News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The 19th edition of the USAID CSO Sustainability Index Report, finds that the overall CSO sustainability in the Southern Tier (South East Europe) countries remained largely stagnant in 2015, with only one country –Macedonia- recording a change in overall sustainability as a result of the difficult political environment that restricts civic space. While not leading
Read more →BCSDN is organizing its annual debate on the state of the enabling environment in which civil society in Enlargement countries operates. The debate taking place under the working title: “Raising Standards, Declining Trends? Operating Environment for Civil Society in Enlargement Countries” is being organized on the occasion of the presentation of the 2015 Monitoring Matrix
Read more →In 2015, UNCHR, the UN Refugee Agency, counted 60 million people who were forced to leave their homes. Out of these 60 million, 20 million were refugees, according to the Refugee Convention of 1951. This is the highest number of women, men and children on the move since the Second World War. About 87 per
Read more →Typically associated with military campaigns, drones—the unarmed kind—are becoming an essential tool for civil society. From a bird’s-eye view, they are exposing the truth about everything from the size of demonstrations to the wealth illegally hoarded by corrupt political elites. More information is available here. Source: Open Society Foundations
Read more →The resolution 32/31 on civil society space (A/HRC/32/L.29) is intended to ensure access to justice, and accountability, and to end impunity for human rights violations and abuses against civil society actors. It also seeks to encourage member states to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment in which civil
Read more →With more and more governments narrowing space for dissent and activism, the UN has emerged as a key platform to air concerns about acute rights violations and develop protections for civil society and other vulnerable groups. The core freedoms that enable civil society to conduct its work are under threat across the world. A report
Read more →After the Cold War, our attempts to encourage independent media in transition states didn’t have the success we hoped. Could crowdfunding be part of the answer? Crowdfunding would offer ordinary people — many of them disgusted by the distortions of their state- or oligarch-controlled media — a source of information they could trust and feel
Read more →On 6th-8th June, the “Role of Civil Society in Public Administration Reform – EU Standards and Practice” conference served as a forum to discuss public administration reform with an emphasis on citizen engagement and exploring modalities to advance cross-sector collaboration. This event considered “The Principles of Public Administration” (SIGMA/OECD) as well as the EC Guidelines
Read more →State repression against CSOs is increasing globally. In this interview, Barbara Unmüßig calls for a reconceptualisation of solidarity with civil society and puts the issue of shrinking and closing spaces at the very top of the political agenda. Read the full article here. Source: Heinrich Böll Foundation
Read more →Development funding is increasingly being channeled through Development Finance Institutions. These national institutions are particularly solicited when using development aid money to free up further investment, known as leveraging. When used well, these tools have the potential to allow sectors of developing countries’ economies that would not otherwise attract investment to strengthen and expand. However,
Read more →An article by Eric Lipton and Brooke Williams, part of a series running in the New York Times, last weekend raised big questions about the independence of the think tanks that specifically trade on that independence, issuing research reports and generally acting as research based-arbiters of a wide variety of issues in the media and
Read more →The most important fundraising tool you have at your disposal is your donor database. It is your organization’s history. It can tell you who your friends and most loyal supporters are. Through thick and thin it sticks with us and makes it possible for us to be effective fundraisers. It should be our best friend,
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