In 2008, at the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, governments acknowledged CSOs as independent development actors in their own right and commited to provide an enabling environment that maximises CSOs’ contributions to development. Nevertheless, today many CSOs worldwide experience worsening conditions. For example, human rights defenders face criminalisation or the freedom of the press and access to foreign funding is restricted.
Global Responsibility, the Austrian Platform for Development and Humanitarian Aid, and the Catholic Women’s Movement (KFB) therefore invite to a workshop on enabling environment for CSOs. The aim of the workshop is to exchange experiences of Austrian CSOs and their partners with conditions they face and to learn about components, aspects and global trends of enabling environment. This knowledge should support Austrian CSOs in their cooperation with partners in the Global South.

Tuesday, 17 February 2015, 9:00-13:00
Otto Mauer-Zentrum, Währinger Straße 2-4, 1090 Wien

Guests
•    Juana Aydas Villareyna Acuña, coordinator/ co-director of the Nicaraguan women’s organisation FEM
•    Maria Isabell Zamora Muñoz, board member of FEM and president of the cooperative COPEMUJER
•    Oli Henman, European Representative of Civicus, World Alliance for Citizen Participation

The workshop will be participative and interactive. After presentations by our guests we will exchange experiences in smaller groups. In the end we will close with lessons learnt and recommendations on how to support an enabling environment for CSOs.
The workshop will be in English. Spanish contributions will be translated by Gabriele Gallo.

Further information:
Invitation to the workshop

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