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What's Being Done On . . .
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Main
Cross-Border Activities The information on this page is organized according to the following areas of democracy work:
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Civic Education
Education For Democracy Foundationwww.edudemo.org.pl/rita1/rita1ang/rita_main_ang.html
The Region in Transition Program (RITA), administered by the Education for Democracy Foundation in Poland, supports democratic transitions in Central and Eastern Europe by preparing a new generation of intellectual, economic, and political leaders open to western values, trained and able to work for the establishment of democracy, a market economy, and a civic society. Through RITA, Polish NGOs and educational institutions share Polish experiences in civic education and democratization with groups in Central and Eastern Europe. RITA and the Foundation, through its other international programs, also offer practical training for civil society leaders in the region.
People in Need Foundation (PINF)
clovekvtisni.cz/english/kdo_jsme/kdo_jsme.htm
By developing partnerships with civil society organizations around the world, the People in Need Foundation (PINF) conducts vigorous advocacy for human rights and democratic freedom. It also sponsors regular visits to the Czech Republic by prominent international personalities to discuss contemporary issues of democracy and human rights with government officials, parliamentarians, diplomats, and the public at large. In addition, through its relief programs, such as "SOS Bosnia." "SOS Kosovo," and "SOS Chechnya," PINF has supported people in danger in many parts of the world, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.
Civil Society Strengthening
East European Democratic Center - IDEEE-mail: marta.pejda@post.pl
The Poland-based East European Democratic Center-IDEE seeks to strengthen civil society at the local level in Ukraine. In order to achieve its goal, the Center conducts training seminars to introduce representatives of NGOs and initiative groups to basic principles of NGO work and management. Through these seminars, it facilitates networking among NGOs in Ukraine.
Euroregional Center for Democracy - Centrul Euroregional pentru Democratie (CED)
www.regionalnet.org
The Euroregional Center for Democracy (CED) conducts training programs for NGO leaders in South Eastern Europe. The training modules include project management, marketing and fundraising, and leadership sessions. The objective is the professional development of civil society leaders that will allow for the elaboration of long-term strategies, financial self-sustainability, and competitive organizational/project management. Participants are active members of NGOs in the region that conduct or would like to develop regional cross-border cooperation programs.
Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe (IDEE)
www.idee.org
The Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe (IDEE) conducts the "Networking Women" program designed to respond to the needs of women NGO activists for greater cross-border networking in historically and ethnically divided regions (Central and Eastern Europe, New Independent States, and Central Asia), and to the need to promote and advance women in societies where men have traditionally played dominant roles in the community. Through a range of training, civic education, NGO development, and cross-border networking activities, the program enhances the leadership capacity of women and their NGOs, advances women's participation in public life, and creates a strong regional network of women's organizations.
IDEE also conducts "Civic Bridges" programs in various parts of Central and Eastern Europe. Each program provides a wide range of training, education, outreach and assistance projects that cross ethnic, religious, and national boundaries.
Municipal Training Center of Kaunas Technical University
admin2.logincee.org/smc/index.asp?varLang=EN
The Lithuania-based Municipal Training Center (MTC) of Kaunas Technical University conducts a cross-border program designed to strengthen NGOs and civic activists in the Kaliningrad region of Russia. The program includes roundtable discussions and training workshops to encourage cooperation among NGOs in Kaliningrad and to promote more effective citizen participation in the local governments of four municipalities in the region.
Polish-Czech-Slovak Solidarity Foundation
http://www.spczs.engo.pl/index_en.php?dzial=historia_en
Created in 1981 with the goal of exchanging information about democratic ideas in countries ruled by Communist dictatorships, the Polish-Czech-Slovak Solidarity Foundation now supports the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the independent media in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States. The Foundation seeks to improve the computer publishing skills of independent, democracy-building organizations and journalists in the region through training programs and internships.
United States-Baltic Foundation - Lithuania (USBF-Lithuania)
www.usbf.lt
The United States-Baltic Foundation (USBF) works together with NGOs in Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia to assist other countries in the region. For example, the USBF-Lithuania Office conducts a program through which Lithuanian NGO leaders teach more than 200 Belarusians the skills that helped develop a successful civic society in Lithuania. USBF-Lithuania also organizes workshops in both Lithuania and Belarus and arranges internships at Lithuanian NGOs for Belarusians.
"Welcome to Europe" Program
www.idee.ngo.pl
The "Welcome to Europe" program of the Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe (IDEE)'s Warsaw office aims to reestablish the broken ties between Western Europe and the Crimean Tatars, who were deported to Central Asia by Stalin and who, despite numerous difficulties, returned to their homeland. The program strengthens existing NGOs, assisting them in launching activities and becoming professionals. It also supports democratic media, particularly local newspapers, by training journalists and organizing internships with Polish local newspapers. In addition, the IDEE Foundation facilitates cooperation between Polish organizations and NGOs in the Central Asia region.
Conflict Resolution
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)www.accord.org.za
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) is a civil society organization working throughout Africa to bring appropriate African solutions to the challenges posed by conflict on the continent. Through its programs, ACCORD delivers the knowledge and experiences of the organization and of South Africa to other countries in Africa and different parts of the world, such as East Timor and Cyprus.
Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) www.iprcri.org
IPCRI is a joint Palestinian-Israeli public policy think-tank. It is devoted to developing practical solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and conducts a "Education for Peace Project," which was originally initiated to penetrate the school systems of the two societies directly implicated in the Israeli-Arab conflict (Israeli and Palestinian), and to turn the classroom into a vehicle for rapprochement. IPCRI's Peace Education Project has taken a strategic approach to peace education and involves multi-disciplinary curricula (cognitive elements), skills training in conflict resolution (providing new skills and practical training), and encounters between Israeli and Palestinian participants (experiential and emotive elements).
Elections
Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA)www.idasa.org.za
IDASA's mission is to promote democracy in South Africa and other African countries. IDASA is involved in a substantial number of projects throughout the continent, including the Afrobarometer project measuring the social, political, and economic situations in seven African countries. Most recently, IDASA conducted a comprehensive opinion poll in Zimbabwe and established four observer groups to confirm the findings of the poll and to monitor the March 2002 Presidential Elections in that country.
Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA)
www.eisa.org.za
EISA's vision is to support the quest for sustainable democracy throughout southern Africa by promoting free and fair elections and a popular appreciation of democratic practices and principles. It conducts research projects designed to promote democracy and good governance and offers various education and training programs on elections and governance.
Pontis Foundation
www.pontisfoundation.sk
The Pontis Foundation, previously the Nadacia Pre Obciansku Spolocnost (or NOS Foundation), is an independent, nonpartisan NGO based in Bratislava, Slovakia. With eleven other organizations, Pontis formed the OK '98 voter mobilization campaign and served as its secretariat. As part of OK '98, it designed and carried out a "Rock the Vote" (Rock Volieb) program. Since 1998, Pontis has assisted other NGO coalitions in Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia, and Belarus to organize similar "Get-Out-The-Vote"(GOTV) programs.
Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR)
www.ucipr.kiev.ua/
The Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR), based in Kiev, conducts a cross-border program with Belarus. Ukrainian NGOs played a significant role in the recent Ukrainian elections -- for instance, a coalition of more than 100 NGOs conducted get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs. The Center's cross-border program provides instruction based on Ukrainian election-related skills, materials, and experiences to Belarusian political party leaders, independent journalists and NGO activists. UCIPR organizes, in both Kiev and Minsk, training workshops, roundtables and press conferences.
Legislative Development and Assistance
European Union Parliamentary Support Programme (EUPSP)http://www.parliament.gov.za/eupsp/about/index.html
The European Union Parliamentary Support Programme (EUPSP) is a dynamic partnership project linking the South African Speakers' Forum and the European Union. The mission is to ensure good governance and stable democracy throughout Africa by strengthening the role of legislatures, both national and provincial in various African countries, and supporting them in their efforts to carry out their constitutional obligations. It serves to empower the legislatures to fulfill their democratic functions, namely legislation, policy formulation, control of the executive, constituency work and public education. Some of the key activities include institutional development, skills development for members, and furthering public participation.
Media and Freedom of Expression
Institute of Press and Society - Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS)www.ipyspe.org.pe/
IPYS has created a national network of journalists that investigates allegations of attacks against the media, provides legal assistance to victims, and publishes an annual report on freedom of expression in Peru. Journalists who are in danger or who have been attacked can seek assistance by contacting local monitoring centers as well as other members of the IPYS network. Based on its experience in Peru, IPYS is now establishing similar solidarity, safety, and monitoring programs in Colombia and Venezuela.
Support for the Free Press and Local Self-Government in Ukraine
www.idee.ngo.pl/eng/index.php?page=programy/ukr2000.html#demokracja
The Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe (IDEE) organized a series of internships with Polish independent local newspapers for 15 journalists from Ukraine. During the course of their internships, the participants had the opportunity to speak with Polish experts about journalistic ethics, the importance of freedom of speech and the guarantees provided for it, as well as the development of the independent local press in Poland.
Political Parties and Political Leadership
Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia (ARDA)www.asiademocracy.org
The Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia (ARDA) is an organization of politicians, activists, and academics in Asia that support democracy and human rights on a regional basis. ARDA implemented a rapid response mission to monitor the November 2001 elections in Singapore. Australian elections expert David Muffet and Korean scholar Syung Je Park traveled to Singapore on November 2-5 to assess the snap parliamentary elections on November 3. The assessment team observed election activities, and held meetings with government officials, ruling and opposition party leaders, and academics and civil society activists to develop a complete picture of the election and political system. Based on its assessment, the team wrote a report for ARDA that serves as a baseline study for future discussions of political and electoral reform in Singapore.
In June 2001, ARDA also sent a delegation to assess the circumstances of the detention of ten Malaysian political activists under the Internal Security Act. The delegation met Malaysian Government officials, opposition leaders, and human right activists to raise ARDA's concern about the detention. The delegation includes members of parliament in Cambodia and Mongolia.
European Institute for Democracy (EID)
The Warsaw-based European Institute for Democracy (EID) supports the democratic transition in Poland and in the surrounding former Soviet bloc countries. EID encourages and strengthens democratic political parties in the former Soviet bloc by setting up a center to develop curricula and provide resources to respond to the needs of those parties attempting to establish themselves in unfavorable political climates.
Transparency and Anti-Corruption
Center for Liberal Strategies (CLS)www.cls-sofia.org/index.html
The Center for Liberal Strategies is a non-profit, non-governmental think tank dedicated to the formulation of practical policy recommendations in the fields of economics, politics, civil society, and conflict resolution. The Center for Liberal Strategies is currently working with seven other leading think tanks in the Balkans - from Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro - to develop a major policy document that will lay out new strategies for addressing the main impediments to democratization in the region. CLS also holds conferences in Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria to discuss their recent democratic transitions and to explore how they may relate to Yugoslavia's transition.
Probidad
www.probidad.org Probidad is a watchdog and advocacy civil society organization. It promotes democratization efforts in El Salvador and throughout Latin America through diverse and integrated anti-corruption initiatives, most of which rely on the use of information and communication technologies. Its Monitoring, Resources, and Advisory Service Center offers a regional clearinghouse of anti-corruption resources based on its monitoring and anti-corruption initiatives throughout Latin America. The clearinghouse highlights the most important corruption and anti-corruption developments in the region on a daily basis and publishes a yearly report on the most important cases, organized by country and prepared by local journalists and political analysts.
Links to Other Organizations
Network of Democracy Assistance FoundationsThe Network of Democracy Assistance Foundations provides links to organizations that support and facilitate cross-border activities around the world.
World Movement Participants Database
An online database of participating organizations in the World Movement for Democracy features contact information, mission statements, areas of democracy work, types of activities, publications, and names of individuals who have taken part in World Movement assemblies.
About "What's Being Done On . . . "
For three months at a time, we highlight the activities of various organizations in different global regions, and links to important resources, that are focused on a particular theme or area of democracy work. Each new theme is announced via DemocracyNews, and the information from the previous installment is placed in the archives below. We hope to receive and post information about the work you or others may be doing that is focused on these issues. Send information via e-mail to the or by fax to (202) 378-9889.
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