeting in Brussels. The meeting focused on the question, whether the NMS representatives feel the need to create a new subgroup in FDR, but the very clear statement of the participants from Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland and Slovenia was to join as new members the already existing subgroups in FDR, instead of creating an additional group. As second important issue, the Annual Action Plan (AAP) 2008, has been discussed, with the goal to come to a common idea on the aspects relevant for NMS. The AAP was then also high on the agenda of the main FDR meeting and the FDR subgroup DCI (Development Co-operation Instrument).
What is the AAP?
The Annual Action Plan AAP is a yearly document adopted by the EC on the basis of the “Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in development (NSA-LA) Thematic Strategy Paper 2007 – 2010". It is the basic document for the EC to detail the specific actions that will be funded under each NSA-LA objective and the countries in which support will be concentrated (incl. the conditions of the different calls for proposals). For more information see the CONCORD Update Note on the Non State Actors-Local authorities programme (published in Dec. 2007) at: http://www.concordeurope.org/Public/Page.php?ID=2314&language=eng. The AAP 2008 is expected to be approved by the EC by summer.
What are the next steps regarding the AAP 2008?
The subgroup DCI decided to continue with lobby activities also this year. The most important aspects to be tackled are:
- the right of initiative;
- the consultation process between the EC, the delegations and the local NGOs;
- the country list of only 68 prioritised countries;
- and smoother criteria for organisations from NMS.
Observations, comments and proposals regarding the AAP 2008 are collected by to the chair of the DCI Subgroup Belén Marin. By April 10, the FDR group will send a lobby letter to all Member State Representatives in the EC who will decide on the AAP. Parallel to that process, all national NGDO platforms are invited to do lobby work on the national level with MfAs and MS representatives.
For more information on the AAP 2008, possibilities for related lobby work or information regarding the NMS Tea Party, please contact your national FDR representative/your NGDO platform or TRIALOG Capacity Building Officer Petra Kreinecker at p.kreinecker@trialog.or.at
The FDR Working Group deals with:
- the EC financing instruments that NGOs have or 'should have' access to;
- the deconcentration process of the EC from Brussels to the partner countries;
- the financial regulations and the modalities of their implementation;
- the overall EC-NGO relationship;
- and a lot of related topics.
The second NMS Tea Party took place on March 17, 2008, prior to the 2days FDR-meeting in Brussels. The meeting focused on the question, whether the NMS representatives feel the need to create a new subgroup in FDR, but the very clear statement of the participants from Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland and Slovenia was to join as new members the already existing subgroups in FDR, instead of creating an additional group. As second important issue, the Annual Action Plan (AAP) 2008, has been discussed, with the goal to come to a common idea on the aspects relevant for NMS. The AAP was then also high on the agenda of the main FDR meeting and the FDR subgroup DCI (Development Co-operation Instrument).
What is the AAP?
The Annual Action Plan AAP is a yearly document adopted by the EC on the basis of the “Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in development (NSA-LA) Thematic Strategy Paper 2007 – 2010". It is the basic document for the EC to detail the specific actions that will be funded under each NSA-LA objective and the countries in which support will be concentrated (incl. the conditions of the different calls for proposals). For more information see the CONCORD Update Note on the Non State Actors-Local authorities programme (published in Dec. 2007) at: http://www.concordeurope.org/Public/Page.php?ID=2314&language=eng. The AAP 2008 is expected to be approved by the EC by summer.
What are the next steps regarding the AAP 2008?
The subgroup DCI decided to continue with lobby activities also this year. The most important aspects to be tackled are:
- the right of initiative;
- the consultation process between the EC, the delegations and the local NGOs;
- the country list of only 68 prioritised countries;
- and smoother criteria for organisations from NMS.
Observations, comments and proposals regarding the AAP 2008 are collected by to the chair of the DCI Subgroup Belén Marin. By April 10, the FDR group will send a lobby letter to all Member State Representatives in the EC who will decide on the AAP. Parallel to that process, all national NGDO platforms are invited to do lobby work on the national level with MfAs and MS representatives.
For more information on the AAP 2008, possibilities for related lobby work or information regarding the NMS Tea Party, please contact your national FDR representative/your NGDO platform or TRIALOG Capacity Building Officer Petra Kreinecker at p.kreinecker@trialog.or.at
Friday, 4 April 2008
Through the labyrinth of an EC contract
In December 2007, the EC contracted 18 projects with lead agencies from new member states, which submitted their proposals in February last year within the Call for Proposals 2006 on “Actions to raise public awareness of development issues in Europe”.
As a follow-up activity to the trainings on “How to write an EC-proposal”, TRIALOG organized during the last months trainings to orient the lead agencies (and consortium partners) through the labyrinths of financial rules and regulations of EC contracts. Around 40 NGO representatives from Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland participated in the three trainings on finance and contract management in Prague, Ljubljana and Warsaw.
During the next months, TRIALOG will continue with this training activity on "EC contract management" for those new member states NGOs, who haven´t participated until now.
For more information on training possibilities, please contact TRIALOG Capacity Building Officer Petra Kreinecker at: p.kreinecker@trialog.or.at
As a follow-up activity to the trainings on “How to write an EC-proposal”, TRIALOG organized during the last months trainings to orient the lead agencies (and consortium partners) through the labyrinths of financial rules and regulations of EC contracts. Around 40 NGO representatives from Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland participated in the three trainings on finance and contract management in Prague, Ljubljana and Warsaw.
During the next months, TRIALOG will continue with this training activity on "EC contract management" for those new member states NGOs, who haven´t participated until now.
For more information on training possibilities, please contact TRIALOG Capacity Building Officer Petra Kreinecker at: p.kreinecker@trialog.or.at
High interest and attendance in the latest RPP workshops
The workshops on ‘crossborder networking’ and ‘advocacy and lobbying’, organised by the Regional Partnership Programme (RPP; http://www.regionalpartnership.at/) in Vienna in March 2008, were evaluated as great capacity building events by the participants.
In both workshops a good mixture and attendance of participants coming from all RPP countries (Slovenia, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Austria) with high interest and motivation was reached. The events themselves therefore became good opportunities for networking and sharing of experience.
The ‘networking’ workshop (March 11) started with a common ‘drawing lesson’ to visualise the different networks people are working in. This exercise was followed by presentations of three different networks: WIDE Europe, the In
ternational Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and Greenpeace Central Europe. In these presentations, networking practitioners shared their experiences on the challenges and potentials of networks.
The workshop was facilitated by Richard Bennett, a British consultant and former Executive Secretary of the British platform BOND. Richard summarized his longterm experience in networking in an extremely useful presentation. In working groups, the participants had the opportunity to reflect and share their experiences and develop ideas to be more effective in their networking efforts. The good atmosphere and the active and highly motivated participants contributed to the great success of the day.
The ‘advocacy and lobbying’ workshop (March 26-27) was facilitated by Ian Chandler, a British consultant who has longterm experience in advocacy and campaigning (eg. with Oxfam GB, Amnesty International) and concentrates now on passing on his knowledge to non- profit organisations. At first, the participants became acquainted with a wide range of definitions and approaches in advocacy and with the whole ‘advocacy cycle’. Participants received a lot of 'food for thought' how to improve their advocacy work in their daily life. After the 1st day, everyone recognized the importance of putting advocacy work into a conceptual and strategic framework in order to achieve the goals. The second day of the workshop focussed on how to prepare and conduct lobbying meetings. Participants had the possibilty to immediately try out the gained knowledge in role plays. At the end of the workshop, all particpants - including already experienced advocacy officers and newcomers - underlined the great benefit they had gained.
The presentations of the workshops are available on the website of the Austrian platform: http://www.eu-platform.at/deutsch/start.asp?b=790 They will soon also become available on: http://www.regionalpartnership.at/
Information provided by Josefa Molitor-Ruckenbauer, RPP
In both workshops a good mixture and attendance of participants coming from all RPP countries (Slovenia, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Austria) with high interest and motivation was reached. The events themselves therefore became good opportunities for networking and sharing of experience.
The ‘networking’ workshop (March 11) started with a common ‘drawing lesson’ to visualise the different networks people are working in. This exercise was followed by presentations of three different networks: WIDE Europe, the In
ternational Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and Greenpeace Central Europe. In these presentations, networking practitioners shared their experiences on the challenges and potentials of networks.The workshop was facilitated by Richard Bennett, a British consultant and former Executive Secretary of the British platform BOND. Richard summarized his longterm experience in networking in an extremely useful presentation. In working groups, the participants had the opportunity to reflect and share their experiences and develop ideas to be more effective in their networking efforts. The good atmosphere and the active and highly motivated participants contributed to the great success of the day.
The ‘advocacy and lobbying’ workshop (March 26-27) was facilitated by Ian Chandler, a British consultant who has longterm experience in advocacy and campaigning (eg. with Oxfam GB, Amnesty International) and concentrates now on passing on his knowledge to non- profit organisations. At first, the participants became acquainted with a wide range of definitions and approaches in advocacy and with the whole ‘advocacy cycle’. Participants received a lot of 'food for thought' how to improve their advocacy work in their daily life. After the 1st day, everyone recognized the importance of putting advocacy work into a conceptual and strategic framework in order to achieve the goals. The second day of the workshop focussed on how to prepare and conduct lobbying meetings. Participants had the possibilty to immediately try out the gained knowledge in role plays. At the end of the workshop, all particpants - including already experienced advocacy officers and newcomers - underlined the great benefit they had gained.
The presentations of the workshops are available on the website of the Austrian platform: http://www.eu-platform.at/deutsch/start.asp?b=790 They will soon also become available on: http://www.regionalpartnership.at/
Information provided by Josefa Molitor-Ruckenbauer, RPP
GLEN „RENew“ seminar in Slovenia
„Review, Engagement and Networking“ (short: RENew) was the title of a GLEN seminar (Global Education Network of Young Europeans) taking place from March 26 to 30 in Slovenia. The RENew brought together over 120 young Europeans from 13 countries. It was the last stage of the GLEN training programme 2007 for Global Education multipliers.
All participants of the RENew had just come back from internships in Africa and Asia. The first part of the seminar was dedicated to evaluation and debriefing. But GLEN aims at transfering personal experience from the South into Global Education in Europe. On the second day, a „knowledge bridge“ was offered: Former GLEN participants and active global educators offered the participants workshops on topics such as Management of small projects, How to write an article, How to set up an NGO, Moderation & facilitation. DEEEP (http://www.deeep.org/) provided a workshop on the European Development Education Consensus.
In a one-day Open Space, the participants developed and planned their next global education activities: an action at the Poznan climate conference in December, a fair trade festival in Germany, trainings on the CONCORD „Code of Conduct on Images and Messages“ and much more.
Although the RENew marked the end of the training programme for the GLEN participants 2007, their mission has just begun: After the adventure in the South comes the adventure of raising awareness and understanding, of changing attitues and behaviour here in Europe!
Meanwhile the GLEN cycle 2008 has started. Out of more than 1000 applications, 125 young people were selected to participate in the GLEN training programme 2008. They will attend two 5-days training seminars, taking place in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, France and Poland, before leaving for their 3 month internships in Africa or Asia.
GLEN, the Global Education Network of Young Europeans, exists since 2003. It is a network of people and organisations active in Global Education in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France and Malta. Recently GLEN became an observer in the Development Education Forum of CONCORD.
More information: http://www.glen-europe.org/
Information provided by Johannes Krause, ASA-GLEN, johannes.krause@inwent.org
All participants of the RENew had just come back from internships in Africa and Asia. The first part of the seminar was dedicated to evaluation and debriefing. But GLEN aims at transfering personal experience from the South into Global Education in Europe. On the second day, a „knowledge bridge“ was offered: Former GLEN participants and active global educators offered the participants workshops on topics such as Management of small projects, How to write an article, How to set up an NGO, Moderation & facilitation. DEEEP (http://www.deeep.org/) provided a workshop on the European Development Education Consensus.
In a one-day Open Space, the participants developed and planned their next global education activities: an action at the Poznan climate conference in December, a fair trade festival in Germany, trainings on the CONCORD „Code of Conduct on Images and Messages“ and much more.
Although the RENew marked the end of the training programme for the GLEN participants 2007, their mission has just begun: After the adventure in the South comes the adventure of raising awareness and understanding, of changing attitues and behaviour here in Europe!
Meanwhile the GLEN cycle 2008 has started. Out of more than 1000 applications, 125 young people were selected to participate in the GLEN training programme 2008. They will attend two 5-days training seminars, taking place in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, France and Poland, before leaving for their 3 month internships in Africa or Asia.
GLEN, the Global Education Network of Young Europeans, exists since 2003. It is a network of people and organisations active in Global Education in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France and Malta. Recently GLEN became an observer in the Development Education Forum of CONCORD.
More information: http://www.glen-europe.org/
Information provided by Johannes Krause, ASA-GLEN, johannes.krause@inwent.org
Seminar in Estonia: Humanitarian Action - Meeting the Challenges
On March 3-4, 2008 took place a seminar “Humanitarian Action: Meeting the Challenges” in Tartu in Estonia. It was organized by International Association of Universities NOHA and the University of Tartu, by the support of ECHO. This was the first time that NOHA carried out such a meeting in Estonia and the purpose of the two-days seminar was to sound chances of future co-operation. More precisely, the aim of the enlargement seminar is to strengthen the ties between potential new NOHA- partners and to explore critical issues related to humanitarian action with local experts as well as to inform academics, students and the third sector.
The issues covered in Tartu were: humanitarian security and humanitarian action, humanitarian action in Estonia, challenges, linking relief, rehabilitation and development and finally, humanitarian law and human rights law in humanitarian action. One of the topics most debated was blurring the lines between military and humanitarian activities. In general, the seminar focused rather on legal aspects of humanitarian action and state humanitarianism than on social science perspectives and independent humanitarian action.
To sum up, the event was very useful for deepening the knowledge on humanitarian action and strengthening the activities in this still nascent field in Estonia. It is hoped that other events- such as further seminars and summer schools – will grow out of this cooperation.
Information provided by Veronika Talviste, Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation, AKÜ, veronika@terveilm.net
The issues covered in Tartu were: humanitarian security and humanitarian action, humanitarian action in Estonia, challenges, linking relief, rehabilitation and development and finally, humanitarian law and human rights law in humanitarian action. One of the topics most debated was blurring the lines between military and humanitarian activities. In general, the seminar focused rather on legal aspects of humanitarian action and state humanitarianism than on social science perspectives and independent humanitarian action.
To sum up, the event was very useful for deepening the knowledge on humanitarian action and strengthening the activities in this still nascent field in Estonia. It is hoped that other events- such as further seminars and summer schools – will grow out of this cooperation.
Information provided by Veronika Talviste, Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation, AKÜ, veronika@terveilm.net
Conference in Olomouc: Development Studies in Europe
The Department of Development Studies at Palacky University in Olomouc is one of the first academic institutions in the Czech Republic to focus on the topic of international development. Although this dynamically progressing study program is commonly offered in most western universities, development studies in the Czech Republic is slowly emerging. Therefore the study program cannot draw on its historical experience but can only learn from abroad.
The Conference "Development Studies in Europe" organised on 26th – 28th February 2008 by the Department of Development Studies at Faculty of Science, Palacky University in Olomouc focused mainly on sharing experience and cooperation in the area of development studies among European universities.
The representatives of 14 European universities introduced their development studies programs and discussed the possibilities offered to students in the areas of research and practical experience. Furthermore the participants presented their views on what should be the core content of development studies and to what extent it is necessary to have a solid background in one of the traditional disciplines. Discussions also concentrated on cooperation with other institutions such as non-governmental organizations, development agencies or research institutes.
On the last day of the conference the representatives discussed the possibilities of cooperation between the participating institutions. Although “western” universities tent to be hesitant to establish strong links of cooperation with their “eastern” partners, all parties agreed that cooperation is desirable in order to support the stabilization of development studies in the Central European region.
All participants agreed that the conference provided a good ground for discussions about the role and direction of development studies in Europe. The conference was supported by the European Social Fund and the State budget of the Czech Republic.
Information provided by Petra Krylova, ARPOK (Agency for Development Assistance and Humanitarian Aid of Olomouc Region), Czech Republic
Joint Parliamentary Assembly: SLOGA - CONCORD Press Release
The Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) was held in Slovenia throughout one week in March, bringing together parliamentarians from the European Parliament, and the parliaments of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
The parliamentarians were joined by civil society representatives including CONCORD, the Slovenian platform of NGDOs SLOGA and African farmers groups.
One of the central issues discussed at the assembly was the situation surrounding the controversial Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). Marc Maes, Chair of CONCORD’s ACP Trade working group, slammed the agreements, stating that ‘the EPAs were concluded in haste and under a great deal of pressue from the European Commission. These arrangements need to be thrown out.’
His comments were echoed by Louis Straker, a parliamentarian from St Vincent and the Grenadines, who said ‘If we had not signed up to the EPAs, we would have been subjected to much higher tariffs. We had no choice.’
The lack of transparency surrounding the negotiations has been criticised, as the EPAs were primarily negotiated behind closed doors.
Development Commissioner Louis Michel was greeted on his arrival at the JPA with a demonstration against the trade agreements; placards that read Brussels-made EPAs will not fit ACPs, which he answered with a protest of his own. ‘I do not agree with you,’ he said, ‘if you want to remain poor, just be against the EPAs.’
Source: CONCORD/SLOGA press release of 18 March 2008
Download the press release from:
http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/internetdocumentsENG/5_Press/1_Press_releases/0_Press_release_2008/JPA-press-release-18-3-2008-3.doc
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG Policy Officer
The parliamentarians were joined by civil society representatives including CONCORD, the Slovenian platform of NGDOs SLOGA and African farmers groups.
One of the central issues discussed at the assembly was the situation surrounding the controversial Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). Marc Maes, Chair of CONCORD’s ACP Trade working group, slammed the agreements, stating that ‘the EPAs were concluded in haste and under a great deal of pressue from the European Commission. These arrangements need to be thrown out.’
His comments were echoed by Louis Straker, a parliamentarian from St Vincent and the Grenadines, who said ‘If we had not signed up to the EPAs, we would have been subjected to much higher tariffs. We had no choice.’
The lack of transparency surrounding the negotiations has been criticised, as the EPAs were primarily negotiated behind closed doors.
Development Commissioner Louis Michel was greeted on his arrival at the JPA with a demonstration against the trade agreements; placards that read Brussels-made EPAs will not fit ACPs, which he answered with a protest of his own. ‘I do not agree with you,’ he said, ‘if you want to remain poor, just be against the EPAs.’
Source: CONCORD/SLOGA press release of 18 March 2008
Download the press release from:
http://www.concordeurope.org/Files/media/internetdocumentsENG/5_Press/1_Press_releases/0_Press_release_2008/JPA-press-release-18-3-2008-3.doc
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG Policy Officer
Thursday, 3 April 2008
New support for Civil Society under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance
The European Commission is currently establishing a new facility under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) to promote civil society development and dialogue in the Western Balkans.
This will cover three kinds of activity: support for local initiatives and capacity building
reinforcing the role of civil society; bringing civil society groups into contact with EU institutions; and support for partnerships and networking between civil society in the Western Balkans, and their counterparts in the EU.
The new facility will be launched at a civil society conference in Brussels on 17 and 18 April, which will bring together 450 participants, including Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik, and George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute.
Source: Original information from Agence Europe 05/03/2008
Further information about the conference can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/civil_society_conference/index_en.htm
This will cover three kinds of activity: support for local initiatives and capacity building
reinforcing the role of civil society; bringing civil society groups into contact with EU institutions; and support for partnerships and networking between civil society in the Western Balkans, and their counterparts in the EU.
The new facility will be launched at a civil society conference in Brussels on 17 and 18 April, which will bring together 450 participants, including Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik, and George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute.
Source: Original information from Agence Europe 05/03/2008
Further information about the conference can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/civil_society_conference/index_en.htm
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