HIVOS AND ISS ORGANISE REGIONAL CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOPS

Hivos and ISS jointly organise two regional consultative workshops in San José (15-16 April 2008) and Johannesburg (2-23 April 2008) to further develop the knowledge programme on Civil Sociey Building. Together with major partners, research institutes and regional offices, Hivos and ISS will discuss main issues in civil society building and will propose a concrete research agenda to contribute to the debate on civil society building.

THINK TANK INITIATIVE LAUNCHED

On 16 January 2008, the first meeting of the new Think Tank on Civic Driven Change in The Hague, The Netherlands was held. The Think Tank, consisting of an international group of academics and practitioners is a joint initiative of Hivos, Oxfam Novib, Cordaid, SNV and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS). Context International Cooperation acts as a facilitator. It aims to devise a narrative on Civic Driven Change that stems from people as civic actors and intended to act as a catalyst to wider civic interest, engagement and debate.

LGBTI ORGANIZING IN EAST AFRICA: THE TRUE TEST FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

Author(s): UAF-Africa

This report is the outcome of two processes; an LGBTI research study and deliberations of an international donor roundtable held in Kenya in October 2005. The donor roundtable convening was organized by the Urgent Action Fund-Africa with support from the Ford Foundation Office for Eastern Africa and HIVOS .

The study has reaffirmed that sexuality and sexual matters remain taboo subjects within most of the region. The gradual but slow realization that same-sex relationships are based upon fundamental human rights and freedom is slowly though reluctantly ?seeping? across the region. The cultural and religious biases continue to discriminate and inhibit the full realization of the LGBTI communities. The ?closeted? lifestyle of LGBTI?s transcends the region and is a direct violation of an individual?s right to association and freedom of choice. Notwithstanding the silence surrounding human rights of LGBTI groups, their very existence has facilitated public discourse on the indivisibility of human rights and poses the challenge to human rights activists selectively working around some human rights issues.

CAPACITY BUILDING OF CIVIL SOCIETY

This training tool was developed as part of the EU-funded project ?Capacity Building of Civil Society dealing with Anti-Discrimination? with the aim to provide training on European and national anti-discrimination law and policy to non-governmental organizations in the 10 Member States which joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 as well as in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

NGOs have a vital role to play in making anti-discrimination legislation understood and enforced on the ground. They are essential in speaking on behalf of and defending those they represent as well as raising awareness, of both victims and potential victims of discrimination, who are all too often unaware of their rights, and also of the general public.

The manual was used by national trainers conducting national training seminars in each involved country. Participants came from a wide variety of non-governmental organizations and associations covering all grounds of discrimination - racial and ethnic origin (including Roma), religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation.

NEW CASE STUDY RESULTS IN 2007

The joint Hivos-ISS Knowledge Programme has produced three new case study papers in 2007. At a seminar in December 2007 at the ISS in The Hague the results have been presented to a wide audience of practitioners and academics. The studies include case study material from (1) the women's movement and the abortion law in Nicaragua, (2) watch-dog NGOs in Malawi, and (3) Human Rights organisations in Zambia.

NEW RESULTS FROM THE HIVOS-ISS RESEARCH PROGRAMME: 4 CASE STUDIES DURING 2006.

A major component of the CSB-KN is the 'research programme': ISS research capacity on Civil Society connecting with Hivos' programme experiences in supporting Civil Society in the global South, in an effort to generate useful insights for improved practice, for Hivos and hopefully also for our partner organisations.