Fall of study tours for ECNL

This fall ECNL organized four successive study visits for CSO and government officials from Macedonia, Croatia and Kosovo.

1. With the support from World Learning, Macedonia and in partnership with the Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF) Hungary, ECNL implemented a training program on Civil Society Philanthropy Development between September 24-30 for representatives of the Macedonian CSOs and the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISC). The overall goal of the training was to help build the capacity of Macedonian lead CSOs to be able to more effectively mobilize domestic sources of funding, and through this to contribute to their sustainability and promote the development of a philanthropic culture in Macedonia.
2. Between October 8-16, ECNL hosted a week-long study visit for 5 Croatian government officials in Hungary and Slovakia on CSO/Government Cooperation. The training was supported by World Learning, Croatia. For the Slovakia leg of the visit , ECNL’s main partner was the Open Society Foundation in Bratislava. The goal of the visit was to expose the participants to models of CSO/Government liaison offices in Slovakia and Hungary and to effective CSO/government cooperation practices more broadly. The study visit came at a critical time, as the Croatian Government Office for Cooperation has been tasked with preparing the action plan for the implementation of the Strategy for the Development of Civil Society. The other representatives from government offices and ministries that participated in the visit are responsible for the enactment and implementation of critical pieces of legislation affecting CSO/Government relations.
3. Between November 6-11, ECNL had 10 participants of CSO and Government representatives from Kosovo on a study visit on Public Financing Strategies, made possible thanks to the support of World Learning Kosovo. The overall goal of the training was to provide the Kosovar delegation with a comprehensive and in-depth look at the approaches of the governments and NGOs to public funding strategies. Participants have identified two issues as priorities for reform: (a) develop strategy for cooperation and involvement of NGOs in policy-making processes and (b) reform of legal framework for government funding and mechanisms for funding.
4. Finally, in cooperation with COWI/Denmark and the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC), and with the support from the European Agency for Reconstruction, ECNL hosted 10 Government representatives ( from the Government Secretariat of Republic of Macedonia, the Government Unit for Cooperation with NGOs and various Ministries) and 1 representative from MCIC in Budapest as part of a study visit program on Successful Mechanisms of Government / CSO Cooperation between November 21-26. The overall goal of the study visit was to strengthen the process of developing and implementing the Government Strategy for Cooperation with the Civil Sector in Macedonia, by exposing participants to models of cooperation between the Government and CSOs in Hungary, the legal framework of the CSO sector and types of support that the Government provides to the CSOs.