Both ENDS
Small grants are a relatively new phenomenon, especially when they are fundraised and managed by local foundations. Both ENDS promotes small grants funds such as CASA, as they are able to cater directly to the demands and needs of local organisations that stay invisible for international donors and private foundations. For an example of the impressive reach and effectiveness of small grants, please check out CASA's first Five Year Report
Within the context of the upcoming G-20 summit in the United States, Both ENDS, SOMO, Tax Justice and Oxfam Novib wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Balkenende. On September 24-25 he will represent the Netherlands in meetings with nineteen world leaders and heads of international financial institutions about combating the global crisis.
October 10th the fifth board meeting of the Green Climate Fund took place, this time in Paris. The Green Climate Fund is an international fund set up and commissioned by the United Nations in order to help developing countries combatting the negative effects of climate change. Possibly, developing countries are granted with an amount of $100 billion a year! Although the financial support is very promising, opinions differ widely on how that money should be spent. Therefore Anouk Franck and Annelieke Duma of Both ENDS attended, along with Titi Soentoro of the Indonesian organization Aksi! and Jorge Daneri of M'Bigua from Argentina, to make sure that the money gets where it is most needed.
It's October, time for the annual meeting of the World Bank in Washington DC in which the annual results and future plans will be presented to the outside world. It also gives NGOs from all over the world an oppotunity to talk with World Bank’s administrators and relevant staff on future policies. Pieter Jansen of Both ENDS travelled to Washington together with three representatives of local organisations in the South: Yu Chen of Green Watershed from China, Mayra Tenjo of ILSA from Colombia and Ram Wangkheirakpam of NEPA from India. Their main purpose is to highlight the importance of social- and environmental requirements that the investments of the World Bank should meet, the so-called 'safeguards'.
The Government of Ecuador offered a petition to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations on September 13th. In this petition, which was signed by Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, the African Group and the Arab Group, Ecuador stresses the need for binding international regulation for transnational corporations. This action is warmly welcomed and supported by more than 100 social movements and civil society organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of workers, farmers and members of indigenous communities. Both ENDS strongly supports this action and our colleague Lieke Ruijmschoot explains why.
The 17th session of the Commission for Sustainable Development of the United Nations (UNCSD) took place in New York in May. This session, which commenced last year, was continued by Gerda Verburg, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. The subjects on the agenda at this 17th session were Africa, Agriculture, Drought & Desertification, Rural Development and Land. Both ENDS was present in New York to follow the negotiations.
Friday the 3rd of July Both ENDS facilitates a CERES Summer School workshop on the Impact and Drivers of Biofuel Production. Session 1 from 10.00-12.00h and session 2 13.30 - 15.30h are held at the Spinoza Building of the Radboud University in Nijmegen.
EU Agriculture Ministers have been officially briefed by the Hungarian Presidency on the outcome of a 3-day conference on how the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can promote sustainable animal husbandry. The conference was organized with the support of Both ENDS by a consortium of European NGO's & Fair Trade organizations. 80 Civil Society representatives from 15 European countries were brought together to Debrecen (Hungary) to discuss how the future Common Agricultural Policy can contribute to a sustainable animal husbandry sector in Europe.
