BSF Newsletter no.7, spring 2013

NEWSLETTER

Black Sea NGO Newsletter, no.7 Spring 2013

In this issue you can read about:

Follow-up of the Black Sea NGO Forum………………….2

News: countries in focus………..….........................…….3

ARMENIA

BELARUS

GEORGIA

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

RUSSIA

EU

Documentation & Information: reports …..……….......7

Capacity building opportunities: events &trainings,

sharing best practices….............................................9

Funding opportunities………..………….........................11

Highlights………………………………….............…….........12

The Black Sea NGO Newsletter is part of the Black

Sea NGO Forum’s follow-up activities. The newsletter

is available every 3 months on

www.blackseango.org/forum/ and distributed to the

participants at all the editions of the Black Sea NGO

Forum or other relevant stakeholders in the region

with the purpose of improving our common work,

communication and engagement.

www.blackseango.org

www.fondromania.org

We encourage you to send your contributions on current &

future activities, events, partnerships and funding

opportunities that you would like to share to

[email protected]

The Secretariat of the Black Sea NGO Forum is currently

coordinated by the Romanian NGDO Platform –FOND:

www.fondromania.org.

Contact person: Ms. Oana Perju -

[email protected], Address: 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

Black Sea NGO Forum 2

FOLLOW-UP OF THE BLACK SEA NGO Forum

ChildPact builds consistently on the Black Sea NGO

Forum and now calls for a regional fund for children

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

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.

http://www.childpact.org/2012/07/06/pabsec-issued-

child-protection-recommendation

The Recommendation - in particular its implementation -

was discussed at the 2012 gathering of the Black Sea

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.

For more information, you can contact: Mirela Oprea,

ChildPact Secretary General, [email protected] or

visit the website (www.childpact.org) and Facebook

page.


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


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, Štefan Füle, 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


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:


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


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


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 [email protected]. 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


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


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 [email protected]


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 [email protected].

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/


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: http://www.enpi-info.eu/eastportal/news/latest/32847/Infographic:-snapshot-of-opinion-among-Eastern-

neighbours

Documents

BSF Newsletter no.7, spring 2013