POLISH PRESIDENCY IN BALTIC SEA NGO FORUM NETWORK!
Dear Sir or Madam,
Representatives of Non-governmental Sector of the Baltic Sea Region states,
Baltic Sea Non-Governmental Organization Network Members,
Dear Colleagues,
As 1st July Poland took over the presidency in the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Therefore, according to the tradition, the host for the next years Baltic Sea NGO Forum will be Polish Focal Point for the Baltic Sea NGO Network. This position is held by the Regional Information and Support Centre for NGOs.
We are delighted that in less than a year we will welcome the representatives of the non-governmental organizations in Poland, in Gdańsk – home of the “Solidarity” movement, which is the symbol of freedom, cooperation in respect for the human dignity and human rights and system changes, that spread outside our country.
Possibility to meet with you in the heart of Pomerania region is even more important to us, as Pomeranian NGOs, including the Regional Information and Support Centre for NGOs, were the inventors and initiators for numerous innovative solutions introduced to the Polish non-governmental sector and actively participated in shaping the civil society in Poland.
During the XIV BS NGO Forum we would like to concentrate mainly on social economy issues as the solution to many societal problems, with particular impact on youth problems. Together with our guests we would like to also focus on the role of non-governmental sector as initiator for social innovation and concept of multilevel governance.
We will keep you informed about the details of our proposition for the Forum themes and panels, and in the meantime we would like to introduce you our coordinating team for the XIV BS NGO Forum and other events related to the presidency in BS NGO Network:
- Jerzy Boczoń, President of the Regional Information and Support Centre for NGOs, head of the coordinating committee
- Antonina Paplińska, Vice-President of the Regional Information and Support Centre for NGOs
- Natalia Meszko, Employee of the Regional Information and Support Centre for NGOs
- Phd Magda Leszczyna-Rzucidło, President of the Baltic Institute for Regional and European Concern BISER
- Prof. Witold Toczyski, Honorary President, Vice-President of the Baltic Institute for Regional and European Concern BISER
- Marek Olechnowicz, President of the Pomeranian Council for the NGOs
- Piotr Stec, President of the Foundation M.A.P.A. Obywatelska
- Małgorzata Masłyk, member of the Baltic Institute for Regional and European Concern BISER
Soon we will send you detailed list of tasks coordinated by the particular members of our coordinating team.
We encourage everyone interested in cooperation or information exchange to contact us – we remain at your disposal for any further information concerning this topic. Please contact us at: bsngoforum@fundacjarc.org.pl
Letter to the UBC Member Cities regarding the possible cooperation in BS NGO Network
Gdańsk 4.3.2015
Attn. Member Cities of Union of the Baltic Cities
Dear Sir or Madam,
Regional Information and Support Centre for NGOs (RISC NGO) received accreditation from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is officially appointed to organize 2016 Baltic Sea NGOs Forum during the Polish presidency in Council of Baltic Sea States. BS Ngo Forum is an even held every year in different Baltic state to enable NGOs from the Baltic Sea Region states meet and discuss their actions and future cooperation. BS NGO Forum is organized by Focal Points in each Baltic Sea state.
Polish Focal Point represented by RISC NGO in the person of PhD Magda Leszczyna-Rzucidło would like to draw your attention to possible cooperation between NGOs from member cities of UBC. When organizing BS NGO Forum 2016 we would like to invite representatives of civic movements to Gdańsk and simultaneously establish contacts , that would allow them to form consortiums when applying for EU grants such as: BSR Programme, South Baltic Programme and many others.
EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region is fundamental document adopted by the European Council in 2009. Main aim of this Strategy is multilevel cooperation: on governmental, regional and local level, bringing together various stakeholders: academia, research institutes, regional authorities, operational programmes and business. It is especially underlined in one of the Strategy’s goals: Connect the Region p. 2.3 Connecting People in the Region.
We believe, that particular value of the Strategy is expressed in mobilizing and bringing into cooperation wide range of actors and institutions, including non-governmental organizations, according to the multilevel governance rules.
One of the themes for our BS NGO Forum 2016 we would like to expose is: youth entrepreneurship and social economy. Encouraging youth into thinking about their career path as early as possible should be one of the targets of innovative NGOs. One of our ideas is to propose renewal of youth cooperative activities in schools.
We kindly request you to inform us about the NGOs or other institutions that might be interested in youth entrepreneurship and social economy in Baltic cities. Our goal is to propose them possibilities of composing Baltic NGO net that enables them exchange experiences and best practices on social economy and youth entrepreneurship, as well as composing partnerships for projects aimed at using innovative techniques of simulation for social entrepreneurship.
Please direct your correspondence to:
PhD Magda Leszczyna-Rzucidło – magdaleszczyna@gmail.com
