IKM emerges at EADI Congress

At the recent EADI General Conference in Geneva, the IKM Emergent programme organized a session entitled "Recognising Multiple Knowledges for Better Governance and Sustainable Development."

IKM Emergent Director Mike Powell opened with a series of projects illustrating emerging methods to reflect on Information and knowledge for development. These ranged from land use planning using 3D models (www.ipad.org) through videos of policy opinion (http://euforic.blip.tv) to animated representations of statistics (www.gapminder.org).

Valerie Brown then presented a compelling model with which to consider multiple knowledges in a research project. Her example was the small town of Port Pirie in Australia where children suffered from lead poisoning as a result of a local industry. Multiple knowledges exist in every community, in this community there was a hierarchy of knowledge. The specialists came first, even though they were remote from the action, local and individual knowledges were considered at a lower level.

Valerie Brown reflects on the IKM Emergent Programme:

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The way that knowledge takes a central role in Namibia's national development plan was presented by Kingo Mchombu. He argued that development organizations operate in non hierarchical knowledge sharing systems, that commitment by policy makers is key to implementation in knowledge for development and that decentralisation is part of this process. If local knowledge is not considered, local people feel disempowered.

The final presentation by Wangui Wa Goro and Martha Chinouyas looked at knowledge dialogues and translations, introducing the concept of traducture. It particularly focuses on the mediation of translation space. This was symbolised in her dialogue with Martha Chinouyas which provided an example “under the tree of talking”. The key issue was the form research took within a community, expressed most vividly in the community's desire to conduct interviews under “the tree of talking” rather than in private offices provided for the purpose. Wangui expressed her fears that current methods often result in “Chinese whispers” through intermediaries, resulting in a message that is completely distorted from that of the source.

Wangui reflects on the IKM Emergent Programme:

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by Chris Addison

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Euforic newsfeed on information and knowledge

News from IKM Emergent

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Accessing research information: Views from the South

The EADI Information Management Working Group organised a session on research communication at the recent EADI General Conference in Geneva.

Pinkie Mekgwe of CODESRIA opened by suggesting that the Internet is becoming a place where only the knowledgeable meet, benefiting a select few. She went on to consider the implications for African scholarship.

Whilst many initiatives now put African academic materials online, she observes an increase of new types of publishing. Zeleza.com is an example where scholars set up their own blogs; the Pambazuka Newsletter is widely read, while Thoughtleader provides opinion from African academics. Some of the new technologies overcome traditional barriers. However, commercial pressures mean that scholars in the south are in danger of selling their copyright. Many web pages appear to be useful but can be asking for payment of research, for example sites like academia-research.com, writers.com (a private university) and gradesaver.com where students can buy answers to set tests. These ways of buying answers to exams and progressing by paying discriminate. She was further concerned that people currently using the Internet have no say in its development. Openness is not necessarily good for knowledge production and requires a special approach to interrogate the Internet to ensure more balanced results from the sources available.

Pinkie Mekgwe on communicating research:

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Vikas Nath began by explaining the special position of the South Centre in supporting the G77 countries in Geneva. The South Centre has embraced new media, it runs a digital tv channel and several blogs. But Vikas is concerned that knowledge portals still talk about the old development paradigms, and these ideas are still being reinforced. He wonders how much space there is in the public domain for alternative approaches. How independent can development research be when it is funded by the donors. Moreover, policymakers in the South continue to be educated in the North and have the viewpoint of North. The Internet appears to be used to reinforce paradigms. There is also the question of who speaks for the south? Are they in fact just voices of the south that the North wants to hear.

Vikas Nath on breaking Northern hegemonies on knowledge:

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by Chris Addison

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Euforic newsfeed on information and knowledge

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Development research: Interrogating open access

The mini symposium 'interrogating open access' at the EADI General Conference in Geneva brought together a publisher, a librarian, a nuclear researcher and an advocate for open access, all chaired by the director of a research institute.

The subsequent discussions resulted in 10 clear messages on the process, options and progress towards Open Access in development research.

1. Research backing: Over 800 research institutions have committed to Open Access. In particular the heads of research councils in Europe have signed up to a commitment to providing free access to research findings.
2. Policy backing: Policy makers are acting with the US senate and congress making statements, the EU council and OECD but to date there is very little comment from the South.
   
3. Peer reviewed journals: Peer reviewed research papers published in established journals remain the main indicator used to assess research organizations, but these journals now offer open access options. The reviewers follow the same procedure in accessing the article (being unaware whether it is open or closed access).
   
4. Hybrid Journals: A journal can provide open access to an article within such a journal for between 2-3000 Euros.
5. Citation advantage: There is a documented advantage to citation for open access articles vs closed articles.
6. Open Access Levels: There is a metallic rainbow of open access agreements. WHITE: Publishers require copyrights and allow nothing never; YELLOW: Publishers allow open preprints; BLUE: Publishers allow postprints; GREEN: Publishers allows pre and postprints, embargo periods and reuse changes and exceptions can be negotiated; GOLD: Publishers waive copyrights (open access journals).
7. Action: The suggestion was made that Universities and research institute members of EADI should sign the Berlin declaration followed by a policy to setup their own institutional OAI repository. (Ideally this would involve a distributed national service setup by the community with an OA project together with a group such as eIFL).
8. Initiatives: Some organizations are demonstrating the value of open access through innovative initiatives.
9. Concerns about cost and the politics of knowledge: Discussions focused on how the author can pay to ensure open access, how access in the south will be affected and what about print content. Does this activity privilege larger organizations and will the politics of northern knowledge become even more dominant.
10. To be successful and to drive down costs, the true impact factors of journals need to be published. If open access journals are cited more, they will be better value for money. This matches the research funders increasing requirement to see research outputs communicated successfully.

Leo Waaijers on open access and quality control:

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by Chris Addison

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Can economic growth be reconciled with sustainable development?

The second plenary session of the EADI General Conference in Geneva brought together speakers on the "knife-edge between climate change and Millennium Development Goals", as the session was subtitled.

Jean-Louis Arcand from the Center for Studies and Research on International Development in France had a very pessimistic view, explaining that from an economic perspective, he feels helpless to contribute to the title question because of the lack of macro economic data. There are thousands of household surveys and a lot of good analysis around the world, but the long-term view is missing: Continuity in local teams involved in routine data collection is missing, and local policy-makers do not have any interest in the long-term view. Often, government ministries and statistical agencies retain data.

Charles Gore from UNCTAD focused the first part of his intervention on the need for a new way of thinking, a "new paradigm" that marks the end of twenty-five years of structural adjustment programmes and policies of global integration. According to Mr. Gore, five elements need to be taken into consideration to define this new way of thinking: resource scarcity; radical global inequality and radical global interdependence; emergence of the BRICS+; globalisation of expectations without globalisation of opportunities; conceptual confusion, where global issues are still addressed with national frames of references.

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He also argued that "MDGs are a muddle", which is why "we have to place them in an economic framework". According to him, productive capacities are the key to reconcile economic growth and sustainable development. If a country can increase productive capacities (for example natural assets and labour productivity), the economy will grow and poverty will be reduced. As policy implications, Gore recommended to focus on the utilization of productive capacities, and industrial policies to promote structural change towards lower energy use on the national level. On the international level, rich countries "must cut emissions more deeply to support low-carbon transitions in developing countries", Gore concluded.

Wolfgang Sachs (Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy) presented several main arguments. First, the Euro-Atlantic civilisation was based on carbon and colonies, and only managed to grow because it could expand acres overseas and under the soil. Second, monetary growth implies a certain degree of material growth. The ecological footprint of people rises along side the growth of GDP, which constitutes "uneconomic growth". Third, he argued that "monetary growth is an inefficient way to reduce poverty", and from 100 $ GDP growth, only 4$ are reaching the poor. Tackling income distribution would be a much more efficient way to eradicate poverty.

Moreover, energy efficiency measures will not be enough to reach the necessary CO2 reduction of about 80-90% in 2050, because rebound effects surpass efficiency gains. "How much is enough?", would be a more appropriate question. Fourth, Sachs argued that there is not enough carbon left for newly industrializing countries to follow the Euro-Atlantic path for decades. We have to face "another inconvenient truth": The South cannot wait for the North to mitigate, but has to reduce emissions now. This is why ecological leapfrogging, not industrial growth, is the way for industrializing countries to go. It constitutes a chance for poorer countries, because they can still take decisive decisions about infrastructure, agriculture, construction etc.

Last, Sachs claimed that "there is no sustainable development unless the growth in commercial goods is constrained by a growth in common goods." Concluding, it is essential "to put economic growth on the back seat". It should not be a policy priority, but emphasis should lie instead on common goods such as health, education and ecosystem services.

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by Birthe Paul

See the Euforic newsfeeds on agriculture and environment.
Read more stories from the conference and visit the conference blog.

Certified organics as institutional vehicle of sustainable development

During the first session of the EADI Environment and Development Working Group on the EADI General Conference 2008, Henrik Egelyng from the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) presented a paper on the strengths and weaknesses of Certified Organics as a governance instrument to promote sustainable agriculture globally.

Firstly, it is peculiar that Europe and the USA pull 97% of revenue from organic agriculture. Africa has very little certified organic agriculture, while Europe has a lot. Although African farmers use little pesticides, and farm with very little carbon emissions, the reason for this North-South divide can be seen in the lack of certification. Southern smallholders face weaker options than farmers in the North, because their national economies cannot financially support certification.

Only recently have the "the giants moved to be organic". Brazil and China developed national level policies to promote and facilitate certified organic agriculture. Organic food is only produced for the export market, where Walmart is one of the major driving forces.

In his conclusions, Egelyng argued that organic certification is a success story in so far that the global consumer movement reacted more directly to governance failures than citizens did. However, the trade-off is that governments now tend to lean back, because "the market regulates it". Market driven organic agriculture may be unable to change global agriculture towards higher overall levels of sustainability.

by Birthe Paul

See Euforic newsfeeds on agriculture and environment.

Subscribe to DIIS newsfeed.

Read more stories from the conference and visit the conference blog.

Euforic: Providing other perspectives for the research community

In June 2008, Euforic held its Annual Meeting in Geneva, joining EADI's General Conference on "Global Governance for Sustainable Development".

At last year's AGM we met up with the NGO community; this year we joined a vivid conference of the development research community.

Within this development research community, information resources are still very much centered around book publications and academic journals. Nevertheless there is a strong need to look beyond these traditional formats - especially in development research - to get a broader view including discussions in the NGO community, think tanks and the media.

We met Maurizio Carbone (Glasgow University), who was really euphoric about Euforic's information services:



See Euforic newsfeeds on various areas of international cooperation and development.

Read more on our AGM

Sustainable finance, aid effectiveness and poverty alleviation in the new global aid architecture

Realizing that achievement of the MDGs is endangered, the German Association of NGDOs, Venro, recently published two position papers for the Accra Forum on Aid Effectiveness and the 2rd World Conference on Development Finance.

While welcoming the international commitment to the successful implementation of the ‘Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness’ Venro criticises several aspects, including the:

• missing notion of pro-poor growth and adequate consideration of economic, social and cultural rights
• strong focus on governments while neglecting parliaments and non-state actors
• neglecting of the global economic framework including the development of global commodity prices and global trade policy
• ownership principle which is not balanced with political conditionality
• harmonisation which endangers the diversity of development approaches (see pdf, in German).

Regarding the “Financing for Development” Process, Venro argues that it would not be in the interest of CSOs to see the upcoming conference become a simple reviewing exercise. Directed to the German government Venro calls for a fast implementation of the UN Convention against corruption, extension of budget support in good performing partner countries, strengthened cooperation between Germany's Technical and Financial Cooperation institutions and a further discussion of the concept regarding the cancellation of illegitimate debts (see pdf, in German).

by Martin Behrens

See the Euforic newsfeed on Aid Effectiveness.

Visit our German Cooperation dossier or subscribe to the newsfeed.

See also the WECA Project of the European Center for Development Policy and Management dealing with issues of Aid Management, Ownership and Accountability.

Ten ingredients help take up development research

In early July, Euforic contributed to a workshop to discuss ways to extend the communication and uptake of development research in Southern Africa. Organized by R4D and DFID, the session helped identify 10 key ingredients for a better take up of research:

1. Media and policy: Research communicators can rely on journalists to communicate with policy shapers, both by informing public opinion and hence politicians, and by directly briefing the beneficiaries of the research.
   
2. Two worlds: Journalists work in the active voice, scientists in the passive; with different vocabularies it is not an easy task to link the two.
   
3. Impact: Too few organisations attempt to demonstrate the impact of research communication.
   
4. Visibility: Many organizations need to make their invisible research outputs visible, particularly on the web.
   
5. The quote: Journalists want personal quotes from contacts. But, there is a danger that celebrity researchers are overused and can make ill-informed comment.
   
6. Training: Journalists need support and training to find and report on research, and to support researchers to work with journalists.
   
7. The story: Research clearly carries further in the media when there is a human interest story. Some research themes lend themselves to storytelling more than others.
   
8. Technologies: While new technologies bring new opportunities to promote research, the classic skills are still required.
   
9. Skills sets: The range of actors engaged in research and communication has increased. Technical skills, communication and information management all play a role.
   
10. Ownership: Research can be communicated more readily when there is ownership, either by the benefitting community or by policy makers in the country commissioning a national report.

by Chris Addison

More:

Euforic newsfeed on information and knowledge

Making research real - research news from IPS Africa

R4D news on research communication

What French NGOs will be doing during the French Presidency of the EU

Source: Concord Flash 52, May 2008

France takes the lead in Europe on 1st July. This French presidency of the EU comes in a particular context, marked by the French rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty in 2006 and the recent No from Ireland. Moreover, the EU elections and the eventual entry into force of the amended treaty will closely follow the French EU presidency. The future of Europe will be a central issue in debates.

To highlight the importance of development cooperation, the French national association, Coordination SUD, has planned several activities, both at national level and, with CONCORD, at European level. Its presidency programme focuses on the EU's relationships with countries from the South and, more widely, the EU's role in globalisation. The future of Europe will be the cross-cutting theme tackled from different angles.

Advocacy work aimed at French and EU decision-makers and communication and awareness-raising activities will be carried out to ensure that civil society’s main concerns are included in the official EU agenda. A manifesto for the French EU presidency, drafted by Coordination SUD, sets out NGOs' analysis and their demands for the future of the EU and the EU's relations with countries from the South.

For each theme, a European seminar will be organised:

• Development financing (1 July): in the context of the international summits, on aid effectiveness in Accra and on development financing in Doha in December.
  
• Agriculture and development (16 September): in the context of the review of the EU budget and the re-assessment of the Common Agricultural Policy.
  
• Climate change and development (25 September): the impact of global warming on development in the South.
  
• International conferences on the role of national platforms (27-28 October) and on the EU as seen by the rest of the world (29-30 October, co-organised with CONCORD) with 80 representatives from all over the world sharing their opinions on different aspects of the EU's external policies, and its role.
  
• Citizens, the EU and international solidarity (18-19 November): the role of citizens in the elaboration of the EU project and particularly with regard to development and solidarity.
  
• Europe-Africa relations (5 December): with the joint EU-Africa strategy having been adopted at the end of 2007, there is a need to carry on with the analysis and advocacy work on this subject that was undertaken under the preceding presidencies. The aim is to have proposals for a balanced and mutually enriching relationship between the two continents.

For further information contact Florence McBain

Also check the Euforic newsfeed on the French EU Presidency

Policy dialogue about Dutch development cooperation

Source: MDF Newsletter, July 2008

MDF is facilitating the policy dialogue between partners in Dutch development cooperation (DC). On request of the Minister, representatives of all stakeholders in Dutch development cooperation participate in a number of meetings and in an on line discussion. Stakeholders include civil society organisations (big and small), government agencies, private enterprise, academics, migrant organisations, etc. A website has been opened where information about this Policy Dialogue can be found: www.ontwikkelingisverandering.nl.

On this website you will find the reports and proceedings of a Starter-meeting (May 22) and of the Conference of June 24 - 25. You will also find six state-of-the-art papers which were written by academics from outside the direct sphere of Dutch DC, and comments on these papers by people from within the sector. All papers, comments and other discussion documents are arranged according to six leading themes of the dialogue: Enabling environment, Complementary roles, Accountability, Learning capacity, Tasks 'North' and 'South', and Public support for DC.

The dialogue will be rounded off with a report about all outcomes of the process. This report will be used by the Minister as inspiration for a new Policy Paper that is due in autumn of this year. Four MDF-staff members are working on this dialogue - under the guidance of a Steering Committee.

For more information contact Sjoerd Zanen via mdf@mdf.nl

Check also the Euforic newsfeeds on Dutch development cooperation and on MDF

Will the EU take the lead on aid effectiveness and the MDGs?

Source: EU News, nr. 5, June/July 2008

Many meetings have taken place in the last weeks around the preparation of the third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness to take place in Accra between 2 and 4 September. At European level, the Commission prepared an EU position for Accra to be discussed with the Development Group of the EU Council and the COREPER before 16 July. It is based on the conclusions adopted by the GAERC in May (see EU News 4).

On 19 and 20 June, the EU Heads of States adopted quite disappointing conclusions with regard to aid volumes and an action plan on the MDGs. The conclusions represent a mere confirmation of previous commitments. On an EU Agenda for Action on the MDGs, the Summit conclusions are even more disappointing: The European Council welcomes the EU Agenda for Action on MDGs. The EU proposes to its partners in development to share this agenda,…

The EU agenda for action on the MDGs, was adopted by the Council through a written procedure finalised on 18 June. It contains commitments by the EU to contribute to filling the gaps identified by UN organisations (WHO on health or UNESCO on education) in achieving the MDGs. The same kind of rough estimate and commitment is made on health with the expectation of increasing EU support by € 8 billion by 2010, of which almost €6 billion would be for Africa. The support in the sector of environment (including water and sanitation) would increase by 2 billion.

All targets and figures are based on the assumption that EU aid will increase according to the 2005 commitments (0.56% by 2010), that the share of EU aid in global ODA will remain at the level of 60% and that the percentage of EU aid allocated to the different MDGs will remain at its present level. The realisation of the action plan is therefore strongly dependent on an increase in EU aid volumes. Hence, the observed decrease of EU ODA in 2007 compared to 2006 and the reluctance of certain Member States to establish firm timetables on how aid increases will be delivered cast doubt over EU credibility and commitments on the MDGs.

In parallel, the European Commission has commissioned an “independent commentary” on progress towards the MDGs from a group of researchers led by former World Bank chief economist François Bourgignon. The paper aims to situate efforts to fulfill MDG commitments within the broader context of the changing world economy (financial crisis, high oil and food prices, adaptation to climate change). It will examine some conceptual issues such as the diversity of the nature of the goals (inputs, outputs, outcomes, process) and the absence of dimensions of equity. The final paper will be issued ahead of the September UN General Assembly, with the analysis intended to contribute to the re-formulation of strategies for the achievement of MDGs by 2015 and beyond. Given the political context mentioned above, this may be a tall order.

Note finally that the MDG Africa Steering Group (that brings together the leaders of multilateral development organizations under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General) has also elaborated an action plan that includes a series of recommendations and was launched at the African Union Summit in Sharm-El-Sheikh (Egypt) on 1st July.
Read more...

Check also Euforic's newsfeeds on aid effectiveness and EU cooperation

Food prices crisis: positions of the EU and IAASTD

Source: EU News, nr. 5, June/July 2008

A formal proposal from the European Commission to use € 1 billion in unspent Community funds (Common Agriculture Policy farm subsidies) to help agriculture in developing countries has been delayed due to differences of views both within the Commission and among Member States and European Parliamentarians.

Within civil society, questions have been raised as to what the funds would be used for. Giving priority to fertilizer and seeds seems to signify a narrow focus on short-term productivity and yields. However, the long-term root causes of the current crisis must urgently be addressed.

Developing countries need to consider how to prioritize strategic food production, reducing dependency on external suppliers; hence the need to critically address free trade in agriculture. Increased and strategic EU investment in agriculture in developing countries is welcome; however, the EU cannot and should not continue to use its development policies to compensate for trade policies at the multilateral and bilateral and regional levels.

CIDSE joined its voice to civil society calls for a rejection of attempts to use the current global food price crisis to push through current multilateral and bilateral and regional trade proposals, which will bring neither food security, nor development and justice. See: 'The WTO’s Doha Round Will Not Solve the Global Food Crisis – Time For Real Solutions' signed by over 200 organisations and networks.

As a contribution to the debate, APRODEV organised an expert panel to present the findings of the IAASTD report on agriculture and development. The objective of the assessment was to find out in which way knowledge systems and science have contributed to combat hunger, poverty and ecological destruction in agriculture, and where we should move from here. It claims to represent an international scientific consensus on how to redirect agricultural research for the benefit of the poor. After the presentation, the findings were discussed with EC officials from DG Agriculture and DG Research as well as a few representatives from ACP countries embassies.
Read more...

View the Euforic interview with Hans Herren, co-chair of IAASTD




Also check Euforic's newsfeeds on agriculture and food security

Vacancies at the European Centre for Development Policy Management

ECDPM helps to reduce the ‘asymmetries’ in policy making between Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and the European Union. We do this by reinforcing the capacities of public, private and non-profit organisations in ACP countries to better manage their own development policies and international cooperation. We also work with governments and organisations in Europe to make their development policies and instruments more effective.

We have pleasure in announcing the following vacancies:

Senior Adviser on Institutional & Capacity Development
To develop certain cross-cutting areas of expertise, ECDPM is looking for a creative, inspiring senior individual for a long term position to work with programme staff in strengthening the quality and impact of its dialogue, networking and capacity development activities in the context of ACP-EU cooperation.

Your long-term proven experience in Institutional and Capacity Development and your abilities to facilitate internal learning and capacity building processes will allow you to plan, manage and integrate state-of-the-art knowledge and lessons learned into the Centre’s programmes.
Closing date: 1st September 2008

Research Assistant for the Economic and Trade Cooperation Programme
ECDPM is looking for a creative individual for a 6 to 12 month assignment to execute activities that will maximize the impact of the Center’s dialogue, networking and capacity development activities in the context of ACP-EU cooperation.

Your expertise will allow you to assist in the research and execution of activities of the centre’s ACP-EU Economic & Trade Cooperation Programme as well as to assist the manager of the website www.acp-eu-trade.org.

Language requirements: Native-French level and fluent in English
Closing date: 28th July 2008

Office Assistant to our Brussels Branch
ECDPM is looking for a proactive individual who is able to work independently and accurately 80% part-time for a long term position to support our pied-à-terre in Brussels.

Your relevant Professional Education or equivalent and preferably a few years of experience in a hectic, multi cultural environment as well as your proficiency in French and English will allow you to support our academic staff in the best possible way.
Closing date: 27th July 2008

For further details and application forms, please visit www.ecdpm.org/vacancies or contact Ms. Karen Gielen, Human Resources Assistant, via kg@ecdpm.org.

European NGOs condemn putting aid at the service of immigration control

Source: Concord Press Release, July 2008

While European and G8 countries are failing to deliver on their international aid commitments, European Development NGOs are deeply concerned about linking immigration control and development cooperation.

On 7 and 8 July 2008, the French Presidency presented a draft European pact on immigration and asylum to its partners at the informal meeting of Justice and home affairs Ministers in Cannes. This draft Pact suggests migration should become an important element in all External Relations of the Member States. It invites Member States to conclude agreements with countries of origin or transit on migration and development.

“These agreements, which bring the fight against illegal immigration and development under the same framework, have allowed France and a few other OECD members to use aid to put pressure on developing countries when negotiating tough readmission agreements. Generalising this negotiation tactic at European level could be very damaging for developing countries” explains Vice-Chair of Coordination SUD, the French national NGO platform, responsible for European issues.

“Linking development policies and migration presents clear risks of undermining the focus on the eradication of poverty and inequalities in the poorest countries. Europe cannot tie the allocation of aid to developing countries to progress on legal or illegal migration and readmission. Whilst European Member States may sign agreements on migration with third countries, these should not become conditions for development cooperation” says Olivier Consolo, Director of CONCORD, the European confederation of relief and development NGOs.

European Development NGOs call for aid programs to retain poverty eradication and sustainable development as primary objectives, in line with the European Consensus on Development and the Maastricht Treaty. While many countries of origin for migration flows are currently suffering from food shortage, European aid must support essential social services, agricultural development and poverty eradication rather than the capacity of these countries to control their potential migrants. Aid must not be retargeted on the fight against “illegal immigration” in countries of origin and transit.

Contact: Melis Alguadis melis.alguadis@concordeurope.org

Official results of the informal meeting of the justice and home affairs ministers - French Presidency website

Pictures about migration available on http://www.concordeurope.org/Public/Page.php?ID=137


See also Euforic's newsfeeds on CONCORD and migration

Update on ICCO's knowledge sharing with partners project

In early 2007, ICCO and partners in its alliance launched an ambitious project to encourage communication and knowledge sharing to enhance learning and development effectiveness. The project has grown into its own identity - ComPart, or 'communication with partners.' The project aims to blend a set of communication tools with ongoing organizational changes, engaging partners across and Alliance and in the South in open learning environments.

In May and June we brought some people together to review progress and discuss plans and priorities. We started with a meeting of ComPart activists within the ICCO Alliance (read a report). We followed this 'internal' discussion with a 2-day workshop in Lisbon (coinciding with KM4Dev) where we met with potential partners in developing countries. Maarten Boers of ICCO reflects on the first and second days discussions.

Soon after, at the Euforic annual meeting, Maarten gave a brief presentation on the ComPart approach. Check out his presentation, and a short video interview.

Visit the ComPart wiki

See the joint ICCO/euforic 'web2share' support wiki with information on the tools being used.

News and resources on the Africa-EU strategy

The website europafrica.org, hosted by the European Center for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), originally designed to channel the public consultation process on the EU-Africa Partnership Agreement, is now becoming a platform for news and resources on the Joint Africa-EU Strategy.

New features include:

The Joint Africa-EU Strategy: everything about the Joint Africa-EU Strategy, its public consultation in 2007 and its implementation process.

EU-Africa dialogue: more about the history of the relationship, the frequency and level of the meetings, the actors that play a role in the dialogue, the ENP - as a part of EU-Africa Strategy and the Summits between Africa and EU.

Civil Society: about the involvement of the civil society organisations during the public consultation of the Joint Strategy and their contribution in the implementation process since January 2008.

EARN: a network of African and European Policy Research Institutes aiming to contribute to the EU-Africa Policy Dialogue.

Key Documents: updated documents on and related to the Joint Africa- EU Strategy and EU-Africa in general.

Europafrica.org Bulletin: Bulletin that provides an up-date on the implementation and monitoring process of the Joint EU-Africa Strategy.

Join hundred of other subscribers to the europafrica newsfeed (en français)

See a newsfeed from ECDPM.

See also Euforic's dossier or subscribe to our newsfeed on EU-Africa relations

Perspectives and Strategies of the European Union's Africa Policy after the Lisbon Summit

The June 2008 issue of ‘Foreign Policy in Dialogue’ a quarterly newsletter on German and European foreign policy published by the University of Trier looks at ‘Perspectives and Strategies of the European Union’s Africa Policy after the Lisbon Summit’. The volume assesses the perspectives, strategies and motives of the common EU policy towards Africa. (download pdf file)

Siegmar Schmidt (University Koblenz-Landau) looks at the chances for a successful implementation of the EU-Africa Partnership Agreement. He concludes that the new agreement including its First Action Plan (2008-2010) is a breakthrough in terms of commitment and depth. Nonetheless he warns that assumptions regarding the institutional capacity of the African Union, seen as major partner in the agreement, might be built on sand.

“African politics are highly personalized, trust in institutions is exceptional. But the EU-Africa partnership requires effective or at least working administrative structures which are inexistent in many states.”

According to the author, only massive EU capacity building support and the avoidance of over ambitious goals might avoid failure.

Siegfried Schieder (Trier University) questions the partnership approach entailed in the new relationship. Assessing the EU-ACP relationship of the last decades, characterized by trade and development cooperation, he shows clear imbalances between the two sides. However, the author concludes that new political element,s including peace and security or migration, within the relationship might lead towards a real partnership:

“[the EU-Africa Partnership] offers the opportunity to reduce asymmetries between Europe and Africa even while trade and development cooperation remains stuck in traditional patterns. A definition of the partnership beyond symbolism and without the patina of development would in itself be a success for both the EU and Africa.”

Tom Gawaya Tegulle (Columnist with The Daily Monitor, Uganda) calls for a revision of the paradigm of common values between the EU and Africa. He is convinced that old African leaders will only comply with European standards regarding human rights or good governance out of self-interest and not out of personal conviction or to serve their electorate.

“… much of what Europe would like to see in Africa will only come when nature or constructive societal evolution has phased out the current breed of Africa’s leaders who are more interested in self-preservation and their ego than in the service to their country and subservience to the social cause.”

Other contributions to the issue deal with the role of political foundations within the EU-Africa Partnership or the cooperation within the area of peace and security.

by Martin Behrens

See Euforic's dossier or subscribe to our newsfeed on EU-Africa Relations