On July 8th, 2016, a group of civil society organizations and experts presented the joint proposal – Blueprint for Urgent Democratic Reforms they prepared for the implementation of urgent democratic reforms. The aim of the Blueprint is to provide the necessary incentives, guidelines and actions that the relevant stakeholders shall take so as to restore the democratic standards and values in Macedonia, mark progress in key public policy areas and ultimately, create conditions for free, fair and credible elections. The Blueprint focuses on the measures that need to be implemented in the upcoming three, six and nine months by an…
Author: anja
With the MAXCAP project officially coming to its end in March 2016, BCSDN collected and summarized the main working papers in an overview of all research related to EU Enlargement process in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The publication contains also the policy briefs that aim to formulate specific policy recommendations for practitioners on the EU and/or national level. The project: Maximizing the integration capacity of the European Union: Lessons and prospects for enlargement and beyond (MAXCAP) was a collaborative project of 9 partners consortium academic excellence that seek to explain the outcomes of the EU’s Enlargement process – and to…
The decision to leave the European Union is likely to lead to a reduced income for the charity sector, National Council for Voluntary Organisations has warned in a briefing. NCVO’s document, Brexit: Implications for the Voluntary Sector warned that Brexit could lead to a reduction in investment income, and therefore grant making, drop in giving if disposable income fells, and a reduction in government commissioning. It said that the leave vote could easily lead to economic distress, which would place extra pressure on voluntary organizations. More information is available here. Source: NCVO
“Corporate philanthropy” may sound like an oxymoron to some, yet according to a Fortune article, twenty Fortune 500 companies are demonstrating that deep private-sector investment in charitable causes might not be so farfetched. The top-20 list spotlights the usual suspects like Wal-Mart, Bank of America, and Google’s new holding company, Alphabet, and breaks down each entity’s percentage of giving and total cash contributions, as made available. Philanthropy in the for-profit world has long been a topic of interesting debate. As NPQpointed out in 2014, the idea of companies being responsible for anything other than their bottom lines has drawn criticism…
The phenomenon of fundamentalism is fueling growing intolerance worldwide, which poses a grave threat to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai told the Human Rights Council, presenting his latest report on religious, free market, political, and nationalist or cultural fundamentalism. “The concept of fundamentalism cannot be limited to religion,” cautioned the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. “It can and should be defined more expansively, to include any movements – not simply religious ones – that advocate strict and literal adherence to…
The Open Society Fellowship supports individuals seeking innovative and unconventional approaches to fundamental open society challenges. The fellowship seeks “idea entrepreneurs” from across the world who are ready to challenge conventional wisdom. The Open Society Fellowship chooses its fellows from a diverse pool of applicants that includes journalists, activists, academics, and practitioners in a variety of fields. Fellowships are granted for one year, six months, and, in a small number of cases, for three months. One-year fellows will receive a stipend of USD 80,000 or USD 100,000, depending on work experience, seniority, and current income. Stipends will be prorated for shorter-term…
The World Forum for Democracy is a unique platform for decision-makers and activists to debate solutions to key challenges for democracies worldwide. The 2016 World Forum for Democracy will focus on the relationship between education and democracy. It will examine whether they can reinforce each other and together address the risks of new social divides. In particular, the forum will explore how education and democracy can nurture active citizens with critical and analytical skills, and how through fostering grassroots innovation and bottom-up democratic reform, it can help develop civic engagement and improve opportunities for all. Schools, universities, civil society organisations…
The Roma Initiatives Office (RIO) invites Roma-led national coalitions and networks (formal or non-formal) among Roma and pro-Roma organizations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey to apply for support for national-level monitoring and advocacy aimed at ensuring that Roma-specific targets are included in major policy reforms and national budgets. Roma Integration 2020 is not intended to integrate Roma communities but rather to assist national governments with integrating Roma-specific policy measures into: (1) mainstream socioeconomic policies and public service delivery; and (2) national budget planning and service delivery processes. Applicants should submit a narrative proposal, a…
The specific objective of this CfP is strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations for more effective action in the promotion of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights in Serbia. The overall indicative amount made available under this call is EUR 1.750.000 while any grant requested must fall between EUR 50.000 and EUR 300.000, with 50%-95% of the total eligible costs of the action. The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 12 months nor exceed 24 months. The deadline for submitting Concept Notes is 29th July 2016. More information is available here. Source: EuropeAid
The Monitoring Matrix 2015 Reports on Enabling Environment (EE) for Civil Society Development (CSDev) for all seven countries are now available. The reports present the developments in EE in 2015, outlining the key conclusions and recommendations for improvement. After publishing the baseline reports in 2013 and 2014, the 2015 reports are focused on presenting situation under 24 standards for each country. For more information on all reports, their national presentations and the trends in the EE in Enlargement countries visit www.monitoringmatrix.net. Source: BCSDN