REC hosts 47 activists in Budapest

At a conference in Budapest, NGO activists try to understand why they aren't cooperating.

No matter how hard you try to answer them, some questions just won't go away: Why don't environmental NGOs cooperate with each other? What should their priorities be? What kind of information do NGOs need? What can the Regional Environmental Center do to help them?

The REC invited 47 environmental activists representing 29 NGOs from 11 countries to discuss these issues in Budapest last December. The activists consisted of two groups. One group included 31 winners of REC earmarked grants, which are grants usually between ECU 10,000 and 20,000 awarded to larger NGOs. The second group was composed of 16 former junior fellows, young environmentalists who had spent one month training at the REC.

This was the first time the REC had ever organized such a conference, and it was also one of the REC's most successful actions in promoting cooperation.

Out of five working groups scheduled for the afternoon, three focused on cooperation: the theory and practice of cooperation between NGOs, business, and government. The REC needs to understand the results of these workshops because an important part of its mission is "to promote cooperation in environmental decision making." Up to now, out of 51 awarded earmarked grants, "not a single grant involved cooperation in terms of distributing duties and responsibilities for the project," explained Ferenc Feher, the earmarked grants team leader. Why not? This was for the environmentalists at the workshop to explain.

The most serious obstacle, according to the participants, is that many groups do not understand how cooperating with others will help them; the benefits of cooperation are unclear. A second reason is that suitable partners are difficult to find because NGOs are at different stages of development, working on different topics, and using different approaches in their work. Building bridges across all these differences is a challenge. Third, most partnerships are born at meetings, like this one in Budapest. But finding and keeping contacts requires more effort and energy (people, money) than what is available to most grassroots organizations. Paying for telephone calls and faxes or going to meetings, for instance, can be quite expensive, and well-developed NGOs are often the only ones who can afford those costs, according to Alexander Juras who is responsible for the REC's local offices and who helped organize the Budapest conference.

Highlights from the working groups

Cooperation Among NGOs in the Region:

No cooperation. Cooperation among Central and Eastern European NGOs is rare. Except for occasional joint actions on transboundary pollution problems and passive information exchange among NGOs working on similar projects, NGOs in the Region do not cooperate. NGOs are unsure why cooperation can be helpful, and there is insufficient personal contact to establish lasting partnerships.

Cooperation Between Governments, NGOs, and Businesses

Different objectives. NGOs are concerned with the value of the environment itself, government is concerned with social welfare and health, and business wants a green image to boost profits. But cooperation is still possible, although each side must be sure it will gain from the partnership.

Information Needs of NGOs

Training, not books. NGOs need information on past projects (what worked and what failed), training and educational opportunities, project management, organization management, and funding sources. Direct training workshops are usually more effective than how-to manuals.

Possibilities for the REC

Cooperation and Information. The REC could be more active in helping NGOs find partners (through meetings) and could even make cooperation a prerequisite for funding. The REC, especially the local offices, could also be more active in collecting and disseminating information. The REC could help setup e-mail networks. (Many of the recommendations are already being planned.)

For more information...
A more detailed package is available from the Information Exchange Team.

THE BULLETIN * WINTER 1994