Social Justice and Human Rights Panel

Download presentations from below:

Civil Society Response to Trafficking in Georgia - Teona Kupunia

Consolidating Social NGOs in Moldova - Antonita Fonari

Developing and Piloting a Child Protection Referral System - Teona Aslanishvili

Social Policy and Civil Participation - Kenan Aslanli

The NGOs and the Labor Market - Rodica Novac

UNHCR Romania - Florentina Covaliu

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Is there a social reality that embraces the whole Black Sea region? Most often the social dimension in the Black Sea region comes last on the political agenda, after security concerns and economic interests. Therefore the question is who speaks for the poor, for those vulnerable or excluded?
 
Poverty, in different degrees, is surely part of the social reality in the Black Sea region. Systemic features inherited from the past political regimes, as well as current challenges, affect in a very similar way most of the countries in the region: the systems of child protection and children’s rights, migration with all its positive and negative facets (ex. trafficking, children left behind), employment and labor market, creation and redistribution of national wealth.
 
Many solutions came through the involvement of NGOs, which developed various responses to the problems of the people in need. In some of the countries NGOs started as service providers (sometimes with financial and technical support from abroad) and gradually moved to advocating and promoting policy change in the social field. Good experience and practices in this respect can be exchanged in this panel.
 
 
By discussing the social dimension of the Black Sea region, the panel was planned to raise questions such as:
 
•    What is the role of civil society: mere provision of social services or advocating for change at local, national and regional level?
 
•    How can NGOs optimize  citizens’ and governments’ engagement?
 
•    Can we and are we interested to give a regional scope to our projects and success stories?
 
•    What has been the response of civil society to issues pertaining to the whole region?
 
•    How can NGOs act to tackle regional issues?
 
•    Who are our partners and allies?

 
Proposed objectives of the panel:
 
1.    Participants to be exposed to good practices and initiatives at regional and national level that can be replicated at regional level;
 
2.    Identification of priority areas for NGO cooperation (e.g. advocacy, child protection, health, migration, employment);
 
3.    Discuss social policies in the Black Sea region;
 
4.    Ponder the role of civil society in influencing the regional social agenda and national social policies in the Black Sea countries.