Online documentation of the TRIALOG Partnership Fair

The second edition of the Partnership Fair in Vienna took place on February 15-17, 2010. It was a learning, networking and project-designing event which gathered more than 150 participants mainly from development CSOs from across Europe coming from different sectors. Many key development actors contributed either as speakers, facilitators or participants.

The full documentation of the event will soon become available at:

http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=216

Most presentations are already available for download.

Visit also the photo gallery of the event at: http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?B=78&gal=2nd-Partnership-Fair

Sneak Preview: The 2nd Edition of TRIALOG´s Partnership Fair

With few days left, the Partnership Fair is well taking shape and seems to be on the right track.

150 civil society representatives from 25 different countries have successfully submitted project proposals and will join the Partnership Fair in Vienna between 15th and 17th of February 2010. The event will include:

• Presentations on EuropeAid funding mechanisms and civil society perspectives on these mechanisms,
• a Market Place where participants have the possibility to directly present their own organisations,
• Expert Presentations on partnerships and partners such as the local authorities, on how to write a project proposal and on how to finance these projects
• and, most importantly, concrete work on project ideas and shaping up project proposals for future calls.

The ideas received so far are as varied as the participants, ranging from gender-related topics and the empowerment of women as development actors or volunteering in development, to raising awareness about poverty, tackling environmental challenges or dealing with inter-Platform cooperation on development issues. These topics make us think that the event will set itself to be a very productive ground for future proposals and this was precisely the purpose.

Looking forward to welcoming all in Vienna.

Information provided by Andra Tanase, TRIALOG

EuropeAid: Forecast of upcoming calls

On February 10, 2010, EuropeAid published an updated forecast of upcoming global calls for proposals. Among them, the calls of the thematic programme "Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development" (on Development Education; Coordination, Cooperation and Networking Activities; Global, Multicountry/regional Initiatives; In-country Interventions) which are expected to be published on March 15, 2010, but also calls of other thematic programmes (Investing in People, Environment, European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights) are listed.

For more information, please see: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/funding/documents/call_forecast.pdf Please note that the table includes a forecast only of thematic calls for proposals that have not yet been launched and for which guidelines and application forms are not yet available on the EuropeAid website. The information contained in the table is indicative only and subject to change.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/funding/documents/call_forecast.pdf

GLEN Multipliers Training Cycle 2010 has kicked off

It is already the 7th year that the Global Education Network of Young Europeans (GLEN) will train over 100 young Europeans to become global education multipliers. The participants are being recruited in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Malta, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany and France. Once recruited, the participants will take part in a year-long training cycle that will take them from theory, through experience right into the practice of global education.

GLEN Multipliers Training Cycle (MTC) consists of four phases. First the participants attend two Multipliers Training Seminars, where they receive the first training in global education topics and methodology. They are also trained in team work and intercultural communication, as the next phase that follows are the Internships. In tandems and tridems, the young people participate in a three-month long internship provided by civil society organisations in the countries of Africa, Asia and Caucasus. The topics of internships vary from social work, through education to sustainable tourism and related issues. Once the participants are back home, they start planning and then carry out a Global Education Activity on a local, national or European level, based on their experience from the South. The last phase of the Cycle is the RENew Seminar, where all the participants meet again to evaluate, reflect, exchange and network for new joint global education activities.

The new development in the 2010 edition of the GLEN MTC is the Transfer Seminar. After last year’s successful pilot, the Transfer Seminar has become a regular offer of GLEN. The Transfer Seminar is focused on transferring the experience of living and working in countries of the Global South into global education activities in Europe and will take place in November 2010.

For more information please visit http://www.glen-europe.org/ or write to Kasia Szeniawska: kasia@glen-europe.org

Information provided by Kasia Szeniawska, GLEN

CSO Empowerment in Belarus

Lithuanian NGO Information and Support Centre in cooperation with Belarussian Centre for Social Innovations this year launch a two-year Project to facilitate the development of a sustainable social policy in Belarus, in particular on poverty reduction and social inclusion. The project is financed by the European Commission.

Due to political restrictions and the informational isolation of the country, non-governmental organisations lack knowledge, skills and capacities to effectively address poverty reduction and social exclusion issues and establish cooperation with relevant authorities. Moreover, Belarussian NGOs have fragmental communication and informational channels with other relevant organizations from the EU. Belarussian regional and even local authorities being under direct regulation of the central government, take a passive role in the execution of their functions, having little understanding of the international policies and no capacities and instruments to develop and implement social strategies. The Belarussian general public is also accustomed to the top-down approach and takes little initiative to participate in the process at local level.

The project will aim:

• To encourage Belarussian civil society to participate actively in the development and implementation of social policy and strengthen cooperation among Belarussian CSOs;
• To establish a platform for cooperation of Belarussian CSOs and local communities with local authorities and other stakeholders;
• To empower Belarussian NGOs to participate in policy dialogue;
• To establish partnerships between Belarussian and EU CSOs.

For more information about the Lithuanian NGO Information and Support Centre and the project please visit http://www.nisc.lt/ or contact info@nisc.lt.

Information provided by Olia Zuravliova, NGO Information and Support Centre

Slovenia: Visit from Afghanistan

Between 20th and 22nd January, 2010, the Slovenian NGDO Platform SLOGA hosted Mrs. Fatima Gailani, president of Afghan Red Crescent and Mr. Abaceen Nasimi, journalist and project manager of Institute for War and Peace Reporting. The purpose of their visit was to raise awareness on Afghanistan, the needs of Afghan civil society, their views on the role of international community and the role of Slovenia in Afghanistan. Within the 2 days Mrs. Gailani in Mr. Nasimi met with Slovenian president dr. Danilo Turk, representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and development minister Dragoljuba Benčina, representatives of Ministry of Defence and minister dr. Ljubica Jelušič, Chamber of Commerce, mufti, Red Cross, media and Slovenian NGOs.

In the meeting with NGOs that took place on January 21, Mrs. Gailani (Mr. Nasimi arrived to Slovenia only on Thursday evening) explained the role and activities of Red Crescent in Afghanistan. More than 41 000 volunteers included in the organization work all over Afghanistan and have access to places many other organizations don’t have. Mrs. Gailani emphasized that this access is possible also due to their neutrality: “If you are neutral, people will respect you and it will be possible to work everywhere.” Mrs. Gailani also highlighted that military reinforcement in Afghanistan without development aid will not bring any changes. It is therefore crucial to create jobs and enable a decent life for the Afghani people for a peaceful future of Afghanistan.

Information provided by Marjan Huc, SLOGA

Debating MDGs and the role of Slovenian development institutions

In the first days in 2010, the Slovenian NGDO platform SLOGA organised a roundtable on the implementation of MDGs and the role of Slovenian development institutions, civil society and others in achieving efficient development aid. The roundtable gathered NGO representatives as well as representatives of MFA, Division for International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and the Faculty of Social Sciences. Participants agreed that Slovenia has made an important step forward in the field of raising its official development assistance and improving its efficiency. Slovenia has even increased its ODA in the time of financial crisis. However there is a room for improvement, specially in regard to the role of Slovenian parliament and broader public. It was agreed that civil society organisations play an important part within the Slovenian development mechanism. In the future more emphasis will be given to better coordination of development aid, inclusion of economic actors and to better professional support to development policy.

Information provided by Marjan Huc, SLOGA