Development Policy - for the real benefits of the South societies!

Development Policy – for the real benefits of the South societies! International workshop for New Member States NGOs interested in development issues.

Where/when: November 28-29, Kraków, Poland Working language: English Organised by: Polish Green Network and CEE Bankwatch Network

The issue of development aid is a relatively new topic for the new EU member states. For almost the last 20 years we have been the subjects of aid due to the democratic transition process since 1989. With our accession to the European Union our countries are also taking on donor positions. Certain responsibilities come with this, including for civil society.

There are specific challenges attached to the development policy of EU countries and the way it is being implemented via various EU financial mechanisms. Transparency is a key issue, as is public involvement in the decision-making, not only from the perspective of the northern NGOs interested in working on the issue but more importantly for NGOs in the developing countries and impacted communities.

Other challenges include: how to ensure sustainability, social benefits as well as respect for human rights in development cooperation. And aid effectiveness is another big unknown area: to what extent does western aid truly contribute to alleviating poverty and enhancing better governance and democratic processes in the developing countries?

The goal of this workshop is to develop our capacity to be partners in creating robust national and European development policies.

We would like to cover the issue of transparency and effectiveness of Official Development Assistance, the issue of our strategy as professional partners in the dialogue on national and European level, finally the issue of NGOs from New Member States being proactive and aware of where public concern is needed, when it comes to development (if we should get interested in European Development Fund, International Financial Institutions, to what extend we can help on national level in creating EU Policy, how to do it etc.).

We offer you not only important information on EU Development Policy and its links to national level gathered in helpful packages and provided by experienced leaders, but also possibility to meet the people from NMS, Global South and old EU NGOs, common discussion and even a little bit of entertainment.

The structure and priorities of the workshop are outlined in the following agenda. Please indicate if you are interested in participating in the workshop by writing no later than October 30 to Jakub Skorupski via email: j.skorupski@globalnepoludnie.pl

We can provide the reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs for 20 people.