NGOforum09.se

The workshops are organised under the three main themes of the conference: Democratic Deficit, Public Health and Wellbeing, and Sector Identity.

There will be articles published on this website, under each workshop, for further reading. In the section ”Online Pre-Conference”, there will be opportunities to reflect and discuss all the issues prior to the Conference.

Download the Workshop-programme here

Theme one: Democratic Deficit

1. Citizenship
Active citizenship and the role of the civil society for mobilization and participation.

The term “active citizenship” is widely used in everyday language but what does it mean in the context of mobilization and participation?  This workshop will explore civil society’s role in facilitating and realizing active citizenship. In this sense, citizenship is equal to participation in the democratic process, engaging in political discussion and decision-making etc. Topics such as participatory democracy as a complement to representative democracy will be raised. Questions to reflect on are the conditions and opportunities necessary for effective civic participation, how active citizenship can be promoted as well as what kind of institutions and forms of participation should be foreseen. Which role can and should civil society play to facilitate mobilization and citizens’ participation? 

Moderation: Dr. Frank Heuberger, Bundesnetzwerk Burgerschaftliches Engagement (BBE)
Speaker 1: Mr. Kenan Kadzimusic ,  ECAS
Speaker 2: Ms. Melody Ross, Active Citizenship Network, Cittadinitiativa
Rapporteur: Ms. Diane Grossot, Think Tank Pour la Solidarité

 2. Civil Society Organizations as Bridges
The role of civil society organizations as a bridge between citizens and authorities for increased engagement.

The democratic deficit and, as a result, the gap between citizens and the decision-making process is a reality. One key areas of expertise for civil society organisations is to channel joint citizen concerns to decision-makers through gathering concern citizens around a specific area of interest. How can civil society organizations work better to serve as a bridge between citizens and authorities? Can civil society build bridges to overcome the lack of trust between citizens and decision makers? What are the challenges and opportunities for organised civil society to act as these bridges? What are the necessary requirements for civil society organizations to fulfill this role?

Moderation: Mr. Luigi Martignetti, REVES
Speaker 1: Mr. Jean Marc Roirant, European Civic Forum
Speaker 2: Mr. Chuck Hirt, CEE Citizens network
Rapporteur: Ms. Anne Hoel, Social Platform.

 3. Multilevel Governance
Participatory democracy and civil society role in governance in the perspective of the Lisbon Treaty.

4. Civil Dialogue Initiatives      
Interactive dialogue of interaction between national agreements, EU civil society charter and code of good practice for civil participation.

Many European countries have signed frameworks agreements or similar structures for cooperation between civil society and the state. This workshop will share experiences from these processes and look at how these inspiring examples can be built upon at European level. The joint initiative at European level for a charter for a structured civil dialogue with the EU Institutions will be touched upon as well as the connection to the Council of Europe INGO-Conference’s Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the Political Decision-Making Process. The workshop aims at sharing experiences and exploring a common approach for a structured civil dialogue at European level to improve the opportunities for civil society actors at all levels to get involved in the political decision making process. Are the common needs for a structured European civil dialogue? How does it complement national structures? Which actors should be involved? What are the key common concerns and areas of interest?

Moderator: Ms. Ariane Rodert, Vice President CEDAG
Speaker 1: Ms. Iamvi Totsi, V. President of the INGO-Conference of Council of Europe
Speaker 2: Mr. Urmo Kubar, Executive Director, Network of Estonian Non Profit Organisations.
Rapporteur: Ms. Tina Michieli, Project Manager at the (CNVOS).

Theme two: Public Health and wellbeing

5. Indicators for Societal Progress
Benefits and consequences of indicators of health or wellbeing in national reporting systems and procurement procedures.

This workshop will describe new tools for measuring progress that include social relations,  wellbeing and ecological footprint. The aim being to widen the image of what progress really is. The different tools created and tested by the New Economics foundation are described, political relevance and impetus is gained from the proposal from President Sarkozy. What could this new way of describing progress mean for public health and for the political process?

Moderator: Mr. Ludvig Sandberg, Political Analyst, Forum for Voluntary Social Work.
Speaker 1: Mr. Saamah Abdallah, The New Economics Foundation
Speaker 2: Ms. Alison Pollard, The Big Lottery Fund
Rapporteur: Sonja Gruber, PlanSinn

6. Taking Active Part in Society
Empowerment through volunteering and the cooperative principles.

7. Evidence and Added Value
Securing quality and competence in civil society engagement in public health issues including added value of the public-civil society cooperation.

9. Social Measurement Methods
Proving and improving public-NGO cooperation added value through social measurements. Effects of the methods we use.

There is an ongoing trend that civil society organizations take on a wider responsibility for service provision. Is it possible for an organization to be political and citizen voice at the same time as it is producing and selling services?  Can we set the policy agenda, challenge structures in society, advocating the needs of people that are in difficult positions at the same time as we deliver services? Under what circumstances can this balance be achieved?

Moderator: Mr. Conny Reuter, President Social Platform
Speaker 1: Ms Gunta Anca, Director SUSTENTO
Speaker 2: Ms. Chiarra Luchini, Caritas Ambrosiana
Rapporteur: Ms. Erdmuthe Klaer, REVES

11. Widening Entrepreneurship
Making entrepreneurship accessible to more actors through “Social Enterprises”.

Social enterprises increase the possibilities for social inclusion of people, that for some reason have been unable to enter the labour market. This provides a lot of different positive effects on a personal level as well as on a societal level. Social enterprises are built up in different ways across Europe and prove to be important for labour market policies. This workshop will provide examples of social enterprise development in EU as well as raise the questions on could social enterprises become even more accessible to actors than it is today? What role should social enterprises play on EU level?

Moderator: Mr. Jan Olsson, European Economic and Social Committee.
Speaker 1: Mr. Roman Haken, Centre for Community Organising
Speaker 2: Ms. Maria Nieves Ramos, FAIDEI
Rapporteur: Ms. Eva Johansson, Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth - Tillväxtverket

12. Financial Diversity
Ways to enhance the capacity and independence of Civil Society Organisations.

What is the best way to secure a steady and large enough financing of the civil society? Is a European Bank for funding the civil society a good idea? Or should the financing systems be more locally based? Or is it possible to see a combination of the two systems? How would a good balance between a central system and local systems be organized?

Moderator: Ms. Lisa Fröbel Chair of the board, Social Economy and Regional Development in Scandinavia.
Speaker 1: Mr. Filipo Adarii, Executive Director
Euclid Network - European network of third sector leaders.
Speaker 2: Mr. Christoph Guene, Director of Social Finance, Progress SOFI
Rapporteur: Dana Nicolesco, Opportunities Associates Romania

Rapporteur: Mr. Per-Anders Eriksson, Soft Financing