By Sean Kelly from NICVA
Published on 29 Feb 2008
As a result of President Barroso’s visit to the NI Assembly in May 2007, the European Commission established a special taskforce on Northern Ireland. The taskforce - made up of key EC officials and their Northern Ireland counterparts - is currently examining the extent to which Northern Ireland has been involved in EU programmes and policies and identifying examples of best practice.
NICVA’s EU Survey highlights good European Practice
Concerned that a stock-take would focus only on economic goals and overlook the work of voluntary and community organisations, NICVA decided to broaden this research by conducting its own European stock-taking exercise within the voluntary and community sector and to present to the EU taskforce an analysis of the local voluntary and community sector's participation in EU activities.
NICVA’s research identified a number of local organisations engaged in good European practice through a range of transnational activities. Details are provided below of a number of these Northern Ireland voluntary and community organisations who are involved in European networking activities with a description of the nature of their European work and the benefits they have gained through these activities.
NICEM - The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM) has a long history of engaging with the European Institutions and participation in European Networks. (read more)
Mediation Northern Ireland - Participation in European activities is a core element within Mediation Northern Ireland’s work as reflected in the diverse range of transnational activities in which it is involved. (read more)
Age Concern Northern Ireland - Age Concern Northern Ireland is a full member of AGE, the European Older People’s Platform whichaims to voice and promote the interests of older people in the European Union and to raise awareness of the issues that concern them most. (read more)
Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment (NIUSE) - The Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment is a member based organisation representing organisations and individuals promoting employment for people with disabilities to access and stay in employment through the Supported Employment Model. (read more)
Early Years - the organisation for young children, formerly known as NIPPA, is the largest non-governmental organisation in Northern Ireland working with children aged 0-12 years and their families and communities. The work of the organisation enshrines a children’s rights based approach and endorses the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as a core pedagogy. (read more)
Northern IrelandWomen’s European Platform (NIWEP) - NIWEP was established specifically in response to the creation of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) in 1998. Since this time NIWEP has contributed significantly to the development of European Social Policy in issues such as: gender balance in decision-making; inclusion of civic society in dialogue; violence against women; poverty, social justice and the economic independence of women; and immigration and inclusion. (read more)
This page has been viewed 8137 times since it was published.
