The European Union has again failed to meet its commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on Development Aid by 2015. On 26th October in Brussels, the CONCORD Aidwatch report 2016 was published, entitled “This is not enough”, reveals that only five countries met their 2015 targets: Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This means there is a debt of EUR 36.9billion in 2015 between what the EU has promised to developing countries and what it has delivered. The full report is available here. Source: CONCORD Europe
Author: anja
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) commissioned an impact assessment of its Western Balkans program from 2010 to 2015. The overall conclusion from the assessment is that the RBF program in the Western Balkans is having a meaningful positive impact, and it is relevant to the developments in Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and the rest of the region. The choice of the Western Balkans as a pivotal place is appropriate, as it is one of the least stable parts of Europe. The four goals of the program connected to strengthening democracy, peace, and sustainable development in Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia, are directly…
The Aid Transparency Index is the only independent measure of transparency among the world’s leading aid organizations. It assesses organizations’ overall commitment to transparency as well as the information they publish at the organization level and for individual activities. It encourages the publication of timely, comprehensive and forward-looking data in an open format. As announced at the 2016 Index launch, Publish What You Fund is reviewing the methodology of the Aid Transparency Index. In order to do this, a consultation period is being opened, where the wider community is invited to comment on the proposed changes. This includes the opportunity to…
The international conference “Development and Democracy”, held on October 27th in Bratislava, is a regular leading event on development cooperation in the region. It creates a unique opportunity to share knowledge, creative ideas, experience, success, and failure in development and innovation. Through stirring the wider professional and academic debate the conference tackles the most pressing issues of democratization, migration, and global development. Sharing and dissemination of innovative ideas on global responsibility is a key for our common future. The fifth edition of the international conference Development and Democracy dealt with priorities of Slovakia´s Presidency of the Council of the EU.…
For the fourth year in a row, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) monitors the enabling environment for civil society development in Macedonia. On this occasion, MCIC is conducting a survey that aims to gather information on general trends of the environment in which civil society in Macedonia operates in three areas – 1) Basic Legal Guarantees of Freedoms; 2) CSOs’ Financial Viability and Sustainability; and 3) Government – CSO Relationship. The process of data gathering through the questionnaire has already started and the participation of all interested CSOs is more than welcome. All representatives of CSOs’ based in…
BCSDN organized the first national consultation meetings of The Global Standard for CSO Accountability that took place in Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Serbia from the 17th till the 21st of October hosted by BCSDN members and partners in those countries. The Standard has been created by nine CSO accountability initiatives from across the world including the Balkan Civil Society Development Network. It aims to connect CSOs with people, partners, supporters and donors in order to build trust and to leverage impact in times of shrinking civic space. It is a strong commitment to the public and an invitation to hold…
On October 24th, 2016, CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation launched in beta a new tool that rates countries based on how well they uphold the three fundamental rights that enable people to act collectively and make a change: freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of expression. In this endeavor, BCSDN is acting as Research partner to CIVICUS by providing bi-monthly updates for countries in the Balkan region and Turkey. According to the CIVICUS Monitor, the first-ever online tool to track and compare civic freedoms on a global scale, more than three billion people live in countries…
The 23 Issue of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association has been published. In this issue you can read about: Kiai to present final report to UN General Assembly, examining assembly and association rights in the workplace, The 10 principles checklist: rate your country’s management of assemblies, Assembly & association rights: By the numbers, Special Rapporteur news in brief: September-October 2016, World briefing: Assembly & association rights in the news, and more. The newsletter is available here. Source: UN Special Rapporteur
The state in its endeavor to support civil society development can have a positive role and thus it can provide financial support to CSOs’ operation. One of the key sources of funding is the revenue from lotteries and games of chance. In the country, these funds are potentially significant funding source for organizations’ sustainability. However, in order for this to become a reality, state institutions need to use the principles of transparency and accountability, equal treatment, fair selection and proportionality in the current allocation of funds. The comparative analysis “Lottery proceeds for CSO work: Luck has nothing to do with…
The European Union finds itself in the midst of multiplying crises. The possible secessionist crisis triggered by Brexit is the latest manifestation of Europe’s fragility and of the declining attraction of integration. In spite of this, support for EU integration in the countries of the Western Balkans remains very high, and their peoples still perceive the EU’s as a major source of reforms, which may lead to a better life. To bolster enlargement policy, especially in those cases where the process is directly obstructed by particular member states, the EU needs to provide clear and credible enlargement perspectives for the…