cort newsletter march 2011

8/7/2019 CORT Newsletter March 2011

1/8

As the eventful Country Outreach Team (CORT) year 2010 came to

an end, so did a busy review and assessment period of CORTs

activities for the past twelve months. The task at hand was

challenging, entertaining and inspiring at times. The following is a

short summary on some of the most important activities and

achievements for IBON/Reality of Aids (RoA) Country Outreach

Team in 2010.

CORT 2010:

In 2010 CORT facilitated and co-organized the conduct of a varietyof national civil society activities, answering to the specific needs of

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in twelve countries in

Asia/Pacific and Africa. CORT also assisted advocacy planning in

six further countries in Africa. Besides the Country Outreach also

advised seven other countries in drafting country plans on aid

effectiveness and participated in four regional workshops on the PD

Monitoring Survey. All in all, CORTs activities in 2010 reached out

to approximately 800 CSOs.

Experience from a Shadow

Report in the Making

Upcoming Events 2011 2

NEWSLETTERIssue 3 March 2011

Inside 25 Countries Engage in AidEffectiveness with CORT in

2010Inter-CountryConsultations Continue at

the WSF

International

IBON

CountryEngagement

for

Aid and Development

Effectiveness

3

7

Country Outreach at the

WSF5

In cooperation with:


2/8

Country Outreach Newsletter Issue 3 March 2011

2

Country Outreach Work in All its Diversity

The Country Outreach Team does not limit itself to consultations

and workshops, but engages through diverse efforts. In countries

where the engagement among CSOs, the government and donors

has been ongoing and advanced, CORT helps sustain and deepen

these relationships. Continuous dialogue with member

organizations, technical assistance and important international

affiliation, contributes in asserting CSOs roles as equal partners on

aid and development effectiveness issues. Furthermore, CORT

provides essential information on recent international activities and

events building bridges between the global and local level.

Country Outreach work also includes various other tasks, such as

the development and dissemination of a first booklet of Case Stories

(more on page 4) and an advocacy toolkit. The toolkit is designed to

be a series that will provide CSOs with practical information on

advocacy work in aid and development effectiveness. Another

important undertaking of CORT is its facilitation of roughly 30

country-monitoring reports. Also known as the shadow report on

the implementation of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) and the

Paris Declaration (PD), these monitoring reports written by local

CSOs will form the basis for an international report by the Reality of

Aid network, directly responding to the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2011 survey on monitoring

the Paris Declaration.

Emerging Impacts:

Country Outreach work has shown important results over the past

year. As direct and indirect results of CORTs engagement, CSO

networks became more dynamic in aid effectiveness advocacy. In

addition, existing CSO networks took on the task of integrating this

advocacy into their current activities; while in other cases entirely

new working groups and networks were founded. This forms one

important impact: a broader CSO base engaging in aid effectiveness

work at the country level. CORT work also resulted in increased

awareness and familiarity with the technical language and aspects of

aid effectiveness while providing a link to CSOs own issues.

Towards Busan:

On the road to Busan for the High Level Forum (HLF) 4, the Country

Outreach team will step up its efforts to build a solid foundation of

CSOs world wide that can, and have to be engaged with, to make

aid and development effective.

Upcoming

Activity, First

Quarter 2011

Nigeria Nigerian CSOs to Hold

Consultation on Aid

Effectiveness

April 19-20, 2011 (tentative)

Restructured

CORT Website

Coming Soon

The Country Outreach is

currently in the process of

reviewing and updating its

website space, hosted by

www.realityofaid.org. The

restructured web site will be

online soon.


3/8


3

The IBON/Reality of Aid (RoA) country outreach program increased

its efforts to facilitate country consultations of CSOs, on the broad

implementation of the AAA, to reach countries in Asia Pacific,

Africa and Latin America. The common objective of each of these

consultations was to increase CSO involvement and engagement

with government agencies, donor organizations and other aid actors

in ensuring the effective implementation of the AAA and PD.

Africa:

Cameroon

BUILDING A STRONG CIVIL SOCIETY ROLE IN AID AND

DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS

Yaounde The Civil Society of Cameroon converged last January

18-19, 2011 at Hotel Jouvence, Yaounde, to address key challenges,

which affect the effective implementation of PD and AAA. The

AIDNET Group Cameroon organized the 2-day dialogue with the

aim of contributing a strong CSO message for the High Level Forumin Busan. The message was formed around building and

strengthening effective partnership, strengthening the Ministry of

Finance and addressing leadership and democratic ownership

inherent in the implementation of PD and AAA. The first day wasallotted for a CSO Consultation while the second day wasdesignated for planning and a multi-stakeholder consultation.

Invited to this dialogue were CSO representatives from the capital as

well as CSOs from the regions, sector representatives, Members of

Parliament, UN Women, EU representative, members of the French

donor community, private sector and media.

The meeting paved the way to discuss how CSO participation can

move away from being token participants to actively engaging in the

process and influencing aid policy and practice. It also provided an

entry-point to include parliamentarians, media and the private

sector in development effectiveness process. In particular, the

Members of the Parliament were keen to bring the issue to the

house hearings in the coming months.

BetterAid Discussion Paper Re-

launch Planned for March

BetterAid is currently finalizing a

discussion paper on development

architecture. "Making development

cooperation just: Governance principles

and pillars", is being revised following

discussion at the Workshop on Aid

architecture in Seoul last December

2010, and in consultation with our

wider membership. The final version

will be re-launched in March.

BetterAid Plans Further Thematic

Consultations on Aid and

Development Effectiveness

BetterAid is working hard to push for

ambitious outcomes at the Fourth High

Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness

(HLF4) in Busan at the end of the year;the platform has submitted its

proposals for themes to be addressed at

the event. In January, in conjunction

with member organizations, BetterAid

held a consultation on development

effectiveness and agriculture and food

sovereignty. The platform is planning

to hold three further thematic

consultations on development

effectiveness in the coming months on

labor, women's rights and gender

equality, and agriculture and food

sovereignty.

For more information about the

BetterAid platform, visit:

www.betteraid.org

and follow BetterAid on twitter, at:

https://twitter.com/betteraid

News from

BetterAid

Inter-Country

Consultations Continue


4/8


4

Civil society organizations in Cameroon are starting to increase their

engagement through active participation, dialogue mechanisms and

lobbying for the inclusion of the development agenda into the aid

debate. There is a strong need to monitor aid flows and manner of

utilization. In addition, there is the demand of CSOs to influencethe donor community to harmonize and align their efforts using the

existing country development plan and country systems.

SenegalMAKE AID WORK FOR AFRICA

Dakar CSOs demanded government and donor communities to

respect democratic ownership of countries in relation to the aid

provided to the region. The call was made during the World Social

Forum in Dakar on February 9, 2011. The activity was organized

by IBON/RoAs Country Outreach Program with the aim of

showcasing CSO engagement in selected sectors and fromparticular countries in Africa. CSOs highlighted the fact that African

countries remain to be the biggest recipient of aid and yet the

continents poverty situation and other development issues remain

unchanged.

CSOs from Senegal, Cameroon, and RoA/Africa presented their

country aid and development situation and the key challenges CSOs

face in engaging with donors and government. Reality of Aid-

Africa provided the overarching framework of aid and development

effectiveness and the main message of African CSOs to the HLF4.

Concrete cases of CSO involvement were also presented. InSenegal, members of the trade union and the migrants sector are

working with CSOs in the country to raise awareness of ineffective

aid to these sectors. CSOs from Cameroon presented the challenges

of forming a CSO platform and of monitoring French aid and how

CSOs take advantage of every opportunity to assert their right to

participate in dialogues. The presentations were attended by

various CSO representatives, donor delegates and the University

Chiek Ante Diop studentry.

MONITORING FRENCH AID FROM THE CSO PERSPECTIVE

Dakar The AIDNET Group Cameroon held a session on howCSOs in Cameroon are independently monitoring French aid. CSOs

relay that their main challenge is to secure funds as most donor

partners refused to be monitored by CSOs. But despite this major

challenge, CSOs from Cameroon are still affirming their role as

watchdogs of aid in the country. The AIDNET Group Cameroon

plans to conduct another monitoring report on the British aid once

funds are secured.

Country Outreach

Program at the

World Social Forum

The IBON/Reality of Aid Country

Outreach Program participated in the

10th World Social Forum in Dakar on

February 6 11, 2011 with the aim to

bolster the scope of its outreach

engaging further CSOs in advocacy of

Aid and Development Effectiveness.

A Photo Exhibit showcasing the

challenges of Aid Effectiveness wasset up from February 7 to February

10 at the Reality of Aid tent. The

exhibition attracted a continuous

stream of visitors, ranging from CSO

representatives to donors and

students overarching a variety of

different countries.

Besides active participation at the

various Reality of Aid events such as

the Forum on South-South

Cooperation, CORT facilitated and

organized a consultation on Aid and

Development Effectiveness among

CSOs in Africa. In addition, CORT

representatives made the most out of

the networking opportunities that

arose at the global event and attended

a variety of aid related activities.


5/8


5

TanzaniaMAKING THE AID AGENDA INCLUSIVE

Dar Es Salaam A Workshop for CSOs was held on January 26,

2011 to increase the capacity of CSOs engaging in the aid and

development effectiveness agenda. Specifically, the workshopaimed to build understanding of CSOs around aid and development

issues and to develop a CSO-led action plan. Around 25

representatives from the CSO sector, both national and regional, the

Ministry of Finance and External Affairs (MOFEA) as well as the

media attended the workshop.

MOFEA provided an overview of the general aid situation and the

aid effectiveness program of the country. CSOs, on the other hand,

shared their experiences of the aid situation at the grassroots level,

with a concrete case study from the agricultural sector. CSOs in this

workshop agreed to address challenges related to CSOs capacity,issues on access to information, and the exclusion of CSOs from the

regional and other sectors in the aid discussions. CSOs also agreed

to build and strengthen the CSO Platform for Aid Effectiveness. The

CSO workshop was conducted a day after a donor Workshop on

Mutual Accountability concluded in Dar Es Salaam where CSOs

were given very limited space to participate.

ZimbabweCSOs DEMAND PARTICIPATION IN AID-COORDINATION

Harare The Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development

(ZIMCODD) organized a CSO consultation in the nations capital ofHarare to sound off the importance of CSOs in the aid debate and

also to assert for CSO spaces in official dialogue mechanisms. The

country recently established an Aid Coordination Policy to guide aid

flows. It also provided an opportunity for CSOs to engage in the aid

debate.

Asia Pacific

ChinaCHINA TAKES STEPS TOWARDS AID EFFECTIVENESS

Xian An initiative of the China Development Effectiveness

Network (CDEN) in cooperation with IBON/RoAs Country

Outreach Team, Chinas first CSO consultation workshop on Aid

Effectiveness was conducted in Xian, Shaanxi Province, on

November 20-21, 2010. A total of 32 representatives from civil

society organizations and nine delegates from donor institutions and

the government were present. The two-day workshop was divided

CSO Stories

Booklet Out Now

On February 9, succeeding the

launch of the Reality of Aid 2010

Report on Aid and Development

Effectiveness: Towards Human

Rights, Social Justice and

Democracy, the Country Outreach

Program launched its very first

publication, the booklet Case Stories

of Civil Society Engagement on Aid

Effectiveness. Over 50

representatives from various CSOs,

donors and government ministries

attended and actively participated in

the presentation.

The booklet of Case Stories of civil

society engagement on aid

effectiveness is primarily meant to

document and share civil society

organizations experiences and

involvement in national aid policy

reform. It aims to provide insights

into mechanisms and processes thatdemonstrate CSO involvement in aid

effectiveness policy reform and the

implementation of the PD and AAA.

Towards the 4th HLF in Busan, the

intention of this booklet is to provide

lessons to be learned while serving as

a tool for CSOs, donors and

governments engaging with aid

effectiveness issues towards

development effectiveness.


6/8


6

into three parts: understanding aid effectiveness; multi-stakeholder

consultations; and formulating CSO-led country plans.

Overall, the participants viewed the activity as a great success. The

workshop succeeded not only in opening up dialogue betweenCSOs from many different areas with the government, but also

brought attention to the importance of aid effectiveness, a topic

many CSO representatives never before engaged with. A short

survey at the end of the workshop revealed that 73 percent of

participants learned significantly from the common discussions, and

63 percent considered the overall quality of the discussions as high.

An interesting outcome of the activity was the realization of CSOs

own limitations. In order to explore innovative ways to improve and

engage with aid effectiveness issues, CSOs realized that it is

imperative to first improve their own capacities.

PhilippinesVISAYAS-WIDE CSO-NEDA WORKSHOP

Cebu City The nationwide series of consultation workshops on the

Country Level Evaluation (CLE) on the Implementation of the Paris

Declaration in the Philippines was conducted in Cebu City on

December 1, 2010 at the Rajah Park Hotel. The one-day workshop

was held in two sessions. In the morning, Jazminda Lumang of

AidWatch Philippines gave the introduction of the meeting, the

basic issues and questions regarding Aid, the Paris Declaration and

the CSOs participation on the issue of aid effectiveness while Lirio

Abuyuan of the CLE Team presented the draft final report of the CLEPhase 2.

An open forum was facilitated after the two inputs. In the afternoon,

Lumang presented the CSO initiatives on Aid Effectiveness post-

ACCRA while Mr. Vince Cinches, Executive Director of the

Fisherfolks Development Center (FIDEC, Inc.) in Cebu presented a

case study on the ODA funded Coal-fired Power Plants in the

province.

MINDANAO-WIDE CSO-NEDA WORKSHOP

Cagayan de Oro City The Mindanao leg, the last of thenationwide series of NEDA-CSO consultation workshops on the CLE

evaluation in the Philippines was conducted in Cagayan de Oro

City on December 14, 2010. Similar to the previous consultations,

the workshop was conducted in two parts and concluded with an

open forum that saw a lively debate on the impacts of ODA in the

region.

About IBON/RoAs

Country Outreach

The IBON/Reality of Aid country

outreach program for the broad

implementation of AAA seeks to

achieve greater and more

meaningful involvement of CSOs

in bringing change in aid

effectiveness policy and practice.

The strategy towards this is

capacity development of CSOs in

order for them to initiate policy

dialogue spaces that allow forbroader and inclusive

participation of various kinds of

CSOs at country and local level.

These efforts are expected to

contribute to changes in policies

along a development effectiveness

approach.

Country outreach work will be

based on the country-level plans

of CSOs who are involved in aid

effectiveness and developmenteffectiveness advocacy. A broad

range of CSOs will be encouraged

to participate and work together

to engage their respective

governments, parliaments and

development partners in the

implementation and monitoring

of AAA implementation.

RoA is the partner agency of the

BetterAid in this program. IBON

International is implementing

the outreach through the RoA

network.


7/8


7

Long interviews, feverish desk research, writing, consolidation,

verification of information, it is all well under way with the

Shadow Report taking shape in many countries around the world.

Mongolia is one of those countries and a deeper look reveals it to

be a great example of the difficulties, challenges and opportunities

that arise from this task.

The Country Core Group (CCG), a coalition of Mongolian CSOs

working on various issues, including aid effectiveness with the

support of the Reality of Aid Network, has taken on the task of

preparing Mongolias Shadow Report. To date, the CCG was able to

interview representatives from 10 ministries, each interview lasting

between 2 to 3 hours. From an intended 26 donor organizations,

the CCG however was only able to interview a total of 7

representatives. The challenge was that a majority of embassies and

bi-lateral donors declined CCGs invitation letters, reasoning that

they are not in a position to provide any information. If CSOs would

like to access their data they have to speak to the ministry of

finance instead.

In spite of the challenges, work on the Shadow Report provided

new opportunities for engagement with government and donors as

meetings led to contact and new focal points. Urantsooj

Gombosuren, Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights

and Democracy(CHRD) and CCG member, ensured the support of

the presidential office to organize a donor validation consultation,

after meeting with an advisor to the president on civil society

participation and human rights. The meeting is now scheduled to

take place in the week 14-18th of March.

Updates from

RoAs Shadow

Report

Responding to the need for an

objective and comprehensive Civil

Society analysis on the

achievements of the Paris

Declaration and Accra Agenda for

Action, the Reality of Aid network

began in late 2010 with the

research phase of its CSO basedCountry Monitoring Report.

Commonly known as the Shadow

Report, the report overcomes the

limited participation from

development actors such as

parliamentarians and CSOs. It

aims to deepen the understanding

of key issues surrounding aid and

development effectiveness that

may or may not be addressed by

the Phase 2 Evaluation and offers

country-level evidence based CSOmonitoring that may enrich or

reinforce the findings of the

official Monitoring Survey.

With writing and research well

under way, the first quarter of

2011 has seen already the

submissions of several shadow

reports. Cameroon, Cambodia,

the Philippines and Sri Lanka

were among the first countries tosend in their drafts. While in over

ten further countries the research

and writing continues the

Country Outreach Team

continues its communication with

CSOs in ten additional countries.

Mongolia: Experiences of a

Shadow Report in the Making


8/8


8

IBON Center

114 Timog Avenue, Quezon City 1103

Philippines

http://iboninternational.orgwww.realityofaid .org

Country

for

Aid and Development

Effectiveness

Engagement

Contact us

Interested in

participating in country

processes? Do you want

your country stories

disseminated? The

following members of the

Country Outreach Team

are ready to work with

you:

Ava Danlog

Outreach Officer

for Asia Pacific

[email protected]

Myrna Maglahus

Outreach Officerfor Africa

[email protected]

Nicolas Gloeckl

Communications Officer

[email protected]

Nicole Benedicto

Team Leader and Outreach

Officer

for Latin America

[email protected]

cort newsletter march 2011

Documents