CDN News

Call for the Additional Prep Team members of the Work Plan “We are the future, but we are here NOW!”

CDN News, Educational Activities, Member Organizations

Cooperation and Development Network (CDN) is announcing an open call for members of preparatory team (prep-team) for the second international activity of the Work Plan “We are the future, but we are here NOW!”  which will take place on 8-12th of June 2022 in Riga, Latvia. More information on the project you can find here. Please, read this information carefully before applying.

If you are young person from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,  Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo*,  Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey or Ukraine and you are interested in the topic of the event, you are more than welcome to apply to volunteer as a member of this preparatory team. Prep-team members should speak English, be available during the preparation periods, be responsible about fulfilling their tasks, have good organisational skills, be good team players and committed to the aims of the project and CDN’s values and be familiar with non-formal education methods. See the preliminary agenda of event to get acquainted with the amount of sessions that will be developed.

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Open call for Participants: International Activity “Why to participate”

CDN News, Educational Activities, Member Organizations

Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe is announcing a call for Participants for the international activity “Why to participate”.

The meeting will take place between 11-16th April in Skopje, North Macedonia (10th and 17th are travel dates to and from Skopje).

The project is the first phase of our annual work plan “We are the future, but we are here NOW!” and is going to focus on the providing participants with knowledge of the importance of youth participation.

This activity aims to:

  1. Discover the history and function of nation-states in order to understand the current state of affairs in the Eastern Europe;
  2. Provide a space for participants to understand how their countries function;
  3. Understanding the big diversity of roles of, and connections between each citizen in a democracy;
  4. Discussing diverse ways of affecting the policy-making in the Eastern Europe, by exploring worldwide practices.
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Call for Amendments to CDN Documents

Activities, CDN News, General Assembly, News, Organisational Activities, Organization

CDN is opening a call for amendments to the statutory and general documents of CDN for the upcoming General Assembly.

To work on the documents, read and make amendments, table resolutions, etc. we will be using our GA website.


All technical instructions are given on our GA website but you can also access them HERE.

Who can submit amendments and resolutions:

According to our IRPs amendments and resolutions can be tabled by: Member and Partner Organisations, as well as Working Groups.

Deadline

According to our IRPs, the amendments can be submitted until the voting on that
certain motion, however, it is highly advised not to use this as a deadline and submit them as early as possible.

We would kindly ask you to table resolutions and amendments by Monday, February 28, 23:59, so that other delegates can timely discuss them with their organisations and EC can adjust the draft agenda accordingly.

Call for Executive Committee Candidates 2022

Activities, CDN News, General Assembly, News, Organisational Activities, Organization

Dear Young Greens from Eastern Europe,

 

CDN is looking for Executive Committee Candidates for the mandate 2022-23. This is your chance to contribute to the growing Green movement in Eastern Europe.

The presentation of candidates and election of the new Executive Committee will take place at the CDN General Assembly that will take place 12-13th March 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The Executive Committee tasks:

  • Work on the implementation of CDN’s Activity Plan, approved by the General Assembly (including project writing, coordination, implementation and reporting);
  • Maintaining close and continuous communication with CDN Member and Partner
    Organisations and Network Partners;
  • Actively following and supporting the smooth work-flow of the Working Groups;
  • Representing and promoting CDN during its and partners’ activities as well as in the digital
    space;
  • Answering challenges and making decisions throughout the year, between GAs, based on the CDN Strategy and CDN’s best interest;
  • Actively participating in the regular (biweekly) EC meetings (that usually last around 2h).
  • Keeping track of the well-being of CDN’s Office.


The candidate for the Executive Committee should:

  • Be motivated to advance the Green movement in Eastern Europe;
  • Be dedicated to the goals of CDN, subscribe its political platform and the Green Ideas;
  • Be comfortable working in an international environment and have good communication and organisational skills;
  • Be willing and available for active online engagement throughout the 1 year mandate;
  • Be prepared for frequent travelling (if Covid-restrictions allow), participating in the live EC meetings, CDN activities and likely several other occasions;
  • Be regularly available on the e-mail for the ongoing discussions, work and decision making, together with regular online conferences;
  • Have a good command of English (written and spoken);
  • Have the interest to follow political developments in Eastern Europe and react to them with available tools such as producing statements, organising and supporting campaigns, assisting member and partner organisations, communicating with other Green stakeholders, etc.


More details about the responsibilities of CDN EC members and the election procedure can be found in the CDN Statutes and Internal Rules of Procedures. If elected, candidates are asked to stay for the transfer meeting with the current EC and the first EC meeting. Departure day for EC Candidates is the 17th of March. CDN will cover the costs of accommodation for all Candidates, no matter if they are elected or not.


The candidate should submit:

  • Filled Application form (access here);
  • Candidate’s CV;
  • Photo (Optional);
  • Introduction to your candidacy;
  • Official letter of support from a Candidate’s organisation or any CDN Member or Partner organisation*


*Only CDN Member and Partner organisations can nominate a candidate for the Executive Committee.

 

Applications can be submitted HERE.


All technical instructions are given on our GA website but you can also access them HERE.


DEADLINE for submitting candidacies is February 25, 23:59 CET. However, the earlier you apply the more chance delegates will have to see your candidacy on cdn.discuss.green.

NOTE: In addition to the candidacy related documents, each Executive Committee candidate needs to fill in the REGISTRATION FORM for GA attendees as well.

In case of any questions do not hesitate to write to office@cdnee.org.

Call for new Member/Partner/Observer Organisations

Activities, CDN News, General Assembly, News, Organisational Activities, Organization

Dear young Greens and activists,

We would like to announce a call for the new Member, Partner and Observer Organisations which are going to be decided upon by the upcoming General Assembly in Georgia from 12-13th of March 2022.

According to CDN Statutes, an organisation of young people with Green values, based in a country that hadn’t been a member of the European Union prior to the 1st January 2007 can apply to be a Member Organisation of CDN. Organisations not fitting in the prior criteria can apply as Partner or Observer Organisations (see CDN Statutes and IRPs for more information on the profile of MOs, POs and OOs).

More information about CDN, our principles, our documents, work in the past and our plans can be found on the CDN website. Linked you can find CDN Statutes, Internal Rules and Procedures and Political Platform.

In order to apply, the organisation must submit:

  • Filled in the Application form (access here)
  • Logo of the organisation in JPG/PNG format
  • Statutes of the organisation in English
  • Copy of legal act of registration of the organisation (if applicable)


Also, if there are any other relevant documents (political platform, manifesto, statements, resolutions) in English that your organisation works accordingly to, it should be submitted as well.

Applications can be submitted HERE.

All technical instructions are given on our GA website but you can also access them HERE.

DEADLINE for applying is February 25, 23:59 CET. However, we recommend you to apply earlier as delegates will have more time to see your application.

Each candidate organisation’s application will be reviewed by EC and a recommendation for the delegates will be written and presented during the GA.

Each Candidate Organisation will be given a chance to present their candidacy at the General Assembly. If the Candidate Organisation doesn’t have a representative at the GA, another way for the presentation of the candidacy will be ensured.

Unfortunately, CDN will not be able to cover the costs of the Candidate Organisation’s representatives at the GA. CDN can book the accommodation and meals for representative(s) for the price of 35 EUR per day per person. For this arrangement, please get in touch with office.assistant@cdnee.org latest by the 25th of February.

Regardless of the date the applications are submitted, each Candidate Organisation’s representative needs to fill in this FORM in order to register for attending the GA in person.

In case of any questions don’t hesitate to write to office@cdnee.org

Meet the New Network Coordinator of CDN

CDN News, News

We are thrilled to announce that Giorgi Ptskialadze will join CDN Secretariat as the Network Coordinator starting from February 2022.

Giorgi has been a part of the green political family for over four years now; first, he joined Young Greens in Georgia in 2018 where he became a spokesperson and contributed to the growth and revitalisation of the organisation. And from 2020 until 2021 he was working as a Secretary General of Mtsvaneebi – a movement founded by Young Greens to expand its membership and include people of all ages.

Meantime, Giorgi has also been active in CDN and was part of the Executive Committee for two terms – from March 2020 and reelected in April 2021.

His main interests and political engagements are party politics, democracy and international affairs as well as climate and environmental protection.

We welcome Giorgi to our diverse team and wish him an exciting and fruitful experience in strengthening the Green movement in Eastern Europe.

CDN Solidarity With Ukraine Statement

CDN News, News

Recent developments, actions and statements by the Russian Federation regarding Ukraine and other Eastern European nations are alarming.

During the last several months, the size of the Russian Military near the Ukrainian border has been largely increased. The build-up of forces has been accompanied by alarming rhetoric regarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. The situation has been escalated much leading to a possibility of an armed invasion.

The latter cannot be excluded as we have already seen many cases of the Russian Federation’s military aggression towards its neighbours, namely the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and support of terrorist organisations in the Donbas region of Ukraine, as well as aggression towards Moldova in 1992 and Georgia in 1992-93 and 2008.

It is worth mentioning Russia’s constant interference in Ukraine’s internal and foreign policies, support for local propaganda media and the spread of misinformation and fake news, and defamation campaigns against the pro-Ukrainian movement in general. The same is true for other Eastern European countries.

Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia released a statement in which they demanded that NATO should stop eastwards expansion, abort the decision of the Bucharest summit regarding the membership of Ukraine and Georgia and thus deny their accession.

Eastern Europe is not the backyard of Russia. States have a right to decide which organisation and alliance they want to join. Therefore, Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, are independent states where a clear majority of citizens supports joining the EU and NATO, thus Russian interference is unlawful and unacceptable – the concept of “spheres of influence” has no place in today’s world.

We should also emphasise the importance and the responsibility of Western countries. During the last decades, we have seen a very soft and naive attitude towards the authoritarian government of Russia, which apart from exercising bellicose foreign policy and oppressing human rights within its borders, also supports anti-democratic forces all around Europe and the world. Turning a blind eye to Russia’s aggressive and anti-democratic actions threatens not only the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and other Eastern European countries but also the political and economic stability of other states around the world.

Therefore, we believe that the EU, NATO and other actors should do everything within their powers – more than words and statements – to not allow Russian intervention in Ukraine. Moreover, with Budapest Memorandum Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and accessed the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in reciprocating for its security assurances of territorial integrity and independence signed by the UK, USA, France and Russia too. Consequently, mentioned countries have a responsibility to act in accordance with the memorandum and protect Ukraine from Russian aggression.

Nonviolence is at the heart of Green politics, as we condemn all types of violent confrontations and favour conflict resolution by peaceful means. However, the subject of negotiations cannot be independence and sovereignty or the territorial integrity of a country.

We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and condemn Russian aggression.

CDN EC & Secretariat

Call for Delegates and Guests of CDN GA 2022 and Accompanying Events

Activities, CDN News, News, Organisational Activities

Dear Member, Partner, Observer Organizations and friends,

We are happy to officially invite you to the 13th General Assembly of Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe, which will take place between 12-13 March 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

We invite you to nominate your delegates to the General Assembly (GA) which is the highest decision-making body of CDN. Every Member and Partner Organization has a right to nominate two delegates and Observer Organization has a right to nominate one delegate to the General Assembly. Other representatives of Member, Partner and Observer organizations are invited as Guests. Other guests (members of the WGs, CDN partners and funders and representatives of other Green organisations in Europe and wider) are also welcomed to join the GA.

Note: We strongly encourage you to follow the good practice of having one experienced delegate (preferably, someone who has been to previous GAs) and one less experienced delegate (to ensure transfer of knowledge).

 

Prior to the GA, CDN will organise several other events, the main of which is a political conference on the Future of Eastern Europe (more information on the conference will follow very soon) on 10-11th of March. We hope that we see you all joining us for the conference too!

Please read the following FINANCIAL CONDITIONS and general information below very carefully, before you proceed with nominating and registering your delegates. The Financial Conditions includes all the important information regarding financial and reimbursement rules for all the attendees of the GA, no matter if they come as delegates, candidates, guests or in some other role.

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

We would kindly ask MOs, POs and OO to nominate and register delegates by filling in THIS FORM by 13th February 2022, midnight CET.

In order for CDN to be able to provide financial support for the delegates’ travel costs, the above-proposed deadlines shall apply. If the deadlines do not suit you, do not hesitate to write to us at office@cdnee.org and inform us about the possible time of a decision in your organisation related to the delegate(s).

NOTE: Registration form is not enough to register as a delegate! Delegates of MOs, POs and OOs need to be confirmed by their organisation. Therefore, an official email from your organisation’s email account should be sent to office@cdnee.org confirming the name(s) of your delegate(s).

WG members nominated by their WGs to attend the WG meeting (8-9th March) and GA should also register by filling in the same form by 13th February 2022, midnight CET.

​​​
Guests can register for the GA and the conference by filling in the same form by 19th February 2022, midnight CET, if they would like CDN to book the accommodation in the same venue (please, read Financial Conditions for clarification).

The delegates are expected to arrive at the venue in Tbilisi on 9th March 2022 in the evening (dinner will be provided) and depart on 14th of March in the morning (breakfast will be provided). In case of inability to attend the conference, delegates are expected on 11th of March in the evening (dinner will be provided).

WG members attending the WG meeting are expected to arrive on 7th March 2022 in the evening (dinner will be provided).

For any additional information regarding the financial arrangements, please get in touch with the Secretariat (office@cdnee.org).

Safety and COVID-19 measures


We understand that COVID-19 is not the past but rather a present with new variants and increased cases from time to time. Therefore, many countries including Georgia have Covid measures and entry requirements. In addition, we want to ensure everyone’s safety during the GA, with additional measures. Please, read the following text carefully prior to registering!

Regulations for crossing the Georgian Border:


Those coming by air shall present:

  • The document confirming the full course conduct (two doses, one dose in case of Johnson & Johnson) of any COVID-19 vaccination;
    or
  • Documents confirming recovery from the Covid-infection (confirmed positive PCR-test) during the last 100 days and one dose conduct of any vaccination listed by the WHO for emergency use. The sequence of infection and vaccination does not make difference, at least 14 days must be passed from the moment of vaccination.

Those coming by land shall present:

  • The document confirming the full course conduct (two doses, one dose in case of Johnson & Johnson) of any COVID-19 vaccination;
    or
  • Documents confirming recovery from the Covid-infection (confirmed positive PCR-test) during the last 100 days and one dose conduct of any vaccination listed by the WHO for emergency use. The sequence of infection and vaccination does not make difference, at least 14 days must be passed from the moment of vaccination.
    AND
  • The negative PCR test taken in the last 72 hours prior to the visit to Georgia

 

Therefore if you come by air you will just need a vaccine certificate, if you come by land if you will need both – a vaccine and PCR test taken within 72 hours.

 

Rules within Georgia:

  • Masks are mandatory:
    – Both in outdoor and indoor spaces
    – In Transport
  • Up until now, the Green Pass system has worked thus everyone entering cafes, hotels, halls or any other gathering place would be required to show their vaccine status. This has been lifted as mandatory however singular institutions might continue using it and only allow vaccinated people within their space.

 

Measures during the event:

  • Everyone shall be wearing N95 masks during the sessions (In case of absence, Masks could be provided by CDN);
  • The distance shall be kept between the participants;
  • Attendees are highly advised not to leave the accommodation and venue;
  • The meeting room shall be ventilated often and sanitisers will be provided by CDN;
  • In case of any COVID-19 symptoms the person shall be provided with quarantine, however, we strongly advise you to self-quarantine in the days prior to coming to the events in order to protect everyone.

 

Best wishes,

CDN Executive Committee and the Secretariat

CDN Statement on Vaccines

Activities, CDN News, News, Organisational Activities

CDNEE EC & Secretariat is fully vaccinated and even boosted!

Getting vaccinated is crucial to defeating the pandemic. Vaccines have proven their ability to end epidemics and make once deadly diseases a history through building collective immunity.

However, we are seeing that in many Eastern European countries vaccination rates are relatively low while vaccine hesitancy is high. This might be caused by many factors including lack of trust towards the state institutions, unavailability of quality information about vaccines and poorly organized vaccination processes.

At the same time populists and conspiracy theorists are capitalising on vaccine hesitancy, thus promoting themselves and dangerous ideas about vaccines, spreading hateful, violent politics even further.

Meanwhile, as we have the privilege to get the vaccines, there are people for whom vaccines are still not available. It is clear that we cannot end the pandemic with vaccine inequality and it is the responsibility of richer nations to distribute them and waive patents on vaccines.

Yes, it is first and foremost the state’s responsibility to carry out a vaccination campaign, but we see that they largely mismanage this crucial task. Therefore we as young people have a responsibility to encourage friends and family and people around us to get a vaccine, as well as to demand from our states the effective performance of its functions in the field of public health protection.

WHO has announced 2022 might be the last year of the pandemic – let’s make it real!

Get vaccinated and boosted and ask people around you to get vaccinated too.

CDN EC & Secretariat

Call for Feminists in the Environmental Movement: Activity Assistant

CDN News, Educational Activities, Working groups

CDN is opening the call for the activity assistant of one year long project “Feminists in the Environmental Movement” on Gender and Climate. You can find more information about the project here.

This is a paid, part-time, home office based position, starting from the mid February 2022.

Working time: average of 4 hours/week, flexible working hours (some activities might take place during weekends)
Remuneration: 1700 EUR, for the whole length of the project.
 

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