NEWSLETTER Black Sea NGO Newsletter, no.7 Spring 2013
The Black Sea NGO Newsletter is part of the Black
In this issue you can read about:
Sea NGO Forum’s follow-up activities. The newsletter is
Follow-up of the Black Sea NGO Forum………………….2
available
every
3
months
on
www.blackseango.org/forum/ and distributed to the participants at all the editions of the Black Sea NGO
News: countries in focus………..….........................…….3
Forum or other relevant stakeholders in the region
ARMENIA
with the purpose of improving our common work,
BELARUS
communication and engagement.
GEORGIA REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA RUSSIA EU Documentation & Information: reports …..……….......7 Capacity building opportunities: events &trainings, sharing best practices….............................................9 Funding opportunities………..………….........................11 www.blackseango.org www.fondromania.org
Highlights………………………………….............…….........12
We encourage you to send your contributions on current &
The Secretariat of the Black Sea NGO Forum is currently
future
coordinated by the Romanian NGDO Platform –FOND:
activities,
opportunities
that
events, you
partnerships would
like
and to
funding share
to
www.fondromania.org.
oana.perju@fondromania.org Contact
person:
Ms.
oana.perju@fondromania.org,
Oana Address:
Perju
-
Calea
13
Septembrie St, no. nr. 85, bl. 77C, ap. 74, sector 5, Bucharest,Romania
This material is elaborated in the framework of the Black Sea NGO Forum, which was launched in 2008 by FOND (Romanian NGDO Platform) with the support of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Representation of the European Commission in Romania and the Black Sea Trust, as part of the Black Sea Synergy. The Forum aims at increasing the level of dialogue and cooperation among NGOs in the wider Black Sea Region, strengthening the NGOs capacity to influence regional and national policies and to increase the number and quality of regional partnerships and projects.
Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013 FOLLOW-UP OF THE BLACK SEA NGO Forum
http://www.childpact.org/2012/07/06/pabsec-issuedChildPact builds consistently on the Black Sea NGO Forum and now calls for a regional fund for children
child-protection-recommendation The Recommendation - in particular its implementation was discussed at the 2012 gathering of the Black Sea
In
2011
a
group
of
child-focused
coalition
representatives from the wider Black Sea area came together in a special panel at the Black Sea NGO Forum to discuss child protection developments and challenges in the region, as well as the state of the child-focused civil society. The main outcome of that panel was the decision of this group of child protection leaders to create ChildPact - the Regional Coalition for Child Protection in the Wider Black Sea Area. A ''Regional Coalition Mandate'' was drafted in 2011 in Bucharest and then circulated and debated in the first 6 months of 2012. In September a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by 8 coalitions from 8 different countries (Albania,
Armenia,
Azerbaijan,
Bulgaria,
Georgia,
Moldova, Romania, Serbia) and ChildPact was officially created to represent the most vulnerable children from the wider Black Sea area in policy dialogues at regional and international levels. Based on contacts made at the 2011 Black Sea NGO Forum, ChildPact was involved in
NGO Forum. A panel formed of 4 members of national parliaments from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Serbia (all members of the PABSEC Committee of Educational, Cultural and Social Affairs) and BSEC Deputy Secretary General Traian Chebeleu met in Bucharest and offered their support in favour of implementing the 127/2012 Recommendation, in particular the creation of a regional fund for children. You can watch the video of this meeting here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4r9v8o_2JM You can also watch this video to learn more about ChildPact and the need for a regional coalition for child protection
in
our
region:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53mtyKn3t7w In the run-up to the next edition of the Black Sea NGO Forum ChildPact will be launched in Brussels and will advocate for creation a regional mechanism for cooperation in child protection, to be supported by a regional fund for children.
drafting the PABSEC (Parliamentay Assembly of the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation) Recommendation 127/2012 on Child Protection in the BSEC Member States.
For more information, you can contact: Mirela Oprea, ChildPact Secretary General, mirela_oprea@wvi.org or visit the website (www.childpact.org) and Facebook page.
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013 COUNTRIES IN FOCUS ARMENIA NGO-NETWORK WEB-PAGE LAUNCHED The Yerevan-based Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) with the support of the International Visegrad Fund (IVF) launched www.ngo-network.org The aims of the web-page are: •
Promotion of cooperation between the civil society actors from Visegrad and Eastern Partnership countries
•
Providing information on recent announcements and calls
•
Creation of a common space/platform for NGOs from Eastern Partnership and Visegrad group countries
•
Information and experience sharing
Source: www.blackseango.org/forum/home/articles/ngo-network-web-page-launched
BELARUS
How Far Is Belarusian Education from European Standards? "Belarus aspires to the integration with the universal educational system preserving its achievements and traditions", – said the Deputy Minister of Education Alexander Zhuk on 3 April 2013. However, what he meant under "traditions" sometimes clearly contradicts the principles of education accepted elsewhere in Europe. The system of manual control, absence of real self-governance, political pressure on students and universities plague the atmosphere of educational freedom in the geographic heart of Europe. Belarus remains the only European state outside of the Bologna system. This gap complicates recognition of Belarusian academic degrees and slows down the Belarusian-European academic exchanges. Bologna system experts expect substantially greater amount of academic freedoms in Belarus - something which the government of Belarus resists. With this approach it will be really hard not just to join the Bologna process, but even to maintain the current level of quality in higher education. De-politicisation, guarantees of academic freedoms and creating real student self-government bodies must become the first steps in the right direction. Source: http://belarusdigest.com/story/belarusian-education-needs-more-freedom-13721
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013
GEORGIA EU report on Georgia On 20 March the European Commission presented a report on the implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy in Georgia in 2012. The report is prepared annually by the European Commission and other European institutions. The aim of the report is to review the achievements of countries participating in the European Neighborhood Policy programs and to evaluate the most important processes aiming to the democratization of state institutions, such as the justice system, freedom of the media, civil liberties, the right to vote, transparency and more. Apart from the analysis of achievements, the report contains also recommendations and suggestions for the countries covered by the program for future years. This paper aims to list and discuss the statements of this report regarding international affairs and relations of Georgia with the EU. The year 2012 was a year of significant intensity in the political relations between the EU and Georgia. The leading politicians of Georgia paid official visits in the EU, including the president, who visited the EU on several occasions, the Prime Minister, ministers, MPs, who met, among others, the President of the European Commission, the President of the European
Parliament,
the
Commissioner
for
Enlargement
and
others.
Also senior representatives of the EU, including Herman Van Rompuy, Ĺ tefan FĂźle, Catherine Ashton, paid numerous visits to Georgia. The report estimates that the recent parliamentary elections were the first democratic change of power in the history of Georgia, which greatly improved the image of Georgia in the eyes of the EU. However, the campaign was accompanied by a sharp and ruthless political struggle. The report calls Georgia to improve the existing electoral system and to reform the judiciary in order to achieve full independence of the judiciary and to ensure clean, transparent trials. The EU accuses Georgia of selective application of justice for political opponents. Source: http://www.forum-ekonomiczne.pl/article/eu-report-on-georgia/?lang=en#.UXpT38pTI68
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
OSCE calls on Moldova and Transnistria to abstain from unilateral actions The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) calls upon both Moldova and its separatist region of Transnistria to abstain from unilateral actions and use the existing procedures to cooperate and overcome the problems. In a statement for Moldova.ORG, the press office of the OSCE Mission to Moldova said the organization has a close look at the latest developments in the region. “The OSCE Mission to Moldova is following recent developments and would call upon both sides to fully use all existing mechanisms to address problems and not to resort to unilateral actions,” the Mission spokesperson Paula Redondo Alvarez-Palencia said. […] Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for conflicts, Andrii Deshchytsia, who was on a three-day visit to Moldova, said the conflicting parties should have a constructive and positive attitude during the upcoming talks planned for May 23-24 in Odessa, Ukraine. “I will urge both sides to redouble their efforts towards reaching a lasting settlement and to approach the upcoming round of negotiations with a constructive and positive attitude,” the official said. Source:
http://politicom.moldova.org/news/osce-calls-on-moldova-and-transnistria-to-abstain-from-unilateral-actions-
236500-eng.html
RUSSIA
Report on the Development of Civil Society in Russia A lively debate on the various ways of funding non-profit or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) comes in anticipation of the publication of the President’s Grant Programme to support NGOs in 2013. Within the framework of this programme, the government plans to triple its’ aid to non-governmental organizations. It also proposes to encourage the growth of NGOs in Russia in order to catch up with similar organizations in other countries. Bearing this in mind, the current system of support for NGOs was criticized in the report – here are the main grievances:
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013 •
Lack of transparency in the existing system of support for NGOs
•
Lack of information on the exact amount of funds allocated to specific NGOs.
•
Lack of transparency in choosing which NGO should receive a grant.
•
Poor system within NGOs of giving feedback on the results of grant funded programmes.
•
The scattering of funds over many small projects - thus preventing the creation of large (‘umbrella’) national NGOs.
Building up a regional network for cooperation between state institutions and NGOs to be run by advisory committees whose information is based on facts and figures supplied by social services. In developed countries public funding of NGOs makes up an average of 48% of their income in developing countries this is 22% and in Russia 5%) Income from their work, including membership fees makes up 35% (61% in developing countries and 22% in Russia). Donations from businesses, private individuals and foreign Foundations – 17%. (In developing countries 17% and in Russia 73%). [According to the Boston Consulting Group, 2011.] Source: http://civilfund.ru/mat/view/21
EU JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS European Neighborhood Policy: Working towards a Stronger Partnership The EU revised the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) in 2011, establishing instruments to provide more support to partner countries building deep and sustainable democracy and to support inclusive economic development. The new ENP’s main features are political association and economic integration, the mobility of people, more EU financial assistance, a stronger partnership with civil society and better cooperation on specific sector policies. This joint Communication, accompanied by a set of Joint Staff working documents, looks at how the EU and partner countries have fared in the implementation of the jointly agreed reform objectives. Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine elected new parliaments, while Moldova’s parliament elected a president. Democratic structures are getting ever stronger though not all of these elections have fully met all international standards. Belarusians were called to elect their parliament as well. However, elections fell short of OSCE and international standards. A stronger partnership with society is central to the ENP. As a driving force of democratization and inclusiveness, civil society plays a key role in all aspects of democratic and socio-economic reform, in advancing women’s rights, in supporting the freedom of expression and association, in advocating environmental protection and generally in striving for greater social justice. The EU has continued to live up to its commitment to work with civil society, national parliaments and other key stakeholders such as social partners and business, to ensure that the reform objectives agreed with partner countries are a true reflection of their societies’ concerns and aspirations. Civil society also has a crucial role to play in promoting these reforms and in holding governments. Source: http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/docs/2013_enp_pack/2013_comm_conjoint_en.pdf
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013
ARMENIA,
GEORGIA,
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreements (DCFTAs) with Armenia, Georgia and Moldova to be finalized before Vilnius? The European Commission is making progress in negotiations on free trade agreements with several Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries and hopes to complete them with three – Armenia, Moldova and Georgia – by the EaP-EU Summit in Vilnius at the end of November. A sixth round of negotiations was held with Moldova on 12 March and a final round of negotiations was held in Georgia (there have been five rounds already) while Armenia, so far, has held four rounds of negotiations. Georgia is reported to be asking for the inclusion of a commitment to EU membership in its agreement and this demand could hold up the finalization of the negotiations. Stefan Füle, the Enlargement Commissioner, has recently been saying that the perspective of EU membership should be held out to those EaP partners who have made most progress maybe as early as the Vilnius Summit. But he is also urging Georgian politicians to stop bickering as this would help him in persuading his colleagues in Brussels of the merits of making such an offer to EaP countries like Georgia. The assessment of a country’s democratic credentials are still a major factor for the EU regardless of its drive to complete DCFTAs with the EaP countries. This for the moment puts Belarus and Azerbaijan beyond the pale, makes progress with Ukraine difficult and puts a question mark on Armenia. The four member states mentioned earlier say that “the political situation, respect for principles of democracy including democratic conduct of elections, rule of law…should remain important criteria for assessing the progress of partner countries” Source: http://www.eap-csf.eu
DOCUMENTATION & INFORMATION: REPORTS, DOCUMENTARIES, BOOKS, PHOTO PROJECTS, CONTESTS REPORTS 1. Media Sustainability Index (MSI) - Europe & Eurasia The 2013 MSI study for Europe & Eurasia found a mix of positive and negative developments in almost every country. As last year, overall significant improvement, defined as 0.10 points or more, was observed in six countries, while significant regression was observed in five. Eleven of 21 countries showed little
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013 overall average change from 2012. How Does IREX Define and Measure Sustainability? By “sustainability” IREX refers to the ability of media to play its vital role as the “fourth estate.” How sustainable is a media sector in the context of providing the public with useful, timely, and objective information? How well does it serve as a facilitator of public discussion? To measure this, the MSI assesses five “objectives” that shape a media system: freedom of speech, professional journalism, plurality of news, business management, and supporting institutions. Read the complete MSI Methodology for more information on how this is accomplished. The countries in focus are: Albania Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Georgia Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Macedonia Moldova Montenegro Romania Russia Serbia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan For more information or to request a hard copy, email msi@irex.org. Please provide name, full mailing address, region(s), MSI publication year, and quantity. Source: http://www.irex.org/project/media-sustainability-index-msi-europe-eurasia
2. U.S. Issues Country Reports On Human Rights Practices The U.S. State Department has released its "Country Reports On Human Rights Practices" for 2012, highlighting crackdowns on civil society, struggles for democratic change, and threats to freedom of expression. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry presented the reports to the media in Washington on 19th April 2013. The document states that “governments continued to repress or attack the means by which individuals can organize, assemble or demand better performance from their rulers.” The report faults Russia for “large increases in fines for unauthorized protests, a law recriminalizing libel, a law that limits Internet freedom by allowing authorities to block certain Web sites without a court order, and amendments to the criminal code that dramatically expand the definition of treason.” The report says a record high of 232 journalists were in prisons in 2012, where Turkey had the most behind bars, with 49. Also, the document emphaises that too many governments allow the persecution of women and minority groups, including migrants, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The State Department’s annual report is now in its 36th year. Country in focus: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrkyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Source: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013 CAPACITY BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES: EVENTS & TRAININGS, SHARING BEST PRACTICES EVENTS 8th Economic Forum of Young Leaders, September 3-6, 2013, Nowy Sącz, Poland
The 8th Economic Forum of Young Leaders will be held on 3-6 September, 2013 in Nowy Sącz, Poland. Young leaders from all over Europe meet in Poland to discuss current political, economic and social issues. The mission of the Forum is to create ideas for the future of Europe. Each year the Forum gathers around 350 leaders of political, social, economic and civil society organizations from 42 countries from the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the South Caucasus. Idea of the Forum The Economic Forum of Young Leaders is a platform on which the views on the future of the European Union and the whole European continent are exchanged. Its mission is to create ideas for the future of Europe. The programme of the Forum consists of panel discussions, lectures, business presentations, thematic workshops and also a banquet and a reception organized in the Town Hall by the President of Nowy Sącz. Debates and the most important events of the Forum are broadcast live due to the involvement of the Transmisje.org The subject area of the forum pertains to economic, political and international issues, the topics connected to the past and the vision of the European Union, the relations of the EU and its neighboring countries, the role of the young generation in contemporary world. Application deadline is 17 May 2013. Qualified participants of the Forum will be provided accommodation, catering, coffee breaks during the sessions, transportation between Nowy Sącz-Krynica-Nowy Sącz and simultaneous interpreting of the sessions. Because of limited budget organizers will cover accommodation costs and catering costs only for some of the participants. Participation fee is 200 Euro. Source: http://www.forum-leaders.eu/2013/invitation_2013.php
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013 TRAININGS
Political Transformation Workshop: Western Balkans and Turkey, 3 - 7 June, 2013 in Warsaw, Poland
The European Academy of Diplomacy is proud to announce the 1st Edition of the Political Transformation Workshop: Western Balkans and Turkey, to be held 3 - 7 June, 2013 in Warsaw, Poland. Recruitment is currently open. Deadline for scholarship applications: 21 April 2013. The PTW will cover the following topics over an intensive 48 hour week of lectures, workshops, case study discussions and study visits: •
Analysis of EU policy towards Turkey and Western Balkans
•
Managing a divided nation in Cyprus
•
Europization and free-market reforms in Turkey
•
Post-War Recovery and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
•
Building statehood in Kosovo
•
Croatian and Serbian path to EU
Additionally, participants will have master level skills training in: •
Leadership & Team Building
•
Public Speaking
•
Social Media for Public Diplomacy
•
Mediation and Reconciliation
The Political Transformation Workshop: Western Balkans & Turkey is a weeklong program devoted to exploring the current transformational processes in the Western Balkans region and Turkey from the European Union perspective. The Workshop is designed to assess the current state of affairs, successes and failures of both the policies of Turkey and Western Balkan states, and the EU regional leadership and relationship with each country. The added value of the program is the communication block, which aims to deliver up-to-date and practical knowledge on public speaking, social media and mediation processes. For
more
information
on
the
Political
Transformation
Workshop
(http://www.diplomats.pl/pl/programymiedzynarodowe/ptw.html), contact EAD Program Coordinator Andrzej Ocalewicz at
(+48) 22 378 11 99 or aocalewicz@diplomats.pl
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Confidence Building 2013 -2014 Call for Applications
Confidence Building in the South Caucasus – a joint initiative of the Robert Bosch Stiftung(RBSG) and the Black Sea Trustfor Regional Cooperation of the German Marshall Fund (BST) to support confidence building activities of non-state actors in the South Caucasus and its neighboring countries. Program Description The projects should be initiated by civil society organizations which can effectively engage target audiences within the population of the region in their projects’ activities. Organizations requesting grants must be legally registered in one of the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The involvement of additional partners (especially those from the EU) is possible and welcome. Projects working in the following areas would be especially appreciated: • • • •
cross-border initiatives for youth; approaches to civic education or active citizenship; approaches to reconciliation and peace that incorporate experiences from history and convey them to the younger generation; the role of media in overcoming stereotypes. The average grant will be around 23,000 USD (about 18,000 EUR). Multilateral projects may exceed that amount in exceptional cases. A grant letter to the selected projects will be issued by the end of June 2013, and respectively, November 2013. Applicants are strongly advised to submit proposals for projects that will take longer than 6 months in the April 2013 call. Applications have to be sent to confidencebuilding@gmfus.org. Two different application deadlines are offered in the 2013 – 2014 Call. The partners recommend applying in spring since funds are limited. 1) For the May 12, 2013 deadline, interested organizations are invited to submit project proposals from April 10, 2013 until May 12, 2013, at 18:00 in Bucharest, Romania (UTC+3:00). The projects must be completed by May 2014 and reported to BST within one month of the project’s completion. The maximum duration of the project should not exceed 11 months. 2)
For
the October
1, 2013
deadline,
interested
organizations
are
invited
to
submit
project
proposalsonly from September 1, 2013 until October 1, 2013, at 18:00 in Bucharest, Romania (UTC+3:00). The projects must be completed by May 2014 and reported to BST within one month of the project’s completion. The maximum duration of the project should not exceed 6 months. Source: http://www.gmfus.org/grants-fellowships/grantmaking-programs/black-sea-trust/confidence-building/
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Black Sea NGO Trimestrial Newsletter Spring 2013 HIGHLIGHTS The EU Neighbourhood Barometer (opinion polling and media monitoring) is part of the EU-funded Regional Communication Programme, and aims at assessing knowledge and perception of the EU Neighbourhood Policy and its cooperation activities and programmes. (EU Neighbourhood Info)
The surveys were conducted in November-December 2012 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine, based on around 1,000 interviews in each country. Source: neighbours
Black Sea NGO Forum
http://www.enpi-info.eu/eastportal/news/latest/32847/Infographic:-snapshot-of-opinion-among-Eastern-
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