09:00 – 10:30 |
Breakout Sessions #2
How to Analyze Legislation Affecting Civil Society (Room: B1)
Whether addressing a draft law or seeking to improve an existing law, a sound analysis of the regulatory strengths and weaknesses of the law provides a crucial starting point. In this skill-building session, we will work in small groups to review and analyze a draft law against the background of international law and good regulatory practice. Participants will work together to identify problematic provisions and prioritize key issues. Finally, we will consider how to prepare the written analysis of the draft law in a persuasive, effective way.
Facilitator:
David Moore, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, USA
Strengthening Cooperation Between Government and CSOs (Room: B2)
Governments and CSOs increasingly search for ways to cooperate and institutionalize their partnership. But what factors make this cooperation successful and real? At this session, participants will first assess the level of cooperation in their own countries. Participants will then analyze the factors that influence success and discuss ways to overcome challenges in developing and implementing various cooperation mechanisms.
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. John Batten, Poverty Eradication Network, Kenya
2. Anatolie Beleac, FHI 360, Moldova
3. Ivana Cirkovic, Government Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, Serbia
4. Dima Jweihan, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Jordan
5. Nguyen Thi Bich Diep, Justice Initiatives Facilitation Fund, Vietnam
6. Adriana Ruiz-Restrepo, RRA (Public Law + Social Innovation) , Colombia
Facilitator:
Nilda Bullain, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Hungary
Engaging Media and Journalists in Advocacy for CSO Law Reform (Room: B3)
Whether CSOs are seeking reform of the laws governing their activities, or opposing new restrictions, effective engagement of the media is crucial to a successful advocacy campaign. The session will focus on how CSOs can craft an effective message that will engage media and journalists on CSO legal issues. Participants will hear from a panel featuring expert perspectives on how CSO law reformers can develop a message to engage the media (including new media). Participants will also engage in interactive exercise where they will practice how to craft a media friendly message.
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. Randa Fouad, Arab Media Forum for Environment and Development, Egypt
2. Kamel Ben Younes, Forum Averroes Maghreb, Tunisia
3. Mina Mouris, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Egypt
4. Borithy Lun, Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (TBC)
Facilitator:
Catherine Shea, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, USA
Survival Techniques for CSOs in Severely Restrictive Environments (Room: C12)
This session will provide a safe space for donors, civil society representatives, and diplomats to discuss ways to continue activities in politically restrictive environments. The session will be held under “Chatham House” rules. Participants will work in groups to develop survival tactics under the following topics: legal existence; meetings, public assemblies, and protests; access to funding; security; and activities. They will explore options to maintain operations in the face of imposed restrictions, as well as measures that can be taken in advance to mitigate harm when severe limitations appear imminent.
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. Orazio Bellettini, Grupo FARO, Ecuador
2. Hassan Sheikhahmed, East and Horn of Africa HRDs Project, Uganda
3. Natalia Bourjaily, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, USA
4. Bhekinkosi Moyo, Trust Africa, Senegal
Facilitator:
Feliciano Reyna, Sinergia-Accion Solidaria, Venezuela
Idea Exchange for CSO Lawyers (Room: C3)
Many of the issues facing lawyers who work with CSO clients, whether as legal staff or outside counsel, transcend national boundaries. How can CSO lawyers gain the knowledge and expertise that they need? What can they learn from each other, and how might they stay connected with their peers both within their own countries and across borders? What sort of relationship should CSO lawyers have with the governmental agencies that regulate CSOs? What practical challenges and opportunities arise when the client is a CSO rather than a business, governmental agency, or individual? What is the role of CSO lawyers in developing policies that affect CSOs? This session will be a conversation among peers on the challenges in their work and potential solutions.
Facilitators:
1. Betsy Buchalter Adler, Adler & Colvin, USA
2. Arthur Drache, Drache Aptowitzwe LLP, Canada
3. Lindsay Driscoll, Bates Wells and Braithwaite, United Kingdom
4. Janne Gallagher, Council on Foundations, USA
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11:00 – 12:30 |
Breakout Sessions #3
Achieving Accountability through Public and Self-Regulation Initiatives (Room: B1)
The last twenty years have seen great changes in laws and regulations relating to CSOs, as governments respond to political changes, an evolving CSO sector, international rules on terrorist financing, and greater demands for accountability and transparency. This session will look at some of the main trends in governmental and civil society responses, and highlight models adopted by governments and civil society to ensure accountability. What does work? What type of government models can help support accountable functioning of the sector? What does it take to implement self-regulation models in order to achieve desired results? Where is the balance?
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. Ralitsa Velichkova, Bulgarian Center for Not-For-Profit Law, Bulgaria
2. Malik Babur Javed, Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, Pakistan
3. Sixto Donato Macasaet, Caucus of Development NGO Networks, the Philippines
4. Sheila Nordon, Irish Charities Tax Research, Ireland
5. Nigel Tarling, Charity Commission for England and Wales, United Kingdom
6. Alari Rammo, Network of Estonian Nonprofit Organizations, Estonia
Facilitator:
Ben Evans, Charity Commission for England and Wales, United Kingdom
How to Select CSO Representatives (Room: B2)
How to select the CSO representatives who will serve on cross-sector bodies (e.g., Ministry led-working groups, government councils)? How to ensure that CSO participation leads to practical results and is not just to "check the box"? The CSO selection process can be challenging, especially in countries where there are no developed CSO networks. The legitimacy of CSO nominees may be questioned, especially if there are no clear mechanisms for the selection process. Participants in this session will hear from counterparts on criteria and mechanisms they have considered that lead to a good selection process and, ultimately, an effective participatory process.
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. Igor Vidacak, Government Office for Cooperation with CSOs, Croatia
2. Maria Vanessa Rivadeneyra Navarro, Servicio de Administracion Tributaria, Mexico
3. Nokatbek Idrisov, International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, Kyrgyzstan
4. Janah Ncube, Centre for Citizens' Participation on the African Union, Kenya
Facilitator:
Luben Panov, Bulgarian Center for Not-For-Profit Law, Bulgaria
Facilitating Cross-Border Philanthropy (Room: B3)
In an increasingly interconnected world, the legal barriers to cross-border philanthropy remain high. Indeed, in many countries and regions, cross-border philanthropy has become more difficult, due to complex procedural requirements affecting donors, discriminatory tax treatment of donations, counter-terrorism measures, and impediments narrowing the pool of eligible recipients, just to name a few constraints. This knowledge-sharing session will examine the kinds of legal barriers impeding cross-border philanthropy (and in many cases, domestic philanthropy as well); and consider successful strategies used to address the barriers to cross-border philanthropy, including the Global Leadership Philanthropy Initiative.
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. Filiz Bikmen, Sabanci Foundation, Turkey
2. Noshir Dadrawala, Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy, India
3. Ludwig Forrest, King Badouin Foundation, Belgium
4. Janne Gallagher, Council on Foundations, USA
5. Barbara Ibrahim, John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement, American University in Cairo, Egypt
6. Atallah Kuttab, SAANED for Philanthropy Advisory in the Arab Region, Jordan
7. Hanna Surmatz, European Foundation Centre, Belgium
Facilitator:
Gerry Salole, European Foundation Centre, Belgium
Building an Effective CSO Coalition (Room: C12)
CSOs in any country are extremely diverse and often have divergent interests. However, CSOs often are able to overcome differences and come together to support a common cause – and what else is more common to all CSOs than the laws that regulate them? Yet, in many countries CSOs leading law reform efforts struggle to build effective coalitions with their peers. Through an interactive exercise participants will look at the key components of forming an effective CSO coalition which can further CSO law reform efforts.
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. George Zarubin, Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Georgia
2. Alicia Arias, Grupo Faro, Ecuador
3. Tina Divjak, CNVOS Slovenia
4. Hoshyar Malo, Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Iraq
5. Lia van Broekhoven, CORDAID, Netherlands
Facilitator:
Amy Bartlett, Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, Belgium
Social Media 101 (part 1) (Room: C3)
Social Media has become an important tool for CSO activists, and many are eager to learn how to use new media to carry out their work more effectively. This is the first of a two-part training covering three hours in total that will introduce key tools -- Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube -- to participants interested in learning about the use of new media. It will focus on building participant skills in establishing an effective and distinct social media presence, and in engaging and motivating supporters. Participants should bring their laptops and be prepared to practice the techniques presented during the session.
Please Note: This session has two components. If you register for Social Media 101 (part 1), you should also register for Social Media 101 (part 2).
Trainer:
Sherif Mansour, Freedom House, USA |
14:00 – 15:30 |
Breakout Sessions #4
Building a Strategic Framework for Government Funding to CSOs (Room: B1)
Funding is a key element of strengthening partnership with and supporting the growth of CSOs. Government funding is an important domestic funding source for the sector, but it raises many issues: a lack of resources, inadequate distribution mechanisms, low capacity of the sector to utilize it, and many others. In this session participants will engage in building a strategic framework for government funding of CSOs, and hear about the pros and cons of different models and mechanisms developed by peers who have direct experience in this field.
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. Ireri Ablanedo National Institute of Social Development, Mexico
2. Igor Vidacak, Government Office for Cooperation with CSOs, Croatia
3. Elizabeth Warner, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Kazakhstan
4. Filip Vagac, Government Plenipotentiary for Civil Society, Slovakia
Facilitator:
Nilda Bullain, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Hungary
The Art and Science of Advocacy (Room: B2)
You have an opportunity to influence the preparation of amendments to an existing law governing civil society. Your job is to lead a team of CSOs to secure backing of draft amendments prepared by your legal team, to initiate a coordinated advocacy strategy to ensure support in the general public, the CSO sector, Government, and eventually Parliament. You have scheduled a meeting among CSOs to think through the plans for the campaign, while also building support among them for the campaign and for the amendments your team has drafted. How will you ensure general CSO support? In considering the advocacy campaign, who are the targets, and how will you most effectively make your points? What messages resonate, and what "messengers" should convey these points to the target(s)? How and when should you employ media and social media, mass meetings, other vehicles for conveying a cohesive message that reaches its various targets? What will be the timeline, given that Parliament will be in session only about 9 more months? In this session, officials and CSOs will share tips on advocacy techniques that are (and aren't) effective. Participants will then have a chance to design the campaign, in groups focused on individual elements.
There will be no formal presentations, but resource people include:
1. Jeff Thindwa, World Bank
2. John Batten, Poverty Eradication Network, Kenya
3. Ala Talabani, Council of Representatives, Iraq
3. Ala Talabani, Council of Representatives, Iraq
4. Maria Vanessa Rivadeneyra Navarro, Servicio de Administracion Tributaria, Mexico
Facilitator:
Stephan Klingelhofer, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, USA
Aid Effectiveness (Room: B3)
In the wake of the 2005 Paris Declaration and the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action (AAA), "aid effectiveness", along with the corresponding definitions, concepts and processes that it has triggered, has become a critical issue for donors, governments and CSOs alike. However, the aid effectiveness principles can be misused at the national level to provide cover for governments seeking to restrict basic freedoms of association and expression and to extend their control over independent civil society. This session will seek to answer critical questions, such as the purpose of the Paris Declaration and the AAA; the definition and intent of concepts such as "country ownership"; and the role that civil society can play as part of an inclusive and participatory process in planning and achieving a country's development goals.
Presenters:
1. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai, Society for Democratic Initiatives, Sierra Leone
2. Netsanet Belay, CIVICUS, South Africa
3. Jacqueline Wood, Canadian International Development Agency, Canada
Resource persons:
1. Dana Sofi, Kurdistan Parliament, Iraq
2. Angelo Baglio, European Commission
3. Eric Picard, United States Agency for International Development, USA
Facilitator:
Charlotta Norrby, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
Freedom of Assembly (Room: C12)
Recent events in Tunisia, Egypt and the Middle East more broadly have demonstrated the transformational power of public protest and the freedom of assembly. At the same time, events in other countries, from Azerbaijan to Uganda, have reminded us of the formidable constraints hindering the freedom of assembly. This knowledge-sharing session will examine the key legal challenges impeding free assembly; the key principles protecting free assembly; and key resources available regarding the international legal framework for public protest and public assemblies.
Speakers:
1. Inger Hoeedt-Rasmussen and Dirk Voorhoof, Legal Human Academy, Belgium
2. Kristen McGeeney and David Moore, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, USA
Facilitator:
Arthur Larok, National NGO Forum, Uganda
Social Media 101 (part 2) (Room: C3)
Social Media has become an important tool for CSO activists, and many are eager to learn how to use new media to carry out their work more effectively. This is the second of a two-part, three-hour training session, which will introduce key tools -- Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube -- to participants interested in learning about the use of new media. It will focus on building participant skills in establishing an effective and distinct social media presence, and in engaging and motivating supporters. Participants should bring their laptops and be prepared to practice the techniques presented during the session. Participants must register for both Part 1 and Part 2 of this training.
Please Note: This session has two components. If you register for Social Media 101 (part 2), you should also register for Social Media 101 (part 1).
Trainer:
Sherif Mansour, Freedom House, USA |
