Democratic Governance for Development

Transcription

1 ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY Democratic Governance for Development (in cooperation with Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy) Workshop no. 1 Chair: Rose F. Rogombe Rapporteur: Maryia Nedelcheva Introduction The workshop is organised jointly by five Danish civil society organisations (CSOs) with the support from the Danish EU Presidency. The organisations are very different in many ways, but share the understanding of the importance of democratic governance in development cooperation, both as an end in itself and as a means towards achieving sustainable human development. The organisations are presented in further detail below. Background Support for democratization has been part and parcel of Danish development cooperation for several decades. Democratic governance has been part of government-to-government cooperation in most of the countries Denmark has chosen as partner countries, with support for programmes in areas like parliamentary development, rule of law, elections, ombudsman institutions, and civil society. In addition, Denmark has also supported multilateral organisations with a strong mandate in democratic governance, like UNDP. A large number of Danish civil society organisations also receive funding from the Danish government to implement projects and programmes in developing countries. Their main focus is generally on support for human development in areas related to education, health, children, women, agriculture and the environment. However, a number of organisations have also decided to focus on one or more aspects of democratic governance, and this is the case with the organisations participating in this workshop. Objective In the global discourse on democratic governance or democracy assistance - it is increasingly being accepted that balancing investments in capacity development on both the supply and the demand sides are important. On the supply side of democratic governance, this means that the ability, capacity and willingness of the state to deliver is important through transparent decision-

2 making processes; through accountability mechanisms that are accessible to citizens; through effective and capable institutions at both the national, regional and local levels; through the organization of free and fair elections supervised by independent electoral commissions. And these areas will most likely be the areas addressed through government-to-government partnerships as well as through capacity support from the multilateral system. But strengthening the demand side represented by the diverse organisations of civil society is equally important. This can be done through support for anti-corruption campaigns run by individual CSOs and CBOs; through support for training on gender budgeting at municipality level; through support for advocacy platforms on constitutional development; through support for media organisations wanting to strengthen the quality of information offered to citizens; through training on human rights and rights-based approaches to development; etc. By offering five different perspectives on what Danish civil society organisations contribute as part of Danish development cooperation, we would like to engage representatives of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in a discussion on what works? In asking this question, we would also like to discuss why it has worked? Based on this, we would furthermore like to engage in a discussion about the role of the international community in the area of democratic governance, considering that this is often seen as a more sensitive area than activities that focus specifically on poverty reduction. DRAFT PROGRAMME SUNDAY 27 MAY Transport from Horsens to Aros, Aarhus Welcome by the Chair, Mr. Bjørn Førde, Director of DIPD ActionAid Denmark, Mr. Frans Mikael Jansen The Project Advice and Training Centre, Mr. Erik Vithner International Media Support, Mr. Finn Rasmussen Danish Institute for Human rights, Mr. Jakob Kirkemann Boesen Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy, Ms. Hanne Lund Madsen Questions and answers Wrap-up of the session Lunch Possibility of visiting the art exhibitions at Aros Transport from Aarhus to Horsens

3 Registration Final registration will be on 26 May 2012 at Forum Horsens conference centre. Please note that due to the limited number of places, preference will be given to those who pre-register and heads of delegations. The organisers reserve the right to change the programme. Number of participants: approximately 130. Working language of the workshop is in English. Interpretation provided in French. The Organisations Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD) was established by the Danish Parliament in May The purpose of DIPD is to strengthen and complement Danish democracy assistance, particularly through supporting political parties and multi-party systems in a selection of countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The activities of DIPD are carried out in close cooperation with the Danish Political parties and other Danish and International stakeholders. DIPD supports inter-party cooperation between Danish political parties and parties in the global south as well as other actors essential for a multiparty system and democratic culture such as independent media, think-tanks and non-state political actors. Projects are so far initiated in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Bhutan, Nepal, Honduras and Bolivia. Bjørn Førde - Director: Former Director of the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre, UN Resident Coordinator and Representative of the UNDP in Botswana as well as member of the Board of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). He has also held various positions with the Danish CSO ActionAid Denmark, including that of Secretary General , and written extensively on broad variety of development issues. Hanne Lund Madsen - Senior Advisor: Hanne has extensive experience within democratic governance having served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several international organisations as adviser on strengthening of human rights and democracy. She has moreover acted as consultant to governments, CSOs, Donors, research institutions and private companies on strategic planning, programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Central America, the Balkans and the Pacific. ActionAid Denmark ActionAid Denmark was founded in 1944, and is a membership organisation with 8000 individual members and 63 Institutional members. Throughout its nearly 70 year history, AADK has been through many changes, but has retained a mission of working for a better world, where collaboration between people promotes global justice and ensure better conditions for the poor and marginalized. In 2007 AADK took the strategic decision to focus its programmes exclusively on democratic

4 governance work. AADK became a member of the ActionAid International Federation in 2008 and took lead on the Just and Democratic Governance Theme in Through this international governance work, AADK has served to develop capacity and ensure the quality of governance programmes for ActionAid in over 30 countries. Key among the achievements of the IGT during this period was the research and formulation of methodological approaches to working with accountability at the local level. 4 hand books on Accountability, Budgets, Power and Voice have been produced to guide frontline staff working with accountability and participatory democracy. ActionAid Denmark runs a Training4Change programme, which offer training in governance in all parts of the world. ActionAid International utilise the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) as a key element in promoting equity, fighting injustice and eradicating poverty. Frans Mikael Jansen - Secretary General for ActionAid Denmark: Frans Mikael has worked with conflict resolution and peace-building, human resource development and anti-corruption within democratic governance and support to civil society in more than 30 countries throughout Asia, Africa and Central/South America for the past 20 years. He is an experienced international development planner, manager, policy analyst and lobbyist who, prior to taking the position of Secretary General for ActionAid Denmark, has held other top positions in other Danish CSOs, headed the consultancy company International Development Partners as well as having worked as the Head of Danida's governance programs in Uganda. Danish Institute for Human Rights The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) was originally established by parliament in 1987 and recognized as a National Human Rights Institution under the UN Paris Principles in The Institute is part of a global network of approximately 80 National Human Rights Institutions, and enjoys the highest level of accreditation. DIHR has more than 20 years of experience with hands-on implementation of human rights around the world, and our past and present work includes a variety of projects spanning the globe on issues such as institutional support to National Human Rights institutions, legal and institutional reform related to of justice and rule of law, supporting legal aid and other promotion of access to justice, promotion of public participation and strengthening compliance of businesses on human rights. Jakob Kirkemann Boesen Department Director: Has worked for the Danish Institute for Human Rights since 2003 and currently holds the position as director of the department of public participation. He has worked extensively with civil society globally and had placements in Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Malawi. He has worked extensively with Human Rights Based approaches and been key in developing DIHRs approach to work with social and economic rights. Previously he has held positions in academia and in private consulting.

5 PATC - The Project Advice and Training Centre PATC is an independent and democratic association of 280+ Danish civil society organisations of different types and size that are engaged in international development co-operation. The key objectives of PATC are to build capacity, cooperation and networking among the Danish CSOs; to support the continuous development of Danish CSOs and their partnerships with civil society organisations in Asia, Africa or Latin America, and to support their information and lobby activities in Denmark and the EU in order to secure a more fair and just world. PATC administers the Project Fund, a funding mechanism for Danish CSOs, which supports partnerships and projects with their partner CSOs in developing countries. In its activities, PATC is strongly aware of its legitimacy, transparency and accountability, as well as to secure high quality and continuous development of its professional work. PATC safeguard the interests of its member organisations in the Danish political context though lobby and advocacy work. PATC is a partner with CIVICUS: "World Alliance for Citizen Participation" which works to promote the rights and responsibilities of civil society organisations globally. Erik Vithner Head of Secretariat: Erik has 25 years of experience in managing and developing civil society organisations in Denmark. The last 16 years have been related to international development co-operation partly as Head of Department in ActionAid Denmark and for the last 10 years heading the secretariat of PATC. He has an extensive experience and knowledge about the role of the civil society in development in different environments and contexts around the world. International Media Support International Media Support (IMS) was established in 2001 and is a non-profit organisation working to support local media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity and political transition. In more than 50 countries worldwide, IMS helps to strengthen professional journalism and ensure that media can operate in challenging circumstances. Freedom of Expression and a free press are key elements in the democratic development of a country. To achieve this, IMS works to enable media to reduce conflict, strengthen democracy and bring about dialogue. IMS works in close partnership with local media and media support organisations nationally as well as internationally to identify and react rapidly and flexibly to the needs of local media. IMS seeks to address all aspects of the media sector from media laws to skills training and the protection of journalists. Finn Rasmussen Director of Development: Since 2005 worked for IMS and currently as Director of Development and Head of Department for Asia, Africa and Latin America. Previous he worked as advisor for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs at their good governance and human rights programme in Central America. He also worked for the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), Ibis and UNDP. He has published a number of books on mass media, political communication, and international affairs.

6 The venue ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum On 8 April 2004, the new 17,700 square metre building, situated in central Århus, opened its doors to the public. The event marked a new era in the museum s almost 150-year history: the provincial art museum with high ambitions now emerged as a national museum with international ambitions. To highlight its new profile, Aarhus Kunstmuseum added ARoS to its name. The museum now has ample space to showcase its extensive collection of 1100 paintings, 400 sculptures and installations, 200 art videos and over 7,000 drawings, photos and graphics: a collection that ahead of the inauguration was enhanced by the addition of works by international artists such as Bill Viola, Tony Oursler, Carsten Höller, Miwa Yanagi and James Turrell. The building The building is cube-shaped, 43 metres tall and 54 by 54 metres wide. It is divided by a curved "museum street", to which the public has access without an admission fee. A spiral staircase accentuates the mid-point of the "street" and, upon payment of an entrance fee, visitors gain full access to all of the museum's galleries and facilities. The galleries The new art museum contains three large galleries of just under 1,100 square metres each for permanent exhibitions allowing visitors the opportunity to view a broad spectrum of works from the museum s own collection. In addition, recent acquisitions of international light and video works are displayed in the basement level of the museum in a special exhibition gallery called 'The 9 Spaces'. The museum has two further galleries at its disposal: the dedicated special exhibitions gallery commanding 1,100 square metres and the West Gallery with 350 square metres. Link to the museum s website: