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Regional Services Center/Budapest
Program Overview
Map Code:
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former socialist countries |
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countries who participated or are participating in regional project now with non-USAID funds |
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countries participating in USAID regional project |
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regional program headquarters |
NGO AND CIVIL SOCIETY STRENGTHENING
Improving local NGO sustainability
The NGO Partnership Grants are a legacy mechanism for CEE, assisting U.S. NGOs in establishing relationships with CEE NGOs in USAID graduation countries. The CEE NGOs benefited across a broad range of areas and from substantial matching funds from non-USG sources. The ICNL grant supported NGO legal reform. PDC developed conflict mediation courses in Hungary and Lithuania. NESsT, provides financing and capacity-building for local NGOs developing entrepreneurial activities in Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. NESsT believes that through self-financing some civil society organizations can increase their long-term viability and independence by generating some of their own resources to supplement support from donors. Through this $300,000 award, NESsT has provided one-on-one consulting, ‘venture grants,’ and/or training for social enterprise development to over 300 NGOs in the target region. http://www.nesst.org
Implementing Partners: FCS, ICNL, Partners for Democratic Change (PDC), NESsT, ISC, QLF, Jewish Family and Children's Services, EDI
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| Labor Union Education Network, Headquarters in Romania with support from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. |
Labor Union Education Network
This program promotes multi-national cooperation among Balkan labor reformers by bringing together leaders and staff of unions for a series of roundtables, follow-up consultations, and leadership exchanges. Major Western European labor unions as well as international labor organizations are involved, with the aim of promoting integration of Balkan unions into the greater European and world labor community. This program increases knowledge of unions about privatization and economic and political decision making. The program has participants from Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania. http://www.seelabored.org
Implementing Partner: American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS)
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| NGO legal Reform, Headquarters in Hungary. Participants: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro with lessons learned shared with all NIS, CEE and non-presence countries. |
NGO Legal Reform
Since 1994, the NGO Legal Reform Initiative has helped to create an enabling legal environment for nongovernmental organizations and public participation in Central and Eastern Europe. ICNL’s technical assistance and regional activities, including publications and workshops, have bolstered ICNL’s in-country assistance and influenced the development and passage of legislation in several countries. ICNL’s current focus is on NGO sustainability, NGO/Government partnerships and public participation, and NGO legislation in countries that have not yet consolidated their legislative base. Several USAID missions in the region have contributed to the regional cooperative agreement allowing ICNL to work on the most important legislative drafting, implementation, and capacity-building issues within a country. Regionally funded activities encourage the sharing of lessons learned amongst al countries in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, including non-presence countries. Through its regional education initiative, NGO law has been introduced into legal studies curricula throughout the region and over 1500 lawyers and law students have been educated in NGO law. ICNL also maintains an electronic, web-based legal library that is a valued resource throughout the region. In June 2003, ICNL's Budapest office became registered as the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL), a Hungarian public benefit organization, serving as the center for the development of NGO law in SEE and eastwards and as a catalyst for regional networking and cross-border initiatives. As an ICNL affiliate, ECNL will coordinate its future activity with a growing network of NGO legal experts to help ensure a lasting capability in the region. http://www.icnl.org
Implementing Partners: International Center for Not-For-Profit Law (ICNL)
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| Regional NGO Networking, Headquarters in Hungary. Participants: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro with linkages to Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. |
Regional NGO Networking
While many countries of Central and Eastern Europe are beginning to enjoy the fruits of a long struggle with post-Communist transition, reform has yet to take hold in other corners of the region. Stability in the Visegrád group and the Baltic States continues to attract foreign investment and encourage steady economic growth. The Czech Republic , Hungary and Poland have taken their seats on the North Atlantic Council and the promise of further NATO and EU enlargement offers the genuine prospect of European integration to many more. Meanwhile, in many of the other countries particularly in Southeast Europe government corruption continues to undermine the rule of law, the democratic process is far from fair, and the slow progress of state building continues to threaten regional stability. To overcome this mixed picture of change, Freedom House's Regional Networking Project (RNP) supports cross-border collaboration and joint projects between Central and Eastern European NGOs. RNP operates on the premise that transitional progress in the region must come from within the former Communist countries themselves, particularly among non-governmental civic and policy actors. Through direct financial assistance, regional exchanges and other focused training initiatives targeted at civic activist organizations and policy-oriented think tanks, RNP encourages NGO-led initiatives that join civic activism and policy advocacy efforts across borders. http://www.freedomhouse.org
Implementing Partners: Freedom House
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| Headquarters in Hungary. Participants: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Ukraine and in Central Asia: Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. |
Hungarian-American Partnership Initiative (HAPI)
HAPI is a regional training activity which has provided opportunities for over 600 individuals from countries throughout the E&E region to learn from Hungary ’s successful transition to a market economy and a democratic society. This activity has involved the Hungarian government in the implementation process with the express purpose of jump-starting a Hungarian assistance program which will contribute to the stability and development of the region, with priority devoted to the Stability Pact member states. http://www.hapi.hu. The USAID’s final contribution to HAPI provides support through March 31, 2005, for programs that will share information on the European Union accession process with new candidate countries. HAPI’s implementor, FDDR, continues to work with the Hungarian government on assistance development. http://www.demnet.org.hu
Implementing Partners: Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights (FDDR)
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