Beyond capacity building: partners form coalitions for development issues

Project : GREAT 23 Jan 2009 |

After one year of implementation, so far GREAT project has already accomplished several of its goals of enhanced networking: project partners from New Member States are involved in discussions with ActionAid (AA) and Terre des hommes (Tdh) around different development issues and opportunities on building campaigns around them. They have created valuable space for all within the project to understand the complexities of the issues and how to build campaigns at National level and pan-European level together. The project intensified cooperation and joint work among different Terre des hommes organisations and between ActionAid and Terre des hommes as well.

AA and Tdh have been providing expertise within all trainings on various issues which have been raised by partners, furthermore, they have also built strong interrelation where they provide partners of the project with resources on specifically asked questions which highlight the understanding of each other’s organisations, activities, priorities and methodologies – which has increased both sides’ understanding of each partners working context. Knowledge of Central European NGOs and their experience is now much better among AA and Tdh – which gives opportunities for further cooperation in future projects.

Knowledge and skill has been acquired among project partners about rights based development, including the ability to design and implement training programs for their own national partners in this topic. Partners also have gained first-hand experience of how rights based approaches are implemented in the field, in the African context (thanks to the study visit to Mozambique). The visit also provided opportunity for partners to gather evidence, information, examples and case studies from Africa to use in their training programs and eventually in their national campaigns.

On the national level the project has provided opportunity for Glopolis (Czech Republic) – to develop high-quality policy papers on different issues (such as agricultural policy, right to food and energy) and to be an active advocate for rights based development issues during the Czech Presidency to the EU. Glopolis’ interventions have been and will be supported by the expertise and knowledge of AA.

Ekvilib Institute has also started exploratory work for its own national activities – but most action will be done in 2009, including the strengthening of its constituency and implementing its awareness raising campaign. It has however implemented a successful letter writing campaign to Slovene politicians which has resulted in the Minister of Foreign Affairs initiating further work with Ekvilib.

Ownership of the project among partners is excellent: the project’s management systems emphasize true partnership and partners are involved, interested and committed to project results. There is a high level of inter-connectedness, daily communication and exploration of future cooperation possibilities. All partners expect that the project will lead to better, closer cooperation of these partners in the European development arena. Although the project is only in the first year it is quite evident that there will be European alliances created for campaigning for issues such as right to food and probably right to education.