South East European Environmental NGOs Network - SEEENN

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South East European Environmental NGOs Network -
SEEENN

• REPORT

Sixth REReP Task Force Meeting November 7th,
2003, Brussels, Belgium
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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• In Struga, Republic of Macedonia on the occasion
  of the Regional Conference Sustainable
  Development in the Balkans on 17 of June 2000,
  representatives of the NGOs from Albania, Bosnia
  and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia,
  Serbia and Montenegro and Romania have decided to
  establish the SEEENN.
• The establishment of SEEENN was closely linked
  with REReP.

Sixth REReP Task Force Meeting November 7th,
2003, Brussels, Belgium
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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• Keeping and motivating people to work together,
  to understand each other cooperation and
  networking was and is not always easy work.

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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• Different experiences, different problems,
  opinions in direction of what should be done and
  expectations.

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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• Difficulties
• Networking - cooperation
• Different level of development
• Decision making
• Funds
• Language

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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• There are NGOs that succeed to go over the
  problems, to cooperate in the time of wars, to
  cover the costs in time of economic crises. There
  were and still are many attempts to establish
  long term cooperation and open dialogue.
• Experienced NGOs succeed to become partners of
  local, national or international institutions and
  organizations. Environmental NGOs established the
  SEE Environmental NGOs Network, Balkan Net, SEE
  Youth Network.

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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• Cooperation results are worth
• to put efforts in establishing and
• more hardly to work on
• maintaining and development of SEEENN.

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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• Establishing platform of cooperation
• Two Regional Conferences, 114 participants
• Summer Youth School on environmental education
• Three Issue Oriented Meetings on Organic
  Agriculture, Energy and Bio diversity, 82
  participants
• Partnerships and projects on GMO, monitoring the
  Stability Pact, Energy, information sharing
• National Environmental NGO Meeting in BiH

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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• Exchange of information
• Five thousand and four hundred copies of two
  issues of the SEEENN Bulletin printed in 6 SEE
  languages and English distributed
• Published promotion material
• Thousand and one hundred visitors per year of the
  web site www.seeenn.org.mk

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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• NGO Participation
• Participation in all REReP Task Force Meetings
• Participation in REReP GTZ Project Committee
• Participation in REPC Steering Committee (REReP
  2.1.)
• Participation in EU NGO Dialogue Group
• Participation in the I Regional Meeting on
  Environment and Security

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South East European EnvironmentalNGOs Network -
SEEENN

• Development of SEEENN
• Vision, mission, goals
• Structure Regional Conference, Executive Board,
  Advisory Committee, Secretariat, membership
• Forty two members, seven organisations wait for
  approval
• Three Meetings of the Executive Board
• Further directions of development of SEEENN
• Agenda - Plan of activities for 2004 - 2006

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South East European Environmental NGOs Network -
SEEENN

• III Issue Oriented Meeting on Energy, February
  2003 - Rijeka, Croatia
• II Regional Conference, June 2003 Belgrade,
  Serbia and Montenegro
• Conclusions and recommendations on GMO, Energy,
  Stability Pact, Organic Agriculture and
  Biodiversity
• Strategy for further development of SEEENN
• Concept projects
• Regional Expo of environmental civic
  organisations

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SEEENN Further Development

• Mission
• Monitoring and influencing the regional
  initiatives relevant for environment as well as
• to assist the development of
• environmental movement in the region.

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SEEENN Further Development

• Goals
• To contribute to the capacity building of
  environmental NGOs
• To follow and influence regional initiatives
  relevant for environment
• To identify regional environmental problems
• To stimulate the regional cooperation in specific
  environmental topics
• To exchange information and experience
• To ensure NGO participation

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Capacity building of environmental NGOs

• Planned Activities
• Direct Actions concerning regional or national
  environmental issues
• Trainings ICT usage, campaigns, education of the
  public, management and public relations, work
  with media
• Statements of positions Response to the
  national/regional environmental problems and
  relevant processes
• Country Activities National Meetings, National
  Focal Points of SEEENN, leaflets and bulletin in
  local language, meetings with the national
  authorities

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Regional cooperation in specificenvironmental
topics

• Planned Activities
• Programs Regional Cooperation, Energy, Stability
  Pact
• Issue Oriented Meetings EU Accession - SAP,
  Stability Pact, GMOs, sustainable development and
  pollution prevention
• Regional Conferences Regional Environmental
  Exhibitions.
• Environmental International Work Camps and Youth
  Summer Schools
• Events Balkan Environmental Day 17 of June,
  Regional Green Week

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Exchange of information and experience

• Planned Activities
• Exchange of volunteers
• Media coverage Press releases in local language
  in local media Press Conferences, cooperation
  with Regional Environmental Press Center etc.
• Publications SEEENN Bulletin issue-oriented
  bulletins promotion materials reports on
  SEEENN translation of books, etc
• Electronic communication

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Environmental Education

• Planned Activities
• Comprehensive education program for children and
  youth will be developed and implemented in few
  SEE Houses of Understanding as it is the "Solar
  Academy for Southeastern Europe" in Croatia.

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• Still, we are confronted with problems as
  finances, human capacity, lack of effective
  marketing and management.
• REReP played an important role in facing these
  problems, especially in establishing and
  development of regional and cross-border
  cooperation.

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• We encourage the European Commission to continue
  support of the REReP.
• We welcome the international donors to involve
  NGOs in planning and implementing the support
  programs of civil society in SEE countries.
• We emphasise the need of access to EU funds for
  supporting SAP and civil society strengthening.

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• We greet and support the Joint Statement of the
  Ministers of Environment and Heads of Delegations
  from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
  FYR Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro on the
  achieved progress within SAP.
• Civic organisations can play an important role in
  planning and implementing activities in
  recognized priority areas for international,
  regional and cross border cooperation, as well in
  information of the public on SAP.

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• We slowly learn to work together, to watch from
  other side, to understand what is happening and
  to seize the opportunity.