Announcements

European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). Fostering Human Rights and Democracy in Belarus through Country-Based Support Scheme

The deadline for submission of proposals is 2 September 2014 at 17:00 local (Minsk) time.

The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are pleased to announce the availability of 4 new research fellowships. The fellowships will provide the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC for 3-4 weeks during June/July/August 2014 to conduct research on the legal framework for civil society.  The fellowships are open to applicants from:
    Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda
    Asia: Cambodia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka
    Europe and Eurasia: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Ukraine (candidates from other Eurasian countries may contact ICNL to determine whether they are eligible);
    Latin America and the Caribbean: Colombia, El Salvador, Brazil, Panama, and Guatemala
    Middle East and North Africa: Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Yemen

Dear Colleagues,
 

The Energy Club starts a series of events dedicated to the EU policy in the area of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources (RES).
The first meeting of the series will take place on 26 February in Minsk and will cover the following issues:

•    EU climate and energy package 20-20-20;
•    EU energy efficiency directive;
•    Implemenation fo EU requirements in Austria;
•    EU roadmaps until 2050;
•    Austrian long-term perspectives;
•    Current discussions about the road until 2030.
 

The invited speaker, Professor Herbert Lechner, Deputy Executive Director of the Austrian Energy Agency and its chief scientific officer will guide the Belarusian colleagues through the EU Climate and Energy Policy suggesting practical examples of how Austria deals with the energy security challenges and what it does to meet the Commission’s  20/20/20 targets.

The European Commission has launched the Call for Sustainable Urban Demonstration Projects for the Covenant of Mayors signatories. The Covenant of Mayors is the mainstream European movement involving local and regional authorities, voluntarily committing to increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on their territories. By their commitment, Covenant signatories aim to meet and exceed the European Union 20% CO2 reduction objective by 2020. More detailed information is available here:
The objective of this Call for Proposals is to enable local authorities in the Eastern Partnership countries to implement pilot projects incorporated in their Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) under the Covenant of Mayors and thus to bridge the gap between the SEAPs and their practical implementation.

As a part of the first annual European Intercultural Festival 2013, Office for a Democratic Belarus is organising a drawing contest for Belarusian children aged 6-12 with the theme “Colourful Europe”. The organisers want to encourage the Belarusian youth to share their experiences and perceptions of Europe and learn more about the culture and history of the EU member states and other states participating in the Eastern Partnership Initiative. The competition is organised in partnership with the Youth Entrepreneurship Support and Development Center. The European Intercultural Festival 2013 is being held in Minsk and other Belarusian cities on May 20-26.

Berlin, 08. to 16. June 2013
Cultures of Remembrance – what can be learned from Germany, in Berlin?

Berlin is not simply the present day capital of Germany. Berlin was the political center of two dictatorships in Germany in the 20th century: the fascist dictatorship of the Nazis, which with its devastating ideology almost brought the whole European continent to the brink of destruction; and the German socialist / communist dictatorship, which even in the second half of the 1980ies wanted to be “better” socialistic than its big brother, the Soviet Union.

Germany (West) after the second world war and the united Germany after 1989 developed a serious and indepth culture of remembrance, which of course can and should be further developed and strengthened, but which in relation to other countries can well serve as a solid basis for keeping sensitive towards the catastrophic consequences of these dictatorships. Berlin is home to many elements of the German “mechanism of remembrance”.

European Intercultural Festival: Competition on EU-Belarus Policy Proposals Has Started

As a part of the European Intercultural Festival 2013, Office for a Democratic Belarus with its partners organises a competition for proposals on how to improve cooperation between the European Union and Belarus. The organisers hope to collect concrete proposals from the Belarusian public on the best ways to develop EU-Belarus relations in the future. The best proposals will be published and handed over to experts working on EU projects for possible realisation. The finalists will be chosen by an international jury consisting of representatives of organising institutions and leading international research centres on European politics.  The winner will receive an electronic book reader and the first and second runner ups will also be awarded memorable prices.