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2020-02-20
Open Society Foundations;
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is a legally binding document that contains a list of human rights recognised by the European Union (EU). It could become a powerful tool available to influence policy makers or serve as a basis for litigation. Individuals can use judicial and political mechanisms to hold EU institutions, and in certain circumstances member countries, to account when they fail to comply with the Charter. The Charter can also be used to pressure decision makers to bring policies and legislation under development in line with human rights standards. This background paper explains when and how the Charter can be used by advocates at national and EU level.
2021-01-31
Tiny Beam Fund;
*Animal farming has intensified in Bulgaria and Romania (both are middle-income countries) in recent years. Many more animals are now reared in large farms that use intensive production practices, while the number of small farms have dwindled.*This report/Guidance Memo charts the significant shift toward intensification, and explains why its key driver is the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). CAP payments and subsidies and their unequal distribution to recipients have triggered deep structural changes in the animal agriculture sector in the EU, chief of which is the livestock industry taking advantage of the favorable climate and generous handouts to intensify production.*At the same time EU animal welfare regulations are not robustly enforced and not comprehensive enough to protect all farm animals. Consumers in the EU, however, are strongly in favor of better treatment of farm animals.
2020-12-01
European Foundation Centre (EFC);
This publication aims to raise awareness and promote the potential of European social economy enterprises and organisations in the inclusion of people with disabilities by sharing good practices which look at: employment, training and education, services and accessibility.The content of this guide is based on information and expertise provided and gathered by members of the Social Economy and Disability Working Group (SE&D) through consultation with the Social Economy Europe (SEE) member organisations and partners, as well as other relevant stakeholders in the field.
2020-02-01
Association of German Foundations;
This document seeks to demonstrate that the work of all community foundations is highly relevant to the SDGs and that by adopting a 'whole-of-organization approach' which takes into consideration mission, investment, strategies and programmes, communications and operations, there is scope to use the framework to enhance their role, credibility and effectiveness as catalysts for change. This can attract partners and funding, can motivate staff, board members and volunteers and can consolidate the position of the community foundation in its locality.
2020-05-01
Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (DAFNE);
This handbook provides practical guidance for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to advocate and litigate using EU law to protect their rights and civic space in the EU.It aims to be a user-friendly guide for CSOs who want to know::What EU law is and how it affects individuals and organisations;When and how CSOs can challenge national provisions or measures that impact their mission, activities and operations on the basis of EU law, including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR);Which legal avenues and resources are available for CSOs to defend their civic space within the EU law frameworkA list of resources as well as practical tools can be found in the last part the document.
2020-05-01
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF);
This paper consolidates the major elements of a discussion on European governments' policy responses to supporting civil society and facilitating philanthropy and individual giving in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
2020-06-01
European Foundation Centre (EFC);
The European Foundation Centre surveyed its members, affiliates and partners from March to early June 2020 to find out what immediate measures they were taking (or were planning to take), internally and in their programmatic and funding activities, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The survey aimed to gain an initial overview of how EFC members and affiliates were reacting to the crisis in order to identify possible points of collaboration and synergy, and to share useful information among them.
2021-01-01
European Community Foundation Initiative;
Building an understanding of the shape and work of the community foundation field is important not only in raising awareness of its scale and scope, for those operating within it and those with an interest in local development, but also to inform further development of the field.In an exceptional year for all societies worldwide, ECFI has conducted its biennial assessment of the community foundation (CF) field in Europe. This report has been informed by a survey of community foundations support organisations (CFSOs) and intelligence gathered through our ongoing engagement with the field.This report provides a snapshot of the field, highlights changes and trends, and identifies some key issues relevant to its further development. There are reflections on the role that community foundations played in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also on how this impacted on the community foundations themselves, and how this has altered their thinking and strategies.The analysis of community foundations support organisations (CFSOs) differentiates them by type and shows how this essential part of the field has developed. The work of community foundations support organisations is described and there is a focus on two important areas – what they did differently following the outbreak of Covid-19, and how they are supporting the field in respect of embracing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Conclusions are drawn from the analysis of the field which will inform ECFI's work which aims to strengthen and promote the community foundation movement in Europe.
2020-02-24
Open Society Foundations;
The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI) studies and reports aim to build a comprehensive and detailed picture of the extent of early childhood provision and services, available to Romani families. The studies have been carried out in five countries—Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia—and endeavour to identify the major obstacles that Romani families face in accessing high-quality, socially inclusive, early childhood care and education. More generally, the studies and reports deliver data and information about communities that are often ignored or misrepresented by official statistics, government policies, ministerial strategies and plans for spending.As previous studies carried out by Open Society Foundations have shown—No Data—No Progress, 2010—the lack of reliable data hampers any attempt to measure the impact of government or international NGO intervention. Planning services and allocating resources to Romani communities are the consequence of "guesswork" rather than knowledge and careful study. The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion reports present a distillation of the most recent and reliable data to be had, in these circumstances, drawn from the actual communities themselves, through interviews and focus groups. Government strategies, policies and action plans are all assessed in this context; what has been the effect of the initiatives aimed at improving the economic and social position for Romani families, in these countries?This Overview Report draws upon data from the five country studies, carried out by Romani and non-Romani researchers working together, to present what are the themes and topics of most relevance to families and young children in settlements and neighbourhoods across central, eastern and south-eastern Europe. A profound lack of equality of access and services, beset by numerous obstacles, characterizes the overall picture, for Roma. The numbers of Romani children that have access to good quality, early childhood education and care provision or who can participate in community and home-based learning programmes, remains minimal in comparison with the surrounding, majority populations.The desperate need for Romani children to be able to access, at least for two years, high-quality, socially inclusive, early childhood education and care services and benefit from effective home visiting and community-based early childhood development (ECD) programmes, is a particular theme throughout the report. This is a minimum requirement that the partner organizations (UNICEF, Open Society Foundation's Early Childhood Program and Roma Education Fund) advocate for at national and international levels, if progress is to be made in improving education outcomes for Romani children.The scale of the changes that need to be undertaken in order to provide equal opportunity for Romani children and families requires that national governments and international institutions (such as the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Union's Parliament) act, following the recommendations that these reports deliver.
2020-06-11
Zagoriy Foundation;
The coronavirus pandemic, in particular the strict lockdown, has affected every area of life in Ukraine. The charity is no exception. Did the charity stop during this period? Have charitable donations decreased? Who receives less help today, and who, on the contrary, benefits from increased help? Should we expect a reduction in the number of charitable initiatives when the lockdown is over?The nature and scale of the pandemic's impact on charity are best illustrated by the findings of a social survey initiated by Zagoriy Foundation within its Promoting the Culture of Charitable Giving in Ukraine program and conducted by the research company Socioinform in May this year. Representatives of 20 charitable organizations from all over Ukraine shared their thoughts on the changes taking place in charity and how their organizations feel through times of crisis.
2021-01-01
Kultura Nova Foundation;
The Kultura Nova Foundation joined the efforts of many European and international organisations, institutions and supranational bodies in collecting data on the vulnerability and resilience of culture, and in May 2020 it initiated longitudinal research on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Zagreb earthquake of March 22, 2020 on civil society organisations working in contemporary culture and arts. The key motivation for this research, apart from the obvious need to empirically identify the effects of the global crisis and the earthquake on the culture and arts sector, is the need to study these effects from different perspectives.
2020-02-01
Open Society Foundations;
In the early post-Soviet period, Czech authorities, unlike their counterparts in some former Eastern Bloc countries, turned away from repressive drug policies and developed approaches to illicit drugs that balanced new freedoms with state authority. The end of Soviet rule meant that drug markets and the use of a wide range of new drugs attained a magnitude and visibility not previously known to Czech society.From an early stage, some pioneering health professionals with expertise in drug addiction saw that the new drug situation would require greatly expanded services for drug users and collaboration between civil society and government to achieve this expansion. They were able to influence the new government and steer it toward drug policy that would define drug use as a multisectoral problem, not an issue for policing alone.The report A Balancing Act: Policymaking on Illicit Drugs in the Czech Republic traces the development of drug policy in the Czech Republic from the post-Soviet period to the present day. The report examines the impact of the Czech Republic's evidence based approach to drug policy, compares the country's path on drug policy to that of its neighbour Slovakia and discusses challenges to maintaining this approach in the future.Watch a video produced by the Rights Reporter Foundation based on the fin
