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1. Funding
Opportunities
- European Commission, Directorate-General,
Justice, Freedom and Security - Community Actions of the European
Fund for the Integration of the Third-Country
Nationals
Application deadline: January 31, 2008
- Young Policy Institutes Grants - Dorian
and Antony Fisher Venture Grants Program
Application
Deadline: January 31, 2008
- European Commission DG Education and
Culture - Lifelong Learning, Leonardo da Vinci
Application
deadline: February 8, 2008
- Aspen Institute Romania -
Young Leaders Programme - Call for Nominations
Application
deadline: February 11, 2008
- Central European University - Summer
University (SUN), Budapest, Hungary
Application
deadline: February 14, 2008
- Central European University - ‘Public
Management of Urban Change in Transitional Cities’ Summer Course,
July 7 - 18, 2008, Budapest, Hungary
Application
deadline: February 14, 2008 (for scholarship applicants), May 30,
2008 (for fee-paying applicants)
- European
Commission DG Education and Culture - Europe for Citizens, Active
Civil Society for Europe (Action 2)
Application
deadline: February 15, 2008
- European Commission DG Education and
Culture - Lifelong Learning, Jean Monnet
programme
Application deadline: February 15, 2008
- European Commission – Consolidating
Partnership between Civil Society Organizations and Public
Authorities for Raising Minority Rights in the Western Balkans -
Call for proposals
Application
deadline: March 3, 2008
- Implementation of the CIVICUS Civil Society
Index - Call for Partner Organizations/ Call for Statements of
Interest
Application deadline: March 31, 2008
- Enabling the Civil Society Sector for
Active Contribution in the Pre-accession Process in the Area of
Democratisation and Human Rights in Croatia - Call for
proposals
Application deadline: March 31, 2008, 10.00 CET
- Delegation of the European Commission to
Bosnia and Herzegovina - European Instrument for Democracy and
Human Rights (EIDHR)
Application
deadline: April 1, 2008, 16:00 Schuler Helfen Leben - Youth Projects in
South-East Europe - Call for proposals
- Rotary Centers - Rotary World Peace
Fellows
Application deadline: July 1, 2008
- Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation
- Civic Participation, Cross-border Initiatives and East-East
Co-operation
Application
deadline: December 31, 2008 (rolling basis)
2.
Announcements and Upcoming Events
- ‘Foresight and Research Priorities
Setting in South Eastern Europe with Special Consideration of
Climate Change’ Training Seminar, March 6 – 7, 2008, Bled,
Slovenia - Call for Applications
Application
deadline: January 31, 2008, 12.00 CET
- Analytical - ‘The Western Balkans -
part of the EU?’ - Call for papers
Application
deadline: January 31, 2008
- ‘Transatlantic Dialogues. Eastern
Europe, The U.S. and Post-Cold War Cultural Spaces’ Workshop, May
24, 2008, Bucharest, Romania - Call for
Papers
Application deadline: January 31,
2008
- United Nations
Association of Serbia – Belgrade International Model United
Nations BIMUN, March 27 – 30, 2008, Belgrade,
Serbia
Application deadline: January 31,
2008
- Tischner European University –
‘European Union Policies in the Making’ International Conference,
April 18 – 19, 2008, Krakow, Poland - Call for
Papers
Application deadline: February 4,
2008
- Nebula 4.4 - Call For Papers Issue 15
Application deadline: March 15, 2008
- spacesofidentity.net – ‘Digitizing
Central Europe: Alternative M! edia and Spaces of Identity’ - Call
for Papers
Application deadline: March 15,
2008
- International Essay Competition
2008
Application deadline: March 23, 2008
- Eurasian File ‘The Balkans’ and
‘Turkish Foreign Policy’ - Call for
Papers
Application deadline: March 30, 2008 /
May 30, 2008
- Development Youth
Prize
Application deadline: March 31,
2008
- 'Performing Biographies: Memory and
the Art of Interpretation' Conference, December 12 – 14, 2008,
Cracow, Poland
Application deadline: April 1,
2008!
- 4th Kosovar and Regional Student
Conference about Social Issues, May 9 - 10, 2008, Prishtina,
Kosova
Application deadline: April 4,
2008
- The Journal of Power Institutions in
Post-Soviet Societies no 9, December 2008 - ‘Relations between
Russian & Post-Soviet NGOs and the Power Ministries’ - Call
for Contributors
Application deadline: June 15,
2008
- EuroEd – FACE IT!
Project
3. Useful
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European
Commission, Directorate-General, Justice, Freedom and Security -
Community Actions of the European Fund for the Integration of the
Third-Country Nationals Application deadline:
January 31, 2008
Overall
objectives · Support the efforts made by the Member States in
enabling third-country nationals of different economic, social,
cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds to fulfill
the conditions of residence and to facilitate their integration into
European societies. · Development and implementation of national
integration strategies for third-country nationals in all aspects of
society in particular taking into account the principle that
integration is a two-way dynamic process of mutual accommodation by
both immigrants and citizens of Member States. · Facilitation of
the development and implementation of admission procedures relevant
to and supportive of the integration process of third-country
nationals. · Development and implementation of the integration
process of newly-arrived third-country nationals in Member
States. · Increasing of the capacity of Member States to develop,
implement, monitor and evaluate policies and measures for the
integration of third-country nationals. · Exchange of
information, best practices and cooperation in and between Member
States in developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating
policies and measures for the integration of third-country nationals
Financed actions a. Enhance interaction between
third-country nationals and Member State citizens and promote
integration measures and best practices targeted at society as a
whole b. Promote integration strategies and measures targeted at
different immigrant groups c. Reinforce the complementary
linkage between migration and integration policies
Eligibility · National, regional and local authorities
registered in any of the 26 Member States (27 member states minus
Denmark) participating in the European Fund for the Integration of
Third-Country Nationals · Non Governmental Organisations ·
Public or private bodies (including university departments, research
centres) · International organisations, working on a strictly
non-profit basis, with proven experience and expertise in the fields
covered, taking into account their respective competences ·
Actions may include partners and participants from Denmark,
candidate countries and other non EU countries, but the cost for
their participation may not be covered by the Community contribution
and must be financed entirely by non-Community resources ·
Proposals must include active partnership in at least five Member
States involved in the Integration Fund (the Member State where the
applicant is registered counts for the compliance with the minimum
number of Member States involved) · Proposals must be submitted
by a legal person, i.e. the coordinator, who carries out the project
with at least four other distinct and unrelated legal persons
established in different participating Member States.
The
indicative total amount available for grants for ‘Community Actions’
in 2007 is 4.243.000 Euro. The amount of grant per project cannot
exceed 80,00% of the total eligible costs. Community funding per
project will not exceed 500.000 Euro nor be less than 80.000
Euro.
More information Website:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/integration/docs/call_for_proposal_2007/call_proposals_2007_en.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/integration/docs/call_for_proposal_2007/guide_2007_en.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/integration/funding_integration_en.htm E-mail:
JLS-INTEGRATION-FUND@ec.europa.eu JLS-ARGO@ec.europa.eu
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Young Policy
Institutes Grants - Dorian and Antony Fisher Venture Grants
Program Application Deadline: January 31,
2008
The Atlas
Economic Research Foundation will be giving several significant
grants of up to $100,000 to promising, young think-tanks. Our Dorian
and Antony Fisher Venture Grants Program will be given to institutes
that represent ‘great investments’: still at an early stage where a
$100,000 grant could be transformative, but already possessing a
strong track record for promoting sound public policies.
The
grants are made possible by the generosity of the late Dorian Fisher
‘the wife of Antony Fisher, who was instrumental in his founding of
Atlas in 1981’ and the many current Atlas donors who are inspired by
the Fisher legacy. Dorian and Antony believed that independent think
tanks can produce enormous leverage for changing the climate of
ideas in a country. They saw that investments in emerging think
tanks could be extremely cost-effective, especially when
complimented with mentoring to further improve those think tanks_T
prospects for long-term success. For this reason, Atlas has created
the Dorian and Antony Fisher Venture Grants program, which will
provide grantees with funding over a period of three years, during
which time Atlas will be in frequent contact to help develop plans
and to monitor performance. One part of the grant will be structured
as a matching program, providing strong incentive for think tanks to
develop a base of local supporters.
Eligibility for 2008
Fisher Venture Grants: As this program focuses on helping think
tanks that are no more than eight years old, we will only accept
applications from think tanks founded after January 1, 2000. There
are no geographic restrictions on who may apply.
Selection
Criteria: Fisher Venture grants are given to think tanks that
represent ‘great investments' for the future of liberty. That is,
they will be given to early-stage institutes that can have an
important impact in the climate of ideas (high returns), and that
have a demonstrated track record and commitment to good practices
(suggesting a tolerable level of risk). Atlas will enlist members of
its board of advisors in the selection of winners of Venture Grants.
The inaugural class of Fisher Venture Grantees will be introduced at
the Atlas Liberty Forum in Atlanta, GA (April 25-27,
2008).
To Apply: Please fill out the short online application
form.
Structure of Fisher Venture Grants: $20,000 in year
one; up to $30,000 in year two; and up to $50,000 in year three. (To
receive full grant, grantees must raise an additional $20,000 and
$30,000 from new donors in the second and third years of the grant
term).
More information Website:
http://www.atlasusa.org E-mail: yiqiao.xu@atlasusa.org (Ms Yiqiao
Xu)
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European
Commission DG Education and Culture - Lifelong Learning, Leonardo da
Vinci Application deadline: February 8,
2008
The Leonardo
da Vinci programme addresses the teaching and learning needs of all
those in vocational education and training, including placement in
enterprise of persons other than students, as well as the
institutions and organisations providing or facilitating such
education and training. It is part of the new Lifelong Learning
programme (2007-2013), which supports projects and activities that
foster interchange, cooperation and mobility between education and
training systems within the EU.
Specific objectives: - To
support participants in training and further training activities in
the acquisition and the use of knowledge, skills and qualifications
to facilitate personal development - To support improvements in
quality and innovation in vocational education and training systems,
institutions and practices - To enhance the attractiveness of
vocational education and training and mobility for employers and
individuals and to facilitate the mobility of working
trainees.
Target group: - People learning in all forms of
vocational education and training except at tertiary level -
People in the labour market - Institutions and organisations
providing learning opportunities in the fields covered by the
Leonardo da Vinci Programme - Teachers, trainers and other staff
within those institutions or organisations - Associations and
representatives of those involved in vocational education and
training, including trainees', parents' and teachers'
associations - Enterprises, social partners and other
representatives of working life, including chambers of commerce and
other trade organisations - Bodies providing guidance,
counselling and information services relating to any aspect of
lifelong learning - Persons and bodies responsible for systems
and policies concerning any aspect of vocational education and
training at local, regional and national level - Research
centres and bodies concerned with lifelong learning issues -
Higher education institutions - Not-for-profit organisations,
voluntary bodies, and NGOs
The following actions are
supported: - Mobility of individuals which may include: -
Partnerships focusing on themes of mutual interest to the
participating organisations - Multilateral projects aimed at
improving training systems by focusing on - Thematic networks of
experts and organisations working on specific issues related to
vocational education and training - Study and preparatory visits
for mobility, partnership, project or network activities -
Accompanying Measures: other initiatives aimed at promoting the
objectives of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme.
Participating
countries: 27 EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway,
Turkey.
More information Website:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/llp/structure/leonardo_en.html http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/llp/structure/leonardo_en.html
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Aspen
Institute Romania - Young Leaders Programme - Call for
Nominations Application deadline: February
11, 2008
Aspen
Institute Romania launches the Young Leaders Programme and calls for
nominations of talented young Romanians who have the potential and
commitment to be leaders in their field.
The objective of
the programme is to promote and advance progressive leadership
within Romanian society and to create a network of young future
leaders based on shared values and common interests.
10-20
young Romanians aged between 25 and 35 will be selected each year to
pursue a programme which will develop their understanding of key
concepts and values shaping our society, expand their knowledge of
the principal challenges facing modern Romania, and provide training
in practical leadership skills. The participants will design and
implement a group community service which demonstrates both the
Aspen values and the leadership qualities of the participants.
The programme will consist of four separate modules over the
year, beginning on 1-6 June and concluding in December. The modules
are designed to stimulate the intellectual and personal development
of the participants. Details of the programme, the selection
criteria and the nomination process are available on the website.
Nominations should be made for the 2008 programme by sending
a letter of recommendation and a completed nomination form to by
e-mail. The letter of recommendation should include a summary of the
nominee’s.
More information Website:
www.aspeninstitute.ro Email: liz.galvez@aspeninstitute.ro (Mrs.
Liz Galvez, Executive Director)
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Central
European University - Summer University (SUN), Budapest,
Hungary Application deadline: February 14,
2008
Established
in 1996, CEU's Summer University program hosts high-level,
research-oriented, interdisciplinary and innovative academic courses
as well as workshops on policy issues for professional development
in the social sciences and the humanities. Courses involve
distinguished international faculty (including CEU professors), and
advanced doctoral students, junior or post-doctoral researchers,
teachers and professionals as participants.
While application
from all over the world is encouraged, continued priority is given
to applicants from Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet
Union and countries experiencing emerging democracies worldwide.
Applicants from these countries, when admitted on merit, will be
eligible for scholarship, while those from developed countries will
usually be expected to pay fees.
More information Website:
http://www.sun.ceu.hu
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Central
European University - ‘Public Management of Urban Change in
Transitional Cities’ Summer Course, July 7 - 18, 2008, Budapest,
Hungary Application deadline: February 14,
2008 (for scholarship applicants), May 30, 2008 (for fee-paying
applicants)
The course
will review the theoretical underpinnings of current urban policy,
planning and management practices and provide course participants
with a broad range of international case studies and practices that
reflect the current state of the discipline. The course's
geographical relevance will be broader than Central and Eastern
Europe and will help young faculty and practitioners to better
understand challenges faced by public policymakers and managers,
NGOs and the private sector in rapidly changing urban environments.
The dual focus on theory and practice will be particularly useful
for participants developing their research agendas.
Course
participants will have an opportunity to better understand how
traditional governance structures are being challenged as local
governments must take on new responsibilities, and consequently must
also generate resources and depend on an array of new partnerships
with other government agencies, diverse communities within and
outside their jurisdictional boundaries, the private sector and
civil society. International cases presented during the course will
illustrate how traditional hierarchical forms of ‘government’ are
giving way to ‘governance’ that is built on a horizontal web of
external relations of government. This approach requires a more
sophisticated and strategic interplay among market forces,
traditional bureaucracies and participatory processes. Given this
context, urban programs and their formulation and implementation
have become much more complex.
The course will offer a
conceptual framework for discussing, distinguishing and evaluating
planning methods and practices at the local government level, and
help to promote more analytical and critical thinking about the
application of various methods and their outcomes. This opportunity
will be particularly important to young faculty and advanced
doctoral students who are in the early stages of their academic and
research careers.
Target group: M.A or M.Sc in a subject
related to the topic. 3 years professional experience in academia,
local government, or organizations involved in local policies or
development.
The language of instruction:
English
Tuition fee: 500 Euro. Financial aid is
available.
Application forms are encouraged to be submitted
through the on-line registration https://online.ceu.hu/sun system.
In addition to the completed application form, the following
supporting documents are requested to be sent by regular mail: ·
CV (with a list of publications if any) · A Statement of Purpose
- In the Statement of Purpose please describe how the course is
relevant to your teaching, research or professional work, and in
what way you expect to benefit from it. You are advised to consult
the detailed course description on the course web page so that the
statement of purpose is in accordance with the main objectives of
the course. · Outline or draft of a case study or a teaching
block with a topic related to the course topic · One Letter of
Recommendation
http://www.sun.ceu.hu/03-application/Rec-Letter-2008.doc.
More information Website:
www.sun.ceu.hu/urban http://www.sun.ceu.hu/02-courses/course-sites/urban/detailed.php E-mail:
summeru@ceu.hu
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European
Commission DG Education and Culture - Europe for Citizens, Active
Civil Society for Europe (Action 2) Application deadline: February 15,
2008
'Active
Civil Society for Europe' is part of the 'Europe for Citizens'
programme, which aims to bridge the gap between citizens and the EU
by providing instruments to promote active European citizenship.
Action 2 is targeted at civil society, and in particular to foster
action, debate and reflection related to EU citizenship and
democracy, shared values, common history and culture through
co-operation within civil society organisations at EU
level.
It supports civil society organisations and think
tanks, as unique links between European citizens and the EU. Civil
society organisations at European, national, regional and local
levels are important elements of citizens' active participation in
society and help to invigorate all aspects of public life. European
public policy research organisations have a specific role to play in
providing ideas and reflections on European issues, on active
European citizenship or on European values and in feeding the debate
at European level.
Europe for Citizens has four
Actions: 1. Active citizens for Europe (town twinning, citizens'
projects and support measures) 2. Active civil society in
Europe 3. Together for Europe (high visibility events, studies,
surveys and opinion polls, information and dissemination
tools) 4. Active European Remembrance (preservation of the main
sites and archives associated with the deportations and the
commemoration of the victims)
Action 2. Active civil society
in Europe has three measures: Measure 1: Structural support for
European public policy research organisations (think-tanks) This
measure is aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of
European public policy research organisations (think tanks), which
are able to provide new ideas and reflections on European issues, on
active European citizenship or on European values.
Measure 2:
Structural support for civil society organisations at European
level This measure will provide civil society organisations of
European dimension with the capacity and stability to develop their
activities at European level. The purpose is to contribute to the
emergence of a structured, coherent and active civil society at
European level.
Measures 1 and 2 offer structural support,
also referred to as operating grants, to organisations, pursuing an
aim of general European interest. Operating grants provide financial
support to costs necessary for the proper conduct of the normal and
permanent activities of the organisations selected. In order to
enhance long term planning and provide greater financial security
for organisations, there is now also the possibility of multi-annual
parntership.
Objectives for the call for structural support
are: - Foster action, debate and reflection related to European
citizenship and democracy, shared values, common history and culture
through cooperation within civil society organisations at European
level - Encourage interaction between citizens and civil society
organisations from all participating countries, contributing to
intercultural dialogue and bringing to the fore both Europe's
diversity and unity.
Themes: Organisations should work around
the following themes: future of the EU, active European citizenship,
intercultural dialogue, impact of European policies in societies,
people's well being in Europe, employment social cohesion and
sustainable development.
Measure 3: Support for projects
initiated by civil society organisations The aim of this measure
is to support cooperation on concrete projects of civil society
organisations from different participating countries. A variety of
organisations, established at local, regional, national or European
level, can be involved. These projects should raise awareness on
issues of European interest and on concrete solutions that can be
found through co-operation and co-ordination at European level.
Projects should correspond to at least one of the following
features: action, debate, reflection, networking.
Eligible
applicants: - All stakeholders promoting active European
citizenship. For example: local authorities and organisations,
European public policy research organisations (think-tanks),
citizens' groups, civil society organisations, non-governmental
organisations, trade unions, educational institutions, organisations
active in the field of voluntary work, organisations active in the
field of amateur sport, etc. Some actions of the Programme are
however targeting a more limited range of organisations. - Be
from 27 EU Member States. The programme can also be opened to other
countries, according to the agreements signed: EFTA countries:
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; Candidate countries: Croatia, the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Turkey; Countries
from the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro, Serbia (incl. Kosovo).
More information Website:
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/action2/measure3/call2008_en.htm E-mail:
eacea-p7-civilsociety@ec.europa.eu
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European
Commission DG Education and Culture - Lifelong Learning, Jean Monnet
programme Application deadline: February 15,
2008
The Jean
Monnet programme supports institutions and activities in the field
of European integration. It has the objective to enhance knowledge
of the European integration process. It does so by encouraging
higher education institutions and/or associations of professors and
researchers specialising in European integration to create teaching,
research, reflection, information and debate activities on the
European integration process. It is part of the new Lifelong
Learning programme (2007-2013), which supports projects and
activities that foster interchange, cooperation and mobility between
education and training systems within the EU.
Priority
themes: - The evolution of the EU (including institutional
change, governance and enlargement) - The EU and the dialogue
between peoples and cultures - The EU in the world: model for
peaceful integration and international rule of law - The EU's
visibility in the world - The EU, globalisation, economic
prosperity, growth and social justice, and social cohesion - The
EU, science, energy and sustainable development - European
citizenship, European culture and European history - The
transnational analysis of the European Union's image in the
media.
1. Teaching activities - Jean Monnet Chair:
full-time teaching post entirely devoted to European integration,
minimum 120 hours teaching hours per academic year. - 'Ad
personam' Jean Monnet Chair: experienced professor with a longterm
teaching and research background and/or major organizational
achievements in European integration studies, recognized at an
international level. - Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence:
pluridisciplinary structure pooling scientific, human and
documentary resources for European integration studies and research
within one or more universities. - European Module: short
programme of European integration study, minimum 30 teaching hours
per academic year, may be pluridisciplinary.
2. Academic and
research activities - Associations of professors and researchers
specializing in European integration: associations whose explicit
purpose is to contribute to the study of the European integration
process and whose aim is to enhance the visibility of regional or
national scientific and physical resources in this domain. -
Information and research activities relating to European
integration: aims to promote discussion, reflection and knowledge
about the European integration process. - Multilateral research
groups: research partnership leading to integrated academic network
with a joint research plan and pluridisciplinary synergies in the
field of EU studies.
Target Group: - Higher education
institutions within and outside the Community as recognised within
their own countries - Teachers and researchers specialised in the
field of European integration studies in all forms of higher
education within or outside the Community - Associations of
professors and researchers, institutions and research centres
concerned with the study of the European integration process within
and outside the Community - Associations and representatives of
those involved in education and training within and outside the
Community - Public and private organisations responsible for the
organisation and delivery of education and training at local and
regional levels.
More information Website:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/ajm/calls/index_en.html
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European
Commission – Consolidating Partnership between Civil Society
Organizations and Public Authorities for Raising Minority Rights in
the Western Balkans - Call for proposals Application deadline: March 3,
2008
The
objectives of the call are to: · Ensure the wide participation of
public and private members of the civil society, to strengthen civil
society organisations, i.e. to support civil society dialogue in the
Western Balkans and enable civil society organisations to fulfil
their role through joint actions in: contributing to a consolidated
democracy in the region and participating in the decision making
process; encouraging effective intercultural exchanges and ensuring
the protection of the rights of persons belonging to a minority in
the Western Balkans countries. · Support partnerships between
civil society organisations and build up network with a focus on
those which are active in the promotion of the rights of minorities,
as well as between these organisations and the public authorities.
The project proposals should fall within one or more of the
following priorities: * To help, develop and implement activities
that ensure the participation and representation of ethnic
minorities * To facilitate in country and regional cooperation
and partnership between civil society organisations, and between
civil society organisations and public authorities, ensuring
continued interaction and mutual confidence, joint and coordinated
activities * To raise awareness of civil servants about: the need
of equal access and participation of minorities in the democratic
process and effective implementation of relevant minority rights
legislation and regulations; as well as the expertise gained and
examples of best practices provided by civil society
organisations * To create and strengthen regional networks,
coalitions, advocacy action groups to maintain effective dialogue
and interaction with local government, state institutions in areas
of interest for ethnically diverse populations, enhancing a better
understanding of the role played by civil society.
The total
amount under this call for proposals is EUR 1,950,000.00. Grants
will range between EUR 200,000 and EUR 300,000 and the EC will
finance between 65% and 80% of the total eligible costs of the
action.
The Applicant and the Partners must form a
partnership of: * Applicant: 1 organisation from a Western
Balkans country * Partners: at least 1 organisation from the EU
and at least 2 organisations from other Western Balkans
countries * Applicants must be nationals of Albania, Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.
More information Website:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/tender/data/d90/AOF80890.doc http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/tender/data/d91/AOF80891.zip
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Implementation of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index - Call
for Partner Organizations/ Call for Statements of Interest Application deadline: March 31,
2008
Civil
society is playing an increasingly important role in governance and
development around the world. In most countries, however, knowledge
about the state and shape of civil society is limited, and there are
few opportunities for civil society stakeholders to come together to
discuss and reflect on the current state of civil society and the
challenges it is facing.
The CIVICUS Civil Society Index
(CSI) is a participatory needs assessment and action planning tool
for civil society around the world, with the aim of creating a
knowledge base and momentum for civil society strengthening
initiatives. The CSI is initiated and implemented by, and for, civil
society organizations at the country level, and actively involves,
and disseminates its findings, to a broad range of stakeholders
including: government, donors, academics and the public at
large.
The two primary goals of the CSI are: to enhance the
strength and sustainability of civil society, and to strengthen
civil society’s contribution to positive social change. To achieve
these goals, civil society stakeholders make use of participatory
and other research methods to create an assessment of the state of
civil society. This assessment is then used to collectively set
goals and create an agenda for strengthening civil society in the
future.
Over the years 2003-2006 the CSI was implemented in
53 countries around the world and is currently being implemented in
six additional African countries. Each country produced a final
Country Report and the results of the project were published in two
volumes by the title of CIVICUS Global Survey of the State of Civil
Society, Country Profiles (published in May 2007), and Comparative
Perspectives (published in December 2007) by Kumarian
Press.
If your organization_Ts work focuses on strengthening
civil society in your country and is interested in implementing the
CSI, let us know by e-mail. Please note that amongst the selection
criteria are a broad-based constituency at the national level as
well as experience and background in both advocacy and research. The
selection process will end on the 31st of March and future partner
organizations will be informed in late April 2008. The project
implementation shall start in May 2008 and span over 2008 to part of
2009.
More information Website:
www.civilsocietyindex.org E-mail: index@civicus.org
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Enabling the
Civil Society Sector for Active Contribution in the Pre-accession
Process in the Area of Democratisation and Human Rights in Croatia -
Call for proposals Application deadline:
March 31, 2008, 10.00 CET
The Ministry
of Finance of the Republic of Croatia, Central Finance and
Contracting Unit is seeking proposals for the projects that will
contribute to successful accession related reform processes and
meeting of political criteria for EU membership in the field of
democratization and human rights in Croatia with financial
assistance from the Phare 2006 programme of the European
Communities.
The overall objective of the Programme is to
enable participation and active contribution of CSOs’ in developing,
implementing and monitoring public policies and Acquis related
policies (at all levels) in Croatia and contributing in raising of
awareness of the benefits and challenges of EU accession.
The
specific objective of this call for proposal is to support CSO
projects that contribute to successful accession related reform
processes and meeting of political criteria for EU membership in the
field of democratization and human rights.
The project
proposals should fall within one or more of the following
priorities: • Enhancing local development and citizens’
participation • Setting up of cross-sectoral partnerships with
the aim of enhancing democratisation and human rights processes and
practice • Supporting intra-sectoral cooperation, partnership and
networking of CSOs with the aim of strengthening civil society
influence and participation in development, implementation and
monitoring of public policies related to democratisation and human
rights issues.
The overall indicative amount made available
under this call for proposals is EUR 967.500,00. (This allocation
consists of EUR 860.000,00 Phare funds and EUR 107.500,00
contribution of the Government office for cooperation with NGOs).
The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to award all
available funds.
Any grant awarded under this programme must
fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts: minimum
amount: EUR 50.000,00, maximum amount: EUR 100.000,00. A grant may
not be for less than 50 % of the total eligible costs of the action.
In addition, no grant may exceed 90% of the total eligible costs of
the action. The balance must be financed from the applicant's or
partners' own resources, or from sources other than the European
Community budget or the European Development Fund.
More information Website:
http://cfcu.mfin.hr/ http://cfcu.mfin.hr/tenderYYY/PHARE_2006.htm
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Delegation of
the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina - European
Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) Application deadline: April 1, 2008,
16:00
The general
objectives of the new financing instrument are to contribute to the
development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, and
respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, within the
framework of the Community’s policy on development cooperation, and
economic, financial and technical cooperation with third countries,
and consistent with the EU’s foreign policy as a whole. The response
strategy under the EIDHR builds on the work being done with and
through civil society organisations aimed at defending the
fundamental freedoms which form the basis for all democratic
processes and helping civil society to become an effective force for
political reform and defence of human rights. In this way, it will
complement the new generation of geographical programmes, which will
increasingly mainstream democracy and human rights, though focusing
primarily on public institution! -building.
The 2007-2010
strategy sets out five specific EIDHR objectives: Objective 1
Enhancing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in
countries and regions where they are most at risk Objective 2
Strengthening the role of civil society in promoting human rights
and democratic reform, in supporting conflict prevention and in
consolidating political participation and
representation Objective 3 Supporting actions on human rights and
democracy issues in areas covered by EU Guidelines, including on
human rights dialogues, on human rights defenders, on the death
penalty, on torture, and on children and armed conflict Objective
4 Supporting and strengthening the international and regional
framework for the protection of human rights, justice, the rule of
law and the promotion of democracy Objective 5 Building
confidence in and enhancing the reliability and transparency of
democratic electoral processes, in particular through election
observation.
Country-based support scheme will be covered
only under the Objective 2. Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the
countries qualified for this scheme under Objective 2. These
Guidelines set out the rules for this Objective.
The overall
indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is
EUR 1.195.000. The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to
award all available funds. Any grant awarded under this programme
must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts: minimum
amount: EUR 30.000, maximum amount: EUR 100.000. A grant may not be
for less than 50% of the total eligible costs of the action. In
addition, no grant may exceed 80% of the total eligible costs of the
action. The balance must be financed from the applicant's or
partners' own resources, or from sources other than the European
Community budget or the European Development Fund.
More information Website:
http://europa.ba/
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Schuler
Helfen Leben - Youth Projects in South-East Europe - Call for
proposals
Schuler
Helfen Leben (SHL) is a charitable organization which wants to
support youth projects in South-East-Europe to contribute to peace,
reconciliation and democracy in the whole region step by step. Our
current balance: more than 15 million Euros donated and more than a
hundred projects in Albania, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Romania,
Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo.
Since 1998 SHL regularly calls
on pupils throughout Germany to participate in the Social Day. For
one day pupils will not go to school but work and donate their
earnings to SHL. In order not to limit the participation of these
young people to the one-day-action the selection of projects will be
partly put in their hands.
SHL is looking for non-profit
organizations, which want to use a part of the Social Day donations
for a project implemented on their own. These projects should aim at
a direct support of children and young people. We are looking for
projects, which follow an inter-ethnic approach and strengthen local
organisations. Especially in rural areas we see a particular need
for more intensive youth work.
Projects from following
countries in South-East Europe can apply: Albania,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia
and UNMIK Kosovo.
More information E-mail:
oliver.kainrad@schueler-helfen-leben.de (Oliver Kainrad)
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Rotary
Centers - Rotary World Peace Fellows Application deadline: July 1,
2008
Rotary
Centers provide Rotary World Peace Fellows with the opportunity to
pursue a master’s degree in conflict resolution, peace studies,
international relations, and related areas. Each year, up to 60
Rotary World Peace Fellowships are offered on a competitive basis
at six Rotary Centers, which operate in partnership with seven
leading universities: Duke University and University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, International Christian University,
Tokyo, Japan, Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, University of
California, Berkeley, USA, University of Queensland, Brisbane,
Australia.
Coursework at the Rotary Centers focuses on
preventing and resolving conflict by addressing its root causes ―
for example, responding to hunger with food security, disease with
health care, illiteracy with education, poverty with sustainable
development, and environmental degradation with conservation.
Fellows put classroom lessons into practice through an applied field
experience, when they work with a variety of governmental and
nongovernmental organizations worldwide.
The fellows are
chosen from countries and cultures around the globe based on their
potential as leaders in government, business, education, media, and
other professional areas.
Interested applicants must apply
for Rotary World Peace Fellowships through their local Rotary club.
Because application deadlines vary, only your local club can provide
specific dates. Scholarship availability varies by district. If your
local district is not offering scholarships, you may wish to inquire
next year. If your hometown doesn’t have a Rotary club, try entering
the names of nearby cities.
Applicants must · Hold an
earned undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university
or its international equivalent (based on a four-year curriculum)
· Be proficient in a second language (including the language of
the proposed host university) · Possess excellent leadership
skills · Demonstrate a commitment to peace and international
understanding through service, academic, or professional
achievements · Have a minimum of three yeasr combined paid or
unpaid full-time work experience in relevant field · Be a
citizen of a country where there is a Rotary club.
Applicants must apply through a Rotary club in the area of
their legal or permanent residence or place of full-time study or
employment. People with disabilities and members of Rotaract clubs
are eligible and encouraged to apply.
More information Website:
http://www.rotary.org
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Black Sea
Trust for Regional Cooperation - Civic Participation, Cross-border
Initiatives and East-East Co-operation Application deadline: December 31, 2008 (rolling
basis)
The Black
Sea Trust operates with a small, skilled staff with extensive
experience in the region. BST grantmaking is overseen by an Advisory
Board with representatives from every BST-supported country, as well
as from the BST founding partners (Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
and USAID). BST grantmaking committee is composed of German Marshall
Fund and BST staff members, and BST founding partners. An extensive
network of proposal reviewers made up of partner donors and local
experts further guide BST grantmaking review and ensure
coordination.
The Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation is
inviting proposals from organizations and institutions in the
countries of the Wider Black Sea Region on the Trust_Ts three
programs: civic participation, cross-border initiatives and
east-east cooperation. Through its grantmaking, BST supports a wide
range of innovative and creative forms of citizen participation,
cross-border initiatives and east-east cooperation. Preference will
be given to those proposals designed to increase citizen engagement
with government; have an impact on public policy; strengthen
leadership skills of individuals and organizations; facilitate
cross-border and/or cross-sector cooperation; and allow for the
transfer of experience and innovative ideas through a clear
communication and dissemination plan.
Who is eligible:
Non-governmental organizations, governmental entities, community
groups, policy institutes, other associations legally registered in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Turkey,
Ukraine and Russia (the oblasts of Krasnodar and Rostov). The
projects have to be implemented in one or more of the countries
mentioned.
Individuals and political parties may not apply.
Non-indigenous organizations may not apply. Cooperative projects
between indigenous and non-indigenous organizations are considered
under East-East Cooperation component, yet non-indigenous
administrative costs will not receive BST support. The Black Sea
Trust does not support scholarly research, academic fellowships and
scholarships, one-off events, humanitarian aid, refugee or IDP
return, religious activities, the arts or sciences. BST only
supports travel and website creation/maintenance as components of
larger activities.
How to apply: BST grants generally range
from $5,000 and $75,000, with most grants falling between $15,000
and $25,000. BST can support exceptional multi-year projects,
renewable on an annual basis contingent upon satisfactory interim
reports and performance.
There are no application deadlines.
Project proposals are accepted on a rolling basis and grant
decisions are made monthly. Final approval will be made by a
grantmaking committee or, if over $25,000, by the German Marshall
Fund's Board of Trustees.
Applicants must complete the
following two forms in English only: Application Form and Budget
Form. All inquiries will be acknowledged by email within two weeks
of receipt. Final decisions are typically announced within 10 weeks
of application.
More information: Website:
http://www.gmfus.org/about/office.cfm?city=bucharest (for
Romania) E-mail: BlackSeaTrust@gmfus.org (Subject line should
include: the word 'PROPOSAL', the name of your organization, and the
country in which your organization is located) ainayeh@gmfus.org
(Alina Inayeh, Director BST Bucharest)
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‘Foresight
and Research Priorities Setting in South Eastern Europe with Special
Consideration of Climate Change’ Training Seminar, March 6 – 7,
2008, Bled, Slovenia - Call for Applications Application deadline: January 31, 2008, 12.00
CET
Organisers
of the IX. Bled Forum: Bled Forum on Europe Research Association
(http://www.bled-forum.org), Slovenian Research Agency
(http://www.arrs.gov.si/en), Austrian Science and Research Liaison
Office (ASO) Ljubljana and Sofia (http://www.aso.zsi.at), UN Global
Compact Slovenia.
The target group for the training seminar
& conference participation grants are people interested in
launching, carrying out or using Foresight activities in SEE
countries (Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro,
Serbia (including Kosovo), FYR of Macedonia).
Participants of
the training seminar will also have the opportunity to participate
in the IX. Bled Forum on Europe conference on ‘Foresight and
knowledge based governance responses to Climate Change’. The
conference will take place on March 7 (beginning at 14:00) and
Saturday March 8th 2008 (till 14:00).
The participants in the
Seminar will receive basic and practical knowledge on: - What is
Foresight? - How can foresight results be taken up by STI policy
makers and practitioners especially with regard to research
priorities setting? - How can Climate Change issues be addressed
in foresight exercises and respective research priorities setting
activities?
The organisers intend to cover - with financial
support of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research -
the costs for registration, travel (public transport) up to 400
Euros per person and for accommodation (half board for the days of
the training seminar and the conference) for about 20 - 25
participants from SEE countries for the participation at the
foresight conference and at the training seminar. A limited number
of applications for participation of candidates from non-SEE
countries (especially applications from Austria and ASO countries
Slovenia and Bulgaria are encouraged) will be considered, too but
with limited support to travel and accommodation costs.
If
you would like to participate BF 2008 SEE Foresight training seminar
you are kindly requested to fill in the Registration/Grant
Application Form available on internet and send it by
e-mail.
More information Website:
www.bled-forum.org www.aso.zsi.at E-mail: aso-ljubljana@zsi.at
(Mr. Gorazd Weiss – for training seminar) blaz.golob@arrs.si (Mr.
Blaz Golob – for conference) polzer@zsi.at (Mr. Miroslav
Polzer)
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Analytical -
‘The Western Balkans - part of the EU?’ - Call for papers Application deadline: January 31,
2008
Analytical
is an electronic journal published by Analytica, which is focused on
studying and analyzing the recent and ongoing socio-political and
economic developments in the Western Balkans and the wider region.
The journal includes contributions - articles, opinions, comments -
that approach the subject area - countries of the Western Balkans -
from various perspectives: political, IR, economic, historical,
sociological, educational, etc.
Analytical now accepts
submissions for the first issue. The topic of the first issue is
‘The Western Balkans - part of the EU?’
The contributions to
the first issue are expected to address the subject of prospective
EU membership of the Western Balkan states, as well as the EU
experiences of Romania and Bulgaria that joined the EU in the last
round of EU enlargement. Contributions could address the various
aspects of EU accession efforts of the Western Balkan countries
including but not limited to: political efforts to fulfill
Copenhagen criteria and SAP requirements, public perceptions, public
discourse and popular culture, efforts for economic integration and
regional cooperation, foreign investments in the area, migration
issues and migration policies, historical perspectives of European
integration, etc.
The papers should be original and not
previously published. Format: MS Word Document. Papers should be
written in APA style (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APA_style). Times
New Roman. Font size: 12. Line spacing: 1,5. No indentation.
Standard MS Word margins. Limited to 2000 - 5000 words.
More information Website:
http://www.analyticamk.org/ E-mail:
journal@analyticamk.org
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‘Transatlantic Dialogues. Eastern Europe, The U.S. and
Post-Cold War Cultural Spaces’ Workshop, May 24, 2008, Bucharest,
Romania - Call for Papers Application
deadline: January 31, 2008
This
Workshop is organized within the framework of the Fifth
International Conference of the Romanian Association for American
Studies, ‘The Sense of America. Histories into Text’.
The
workshop focuses on the topical issue of transatlantic relations in
the post-Cold War period and specifically addresses the question of
transatlantic exchanges, representations and misrepresentations that
characterize this age of transition and upheaval. Post-communism,
itself a highly volatile term, has come to signify a cluster of
historical, social, cultural, economic discourses about change in
Eastern Europe. While Cold War mythology was largely responsible for
drawing up a vision of a highly polarized world, the post-Cold War
configuration is still undergoing a process of negotiation to
account for new structures of organization that cut across fields as
diverse as culture, literature, education, politics, social life,
economics.
The organisers welcome approaches dealing with
the multiple binds of post-Cold War configurations from a variety of
disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives including
literature, history, political science, sociology, economy, visual
arts, media and film studies, popular culture. Papers may address
themes such as those below: · Converging discourses:
post-communism, post-colonialism, post-modernism · The
post-communist transition and the renegotiation of Eastern European
identity · The postmodern ethos and post-Cold War cultural/social
dynamics · Eastern European predicaments and models for the
future · The ‘end of history’ in transatlantic perspective ·
Transatlantic relations in the age of globalization · U.S.
cultures in Eastern European contexts · Exporting Eastern Europe
to the USA: techniques of representation and dissemination ·
Post-Cold War U.S. literary and media discourses about Eastern
Europe.
The organizers are inviting proposals for 20 minute
papers on these and other themes related to the topic of the
workshop. 300-word abstracts should be submitted by e-mail. A
selection of papers will be published in the workshop
proceedings.
More information E-mail:
transatlanticdialogues@gmail.com (prof. dr. Rodica Mihaila, Dr.
Roxana Oltean or Ioana Luca)
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United
Nations Association of Serbia – Belgrade International Model United
Nations BIMUN, March 27 – 30, 2008, Belgrade, Serbia Application deadline: January 31,
2008
Participants
at the BIMUN are social science students from all over the world.
BIMUN gives students a possibility to learn more about current
international issues and ways to resolve them within the UN system,
to apply basic diplomatic curtesy and also contribudes to
development of their personal skills (public speaking, nagotiations,
debating and compromise). In this educational exercise, students
take over roles of UN diplomats, represent different countries and
discuss certain topics, which are on the agenda. Participants, as
delegates, elaborate strategy, prepare resolutions, negotiate and
resolve conflicts, following the UN procedure. ‘BIMUN 2008’ will be
an opportunity for new experiences, diplomatic debates and young
leaders networking. The working language of the conference will be
English.
'Belgrade International Model UN - BIMUN 2008’ will
feature comprehensive simulations of the following UN bodies, with
focus on real-life agenda items: the UN Security Council – ‘The Risk
of Nuclear Proliferation: Situation in Iran’, General Assembly / VI
Committee – ‘Strengthening the Role of the UN- Revitalization of
General Assembly’, Human Rights Council – ‘The Rights of Refugees
and Internally Displaced Persons in the Western Balkans’, UNESCO
World Heritage Committee - ’Protection of the World Heritage and
Sustainable Development’, BIMUN Plenary Forum – ‘Global Action
regarding Climate Changes’.
Eligible to take part in this
event are social science students and postgraduates up to 29 years
of age, fluent in English. Also, one has to send filled in
application form and a motivation letter, up to 250 words.
Best participants will get a financial award and a chance to
participate in BIMUN Plus Project.
More information Website:
www.unaserbia.org.yu E-mail: unaserbia@gmail.com
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Tischner
European University – ‘European Union Policies in the Making’
International Conference, April 18 – 19, 2008, Krakow, Poland - Call
for Papers Application deadline: February 4,
2008
Apart of its
institutional setting (the Reforming Treaty), today we can observe
significant developments in five key areas of the European Union.
Those are the following policies: Common Foreign and Security
Policy, European Security and Defense Policy, Energy and climate
protection, Transport, Lisbon strategy.
The CFSP seems to be
progressing better than before, drawing lessons from past
experiences since the Maastricht treaty and improvements of
Amsterdam treaty. Similarly, the ESDP is evolving fast, with the
Member States learning to cooperate within new structures and
contributing to peacekeeping and/or peacemaking missions. Energy
policy combined with efforts to manage the climate change amounts
now to a major challenge for both the EU as a whole and its member
states in what they attempt to achieve: a single market for energy,
secure in supply and responding to climate change. The transport
sector, in turn, provides examples of success (air) and clear
lack of it (railroads). The implementation of the Lisbon Strategy
appears even more tricky. Here, the instruments are soft,
cooperation is difficult and results are systematically criticised.
The conference ‘European Union Policies in Making’ aims at
summarising recent and current efforts of the EU to build up or
strengthen up its policies in those five important fields. The
objective of our conference is to provide an opportunity to have a
closer look at internal developments in all five policies. With this
in mind, the Tischner European University invites scholars,
practitioners and PhD students to submit paper abstracts within one
or more of the five areas mentioned above.
For its
analytical framework, the conference takes the ‘EU as a political
system’ approach. Therefore, both separate analyses of respective
policies as well as their comparisons are welcome. Papers presented
should deal with institutions' and other actors' (businesses, NGOs,
etc.) strategies, resulting regulatory regimes and wider
consequences for both the sectors tackled and the current course of
integration efforts. Authors might draw larger conclusions as to the
dynamics of sectoral integration, appropriateness of tools used and
intersectoral similarities as is the case of network-based economies
and approaches, for example.
All those interested in
presenting a paper during the conference should fill in an
application form on the website and send it via website together
with an abstract of maximum 1800 characters with spaces. The results
of selection proceedings will be announced by 18.02.2008. The
authors of abstracts selected will be requested to provide the final
version of their papers by 31.03.2008. All papers presented during
the conference will be published in the conference proceedings.
The working language of the conference will be English. The
abstracts and papers are also expected to be delivered in
English.
There is no participation fee in this conference.
Lodging and board during the conference will be provided by the
organisers. Other expenses, including travel costs, have to be paid
by the participants.
The Conference ‘European Union Policies
in the Making’ is an element of a larger project under the same
title, funded by the Jean Monnet program, within the framework of
the Lifelong Learning Program of the European Union.
More information Website:
www.eup.wse.krakow.pl E-mail: pkugiel@wse.krakow.pl (Mr Patryk
Kugiel)
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Nebula 4.4 -
Call For Papers Issue 15 Application
deadline: March 15, 2008
We encourage
submission of academic articles from any discipline, covering any
subject or topic, provided that the language used is non-specialist
and appeals to a wide audience. Unlike many academic publications,
Nebula is not limited to a specific school, faculty, or subject. We
are also interested in providing an alternative view to mainstream
cultural and political ideologies. As such, we encourage
non-fiction, intellectual writing, that does not follow the generic
conventions of academic writing but which demonstrates substantial
sophistication and which may be of interest to a broad audience. We
encourage contributors to offer their political readings of a
particular social/political or military crisis current in the world.
We are particularly interested in writings that may be deemed
marginal or seem to be against the grain of mainstream ideologies.
Our project is to ensure the publication of writin! g of high
calibre that may be rejected by conservative institutions. Nebula
also accepts ‘free writing’ that is not politically motivated, but
which may be attuned to various other cultural, social or artistic
concerns (including television, film, media or music studies).
Nebula also accepts creative work in any form which can be displayed
on the world wide web. Poetry, graphics, cartoons, short stories are
all welcome for consideration.
All claims within articles or
reviews must be evidenced. We will not accept hoax or poorly
researched material. We are very intolerant of plagiarism. All
submissions must be accompanied by a short letter to the editors
which will include some autobiographical information and any
institutional affiliations (or brief CV). Please make all
attachments in .doc wherever possible. Articles and reviews are not
limited to any particular referencing style but MUST be consistent
throughout each submission. Only the most original, well- presented
and well thought-out pieces will be considered for publication.
More information Website:
http://www.nobleworld.biz E-mail: nebula@nobleworld.biz
editors@nobleworld.biz
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spacesofidentity.net – ‘Digitizing Central Europe:
Alternative Media and Spaces of Identity’ - Call for Papers Application deadline: March 15,
2008
A
multidisciplinary international web-journal dedicated to issues of
tradition, cultural boundaries and identity formation in Central and
Eastern Europe.
In the post-Soviet and new-EU member-state
imaginaries of contemporary Central Europe, digital media and
technologies such as weblogs, internet-based social networking, text
messaging, internet radio etc. have played a significant role in
mediating and re-signifying public spheres and constructing public
homes that negotiate, and often express an ambivalent relationship
with, national, supra-national, urban and global spaces of identity.
While often inviting participatory forms of engagement with public
issues and blurring the boundaries between civic, journalistic and
academic engagement, the complex, opaque and skill-demanding new
mediascape of blogging, Web 2.0 and flash mobs has also opened up a
‘digital divide’ based not only on affluence but also on age, gender
and language. This asynchronicity of participation has produced
nationalist and populist backlashes to global and transnational
imaginaries, sometimes supported by the more traditional media of
radio! broadcasts, (national) television and the popular
press.
The special issue of spacesofidentity.net invites
contributions that explore how contemporary media cultures in
Central Europe harness the normalizing and subversive potential of
electronic media for critique and identity formation. Topics and
case studies could include, but are not limited to: · The impact
of digital media on civic engagement, academic and journalistic
writing · Diasporic communities and media cultures ·
Metroblogging, communities of proximity, and urban culture ·
Flash mobs and cultures of resistance · YouTube, documentary, and
protest · Comments, web polls and populism · Social
networking, poking and popularity · Global Internet English,
national languages, and identity formation · Cyrillics,
diacritics and power
Contributors are encouraged to keep
their submissions to less than 10,000 words. Submissions should not
have been previously published in English. All submissions should be
accompanied by a 100-word abstract and a brief biographical note
including institutional affiliation. References should be given as
in-text quotations in parentheses according to MLA style. Full
references should be formatted in MLA style and placed at the end of
the document after the endnotes, in alphabetical order. Please make
sure that any information on your authorship is deleted from the
submisson file (including the user info in Word and Acrobat).
spacesofidentity.net is using a double-blind reviewing system,
meaning that the identities of both authors and reviewers will be
concealed from each other. We ask all authors to provide the contact
details (including e-mail addresses) of at least two potential peer
reviewers for their manuscript. These should be experts in their
field of study, who will be able to provide an objective assessment
of the manuscript. Any suggested peer reviewers should not have
published with any of the authors of the manuscript within the past
five years and should not be members of the same research
institution. Members of the Editorial Board of the journal can be
nominated. Suggested reviewers will be considered alongside
potential reviewers identified. Please send your submissions by
e-mail or submit them via the web interface.
More information E-mail:
editors@spacesofidentity.net
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International
Essay Competition 2008 Application deadline:
March 23, 2008
Shaping the
City of Your Dreams In 2007, for the first time in human history,
the majority of people in the world, particularly in developing
countries, will be living in urban areas. Life in the city is often
associated with more opportunities, better access to employment,
education, health and other services. Cities are often called
engines of economic growth, contributing disproportionately to the
national gross domestic product (GDP). They are also centers of
innovation, entrepreneurship and investment. But many cities also
have a large part of their population living in slums, without
essential services such as water, sanitation and energy, and
threatened by environmental hazards, violence and social exclusion.
As more and more people move from the countryside to the city, and
as city populations grow, there is a growing need for solutions to
the issues of urban poverty, environment, and urban infrastructure
(housing, roads, water, energy etc.).
What can you do to
shape the city of your dreams? Please answer all three questions
below: 1) Think about the city you live in. What are the biggest
opportunities and challenges for people living there? 2) What
needs to be done to transform your city into the city of your
dreams? 3) What could be your role, working together with your
peers, in shaping the city of your dreams? Please focus on one or
two points you mentioned in question 2).
You may use some of
the points below to structure your answer: · If you have been
personally involved in concrete initiatives, write specifically
about your experience: Who have you worked with? Who have you
helped? What have you accomplished? In what way would you consider
this work to be innovative? How have you measured the results of
your work? · Looking ahead: How would you expand or improve the
impact of your work? How can other youth replicate your experience?
· If you don’t have practical experience, write specifically
about your ideas: How would you work with your peers to shape the
city of your dreams?
The International Essay Competition is
open to all young people, students and non-students alike, between
the ages of 18 and 25 (born between 1983 - 1990). Essays should be
submitted by individuals.
Your essay may not be longer than
10 pages (4000 words maximum), 1.5 line-spaced. You are required to
provide an abstract of no more than one page. An abstract is a short
summary in which you explain the aim, the methodology, the reasoning
and the main conclusions of your paper. The abstract will be used by
the jury to make a pre-selection. You may submit your paper and
abstract in English, French, Spanish, Arabic or Portuguese. The
submission process for the Essay Competition is entirely
Internet-based. Essays submitted by email or post will not be
accepted.
More information Website:
http://www.essaycompetition.org E-mail:
info@essaycompetition.org
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Eurasian File
‘The Balkans’ and ‘Turkish Foreign Policy’ - Call for
Papers Application deadline: March 30, 2008 /
May 30, 2008
‘The
Balkans’ Special Edition (Volume 14/ No. 1) Possible headings:
The Status of Kosova and its Regional/Global Impacts, The Problems
of Dayton's Bosnia and the Future of Bosnia, The Future of the Peace
Process in Macedonia, The EU's Vision Regarding the Future of the
Balkans, The Expectations of Balkan Countries from EU Membership, A
Comparison of US/ Russian Balkan Politics, The Perception of Turkey
in the Balkans, The Roles the EU and NATO Should Assume to Control
of the Sources of Tension in the Balkans, The Pre-Conditions for
Effective Regional Cooperation in the Balkans, Lessons to be Learned
from Former Initiatives and CEFTA 2006, Organized Crime in the
Balkans. The journal will be published in June
2008.
’Turkish Foreign Policy Special Edition (Volume 14/
No.2) Possible headings: The Fundamental Dynamics of Turkish
Foreign Policy (TFP), Decision-Making Processes and Mechanisms in
TFP, TFP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Military, TFP,
the Media and Think-Tanks, TFP, Crisis Management and Diplomacy, TFP
and Economy, Searches for Alternative Directions for TFP, TFP and
Ethnic Lobbies. The publishing date is December 2008.
The
articles to be sent to the Eurasian File should be in Microsoft Word
format, typed in Times New Roman, 12pt. The articles should not be
shorter than 4500 words nor longer than 10000 words. Book reviews
should be between 1500-2500 words. (The footnotes and references
sections are not included in the word count). The articles should be
sent with summaries, not exceeding 200 words, added to the first
page of the article along with Heading, and Key Words. The authors
should provide their names, titles, place of duty and e-mails. The
graphics or visual material desired to be used in articles should be
of high resolution quality. It should be kept in mind that the as
journal is published in black and white so graphics should be chosen
accordingly. The journal contains articles both in Turkish and
English. References should be notified with endnotes and at the end
of the text, under the title of ‘References’, the full
identification of references should be provided ! in an alphabetical
order according to the surnames of the authors. The completion of
the missing sections in footnotes and references is the most energy
and time consuming act in the period towards publishing.
One
month (the most) from the date of publishing, an authors fee of 300$
(for those authors submitting their articles from abroad-and 400 New
Turkish Liras from Turkey) is paid to the authors whose articles
have been published in the Eurasian file along with 3 copies of the
related edition.
More information Website:
http://www.asam.org.tr E-mail: editor@asam.org.tr
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Development
Youth Prize Application deadline: March 31,
2008
The
Development Youth Prize is open to schools in the 27 member states
of the European Union. Pupils must be aged between 16 and 18
(inclusive) at the time of the deadline. All entries must be
associated with a school. There is a limit of one entry per
pupil.
All contributions must include two parts: a short
message and an artwork in the form of a poster or a multimedia
presentation. The focus for the 2007 competition is Africa -
Sustainable Development. There are three themes for entries: Climate
Change, Water and Energy and Sustainable Tourism. Pupils can choose
one or combine them.
School details and the message must be
entered using the form on this website. Entries can either be sent
digitally using the same form, or sent by post to the European
Schoolnet office in Brussels. Please post entries at least 2-3 weeks
before the deadline to be sure it will arrive in Brussels before the
deadline. No exceptions can be made for entries that arrive late.
The message The message should accompany the artwork,
e.g. a caption for a poster. It can be written in any of the 23
official EU languages. If the message is not in English, French or
German, a translation into one of these languages must also be
provided. The message must not be longer than 100 characters in
either language version. The message must be submitted via the entry
form on this website. It can also be included in the
artwork.
The artwork Entries can be in the form of a
multimedia presentation or a poster.
· Multimedia
presentation A multimedia presentation is a set of connected
digital images that are linked and combined with text. Any kind of
visual expression can be chosen such as photos, paintings, drawings
etc. Use of audio is possible, but not digital video. The following
file types are accepted: Flash (SWF), PowerPoint (PPT), and MP3.
Contributions must not exceed 15 MB.
· Poster A poster
must be a combination of visual expression and a short and clear
message. The visual part can be a drawing, painting, collage etc.
The written message can be included in the poster or considered
separately. The maximum size of posters allowed in this competition
is A3. If submitted online, maximum file size is 5 MB. Accepted file
types are JPG, GIF and PDF.
More information Website:
http://www.dyp2007.org/ww/en/pub/dyp2007/homepage.htm E-mail:
sylvia.binger@eun.org (Sylvia Binger)
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'Performing
Biographies: Memory and the Art of Interpretation' Conference,
December 12 – 14, 2008, Cracow, Poland Application deadline: April 1,
2008
Organized by
the Research Network 3 of the European Sociological Association
Biographical Perspectives on European Societies in cooperation with
the Institute of Audiovisual Arts of the Jagiellonski University
Cracow and Pauza Foundation for Promotion and Development of
Contemporary Art.
This interdisciplinary Conference aims to
explore and analyze systematically a wide range of biographical
perspectives through story telling, performance and different kinds
of visual art like film, video, photography, digital media etc. It
is addressed to researchers who are willing to discuss and discover
new fields and not take answers for granted. We hope it to be an
open forum for discussion and networking in the context of each
others company.
The conference has 3 main panels: Panel 1:
Performing biographies The sessions and workshops of this panel
will address the rise and implications of the idea of performance in
social science and its applicability to the study of individual
lives. The notion of performance is widening social science
approaches to the study of individual life to include not only the
traditional use of text from the transcribed oral account, but modes
of expression and representation from the various arts (drama,
music, dance, poetry, etc.) and visual technologies, including use
of the web and multi-media. The aim of the panel is to show
something of the range and scope of these approaches for an
understanding of the individual as an acting, feeling and relational
being. Main themes: the nature of performance and performing
biographies; artistic expression and everyday identities;
performance as research; performing gender; the expression of
individual biography in text, digital media, visual and
sound. Chair of the panel: Prof. Brian Roberts (University of
Glamorgan, Pontypridd, UK) broberts@glam.ac.uk
Panel 2: The
art of interpretation The sessions and workshops of this panel
will focus upon methodological issues, themes and perspectives. A
key focus will be the creative process involved in conducting
biographical research using a wide range of visual methods. It will
also explore how we come to understand and interpret systematically
the artistic and visual materials produced and performed in
biographical frame. Main Themes: using visual methodologies in
biographical research; interpretation as art; visual hermeneutics;
performance analysis; including analysis of film, video, photo, and
digital storytelling into biographical studies. Chair of the
panel: Thea Boldt (Georg-August-University, Goettingen, Germany)
TheaBoldt@gmx.de
Panel 3: Memory and biographical
memorizing The panel would be mainly devoted to the problem of
individual memory and the process of memorizing in different social
contexts. The key point for discussion here is the dilemma between
telling today and being in the past: how do people move between Past
and Present; what is the process of selection from the Past; how
could we stimulate the memorizing process (place memory, visual
memory, collective story), images of collective memory in personal
biographies. Another aspect to discuss here will be how changing
social context (for example, in the situation of migration) can
influence the process of memorizing and memory selection; what could
be the interplay between public historical discourse and individual
memory. The most important point here is how to interpret such
past-present interplay and use it to research firsthand data. As
memory is a communicative activity it is interesting to examine the
mutual relation between collective and biographical memory as a
framing pro! cess of biographical work on individual as well as
collective identity formations. Main themes: Memory and
post-soviet biographies; body memory and Shoa; theory and
interpretation of social and cultural memory; collective
biographical memory and identity. Chair of the panel: Prof.
Victoria Semenova (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia)
victoria-sem@yandex.ru
The Language of the Conference will be
English.
The discussions, workshops and performances within
the realms of social science research will be accompanied by an
exhibition of biographical performance and art organized by the
Pauza Foundation. The participants in the conference are welcome to
take part in the exhibition. Please see www.pauza.pl or contact
Karolina Harazim, the Chair of the Pauza Foundation for details:
k.harazim@fundacjapauza.pl.
More information E-mail: TheaBoldt@gmx.de
(Thea Boldt)
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4th Kosovar
and Regional Student Conference about Social Issues, May 9 - 10,
2008, Prishtina, Kosova Application deadline:
April 4, 2008
The
conference gathers youth from around Kosova to discuss important
social issues facing Kosova. Ultimately, the 3rd Kosovar and
Regional Student Conference about Social issues aims to bring
students from different ethnicities together in the effort to: ·
Provide an opportunity for the youth to present scientific studies
in a professional manner. · Create an environment in which the
professional exchange of student ideas can occur. · Create an
environment in which youth can engage in discussions and debate
about issues important to the region. · Generate new ideas and
offer potential solutions to social issues. · Encourage youth to
be active participants in society. · Build ‘cooperative bridges’
among young people from different municipalities and ethnic
groups. · Inform public opinion about issues facing youth and the
need to solve these problems.
ASK cordially invites students
from high schools throughout the region (Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia,
Montenegro and Albania) to participate in this conference. It is our
hope that students regardless of their ethnic, religious, or
cultural background will gather together and create an environment
in which participants of the conference can exchange views about
issues facing society in the spirit of respect and
cooperation.
Students research any social issue they believe
is both relevant and pertinent to their society or the region. After
choosing a topic of research, each student/group of students must
then write an original, well-researched and well-argued research
paper examining their chosen issue. The final reports will then be
submitted and reviewed by a panel of experts. The panel of experts
will select the best reports. These reports will then be presented
at the Conference. The selected students will present in the format
of a 15 minute presentation. Following each presentation 15 minutes
will be allotted for questions, answers and debate. During each
presentation there will be simultaneous translation in English and
Albanian. At the end of the conference, students who participated
will receive a Certificate of Excellence. Those who submitted
reports but were not asked to present will receive a Certificate of
Appreciation.
The Conference will be held in Prishtina,
Kosova, at the American School of Kosova. Participants from
municipalities or countries other than Prishtina will be
accommodated in the ASK dormitories free of charge. ASK will cover
both transportation (by bus) and accommodation expenses necessary
for the participants.
The official language of the conference
is English. Kosovar students may submit reports in English or
Albanian. Students residing in countries outside of Kosovo must
submit reports in English. We will provide simultaneous translation
from the local language into English and vice versa.
Reports
should be original and authentic. Each report must be submitted as a
hard copy together with a copy of the report on CD. Reports must be
submitted at the American School of Kosova in Prishtina. A maximum
of three people in each group. Those selected for presentation at
the conference will be notified on April 30, 2008.
More information Website:
www.ask-conference.org E-mail:
conference@ask-conference.org
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The Journal
of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies no 9, December 2008 -
‘Relations between Russian & Post-Soviet NGOs and the Power
Ministries’ - Call for Contributors Application deadline: June 15,
2008
Pipss.org is
a new electronic journal of social sciences devoted to the armed
forces and power institutions of post-Soviet societies. Pipss.org is
a multi-disciplinary journal, which addresses issues across a broad
field of disciplines including sociology, anthropology, political
science, psychology, economics, history, legal science. Its main
objective is to study changes and their underlying mechanisms in
post-Soviet republics, through the analysis of the institutions that
remain most hidden from the public eye: armies and power
institutions. As an electronic journal, pipss.org also aims to
promote scholarly debate across as broad an audience as possible,
and make CIS research available to Western scholars. Thanks to its
international scientific board drawn from a large pool of leading
academics and experts in their respective fields, it is in a
position to become a leading source of analysis on post-Sov! iet
societies. Pipss.org is a principal partner of the International
Security Network (www.isn.ethz.ch) and a member of the CNRS/EHESS
scientific journals network Revues.org.
The aim of this issue
is to shed new light on the relations between Russian &
Post-Soviet NGOs and what are known as the ‘power ministries’ – the
Defence and Interior Ministries, the Ministry of Justice, etc. - in
areas such as justice (prisons, prisoners, judiciary reform, etc),
the police (police brutality, etc.), the army (violence, veterans
and post-military service care, etc.) border checks (immigration,
etc.) and others.
During the Soviet era there were no
independent associations and the only independent reports concerning
the power ministries came from dissidents, victims of their
strategies. After the fall of the USSR, two concomitant changes
occurred: the power administrations opened onto society, claiming
‘civil control’ of the army, for example, (a theme very popular at
the end of the 1980s), and many independent associations wishing to
work in cooperation with the power ministries were created. Today,
20 years after Perestroika, what has become of these relations? How
have they evolved? Our main interest is the empirical analysis of
the actual content of the work of these associations, but also the
interactions themselves between the NGOs and the power ministries.
These are two themes we would like to explore in this
issue.
Another subject of interest will be the NGOs that were
to varying degrees ‘encouraged’ to be set up and whose work can thus
be ‘oriented’ by the administrations themselves, in particular by
reactivating the notion of ‘civil control’ over the army or the
police, for example, but also more generally over matters concerning
human rights.
Pipss.org therefore requests researchers in
the social sciences to submit articles and in-depth interviews of
NGO members, as well as their partners in the power ministries
(members of various administrations: heads of police, prison
directors, for example), in particular concerning the work they do
in common and on their attitude towards this cooperation. The editor
of this issue would be particularly interested in a comparison
between the work of NGOs in the big cities and those in provincial
cities (for example, a comparison of Moscow/St. Petersburg NGOs with
provincial ones such as in Nizhni-Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, etc.) - in
the sense that in theory, smaller associations have less latitude
and lesser means than large ones. The editor would very much
appreciate an introductory article on NGOs' work in Russia in
general.
Articles and interviews can cover the following
subjects (among others): The question of NGO access to power
ministries, Relations of NGOs with the administration: the nature of
their ties / rethinking these ties, Analysis of NGO discourse
concerning their role, Transnational links, Reasons behind power
ministries' cooperation with NGOs, Institutional forms of
cooperation with the power ministries.
The journal will be
published in four languages (French, English, Russian, and German
with a 100-word abstract in English) thanks to which most authors
will be able to write in their mother tongue. This will ensure
greater precision in the articles and avoid a decrease in scientific
quality. But we draw your attention to the fact that most pipss.org
readers are essentially English speakers, therefore we do encourage
articles in English in order to reach an audience as broad as
possible.
The articles submitted to pipss.org for publication
should be original contributions and should not be under
consideration for any other publication at the same time.
Manuscripts should be attached as Microsoft Word format. References
should be given in footnotes. There should be a cover page stating
the author's background and affiliation, full address. If you wish
to submit an article, please first contact the editorial board and
send a 100-word abstract in English.
More information Website:
www.pipss.org E-mail: contact@pipss.org (Elisabeth
Sieca-Kozlowski, Chief Editor)
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EuroEd – FACE
IT! Project
The European
project FACE IT! offers training opportunities and materials for the
provision of Family Learning programs aiming to promote and develop
Active Citizenship and Participatory Democracy. The training courses
and tools are for community based tutors and practitioners, as well
as professionals involved in informal education. The training
program focuses on increasing skills and knowledge in the areas of
Family Learning, Active Citizenship and Participatory Democracy.
The FACE IT! training program includes both international
and national training events in Ireland, France, Romania, as well as
UK and Italy. Also, the FACE IT! International Conference in Iasi,
Romania, at the end of June 2008 will pool experience and expertise
from all around Europe and provide further training to participants.
More information Website:
http://www.faceitproject.org
http://www.faceitproject.org/family_learning.htm
http://www.faceitproject.org/active_citizenship.htm E-mail:
info@faceitproject.org (Anca Colibaba, project
coordinator)
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http://nextmile.eu/consultancybank.php
The
Consultancy Bank is aimed at providing support for Bulgarian and
Romanian NGOs and their networks in the fields of: -
Participation in the European Civil Society processes -
Improvement of institutional capacity of soacial NGOs and their
networks - Design of new service provision methods for vulnerable
groups (in the context of network co-operation) - Enabling direct
contact between experts and organisations
This is an online
database and automatic registration system. After login and entering
the Members Only Area (MOA) you can access the Consultancy Bank
experts or become one of them by filling in the short online CV
form.
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http://www.impreuna.arts.ro/
The Impreuna
Network Romania
The Community Arts Network aims to bring
together both practitioners and beneficiaries who are involved in
Community Arts for people with special needs. The website is
intended to be a useful tool to help the network develop and bring
the best care possible to those who are all too often in the lowest
margins of society.
The network consists of over 700 members
from Romania and abroad, professionals working in various fields:
educators, psychologists, carerers, doctors, nurses, teachers
specialized for children with special needs, but also parents of the
children with special needs, all of whom use combined arts
techniques in their everyday life and activity. The common goal of
all these people is to improve the life of their beneficiaries. This
fields started to develop in Romania ever since 1990, when
specialists from abroad working with Romanian professionals started
to explore the possibilities of using arts as an answer to the
various needs of people with special needs within the Romanian
institutions.
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http://www.suedost-institut.de/
New site for
the Institute for South-Eastern European Studies (Suedost-Institut)
within the framework of the Scientific Centre for East- and
South-Eastern Europe in Regensburg (Germany)
On January 10th
2008 the new library of the Scientific Centre for East- and
South-Eastern Europe Regensburg was opened up in an official
ceremony. The specialized library of the Centre offers 350,000
bibliographical items. The Centre gathers the three independent,
former Munich based Research-Institutes ‘Institute for Law in
Eastern Europe’, ‘Institute for Eastern European Studies’ and
‘Institute for South-Eastern Europe’.
The interdisciplinary
Institute for South-Eastern Europe works on the topics history,
culture, applied geography and present-day problems related to the
region of South-Eastern Europe. The main tasks of the institute are
the publication of the learned journal ‘Sudost-Forschungen’, the
quarterly appearing ‘Sudosteuropa’ and the series of monographs
‘Sudosteuropaische Arbeiten’. A monographic history of South-Eastern
Europe in cooperation with the Universities of Regensburg and Vienna
is in preparation.
On its new site the Suedost-Institut will
try to contribute to a boost in the field of South-Eastern European
history at the University of Regensburg, which will be further
strengthened by a professorship for South-Eastern European History
at that university starting its activity in spring
2008.
E-mail: info@suedost-institut.de
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http://www.insightturkey.com/
Insight
Turkey continues to analyze developments in Turkey and in the region
with the contribution of its distinguished authors. In this issue it
focuses on two topics: the geopolitics of energy from Turkey to
Europe and from China to Russia, and mutual perceptions of the
Europeans and the Turks.
E-mail:
insight@insightturkey.com
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http://www.amalipe.com/en/index.php?nav=publications
Center
_Amalipe - Roma Integration in Bulgaria 2006, Annual
Report
This report concerns the main trends in Roma
integration process from January to December 2006 with accents on
education, social policy, living conitions, connecting EU accession
with Roma integration and gender equality. Special attention is paid
to institutional an normative framework for Roma integration at
national, regional and local levels.
Deyan Kolev, George
Bogdanov, Maria Metodieva, Teodora Krumova and Boyan Zahariev are
the report authors. The report combines results from permanent
monitoring of the daily activities of certain national institutions
with results of field survey about the state of Roma integration in
17 municipalities all over Bulgaria realized by Center _Amalipe and
8 other Roma NGOs. The monitoring of the activity of central level
institutions (such as National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and
Demographic Issues, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of
Labour, and so on) provides information about the real input of
resources (funancial and human ones) and about the really
implemented activities for Roma intregration by the side of
institutions concerned. It indicates also the main tendencies of the
governmental policy for Roma integration as well as the changes in
it. The field survey reveals the real outputs, outcomes and impact
of the activities unertaken by central instituti! ons. It reveals
also the main trends in Roma integration at local level without
matter whether they are results of a deliberate policy or of a
random and unguide process.
E-mail:
center_amalipe@yahoo.com
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