Development or Education

in 12 New Member States

Volunteers as catalysts for social engagement

IVCO conference Budapest
19th October 2009

Rilli Lappalainen
Secretary General of Finnish NGDO platform to the EU
 My experiences

1) Scout
2) European Voluntary Service
3) European networks
1) Some definitions
Development:
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally
accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human
development – the development of greater quality of life for humans, (i.e developed healthcare
means longer life which is greater quality of life). It therefore encompasses foreign aid,
governance, healthcare, education, gender equality, disaster preparedness, infrastructure,
economics, human rights, environment and issues associated with these.

Education:
Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the
mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense education is the
process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values
from one generation to another.
Development education:

Development education is an active learning process, founded on values of

solidarity, equality, inclusion and co-operation. It enables people to move from
basic awareness of international development priorities and sustainable human
development, through understanding of the causes and effects of global issues
to personal involvement and informed actions.

Development education fosters the full participation of all citizens in world-wide

poverty eradication, and the fight against exclusion. It seeks to influence more
just and sustainable economic, social, environmental, human rights based
national and international policies.
EU New Member States

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary,

Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Malta, Cyprus
Volunteering:

Volunteering is the practice of people working on behalf of others without being

motivated by financial or material gain. Volunteering generally considered an
altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life.
People also volunteer to gain skills without requiring an employer's financial
investment.

Volunteering takes many forms and is performed by a wide range of people.

Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work in, such as
medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others volunteer on an as-needed
basis, such as in response to a natural disaster.
 Catalyst:

• Catalysis is the process in which the rate of a chemical reaction is either

increased or decreased by means of a chemical substance known as a catalyst.
Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not
consumed by the reaction itself. The catalyst may participate in multiple
chemical transformations. Catalysts that speed the reaction are called positive
catalysts. Catalysts that slow down the reaction are called negative catalysts or
inhibitors. Substances that increase the activity of catalysts are called promoters
and substances that deactivate catalysts are called catalytic poisons.
 Levels of organisation of NGOs

1st level: Grassroots organisations /

community-based organisations

2nd level: Legally registered organisations

3rd level: Umbrella organisations and

thematic networks

4th level: Platforms

 Terminology

- Civil Society Organisation (CSO)

as one of citizens, for citizens
- Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)
is a legally constituted organization created by
physical or legal persons with no participation
or representation of any government
- Non-State Actor (NSA)
Civil society in all its diversity, according to
national characteristics; Economic and social
partners, including trade union organisations
and; The private sector.
 Terminology (2)

- BINGO is business-oriented international NGO or big

international NGO
- CSO is a civil society organization
- DONGO is a Donor Organized NGO
- ENGO is an environmental NGO
- GONGO is a government-operated NGO
- INGO stands for international NGO
- QUANGO is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental
organization
- TANGO is a technical assistance NGO
 2) Added value of NGOs

independance

flexibility,
effectiveness

real representation and

participation
innovations
The Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU
Kehys
• offers services to NGOs on EU development policy issues
• 37 member NGOs

Focuses on:

Advice and training on EU funding

Development Policy Advocacy

- engagement in the debate on EU development policy
- support for Finnish NGOs (information-sharing, training on
advocacy)
• Kehys is the Finnish national platform within the
European NGO confederation for relief and
development, CONCORD.

• CONCORD represents development NGOs on EU

level

• tool for common NGO action

The confederation

Belgian Platform

Ελληνική Επιτροπη Μη Κυβερνητικων ΟργανωσεωνΓια Την

ΜΚΟ Ανάπτυξηllenic Committee οf Non Governmental Development

Organisations NGO
 Networking
The Finnish Platform

National Platform (22) NGO Network (20)

Social, Environmental, Human

rights confederations,
Trade union confederation …

Civil Society Contact Group

Southern Civil Society

 Sectors of NGO Intervention across
EU National Level
No dominant sector – a confirmation of the wide scope
Europe
of expertise and experience CONCORD Survey 2005 (Figures 2003 )

Key sectors of EU NGO intervention

Health, Education & Social Services
Relief & Humanitarian Aid
Development Education &Public Aw areness
Human Rights & Democracy
Health, Education &
Social Services
Gender & Children
18,8%
Capacity Building of Southern NGOs
Food Security & Hunger
Agriculture & Rural Development
Environment
Relief &
Policy Influencing & Advocacy
Humanitarian Aid
Other 13,2%
Economic, Social & Cultural rights
Integrated Development Projects *
Migration
Development
International Financial Matters ** Education & Public
Peace & Conflict Prevention Awareness
Academic Studies & Research 8,0%
EU policies
Infrastructure

Latvia 45%: Health, Education & Social Services

(ave. 17,4%)
Denmark 20%: Human rights & Democracy
(ave. 7%)
 3) General remarks on NMS

• 12 different countries
• Volunteer work in sports, culture etc.
• NGO work limited and not coordinated
• Lot of changes
• After independences strong economical growth and now
huge gap
• No need to change the world
 NGO roles
Three major roles for NGOs:
1) Service providers (or implementing agencies)
Objective: improve the living conditions of populations

2) Partners in dialogue (or advocacy agents)

Objective: represent the views of NGOs

3) Educators
Objective: Change people´s minds to understand global issues
 Challenges

• Global issues quite far away

• Personal exchange happend more often through
studies
• Development policy or cooperation very limited and
not ”hard business”
• Governments not interested in financing
 Some good experiences
• GLEN - Global Education Network of Young Europeans - is a joint non-profit,
politically independent initiative of eleven organisations from old and new
member states of the European Union: Czech Republic, Estonia, France,
Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

GLEN qualifies multipliers in global education. Its uniqueness lies in the

combination of seminars/trainings with practice/experience and in the
combination of North-South exchange with inner-European exchange.

GLEN aims at contributing

to a better understanding of global interdependency,
• to fair and sustainable ways of living,
• to a responsible development policy and
• to North-South relations based upon equal partnership and mutual respect.
 More good experiences…
• FEST –project
(Finland, Estonia, Sweden Together = development ngos joint
project)

– Trainings
– Study trips
– Summer school
– Networking
– Mentoring
 More good experiences…

• Trialog: NMS and accession countries

• Regional partnership programme: Austria,
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia
• European Voluntary Service
 What we can do?

- Work in networks
– CSO effectiveness
– Actively recognise and promote volunteer activity
in EU policies
- Acknowledge the role of volunteering to foster
Active European Citizenship and to tailor EU
programmes
– Information, interesting knowledge, media attention
• Find more resources from governments different levels,
private sector
• Acknowledge the powerful effect of volunteering on the
inclusion and empowerment of traditionally excluded social
groups such as immigrants or elderly people
• Acknowledge the role of volunteering in fostering the
development of skills and competences needed within a
knowledge-based society and in contributing to employability
• Acknowledge the need for a better understanding of the
volunteering landscape in the EU and the need for European
comparative research in order to obtain data on
volunteering, its scope and characteristics at European level
• Support certification schemes for volunteers aimed at
recognising the development of competencies through
volunteering in the educational systems of the member
states
• Stimulate national governments to formulate national
volunteering policies, to create the volunteering
infrastructure necessary for their implementation and to
provide a legal framework for volunteering
• Promote the exchange of ideas and knowledge about
volunteering among all EU member states in order to
promote a shared vision and a common strategy
• Facilitate an exchange of information on good (and bad)
practices
 Thank you !

rilli.lappalainen@kehys.fi
www.kehys.fi