East East Beyond Borders Program 2012
The East East Beyond Borders Program supports peer learning, exchange, and cooperation among civil society actors and activists in two or more countries. The program promotes the movement of ideas and spirit of inquiry by convening people with shared interests to work together for sustainable impact locally and internationally.
The program was created in 1991 for the local Open Society foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to support trans-national civil society interaction in the context of post-socialist transition. Today, program resources for trans-national and trans-continental peer learning, exchange, and cooperation are available to civil society and non-governmental actors and activists in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Summary of Initiatives
as of 6 May 2012
Good Governance and Public Policy
Financing Political Parties and Election Campaigns
Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland)
Organizers: Anti-Corruption Program of the Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland), Warsaw www.batory.org.pl; Transparency International Estonia, Tallinn www.transparency.ee; Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul, Chisinau www.viitorul.org; Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), Tbilisi www.gyla.ge; Transparency International Armenia, Yerevan www.transparency.am; Transparency International Czech Republic, Prague www.transparency.cz; and, Open Society Forum (Mongolia), Ulaanbaatar www.forum.mn
Purpose: To analyze regulatory systems of campaign and political party financing in Central Europe, to stimulate discussion and advocacy on the need for reforms in political party financing, and to develop recommendations for changes in funding schemes to promote transparency and corruption prevention.
Strengthening Relations among Stakeholders: Independent Regulatory Bodies, Parliaments, and CSOs
Open Society Foundation, Serbia
Organizers: European Movement in Serbia, Belgrade www.emins.org; National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade www.parlament.rs; and, European Movement in Montenegro, Podgorica www.emim.org
Purpose: To promote an innovative dialogue among representatives of independent regulatory bodies created for the protection of human rights and anti-discrimination, members of parliaments, and CSO representatives in South Eastern Europe to establish relations regionally among stakeholders and formulate recommendations to improve functioning of independent regulatory bodies.
Citizen Participation and Transparency in Local Budget Processes
Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Tajikistan
Organizers: Center for Municipal Development, Dushanbe; Center for Public Policy, Bishkek; and, Caucasian Institute for Economic and Social Research, Tbilisi www.ciesr.org
Purpose: To introduce methodologies of budget transparency partnerships between local governments and community-based and non-governmental organizations in Tajikistan, and to promote international standards in accountability and managing foreign investment as based on expertise and comparative experiences in neighboring countries.
Increasing the Influence of Civil Society Organizations to Promote EITI Processes
Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Tajikistan
Organizers: NGO Coalition Transparency for Development, Tajikistan; NGO Association Azamatik Kurultai, Kazakhstan; Civil Society Consortium of EITI Implementation, Kyrgyzstan; and, NGO Coalition Improving Transparency in Extractive Industries, Azerbaijan
Purpose: To establish an inter-regional network of national coalitions to increase the capacity and influence of civil society actors, to mobilize regional expertise and stakeholder engagement in implementing EITI in Tajikistan, and to deepen multi-stakeholder platforms of addressing issues of transparency and accountability in resource rich countries.
Social Advocacy Actions for Transparency and Accountability: Implications of Hydropower
Foundation Open Society Institute-Macedonia
Organizers: Eko-svest, Skopje www.ekosvest.com.mk; CEE Bankwatch Network, Prague www.bankwatch.org; and, Coalition for Rivers, Czech Republic www.koaliceproreky.cz
Purpose: To strengthen public monitoring of large hydropower infrastructure projects and civil society engagement with decision-makers to ensure harmonization with EU recommendations and to minimize harmful consequences of large scale development projects.
Comparative Experiences in Reforming the State Automobile Inspectorate
International Renaissance Foundation (Ukraine)
Organizers: NGO Ukrainian Special Board on Countering Corruption and Organized Crime, Kyiv www.vsk.kiev.ua; International Center for Geopolitical Studies, Tbilisi www.icgs.ge; Center for the Analysis and Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau; Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau; National Center for Legislative Research, Armenia; State Department of SAI MIA of Ukraine, Kyiv www.sai.gov.ua; and, Public Relations Office of the Main Department of the MIA of Ukraine, Kyiv www.militia.kiev.ua
Purpose: To analyze experiences of reforms related to the traffic police and reducing corruption in the system of internal affairs and to promote stakeholder and civil society involvement in processes of elaborating strategies of reform in Ukraine.
Promotion of Corporate Social Behavior and Responsibility for Sustainable Development
Open Society Foundation for Albania
Organizers: Partners-Albania Center for Change and Conflict Management, Tirana www.partnersalbania.org; Center for Institutional Development (CIRa), Skopje www.cira.org.mk; and, Center for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CRNVO), Podgorica www.crnvo.me
Purpose: To raise awareness of social responsibility in the civil, public, and business sectors in Albania by creating opportunities for networking and collaborative actions, and to encourage public debates on sustainable development among stakeholders regionally.
Transformation of the Agricultural Sector: Sustainable Economic Development
Soros Foundation-Moldova
Organizers: National Agency for Rural Development, Chisinau www.acsa.md and VVMZ Slovakia, Bratislava www.vvmz.eu
Purpose: To empower the expert community, policy- and decision-makers, farmer’s associations, rural entrepreneurs, and community development NGOs in Moldova to formulate effective and efficient policies for the agricultural sector and rural communities according to EU standards and requirements, and to engage experts and activists in Central European EU member countries in collaboration to promote relations with Moldova.
Comparative Analysis of Regional Development Policies
Soros Foundation-Romania
Organizers: Civitas Foundation for Civil Society, Cluj-Napoca www.civitas.ro and Soros Foundation-Romania, Bucharest
www.soros.ro
Purpose: To engage civil society and decision makers in a debate about rural and regional development, specifically to identify working models and best practices for central and local governments to alleviate poverty and increase social inclusion.
Enhancing Rural Development in Serbia: EU Standards of Rural Development
Open Society Foundation, Serbia
Organizers: Regional Development Agency Eastern Serbia--RARIS, Zajecar www.raris.org and the Carpathian Development Institute, Kosice www.kri.sk
Purpose: To contribute to ongoing collaboration in building capacity for rural development in eastern Serbia and to engage local and regional stakeholders in acquiring knowledge of EU standards of rural development.
Overcoming the Digital Divide: Access for Rural Communities
Soros Foundation-Romania
Organizers: Educating for an Open Society Foundation, Timisoara www.eos.ro; International Aid Network, Belgrade www.ian.org.rs/education; Latvian Information and Communications Technology Association, Riga www.likta.lv; and, Alliance of Community Centers for Access to Information and Training, Chisinau www.contact.md
Purpose: To promote rural development through comparing best practices of digital access, and to strengthen the capacity of rural telecenters to address issues of social entrepreneurship and sustainability, employability, and participatory community development.
Promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship
Open Society Georgia Foundation
Organizers: Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia, Tbilisi www.csrdg.ge; Pontis Foundation, Bratislava www.nadaciapontis.sk; and, Czech Fundraising Center, Prague www.fundraising.cz
Purpose: To address issues of sustainability of third sector by promoting practices of corporate social responsibility among businesses and practices of social entrepreneurial activities among civil society actors in Georgia.
Networking Resource Centers in Europe: European Civil Society House
Open Society Institute-Sofia (Bulgaria)
Organizers: ProInfo Foundation, Sofia, and European Citizens Action Service, Brussels www.ecas-citizens.eu
Purpose: To support the first comprehensive database of NGO resource centers in the EU member states, candidate and potential candidate countries; to contribute to the creation of a network of national contact points of the European Civil Society House that will evolve into a resource center for civil society organizations at the EU level; and, to enhance capacity of CSOs for effective participation in European policy-making processes.
Absorption of International Assistance: Challenges for NGOs
International Renaissance Foundation (Ukraine) and Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland)
Organizers: Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw www.isp.org.pl and Democratic Initiatives Foundation, Kyiv www.dif.org.ua
Purpose: To evaluate the performance of Ukrainian NGOs receiving international funding and offer recommendations to government and EU officials on collaborative engagement with non-governmental organizations.
Transparency in Education: Overcoming Corruption
Foundation Open Society Institute-Macedonia
Organizers: Youth Educational Forum, Skopje www.mof.org.mk; Alliance Ukraine, Donetsk www.allianceua.org.ua; and, Education Development Center, Inc., Newton, MA www.edc.org
Purpose: To engage youth and university students to contribute to national action plans to promote transparency in education, and to create an informal network among 13 countries to act as multipliers for NGOs and student governments to work collaboratively to address corruption in education.
Education Reform: Civic Education in High Schools
Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Armenia
Organizers: Education without Boundaries, Yerevan, and Education Development Center, Riga www.iac.edu.lv
Purpose: To enhance high school curriculum development by engaging stakeholders in education reform to implement civic education methodologies, assessment and quality assurance standards in high schools.
Teaching Values through Role Models: University Outreach into Community Involvement
Soros Foundation-Romania
Organizers: Faculty of Letters, History and Theology of West University, Timisoara www.litere.uvt.ro; ANTIM Association of Young Historians of Moldova, Chisinau www.iatp.md; Faculty of History and Ethno-Pedagogy of Ion Creanga University, Chisinau www.upsc.md; and, Romanian Chair of Juhasz Gyula Faculty of Education of the University of Szeged www.jgytf.u-szeged.hu
Purpose: To increase youth participation and public trust in higher education by identifying and promoting models of volunteerism, community access to university resources and outreach to community life.
New Methodologies for Community Activism in Russia and Poland
Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland)
Organizers: Center for Local Activity Support (CAL) Association, Warsaw www.cal.org.pl and NGO Association Sluzhenye, Nizhny Novgorod www.sluzhenye.org
Purpose: To promote community activism through sharing experiences among social activists and leaders and to mobilize local community residents to engage in solving problems of development in Poland and Russia.
Increasing Youth Participation in Community Life
Soros Foundation-Moldova
Organizers: Faclia Community Association for Children and Youth, Ungheni www.faclia.md; Youth Association DRONI, Tbilisi www.droni.org; Initiatives, Prokuplje www.theinitiatives.org; and, Multiethnic Group of Women, Seleus
www.zmg-seleus.org.rs
Purpose: To encourage participation of young people in sustainable community development through sharing experiences among youth NGOs and local authorities in Moldova, Serbia, and Georgia, and to promote learning and efficient interaction to contribute to local problem-solving.
Rights Protection and Social Inclusion
Reviewing the Review: Universal Periodic Review in Perspective
Open Society Georgia Foundation
Organizers: Open Society Georgia Foundation, Tbilisi www.osgf.ge; Human Rights and Governance Grants Program of the Open Society Foundations; and, East East Beyond Borders Program of the Open Society Foundations
Purpose: To capture civil society experiences with the UPR process and share lessons learned, and to analyze implementation of recommendations and follow-up monitoring, advocacy and coalition building.
Awareness, Outreach and Education through Human Rights Documentary Film
Open Society Fund-Prague (Czech Republic)
Organizers: One World Human Rights Film Festival, People in Need, Prague www.oneworld.cz and Film South Asia, Lalitpur, Nepal
Purpose: To strengthen European-Asian civil society networks to promote the universality of human rights, specifically through the strategic use of documentary film for awareness building, education, advocacy, stimulating public debates, and promoting social inclusion.
Social Service Centers for Roma Communities: Experiences in Slovakia
International Renaissance Foundation (Ukraine)
Organizers: Roma of Ukraine Program of the International Renaissance Foundation (Ukraine), Kyiv www.irf.ua; People in Need – Slovakia www.clovekvtisni.sk; Blaho Charitable Fund, Uzhgorod www.blago.westportal.net; and, Roma Som, Uzhgorod
Purpose: To establish relations between Slovakia and Ukraine in the field of social inclusion of Roma and to contribute international experiences to the development of an action plan on complex social services for Roma in Ukraine.
Equal Education for All: Remedial Education for Migrants’ Children
Soros Foundation-Romania
Organizers: Association of Parents of Mihai Eminescu School No. 28, Galati www.scoala28gl.scoli.edu.ro;
NGO Denizen/Center for Civic Activism, Svrljig; Elementary School Dobrila Stambolic, Svrljig; and, Flladi Association, Tetovo
Purpose: To convene education practitioners in Romania, Serbia, and Macedonia, to build capacity in models of remedial education designed to bring underprepared students to competency standards by age and therefore, to reduce educational discrepancies among students and improve social adaptability.
Cooperation for the Rights of Migrants: Russia and Poland
Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland)
Organizers: Association for Legal Intervention, Warsaw www.interwencjaprawna.pl; Migration and Law Program of Human Rights Center Memorial, Moscow www.memo.ru; and, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Warsaw www.hfhr.pl
Purpose: To conduct a comparative analysis and assessment of existing legal mechanisms in Poland and Russia to protect the rights of migrants and to develop conditions and modalities of cooperation in handling migration cases before international bodies.
Breaking Down Barriers: Scouting Programs for Youth
International Renaissance Foundation (Ukraine)
Organizers: PLAST National Scout Organization of Ukraine, Kyiv www.plast.org.ua and Slovensky Skauting, Bratislava www.scouting.sk
Purpose: To introduce international experiences with scouting programs to develop skills and capacities for Roma youth and to adapt scouting methodologies in Roma communities to break down barriers between and promote social integration among youth in Ukraine.
Best Practice in Advancing Health and Rights: Sustainability of Roma Health Mediation
Open Society Foundation-Bratislava (Slovak Republic)
Organizers: Public Health Program of the Open Society Foundation-Bratislava (Slovak Republic) www.osf.sk
Purpose: To showcase internationally the impact on economic, health, and inclusion of Roma Health Mediation (RHM) and to encourage responsible state institutions to ensure the sustainability and systematization of RHM programs and integration of RHM into public health systems.
Building Bridges to Build Capacity: Gender and Disability
Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan
Organizers: Public Association SHYRAK Association of Women with Disabilities, Almaty; International Association of Women with Disabilities of Georgia, Tbilisi www.gdwia.gol.ge; and, Poltava Oblast Branch of All-Ukrainian Organization of Persons with Disabilities, Union of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine
Purpose: To promote adherence to international standards on disability as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to develop collaborative advocacy strategies to protect the rights of persons with disability.
Equal Opportunity for Inclusion and Integration in Higher Education
Soros Foundation-Romania
Organizers: Association for the Integration of Disabled Persons, Timisoara www.aipd.eu; Social Rehabilitation Center for Low Vision Persons, Chisinau; Society for Blind People in the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau www.som.md; Foundation Institute for Regional Development, Cracow www.firr.org.pl; Foundation Supporting Physically Disabled Mathematicians and IT Specialists, Warsaw www.fpmiinr.org.pl; and, Help Moldova, Oslo www.hjelp-moldova.no