CCCRTE

King Baudouin Foundation backs an eclectic mix of small projects

by Guus Meijer

This is a short report on a programme in which I have been involved as one of the external "experts" for some of the seminars. The programme's lengthy title -- Programme for the Improvement of Inter-Ethnic Relations in Mixed Regions of Central and Eastern Europe -- competes with the Coordinating Committee for Conflict Resolution Training in Europe's extended label, but, as far as I know, there are no organisational links with work associated with the CCCRTE. Since the subject matter clearly overlaps, however, it might be of interest to CCCRTE Newsletter readers.

The programme is one of the few international activities of the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) in Brussels, which primarily supports social and cultural projects in Belgium. At the beginning of 1996, the KBF issued a call for projects in nine Eastern and Central European countries, with the help and active participation of the local Soros Foundations. The projects had to be local, short-term and small-scale, and preferably implemented by, or with, strong involvement of minority organisations. More than 25 projects in seven countries (Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia and Romania) were selected for funding to a maximum of $5,000 US per project, with an additional $3,335 US from the Soros Foundation. Besides these grants, the programme consisted of three meetings or seminars for representatives of the projects, and some case studies to identify examples of "good practice" in a given area of work.

The projects were grouped into four categories labelled: Media; Education; Culture and Youth; and Training and Research (conflict management and resolution, mediation techniques), respectively. They involved a wide variety of activities, ranging from the setting up of a bilingual radio station, or supporting a school for minority children, to the organisation of summer camps or cultural festivals. In June 1996, the representatives of the Media and Training and Research projects were invited to Cluj, Romania, to discuss the progress of their work and the obstacles they were encountering, and to foster contacts amongst each other. A week later, the same was done for the Education and Culture and Youth projects, this time in Warsaw.

As the projects were rather small and short-term (although with a view towards long-term impact), they were to be completed by the autumn, and at the end of October a final meeting was organised in Budapest. At the request of the people present at the previous meetings, short training sessions were provided on Project Management, on Sponsorship and Fundraising, and on Public Relations and Media. The thematic groups also met again, to share their achievements and discuss further plans. The group on Training and Research (conflict management and resolution, mediation techniques), for which I was responsible in Cluj and Budapest, was probably the most heterogeneous one to start with and also continued to shift considerably in terms of its composition. Some of the projects in other groups had elements of training and not all training (or research, for that matter) in "my" group was unequivocally about conflict management or mediation. The projects in the other thematic groups seemed to have more in common, which made the respective meetings potentially more productive and networking more likely.

Despite shortcomings in its design and implementation, I think the KBF should be congratulated on this initiative, which has several interesting and positive features, in comparison with other schemes operating in Central and Eastern Europe. The relatively low ceiling for grants makes it attractive and accessible for organisations and groups which, because of their size and often low degree of institutionalisation, cannot easily get access to larger funders, such as the European Union or the Council of Europe. The active involvement of the local Soros Foundations in both the selection of the projects, their co-funding and the organisation of the regional seminars seems to be a good example of forging partnerships. Most importantly, the combination of grant-making and other forms of support (networking meetings, training) is attractive and seems to work quite well -- although the combination of grant-maker and provider of other forms support in one foundation (in this case, the partnership between KBF and Soros) could theoretically put some strain on the relationship between the partners. What I mean is that financial "dependency" can create a different dynamic and is inherently more unequal than a partnership involving substantive support, advice and networking.

On the negative side, it was surely inevitable that some projects selected didn't seem to have the necessary quality -- clarity of conception and purpose, balance between means and ends, organisational capacity, and the like -- to really make a contribution to the improvement of inter-ethnic relations. Some projects seemed to be driven by youthful enthusiasm, or by good intentions alone, without sufficient understanding of the complexities and potential pitfalls involved. Generally, I felt a lack of critical reflection on these issues, but I am sure that will come with time and maybe it could be one of the longer-term objectives of the programme.

The KBF itself needs to build up its expertise and its network of consultants from within the region and from outside who can help increase the effectiveness of the individual projects and of the programme as a whole. In my view a balance has to be struck between the involvement of local experts and that of relative outsiders, particularly in the selection phase. Competition and rivalry between different NGOs and local organisations is not less common in Central and Eastern Europe than it is in other parts of the world, and the programme sometimes has to find its way through such "political" mine fields. It also has to find the right balance between the needs of project holders and what it offers in the form of non-financial support and when.

Together with its Soros partners the KBF is currently in the middle of the next round of project support, basically following the same approach as in 1996. The number of countries is being increased, possibly to 16 or 18 (the existing ones, plus Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Latvia, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro and Slovenia, while the inclusion of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia is still under discussion). The number of projects will greatly increase as well, since the aim is to have at least five projects per country, but the maximum grant per project remains the same.Currently, two seminars are being envisaged for all representatives of the projects selected, the first one in October 1997 and the second in February 1998. Projects or groups who were part of the programme in 1996 can apply again. More time and attention is being given to the application and selection phase and the local Soros Foundations have all appointed somebody to help groups with their applications.

For more information, contact: Jan Balliu, Programme Officer, King Baudouin Foundation, Rue Brederodestraat 21, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32-2-511 1840. Fax: +32-2-511 5221.

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