Black Sea NGO Forum 2010

3rd edition

“Investing in Our Common Future”

AGENDA

Day 1, Thursday 21 October

9.00 – 10.00 Opening remarks

Teodor Baconschi, Minister of Foreign Affairs (Romania) (tbc)

Niculae Idu, Head of Representation, Representation of the European
Commission in Romania
Craig Kennedy, President of the German Marshall Fund (tbc)

10.00 – 10.30 Press conference

10.00 – 10.30 coffee break
10.30 – 12.00 Review of major political and economic developments in the region
(economy, politics, EU policies)

Traian Ungureanu, European Parliament (tbc)

Thierry Bechet, Adviser (Conflict Resolution and Regional Cooperation)

European Commission, Directorate-General for External Relations (tbc)
Iulian Fota, Councilor, Romanian Presidency
Tedo Japaridze, International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS)
Jana Kobzova, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) (tbc)
Ognyan D. Minchev, Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS)

12.00 – 13.00 Country developments (I) – including state of civil society, main issues on
the public agenda, economic reforms, policies to mitigate crisis

Moderator: Iris Kempe, Director of Heinrich Böll Foundation South Caucasus

Regional Office (tbc)

 Armenia
 Azerbaijan
 Georgia
13.00 – 14.30 lunch
14.30 – 15.30 Country developments (II) including state of civil society, main issues on the
public agenda, economic reforms, policies to mitigate crisis

Moderator: Sorin Mereacre, East European Foundation (Republic of Moldova)

 Belarus
 R. Moldova
 Russia
 Ukraine
15.30 – 16.30 Country developments (III) including state of civil society, main issues on
the public agenda, economic reforms, policies to mitigate crisis

Moderator: Ozgur Ünlühisarcıklı, German Marshal Fund of the US (Turkey)

 Turkey
 Romania
 Bulgaria
 Greece
16.30 – 17.00 coffee break
17.00 – 18.00 NGO Fair
18.00 – 19.00 “Around the Black Sea” - a multimedia project, in which two Romanian
journalist discover stories, portraits and images in the middle of local
communities. The journalists have crossed Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine and Moldova to illustrate the
differences and similarities between the communities around the Black Sea,
as they fail to appear in daily press.
19.00 – 21.00 welcome dinner

Day 2, Friday 22 October

9.30 – 10.45 Thematic panels (I)

10.45 – 11.00 coffee break
11.00 – 13.00 Thematic panels (II)

Democracy and How does the level of civic participation affect the quality of
Citizen governance and democracy in the region?
Participation What effective solutions did work to increase citizen
participation at local and/or national level?
What should governments and international community do to
 increase citizen participation at local and/or national level?
Does civic participation help decrease corruption? Does
monitoring public spending work?
Can effective local governance really contribute to poverty
alleviation?
- good practices - case studies of NGO work -
Sustainable How effective is civil society networking for sustainable
Economic economic development in the region? (including think tanks,
Development business associations, foreign investors etc.)
What is the impact of NGOs (think tanks, business associations)
on economic good governance and transparency?
What is the expected impact of free trade agreements with the
EU for the economies in the region?
Are public-private partnerships (PPPs) a solution or a risk?
To what extent NGOs and business associations can work
together to promote CSR in the region?
- good practices – case studies of NGO work -
Youth Policies Do the countries in the Black Sea region invest in their youth?
How effective are youth policies in the region?
What is the situation of youth organizations in the region?
How much youth mobility is there in the region?
How strong is the EU and international support for youth
policies in the Black Sea region?
- good practices – case studies of NGO work -
Bridging Divided What does true reconciliation entail? How can it be achieved
Communities and what is the role of civil society? How can its achievement
be assessed?
What are the most effective ways to build confidence within
divided communities?
What are the limits that (high) politics draw among divided
societies and how can civil society mitigate them?
How relevant are the international mechanisms for the
protection of minority rights to the reconciliation processes in
the region?
- good practices – case studies of NGO work -
Environment & What are the environmental priorities for the Black Sea region
Climate Change at present?
What resources do exist to implement the Black Sea
environmental agenda?
What is the impact of climate change in the region and how
should it be mitigated?
- good practices – case studies of NGO work -
13.00 – 14.30 lunch
14.30 – 16.00 Donors and international actors' perspectives on civil society
developments in the region
16.00 – 16.30 coffee break
16.30 – 19.00 Partnership meetings / Study visits to local NGOs / Free time
19.00 – 21.00 dinner

Day 3, Saturday 23 October

9.00 – 11.30 Cross-sector panels:

Capacity building for NGOs Organizational development / Human

resources
Challenges for the independence of Relations with donors and public
the civil society authorities

Networking and solidarity among NGOs Networks / coalitions /platforms

in the region

New Media: Advocacy through blogging Education / Information / Awareness

and social networks raising

PR & Comunication. Public campaigns Branding / Relations with mass-media /

Reports

11.30 – 12.00 coffee break

12.00 – 14.00 Black Sea NGO Award Ceremony

Reports from the panels
Conclusions and recommendations
14.00 – 15.30 lunch
16.00 departures
19.00 dinner for the remaining participants