The paper “Black Sea NGO Regional Networks: Challenges, Opportunities and Models of Engagement”, written by Mirela Oprea, ChilPact Secretary General and Cristina Negoiescu, ChildPact Project Assistant, argues that the creation of civil society networks is the best way to generate innovation and accomplish social change.
The article presents existing challenges to network formation in the region, but also underlines opportunities of which civil society must take advantage. In spite of the relatively low “regional awareness”, the weakeness of civil society, the scarce knowlegde about regional stakeholders and the low level of cooperation, there is a high level of support comming from new EU members states and a growing network of young professionals in the Black Sea Region.
At the end of the paper, the ChildPact initiative is presented as a model of engagement, based on three innovative aspects: collaboration with regional bodies and initiatives (BSEC, PABSEC, ICBSS, the Black Sea Young Reformers Fellowship Program); strategic investment; and reaching out to a wide range of regional, national and European actors.
Read the entire paper at: http://www.childpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Black-Sea-NGO-Regional-Networks-Challenges-Opportunities-and-Models-of-Engagement.pdf
