At the invitation of WINGS and the European Union, the executive director of Rede Comu\u00e1, Graciela Hopstein, participated in the EU-Latin America and the Caribbean Forum: Partners in Change. on July 13, as a speaker at the thematic panel \u201cCivic space, human rights and democracy: how to strengthen civic spaces?\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Participating in the debate were In\u00e9s Poussadela, from CIVICUS (Uruguay), Cecilia Olea, from the Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Trist\u00e1n (Peru), Manfredo Marroqu\u00edn, from Acci\u00f3n Ciudadana (Guatemala) and Irene Oostveen, from the Dutch Association of Municipalities (Holland).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Forum included the participation of young people, civil society and local authorities, gathered in Brussels on the 13th and 14th of July, and aimed to promote exchange and debate opportunities to build a sustainable and inclusive future for the European Union and Latin America and Caribbean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the recommendations that were the starting point for the table on civic space, human rights and democracy were: strengthening democratic governance and participation; protecting human rights defenders and promoting an enabling environment for people to exercise their right to defend human rights (including the rights of association and protest); support open dialogue to make civic space a reality for citizens; right to access resources and operate without restrictions and retaliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The milestone of the event was the European Union's Global Gatway initiative, which aims to reduce the global investment gap around the world, in agreement with G7 leaders, in transparent infrastructure partnerships, aimed at meeting global development and infrastructure. Aligned with the UN Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement, the initiative seeks to establish sustainable and reliable connections that help address the most pressing global challenges, from combating climate change to improving healthcare systems and increasing competitiveness. and security of global supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the Forum, financing lines between the European Union and Latin America were announced. And recommendations were prepared for closer cooperation between non-state actors and youth organizations, presented to the EU-CELAC Summit (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) \u2013 a regional intergovernmental bloc that brings together 33 countries and whose objective is to expand regional integration and contribute to solving common problems \u2013 which also took place in Brussels, on the 17th and 18th of July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The executive director of Rede Comu\u00e1 talks a little more about participation and results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What were the main themes and debates within the Forum?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The main themes covered in several panels revolved around issues such as youth, partnerships and engagement in the agendas of the European Union and Latin America; local governance and decentralization processes; education, development and access to technology; civic space, human rights, social justice and democracy; gender equality and caring societies; culture and diversity; green transition and sustainability; migrations. Agendas that dialogue and are aligned with the agendas of Rede Comu\u00e1 and its member organizations that focus on social justice and human rights, and that were addressed with a view to building guidelines and recommendations in the context of cooperation agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A central discussion to all these themes was that of localization, which places local actors at the center of the humanitarian and human rights agenda, transferring ownership of projects and initiatives from international actors to local ones. This discussion is central to Comu\u00e1, not only because it is aligned with the agendas and principles of community philanthropy, but because it opens up the possibility of dialogue with funding sources concerned about the fact that international resources do not have capillarity and do not reach where they need to go. to arrive. And the members of the Network can certainly contribute to this distribution, given their ability to coordinate with CSOs, movements and territorial and civil society networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How can philanthropy contribute to the advancement of CELAC in relation to fairer and more inclusive economic and social development?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think that with the localization agenda and the interest of European cooperation in investing in Latin America, a window of opportunities opens for independent philanthropy of social justice, highlighting: the leading role of this philanthropy in facing adverse contexts and particularly of investment funds social justice, community and territorial areas to support civil society with a focus on socio-environmental justice, human rights and community development agendas, with political minorities as a priority audience. In this scenario, community philanthropy could play a strategic role in building support lines based on the needs\/demands of civil society (CSOs, movements, groups); in the capillarization\/distribution of resources reaching the bases and in trust\/flexibility as principles of action for donations (concessions); highlighting its role in strengthening civil society and democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are resources available, and one of the biggest challenges seems to be promoting their capillarity, so that they reach the grassroots. How can organizations like Rede Comu\u00e1 contribute in this direction?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, there are significant resources, and the challenge lies in the distribution and democratization of access to these resources. This is a central discussion, including in the context of international cooperation. Humanitarian aid, for example, does not reach those who need it and, in fact, only a very small percentage is used. Rede Comu\u00e1 and its members can offer a solution to this problem because one of the fundamental characteristics of its work is to make resources reach the grassroots, communities, political minorities, through partnerships with civil society organizations, groups and movements. The Network and its members can build these bridges between cooperation and local actors. The big challenge is to show that we exist and that we have solid work, with management capacity and an infrastructure capable of dealing with these problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n