AidWatch Report 2010 launched around Europe

The 2010 AidWatch report “Penalty Against Poverty: More and Better EU aid can score Millenium Development Goals” was officially launched on 10 June, at a press conference in Brussels that was echoed in similar events around Europe.

The report, which chastises European governments for missing their official development aid targets and jeopardising global efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, was released the week before the European leaders’ meeting in Brussels to decide a common position to take to the September MDG summit.

The launch event in Brussels brought together representatives from the three main EU institutions as well as a spokesperson on the report, a representative of Southern civil society and a representative of CONCORD. The EU Commissioner for Development, Mr Andris Piebalgs, also commented on the report following its launch, saying that “This report comes at the right time [...] Europe’s credibility rests in sticking to our commitments. [...] We need to scale up aid, make it more effective and make other EU policies work for development. We have just five years for the Millennium Development Goals to become the Millennium Development Achievements. This is doable and the MDGs are just too big to fail.”

Other AidWatch events around Europe included launches in a number of the new member states. The Bulgarian platform for example is planning a launch event and most NMS will send out press releases and review the coverage they receive around the launch. In some new member states, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, the report will be launched with national reports after the summer break.

Links: The 2010 AidWatch report can be downloaded from the CONCORD website www.concordeurope.org or directly here (10MB, zipped)

Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG

European workshop on the role of parliaments in aid and development policy

Most European governments are unlikely to meet their ODA targets in 2010. A few months before the MDG review, a workshop bringing together NGO representatives from all over Europe was held in Paris on the 27th and 28th of May 2010 in order to contribute to strengthening democratic pressure on governments to get them to fulfil their commitments. Particular attention was paid to ensuring NMS were well represented within the group, so that the different realities were covered and relevant experiences could be shared.

The role played by parliaments in pushing governments to keep aid commitments is central, so advocacy work towards the European Parliament and national parliaments was identified as an area to be reinforced and better-coordinated. Improving the sharing of information and best practices among CONCORD’s members, from new and older member states, strengthening their expertise and advocacy capacities and coordinating their actions was seen as an effective way to help to increase pressure on European governments to keep their aid and development cooperation promises.
This capacity-building workshop was divided into four parts: looking at the way national governments function around Europe, comparing the scrutiny powers they have when it comes to ODA budgets, looking at positive and less successful examples of how CSOs have worked with parliaments in the past and finally focusing on the European Parliament. Participants provided information about their experiences before the workshop, which led to well prepared participants and a large amount of relevant information being available in briefing papers that were provided in advance. There were also a number of resource people from national parliaments and the European Parliament, who brought additional insight into the discussions.

This workshop is a first step towards increased democratic scrutiny of development cooperation policies in Europe. It should give CONCORD members tools to reinforce their advocacy work and to strengthen governments’ accountability to parliaments. The workshop will also contribute to CONCORD’s strategy towards the institutions, which is currently being reviewed.

The workshop was organised within the framework of CONCORD AidWatch working group in partnership with Coordination SUD, 11.11.11, TRIALOG and SLOGA and is the first in a series of two workshops looking at NGO advocacy and lobbying work. The next workshop is due to take place in September in Vienna.

Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG

European Transition Compendium Almost Public

The European Transition Compendium, an initiative launched by the European Commission last year to use NMS transition experiences in European development policy around the world is nearing completion.

The compendium, a first draft of which has been circulated to member states for comments by mid-June, intends to bring together transition experiences in areas as diverse as economic, social and agricultural reforms and to provide lessons learned that should support processes in developing countries. There will be a brainstorming meeting in July to look into exactly how this compendium will be used in practice.

A draft has been circulated among NMS platforms and the CONCORD working group on Enlargement, Pre-Accession and Neighbourhood for comments that could feed into the process, still at this late stage. If you are interested in contributing to work on this compendium, please contact TRIALOG’s policy officer Rebecca Steel-Jasińska for more information trialog@concordeurope.org

For more background information on the ETC please see previous TIS articles (European Transition Compendium, or ETC - a call for cooperation).

Information provided by Rebecca Steel-Jasińska, TRIALOG

The Lisbon Treaty, Volcanoes, Floods and Civil Society: TRIALOG Central Training 2010

Despite having to tackle read natural challenges, such as the volcano eruption disrupting all air traffic in Europe or strong floods, “The Lisbon Treaty and Its Implications for Civil Society” was still discussed in Krakow during the TRIALOG Central Training, which took place on 7th and 8th of June. The training was done in cooperation with Grupa Zagranica, the Polish NGDO platform.

Although the group was not large (23 participants), the country representation was quite good and the discussions were focused, achieving the three-fold objectives of the Central Training: exchange and updates for the NMS platforms, planning for upcoming key events and training and knowledge gathering on a very specific topic.

Each platform was invited to be represented by the coordinator, board member and/or policy officer and had as a “homework” to present the situation in their respective countries based on a poster and a set of questions sent beforehand. While more detailed results will be presented in an upcoming report, the general feeling was that the financial sustainability remains a hot spot for most platforms, with very few having or being in a position to have a financial strategy. Many platforms focus on awareness raising and capacity building events, while there is a feeling that these might not be sufficient to guarantee member interests, and particularly to motivate members to stay financially committed to the platforms. The upcoming presidencies, the European Development Days remain moments of interest but also of concern, as it was reflected in the discussion with Marjan Huc (SL), Wojciech Tworkowski (PL) and Mara Simane (LV).
The thematic focus of this Central Training was the Lisbon Treaty and its implications for civil society. Elise Ford, the head of advocacy for Oxfam International skilfully introduced participants to the main changes that civil society organisations working on development cooperation need to pay attention with regards to the newly implemented Lisbon Treaty. Key figures, key structures and key opportunities and challenges for civil society were debated also in working groups, and what is clear is the still unclarity about quite a few aspects of the structures to be put in place.

Will the Lisbon Treaty provide an opportunity for civil society with its 1.000.000 signatures or is this a trap? Will the lobby work become harder with more figures who are harder to reach? Will there be an increased space for democracy through national parliaments receiving more responsibilities? What about the EU ‘embassies’? Many questions are raised, and there is a lot of space still open for discussion. The question remains whether NMS are ready and willing to embark on such discussions. Some of the action plans reflected such intentions, but still few, as the planning sessions towards the end of the two days went back to own plans, own strategies and needs from and input to TRIALOG.

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG

Second module of Training for Multipliers in Vienna

From 19th to 21st of May 2010 the second module of the Training of Multipliers took place in Vienna. Taking into account the needs and demands of the participants after the first module, the training was divided into different sections to provide space for expert input, debate, improvement of training skills and own contributions through presentations in small teams.

The intense three days of training started with a market place where the participants introduced their projects where they shared good and bad practices they encountered with these projects. Every day an expert from the development organisations Light for the World and Horizont3000 gave an input on programming, identification and formulation and budgeting respectively. In the training skills sessions the future trainers focused on adult learning methodologies and looked deeper into the qualifications of trainers and their tools. Debated were the Millennium Development Goals, and the role and funding mechanisms for civil society organisations and especially NGOs. The presentations of the participants gave room for small teams of three to five people to step into the shoes of trainers and apply methods in order to discuss several topics ranging from Development cooperation, to project cycle management and Development education.

Generally, this interactive and versatile training had a lot more sharing of best practices and experiences from all participants who will come together again for the last module from 22-24th September 2010 in Vienna. We are happy to invite Angela James (consultant, BOND) as an expert guest speaker for this final module , which will focus on EC Contract Management .

Information provided by Ulrike Bey, TRIALOG

Positive Images Conference, 24 - 25 June 2010, Budapest

We would like to invite you to the Positive Images Conference, an exciting two day conference on 24th and 25th June 2010 in Budapest, Hungary exploring the role of youth in the EU in addressing the phenomenon of migration. Day one will focus on sharing good practice and building capacity among participants in developing youth awareness-raising projects on migration issues. Day two will focus on the inclusion of migration and development topics in EU education systems. Please register your interest in attending the conference at https://www.redcross.org.uk/forms_adv.asp?id=98646 by 18th June 2010. For further details please see www.redcross.org.uk/positiveimages or email positiveimages@redcross.org.uk
Please note that there is no charge associated with registering for the conference. Lunch will be provided on both days. However participants are expected to meet their own travel and accommodation costs to Hungary.

FoRS shares experience of Czech presidency

With the support of the Czech - Polish Forum and the EC From FoRS has organised a three day Presidency workshop in Prague from 15-17th of June 2010 with the aim to further strengthen capacities of Hungarian and Polish CSOs in the field of policy and advocacy work, to enhance cooperation and jointly influence EU policies relevant to development issues during Hungarian and Polish Presidencies. The workshop, facilitated by experts from CONCORD, AictionAid, CAN, FoRS, and Glopolis, helped participants to learn about EU policy and advocacy tools and approaches relevant for civil society organisations during Presidencies, further to prepare own presidency projects and discuss priorities as well as to share experiences from the Czech Presidency.

Information provided by Inka Pibilova, FoRS

Czech national seminar on evaluation of development education activities

FoRS organised in cooperation with the North South Centre the Czech national seminar on evaluation of development education activities on 10-11 June 2010. The event gathered around 40 participants from Czech NGOs and their partners from elementary and secondary schools (teachers, tutors), representatives of state institutions and universities as well as experts on development education. The current situation in development education was elaborated on the Czech and EU level with multiple stakeholders. A workshop on evaluation methods, facilitated by Louise Robinson from RISC, followed with the engagement of NGO representatives, teachers and experts.

Information provided by Inka Pibilova, FoRS

First African week in Slovenia

In the last week of May, Sloga together with the African centre Association, organised the first African week in Slovenia. The event aimed at diminishing negative images of Africans living in Slovenia as well as raising awareness of African culture, languages, good practices and challenges that Africans as well as other migrants/nationals may be facing in Slovenia. Starting on May 20, 2010, the week hosted many events – from roundtables, public events, cultural workshops, as well as a football match. The African week, that finished on may 25th by a formal celebration, was welcomed by many eminent speakers – as the President of Slovenia, Dr. Danilo Türk, and mayor of Ljubljana, Zoran Janković. Based on their positive responses, as well as the substantive interest of media and general public, Sloga will emphasize to host an African week on a yearly basis.

Besides the African week, Sloga took part in a traditional running marathon in beginning of May. Sloga formed a »fair trade« running trio: Slovenian foreign minister, Samuel Žbogar, the coordinator of the first fair trade store in Slovenia, Darja Urbas and coordinator of Sloga, Marjan Huč. After the marathon, the running trio headed to the fair trade store, where they discussed some relevant issues related to development cooperation and the position of NGOs in Slovenia.

Information provided by Eva Pliberšek, Sloga Platform

Slovak NGDO Platform signs Memorandum of Understanding with MFA

The Slovak NGDO Platform has become an official partner of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affaires in the process of preparation and consultation of Slovak ODA documents. The Memorandum of Understanding between the MFA and the NGDO Platform was signed at a special ceremony at the premises of the foreign ministry on 4th of May 2010. The Memorandum was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, and Nora Beňáková, chairwoman of the Slovak NGDO Platform.

“Development assistance is one of the priorities of our foreign policy. It is our responsibility to use the limited amount of bilateral ODA effectively in order to really help the people make a change and improve their lives. That is a reason why the cooperation with all relevant actors is very important,” Mr. Lajčák said during the ceremony.

As emphasised he takes the Slovak NGDO Platform as strategic partner for consultation on key documents linked to ODA. Chairwoman of the Slovak NGDO Platform welcomed the opportunity to hold a regular dialogue with MFA. “The Memorandum is about the relationship between two partners that have got a same aim – better development policy and cooperation that really helps the people to help themselves,” Ms. Beňáková said after the signing of the document.

Information provided by Daniela Balážová, Slovak NGDO Platform

Planning Strategically for Environmental and Development Cooperation in Estonia

TRIALOG together with the Estonian National NGDO Platform and with the input from the Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) Advisers organized between on May 3rd and 4th a national training focusing on the topic of Environment and Development.
The seminar explored the EU-specific and other international sustainable development initiatives and possibilities of funding these type of initiatives in the context of development cooperation. Among the specific topics explored were: Policies of International Development Cooperation related to the environment; Possibilities for EU and non-EU funding for Environmental cooperation projects with the “South,” including on how to apply for this funding; and Tools and processes that can be used as part of a Platform on Environmental and International Development and Estonia´s commitment to “Sustainable Estonia 21” including methods on how to measure success.
The trainer, Shawn Westcott from SSD Advisers, provided participants with a rich toolbox of instruments for tackling the topic, and our hopes go towards the future development of projects and a deeper engagement of Estonians NGOs on development cooperation projects focusing on the environment.

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG

Training in Bratislava

Around 10 participants from different Slovak NGOs participated at the TRIALOG Training on Quality Criteria for Development Cooperation. The training took place in premises of Slovak NGDO Platform in Bratislava on 30th of April 2010. During the training led by Andra Tanase the participants received a good overview of the different quality criteria to be implemented throughout the project cycle management of development cooperation and development education projects. The participants had also been introduced to some concrete tools that help monitor and incr ease the quality of those projects. “The training was very interesting and in many ways useful. I especially appreciate the agenda linked to the quality in project writing which included the tips, good and bad practices when writing the application,” said Lenka Nemcova, Executive Secretary of Slovak NGDO Platform, after the training.

Information provided by Daniela Balážová, Slovak NGDO Platform

FoRS General Assembly and the new Board

On 26 May, 2010, the General Assembly of the Czech platform took place in Prague. FoRS organisations appreciated that in 2009, when the Czech presidency was held, FoRS was actively involved in European policy and advocacy work. At the same time, FoRS has initiated an internal discussion on CSO development effectiveness and contributed through the Open forum for CSO Development effectiveness to the debate on the global level. FoRS also contributed to the finalisation of the Czech Strategy on development cooperation, to the National strategy of development education and on the policy coherence for development debate. FoRS has established and strengthened important partnerships and enhanced capacities of its members as well as of the Secretariat.

FoRS members have admitted 6 new organisations and therefore the membership base increased to 37 members and 10 observers. New Executive and Advisory Board has been selected. After 7 years, Simon Panek from People In Need has handed over his Chair to Pavel Gruber from Caritas. For the full list of Board members, see http://www.fors.cz/en/about_us/structure.

FoRS further discussed current challenges as well as the need of quality standards. Finally, current situation in the Czech development cooperation was discussed with deputy minister of foreign affairs and with deputy director of Czech Development Agency.

Information provided by Inka Pibilova, FoRS

Promotion of Global/Development Education in Slovakia

From 27-28 May 2010 a national seminar to promote global/development education in Slovakia took place in Bratislava. The meeting brought together all stakeholders in the field of global/development education in Slovakia and approximately 40 participants from ministries, methodological pedagogical centres, governmental agencies, representatives from non-governmental organisations dealing with global/development education at national, regional and local level, local authorities as well as foreign experts from the Portuguese NGDO Platform (Plarforma ONGD), the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe (NSC).

The seminar was organised by the Slovak NGDO Platform and their members and took place in co-operation and with the support of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and the European Commission. The programme of the seminar tackled main challenges and perspectives for global development education in Slovakia; the role of civil society as well as local authorities in this field; European perspectives on global/development education, and the role of European institutions in supporting global development education in the new member states of the EU. The main objective of the seminar was to enable an exchange between all important stakeholders in the field of global/development education and to initiate the setting up of a working group for the preparation of a draft national Globlal/Development Education strategy for Slovakia.

Information provided by Daniela Balážová, Slovak NGDO Platform