Verband Entwicklungspolitik deutscher Nichtregierungsorganisationen e'V' VENRO Association of German

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Verband Entwicklungspolitik deutscher
Nichtregierungsorganisationen e.V.VENRO
Association of German Development
Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), reg. Ass.

• Objectives Activities Structures

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What is VENRO?

• VENRO is a voluntary association of more than 100
  German non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• Its members are autonomous
• More than 2.000 development initiatives are
  represented through regional networks
• Founded in 1995 (57 members)

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Who are our members?

• Major church (emergency) relief and development
  organisations (Bread for the World, Misereor,
  Church Development Service/ EED)
• Other major/ medium-size private, secular
  organisations (DWHH German Agro-Action, tdh
  Terre des Hommes)
• Watchdogs (Germanwatch, Fian Food First
  Information and Action Network)
• Institutions caring primarily for development
  activities within Germany (awareness raising
  development education)
• Small NGOs, many of them working with
  non-remunerated staff / volunteers only

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Who can become a VENRO member?

• Non-profit private (benevolent) corporations
  (associations, foundations, limited companies)
• Legal entities, registered under German law and
  managed from within Germany
• At least two years of experience with development
  cooperation, emergency relief, development
  education, public relations or lobby activities
• Coherence of basic philosophy with VENRO
  positions
• Transparency of financial management

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What goals do we pursue?

• Speaking with one voice
• Enhancing development as a specific and separate
  policy among other policies
• Strengthening the role of NGOs / civil society
• Advocate for developing countries and the poor in
  the South

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Our activities

• Lobby activities vis-à-vis Government and
  Parliament
• Act as national contact and resource centre for
  the German Federal Ministry for Economic
  Co-operation and Development (BMZ), Parliamentary
  Committees (AwZ), EU institutions, IMF/ World
  Bank
• Serve as NGDO / EU Platform
• Strive for enhanced acceptance of development
  issues in public opinion
• Information and coordination among members

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Our focal areas of activities

• Combating poverty
• Humanitarian aid
• European development politics/ Bonn impulses
• Renewable energy
• Development education / information work within
  Germany
• Reform of the law on donations and the charitable
  purposes ordinance
• Gender
• Evaluations/ impact monitoring
• Public relations activities/ campaigns (for
  instance during the German EU presidency in 2007)

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How is VENRO funded?

• Core budget is provided by membership fees,
  contributions are scaled, ranging from 285 to
  37.050 p.a.- depending on the income of members
• Core budget 2005 around 700.000 , Government
  contributions to the core budget could so far be
  avoided
• Occasionally separate projects are supported via
  third-party funding, e.g. the project
  Perspective 2015

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The associations organs

• Annual Membership Assembly
• Board
• Working groups
• Office in Bonn
• Small branch office in Berlin

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Taking stock after 11 years of VENRO

• Successful bringing together of traditional
  development cooperation and humanitarian aid,
  Church relief organisations and other private
  organisations
• Gaining a profile as a central contact and civil
  society counterpart of government and parliament

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Taking stock after 11 years of VENRO

• Drawing attention to issues via policy papers in
  various areas such as the reform of EU
  development policy, sustainability in
  humanitarian aid, global learning, etc.
• Raising acceptance of development issues via
  campaigns