On November 8th – 9th, 2016, CONCORD – the European Confederation of Relief and Development NGOs, organized the first edition of its Learning and Exchange Forum titled “Shrinking Space for Civil Society Organizations in Budapest, Hungary. The event gathered circa 80 representatives of CONCORD members and guests from all around Europe including Sanja Bogatinovska – BCSDN’s Junior Policy and Advocacy Officer on Civil Society Development. Organized with the support of the European Union, the main objective of the event is to create a space for sharing innovative solutions that turned useful in particular contexts in the fight against shrinking space for civil society organizations, but also to discuss what CONCORD can do to support its members to improve the environment in which they work. During the forum, the scene was set with the introduction of the state of civil society globally, regionally and nationally, opening a space for exchange among the participants. The discussions revolved around members’ experiences, challenges, ending with a joint brainstorming on actions that CONCORD shall prioritize in the forthcoming period. More information, including background documents, is available here.
Source: CONCORD Europe