Today the EU Council meets as “the EU has called the Belarusian political leadership to participate in a genuine and inclusive dialogue with broader society to avoid further violence. The EU supports the Belarusian population in their desire for democratic change.” You can follow the video conference via this link.
We hope the outcomes will support the changes in Belarusian society now that the society experienced “a revolution in its mentality, a complete reboot of its thinking process,” as visual artist and writer Artur Klinaŭ had hoped for in his 2015 contribution to our Another Europe book.
Civitates: more grantee stories
Meet some of the CIVITATES grantees: Oana Preda of CeRe [Romania], Milan Sagat of VIA IURIS [Slovakia] and Veronika Móra of the Hungarian Civilization Coalition. CIVITATES is a philanthropic initiative for democracy and solidarity in Europe.
Read MoreCivitates: grantee stories
Civitates is a philanthropic initiative for democracy and solidarity in Europe. It provides funding for civil society actors to come together, revitalize public discourse, and ensure that all voices are heard. After all, we need a strong civil society to shape vibrant and open European democracies that work for all.
Read MoreA Time to Stand Together
Last week the Central European University in Budapest announced it would partially relocate to Vienna given the Hungarian government’s unyielding hostility to civil society and academic freedom. Around the world, civil society including academics, journalists and philanthropists, courageously pursue their mission, often at great personal cost.
We are a group of leaders of private philanthropic foundations committed to strong and vibrant civil society. A healthy, functioning democracy depends on it.
We condemn the violence directed to civil society activists globally. We deplore the growing climate of fear and intolerance in which civil society is publicly demonized, physically threatened and administratively shut down.
We stand side by side with our civil society peers.
Civil society is an essential pillar of democracy. Without it, our democracy is diminished.
We are proud to support it. We stand ready to defend it.
Signatories:
1. Max von Abendroth, Executive Director, Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe DAFNE, EU
2. Dr. Knut Olav Åmås, Executive Director, The Fritt Ord Foundation, Norway
3. Antti Arjava, Secretary General, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Finland
4. Andre Betting, Executive Director, Van Leer Group Foundation, the Netherlands
5. Göran Blomquist, Executive Director, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, Sweden
6. Sanne ten Bokkel Huinink, Director, Fonds 1818, the Netherlands
7. James Chen, Chair, the Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, Hong-Kong
8. Kathleen Cravero, President, Oak Foundation, Switzerland
9. Dr. Lothar Dittmer, Chairman of the Executive Board, Körber-Stiftung, Germany
10. Adriana Esmeijer, Director, Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation, the Netherlands
11. Michael Feigelson, Executive Director, Bernard Van Leer Foundation, the Netherlands
12. Rosa Gallego, Executive Director, Spanish Association of Foundations, Spain
13. Carrillo Gantner AO, Chairman, Sidney Myer Fund, Australia
14. Carl Gershman, President, National Endowment of Democracy, USA
15. Prof. dr. Michael Göring, Zeit Foundation, Germany
16. Sandro Giuliani, Managing Director, Jacobs Foundation, Switzerland
17. Stephen Heintz, President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, USA
18. Mall Hellam, Executive Director, Open Estonia Foundation, Estonia
19. Jenny Hodgson, Executive Director, Global Fund for Community Foundations, South Africa
20. Dr. Wilhelm Krull, Secretary General, Volkswagen Foundation, Germany
21. Massimo Lappuci, General Secretary Fondazione CRT, Italy
22. Peter Laugharn, President and CE, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, USA
23. Sara Llewellin, Chief Executive, Barrow Cadbury Trust, United Kingdom
24. Bharat Mehta CBE,Chief Executive,Trust for London, United Kingdom
25. Benoît Miribel, General Director, Fondation Merieux, France
26. Ieva Morica, Executive director, Foundation for an Open Society DOTS, Latvia
27. Isabel Mota, President, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Portugal
28. Anke Pätsch, Association of German Foundations, Germany
29. Joanna Luberadzka-Gruza, President, Polish Donors Forum, Poland
30. Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice-President of Programs, Ford Foundation, USA
31. Nick Perks, Trust Secretary, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, United Kingdom
32. Sigrid Rausing, President, Sigrid Rausing Trust, United Kingdom
33. Ebrima Sall, Executive Director, TrustAfrica, Senegal
34. Dr. Gerry Salole, CEO, European Foundation Center, Belgium
35. Göran Sandberg, Executive Director, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Sweden
36. Teresa Sanjurjo, Director, The Princess of Asturias Foundation, Spain
37. Prof. Dr. Andreas Schlüter, Secretary General, Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, Germany
38. Michael Schwarz, Executive Director, Mercator Foundation, Germany
39. Moira Sinclair, Chief Executive, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, United Kingdom
40. Aleksander Smolar, President, Stefan Batory Foundation, Poland
41. Dr. Rupert Graf Strachwitz, Executive Director, Maecenata Foundation, Germany
42. Luc Tayart de Borms, Managing Director, King Bauduoin Foundation, Belgium
43. Roxana Vitan, President, Romanian-American Foundation, Romania
44. Mr. Dimitris Vlastos, The Bodossaki Foundation, Greece
45. Katherine Watson, Executive Director, European Cultural Foundation, the Netherlands
Courageous Citizens. How Culture Contributes to Social Change
'Courageous Citizens' was published on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the ECF Princess Margriet Award for Culture. The book contains inspiring examples of artists and artists initiatives that have made a difference in their community (local, national and supra-national), texts by visionary thinkers, artists and writers and shows how ‘courageous citizens’ have contributed to positive social change in these fields.
Read MoreECF: arrest of Osman Kavala setback for cultural collaborations
We are deeply saddened and extremely worried about the recent developments around the arrest of our colleague and friend Osman Kavala, chairman of Anadolu Kültür in Istanbul.
Read MoreThe Art of Civil Action
A book exploring how arts and culture can offer the building blocks for a strong civil domain.
Read MoreBuild the City Magazine: a collection of evidence-based practices
ECF initiated Build the City to highlight innovative civil-public partnerships in broader Europe that have solved urban challenges. The 26 practices highlighted in this publication are civil-public partnerships based on principles of the commons, i.e. enabling citizens and governments to share power, co-design and co-shape legislation, management or collective action for the common good. Download a copy of the Build the City Magazine and join the conversation on ECF Labs.
Read MoreBuild the City Towards a Practice-Based Manifesto
On 25 February, we have launched our Build the City, Towards a Practice-Based Manifesto
during our Co-creating the City event at Pakhuis de Zwijger. Download your copy now and join the conversation on our dedicated Lab.