| Note
from Paresh Tewary, Chief Executive Officer, VANI
Civil
Society at large and members of VANI have always believed
that Governments need to have interaction with people and
be directed by consultative thought processes. For, governments
wanting to do the right things get hampered in doing them
without the active support of people. Civil society always
wants to engage the governments so that governments have clear
standards of governance with respect to what is non-negotiable
and how these standards are implemented in case of violations.
It wants to see that instead of resources only flowing in
for use of force, energies and resources address the conditions
that lead to the situations requiring use of force.
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VANI
NEWS:
VANI’s
Annual National Convention 2008: Peace Building, Conflict
Resolution and Role of CSOs; 26-27 September, 2008; Shillong,
Meghalaya
VANI’s
National Convention was inaugurated by the Chief Guest, His
Excellency, Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, Governor of Meghalaya.
The focus of the discussions during the convention was on
improving understanding of conflicts and building capacities
for peace-building and conflict resolution through advocacy
and partnerships. There was a special focus on and participation
from all the states in the north-eastern region. The convention
was attended by around 300 participants.
This convention sought to provide a platform for community
members, peace practitioners, academicians, and policy makers
to share knowledge, experiences and ideas on peace building
and conflict resolution. It also tried to bring about a deeper
understanding of conflict at the local, regional, and national
level and to explore critical factors and pre-requisites for
the effectiveness of civil society interventions.
Annual
General Body Meeting (AGBM); 26th September, 2008; Shillong,
Meghalaya
VANI’s
Annual General Body Meeting chaired by Dr. Jacob Thundyil
was attended by its members and board members. The issues
that had been put forth for discussion were: Approval of Minutes
of the Last General Body Meeting; Approval of the Annual Report;
Approval of the Audited Statement of Accounts; Report of Nomination
of Working Committee Members; Presentation on VANI Strategic
Plan & Review by the Consultants.
Workshop
on Good Governance in Civil Society Organisations; 24 - 25
September, 2008; Shillong, Meghalaya
VANI
organised a Regional Workshop in Good Governance in Civil
Society Organisations, in association with Irish Aid. The
objective of the workshop was to orient, sensitise and motivate
members of Civil Society Organisations to follow prescribed
norms and good practices of Governance and Management. The
workshop was attended by around 100 participants from the
North-East Region of India.
The
workshop sought to promote issues of Good Governance among
its members /non members. The content of the workshop focussed
on Ethics in CSO Governance; The Board and Governing Body
; Accounts and Accounting Procedures ; Adherence to Legislations
/ Statutory Compliance; Programme Accountability; Gender Mainstreaming;
Role of media in promoting Good Governance.
International
Peer Learning Event: Building Civil Society Together: Tools,
Strategies, and Resources: For Associations of Civil Society
Organizations; Washington DC, USA; 3-5 September, 2008
VANI
participated in ‘The International Peer Learning’
event that brought together policy experts, practitioners
and CSO managers from eight countries around the world (India,
Israel, Philippines, England, Cambodia, Australia, China and
Zimbabwe) to discuss issues and challenges regarding CSO effectiveness.
The main issues discussed during the event were: Strategies
for collaboration within the Nonprofit Community; managing
relationships and collaborating with Government, business,
and multilateral Bodies; Collaborating to develop standards
of accountability.
Seminar
on Good Governance and Networking for Social Development:
The Indian and Philippine Experience; Quezon City, Philippines;
20 & 21 August, 2008
VANI,
with CODE NGO, Philippines organised a workshop in Quezon
City, Philippines; on 20th and 21st August, 2008. The objectives
of the workshop were:
-
To gain mutual understanding of the NGO sector situations
in both countries, India and the Philippines, particularly
on issues related to networking and good governance.
-
To explore/identify common areas of interest concerning
good governance and accountability on which both countries
can continue to share and exchange information, experiences
and lessons or work together on common projects.
-
To develop an understanding of the basis to work jointly
to voice the local developmental mandates in the global
arena. Workshop Agenda.
The
UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy: Raising Awareness And
Exploring The Role For Civil Society In Contributing To Its
Implementation; 21-22 July, 2008
VANI
participated in the meeting at UN Plaza New York, exploring
the role that Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) can play
in implementing the UN Strategy. Convened by Center on Global
Counter Terrorism Cooperation and sponsored by Governments
of Sweden and Germany the workshop had representatives from
around the world and different parts of the UN system. All
contributed their rich experience and inputs.This meeting
was convened under the Chatham House Rules. Perspective
of Paresh Tewary (CEO, VANI). Read
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State
Consultation on National Policy on Voluntary Sector, Guwahati,
Assam; 2-3 July, 2008
VANI
organized a state level consultation on National Policy on
the Voluntary Sector on 2nd & 3rd July 2008 at Guwahati
in association with CASA, Assam. Ms. Bondita Acharya of Indo
Global Social Service Society gave the welcome address. There
were 30 NGOs representatives from different locations of the
state who attended this meeting & dwelt upon their views.
Read
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CIVICUS
World Assembly, Glasgow, Scotland; 17-19 June, 2008
At
the CIVICUS World Assembly, participants from National Associations
around the world got together to discuss and analyse modes
and mechanisms of engagement with all tiers of Government.
The assembly was an attempt to scope the various forms of
relations between governments and national associations and
to identify internal capacity needs as well as suggesting
guidelines and recommendations aimed at improving the terms
of engagement between national associations and governments.
VANI represented India in this assembly.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
-
Workshop on National Policy on the Voluntary Sector in
Punjab- November
- Pre-Budget
meeting- November
-
Workshop on Accountability in association with One World
Trust- November
-
Regional Workshop on Good Governance in association with
Irish Aid- Orissa- December
-
Workshop on National Policy in the Voluntary Sector in
Tamil Nadu- December
(Tentative
and subject to change)
Website
Pick of the Month:
Toxics
Link is an environmental NGO, dedicated to bring toxics
related information into the public domain, both relating
to struggles and problems at the grassroots as well as
global information to the local levels. It shares information
about the sources and dangers of poisons in our environment
and bodies, as well as about clean and sustainable alternatives
for India and the rest of the world.
http://www.toxicslink.org
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