Events
 

 

Regional Events

In every two years the CSDF organizes a Central and Eastern European regional event in order to provide:

In 1996 the CSDF organized the Fourth Annual Central and East European Fundraising Workshop in cooperation with the International Fund Raising Group (London) as part of a worldwide series of events. Over 140 fund-raisers and nonprofit managers gathered from 16 countries from all over the region to learn skills and techniques of fundraising and innovative income generation.

In 1998 the Regional Workshop Sustainability of the Third Sector in Central and Eastern Europe: Realities and Challenges for NGOs, Businesses and Governments was organized by the CSDF Hungary at the Central European University Center, Budapest. The mission of the Workshop was to enable civil society organizations to effectively develop mechanisms for long term sustainability in partnership with each other as well as the business and the government sectors. It hosted nearly 200 participants arriving from 20 countries of the region, as well as prominent speakers from Western Europe and the United States.

Learning and exchange of experience was possible through various interactive workshop and training sessions built up along the following main tracks:

Fundraising and Income Generation:
- the changing role of Western aid - opportunities for income generation locally in Central and Eastern Europe - self-financing mechanisms- individual giving in Central and Eastern Europe - cooperation with the business and government sectors - community philanthropy.

Legal Framework:
- comparison of tax and fiscal regulation of non-profit organizations in the region - non-profit status laws - lobbying and advocacy - legal framework of political activities of non-profit organizations - adaptability of Western legal practices in Central and Eastern Europe

Capacity-Building:
organizational development and change-management - leadership development - board development - using the internet for internal capacity-building - exploring community resources

Sector-Consciousness and Public Image:
- non-profit ethics and self-regulation - cooperation among the organizations of the Third Sector - the Central and Eastern European non-profit sector in the light of the European integration - relationship with the media - creating a positive image of the non-profit sector in Eastern Europe

 

Regular events

The aim of our regular events is to create opportunities for those working in the nonprofit sector and interested citizens to meet informally, in order to debate questions of public concern, and to learn from professionals and from each other. Our two main events, the Civil Café and the Mészöly Street Workshop (MUM) rotate on a monthly basis.

The purpose of the Civil Café is to create an active, lively forum for the exchange of information and experience for citizens with public concern and for those working in the civil sector. With our series of events we wish to revive the old-time tradition of the café houses in the cosy atmosphere of a Budapest café.

Some examples of the topics the Civil Café dealt with over the past year:

Public Funding of NGOs - we invited representatives of grant giving public foundations and government funds to talk and be challenged about the policies and practices of distribution of financial resources.

NGOs and the Media - media representatives were invited to the Café to discuss the ups and downs in the relationship of the media and the nonprofit sector, including sector-specific papers and the national press.

The Nonprofit Law - we conducted a discussion about the newly introduced nonprofit law and the challenges and opportunities it contains for NGOs, with legal experts and practitioners.

Political Parties and the Nonprofit Sector - representatives of four major political parties were invited a month before the elections to describe how they think about the role of NGOs and civil society and what policies they intend to implement in case they win the elections.

The MUM workshops enable participants to discuss in detail interesting and problematic aspects of day-to-day operation of nonprofit organizations and to learn from each other with the assistance of a facilitator. Attendees usually work in the same field of activity in various non-profit organizations (such as administration, finance, press relations). Therefore, all the participants work actively during these meetings and contribute to the common theme by raising problems they face, offering good ideas or introducing new concepts.

csdf@mail.c3.hu.