COMMON GROUND CONSULTING LLC

Jeton . . Is THE MAN!

Surprising us all today, THE MAN! snuck out of the office this afternoon to pick up a surprise he had ordered for everyone.

This is THE MAN!

When he showed up, he had the most amazing doughnuts that I've ever tasted! Filled with both jam and cream, these delicacies were huge and delicious!

These are THE DONUTS!

According to THE MAN!, these special “Berlin” doughnuts (we aren't sure why they're called Berlin donuts, but the link might help) are made by Aunt Eva, who is extremely well-known in Skopje as the baker of amazing things.

UPDATE:

THE MAN! told me of these doughnuts when I was here last time, but they require advance ordering, and we just ran out of time. I thought of them often since I returned to the States.

Now, I'll dream of them!

Building Better Boards

I guess its a comfort to know that the struggles we have in the U.S. regarding social profit (NGO) boards of directors are not unique.

Working here in Macedonia, board issues are a major challenge facing NGOs. Whether it is recruitment of effective members, a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities, or managing conflicts that arise between staff and board leadership, it is clear that there is much work to be done in this area.

During my first series of consultations here in Macedonia earlier this year, I recommended that ISC consider some specialized training for executive staff and board leadership early in 2007. Several of the materials I've developed over the years for working with boards have been translated into Macedonian as a first step, but there is ongoing technical assistance that is necessary.

To that end, I had a great dinner last night with ISC's Country Director here in Macedonia, Stephanie Rust, and Kelmend Zajazi, who is well-known here in Macedonia for his work in the NGO sector. It quickly became clear that Kelmend and I share a lot of the same values and ideas when it comes to boards of directors (he and I are both partial to the expertise of Boardsource); and we came up with some great ideas about how to push the envelope around these ideas here in Macedonia.

I'm looking forward to partnering with Kelmend to provide training and on-going support to the the CSSP's Leader NGOs as a means of developing new competencies that can be shared across Macedonia's burgeoning NGO sector.

For several years, Kelmend and colleagues from several Eastern European worked to develop an excellent resource called A Handbook of NGO Governance, which is available online from the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law. This great handbook make abstract concepts about governance practical and relevant to the histories and cultures of Central and Eastern Europe.

From the Introduction:

The Central and Eastern European Working Group on Nonprofit Governance has been exploring challenges facing nonprofit boards since its founding in 2001. Bringing together experts and practitioners from nine countries, the Working Group looks at governance from the unique viewpoint of nonprofit and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Our study of nonprofit boards in the United States has taught us that Western models of governance are often far removed from the reality of our own countries. NGOs in CEE work in an unusual environment shaped by the communist past and the difficult political, social, and economic transitions of recent years. But the needs and circumstances of individual organizations differ sharply, depending on local attitudes, experiences, and goals. Though common ground is not always easy to find, we consider it important to strengthen the NGO sector in this part of the world by providing a consistent, locally responsive framework for nonprofit governance. We see such a framework as both a practical need and a strategic necessity, helping our NGOs operate more efficiently while contributing to the larger goal of improved transparency and accountability in the NGO sector as a whole.

So we set about drafting a set of guidelines that could promote a shared regional understanding of good governance while showing how to turn abstract theory into workable practice. This handbook is the result of our efforts. It is based on eight basic principles we consider essential to NGO governance around the world. These principles, expressed in the handbook’s eight major headings, provide the basis for the guidelines for governance stated in the sub-headings and elaborated in the accompanying texts. The guidelines, and more particularly the sidebars, reflect our belief that efforts to apply the principles of good governance face different challenges in CEE than in the United States or elsewhere. Throughout the handbook we seek to address the specific environment of CEE and offer solutions to the special challenges our NGOs face.

Back to Skopje

Today was another busy day of individual consultations with the Civil Society Strengthening Project's Leader NGOs.

I met this morning with the executive director and key staff of MOST, a non-governmental and nonpartisan organization that was established in May 2002 by representatives of 20 NGOs. The mission of MOST is to secure a more democratic Macedonian society by involving citizens in activities that secure transparency, openness and responsibility of governmental, political and electoral authorities.

MOST’s CSS Project will strengthen communication and cooperation between parliamentarians, local government, voters and NGOs on issues of public interest and concern. In cooperation with MOST’s partner organizations throughout the country, the project will organize public meetings on issues identified by citizens. This project will also provide ongoing support to the Office for Contact between NGOs and the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia.

Over lunchtime, we met with the executive director of KHAM from Delcevo. KHAM was established in 1998 to raise the educational level and improve the social and economic condition of marginalized groups, with special emphasis on the Roma population. The organization has branches in Kocani, Vinica, Berovo, Pehcevo and in the village Crnik. It is a founder of two NGO networks: Eastern Roma Coordination including Roma NGOs and NGOs from Bregalnica Region, which is a network of ethnically mixed NGOs in Eastern Macedonia.

KHAM’s project will help NGOs in Eastern Macedonia to promote ways for citizens to work together and achieve concrete improvements in the community. KHAM will provide funding, training, and support to up to 10 NGOs in Berovo, Delcevo, Kocani, Makedonska Kamenica, Pehcevo, and Vinica.

I finished the day by meeting with one of the project's implementing partners, the Macedonian Media Institute (MIM). Having a degree in journalism, I was particularly interested in MIM's work. Founded in 2001 by the Macedonian Press Center, the Danish School of Journalism and IREX ProMedia-Macedonia, the MIM is a nonprofit membership institution supporting the professionalization of the media in Macedonia through specialized training of journalists and media professionals.

Throughout the life of the Civil Society Strengthening Project, MIM will provide training to program partners on message development, public relations, and working effectively with the media. In addition to core training, MIM will provide individualized follow-up training and assistance for organizations ensuring that organizational systems and practices are put into place. MIM will also announce a new annual journalism award to recognize the best media outlet coverage of civil society.

Prilep

Today's consultation with the Center for Civic Initiative (CCI) took Agron, Christophe, and I on a foggy, rainy drive to Prilep, a city in the Macedonian south, with a population of around 74,000. Prilep is known as “The City Under Marko's Towers” because of its proximity to the towers of the legendary hero King Marko.

CCI was established in 1997 and is focused on development of the civil society and participation of citizens in democratic processes in the Republic of Macedonia. CCI’s projects aim to address the needs of the community and include educating youth to get community support for their activities, supporting marginalized groups (such as members of the Roma community) to alleviate their problems, strengthening NGOs and improving their relations with the local government; as well as helping the local public administration to provide client oriented services.

CCI’s CSSP Project will help citizens work closely together to identify and resolve problems they face in their communities. CCI will provide funding, training, support and information to up to 30 of these groups of citizens and their activities. The project will be implemented in Bitola, Dolneni, Krivogashtani, Krusevo, and Prilep. The long term purpose of the project is to develop and support the concept of local development through contributions given and initiated by local community stakeholders; and to increase CCI resources and capacities to be able to facilitate community development.

I really enjoyed the conversations with CCI's leadership as they are poised to provide outstanding leadership when it comes to the development of new philanthropy strategies in the region. One sector (department) of CCI will become one of Macedonia's first community foundations, raising local funds to make grants to local NGOs and community groups. As such, they seem much more open to the concept of raising money from individuals than most groups with whom I've consulted.

Don't Worry . . . I'm Eating!

I know I haven't been writing as much about my culinary exploits on this trip to Macedonia, but rest assured I am eating well!

The food here is, of course, outstanding, and I've had many of my favorites from the last trip: homemade ajvar we bought at a little open-air market on the drive back from Prilep, baklava from Stella, Sarma, Tavče Gravče (the amazing Tetovo-style baked beans dish I love so much), kebabs from Bezisten—the list goes on.

In Gostivar, at a wonderful little coffee shop, I even had this fantastic hot chocolate which was more like hot pudding, then the drink that we know in the United States. Wow!

Remembering to Breathe

If you read the blog often, you know I spend a lot of time in airports flying here and there. I'm really lucky that I get to experience so much of the world. In 2006 alone, I've been on 100+ flights and flown something close to 120,000 actual air miles.

I'm grateful for these opportunities and for the people in my life who afford me love and support as I do my best to stay connected to them even when we're not together. I guess I'm feeling that a little more this week as the holidays draw closer.

On trips like this one to Macedonia, we always try to schedule as much as possible into these short visits. Its important to make the most of the time I have to spend with organizations and their stakeholders. The pace this time, as you can probably tell from the blog, is very fast. I'm conducting nine individual consultations in six cities in the nine days I'm here in Macedonia. Each visit will result in the development of a comprehensive STrategy, Action and ResulTs (START) Report.

I'm also meeting with the ISC staff and strategizing about the overall Civil Society Strengthening Project (CSSP) and its goals over the coming 18 months, as my involvement in this project continues in 2007.

As the days begin to blur a bit, I guess I'm writing this post to remind myself to breathe and not forget that life is more than a series of experiences, but rather how those experiences affect us, change, us, shape who we are and who we want to become. I'm having an amazing time meeting great new people, experiencing the subtleties of new cultures, unlearning some of the false history I was taught, and learning some history for the first time. I'm having the chance to be a part of the development of the NGO sector in Macedonia—being here when people come into their own power, perhaps for the first time.

I don't want to miss a moment of it.

Tetovo

Our second stop today was the rural city of Tetovo. Also built on the foothills of the Šar mountain (pronounced Shar) and divided by the Pena river, Tetovo is a much smaller, mostly Albanian city in the northwest part of Macedonia. My friends explained that Tetovo is a very conservative city that operates according to “old-school” rules. You won't see many women in cafés, for example. Those are places for men. Corruption is still a major issue in Tetovo and there seems still to be a belief that it will always be that way. Life goes on in the city, but I can't help wonder what it will take for the culture to change.

In Tetovo, I had the chance to learn more about the Center for Balkan Cooperation (LOJA). Established in 2000, the mission of LOJA is promoting democracy and civil society by creating new ways of communication and engaging members from different communities. LOJA's efforts have been especially focused on strengthening inter-ethnic youth cooperation through educational and cultural activities that include alternative and creative methods.

LOJA's CSSP project will work closely with Macedonia’s Ministry of Education to create a teacher-training program so that teachers will be better able to work with students from different ethnicities. LOJA will also work closely with the University Ss. Cyril and Methodius Skopje, South East European University Tetovo, and Tetovo University. The project will also include funding to support multi-cultural youth activities in schools in Tetovo and at Faculties of Pedagogy.

Gostivar

Today, I had another great opportunity to explore Macedonia with my ISC colleagues, Agron, Gordana, and Jeton.

Agron and I began the day with a drive to Gostivar, one of the largest Macedonian cities with a population just over 80,000. Gostivar is situated in the foothills of one of the most important mountains in the region: Šar Planina Mountain.

While there, I conducted two individual consultations with Leader NGOs. The first was with the Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI), an organization established in 1994 whose mission is the promotion and protection of human rights, development of civil society, and providing support for democratic processes, peace and stability.

Their CSSP project will help citizens and local government officials to work closely together to improve local conditions, provide support to those who are in need, and promote more open and responsible local municipal governments. The project will be implemented in Debar, Gostivar, Kicevo, and Tetovo.

In the afternoon, I met with Mesecina, a Roma non-governmental organization that was established in 1993 in Gostivar. Mesecina is improving the status of marginalized groups and the Roma community in particular. Mesecina participates in the National Working Group responsible for the implementation of activities of the Roma Decade in the Republic of Macedonia, and was also active in the process of designing a Local Action Plan for the Roma Decade.

This consultation required translation and I am very grateful for Jeton's tremendous skill in this area. Assisted by Gordana, he helped get us through some tough and very productive discussions.

Mesecina’s project (as part of the Decade of Roma Inclusion) will provide assistance to the Local Action Plans in Gostivar and Stip; and will provide support for two Citizens Advisory Centers that give information and advice to the Roma community on civil rights. This project will support the Centers to continue providing their services and to work with local and/or national government on issues raised by citizens.

Fundraising in Macedonia

I am really excited about a new study which further supports the individual donor-based approach to fundraising which I've ben advocating here in the Balkans for a couple of years now. In fact, I provided some of the first training of this kind here in Macedonia in September. You can read more here: Financial Viability & Sustainability Training: Part I and Part II and Training the Trainers.

Philanthropy in the Republic of Macedonia is a new report published in September 2006 based on research conducted by the Center for Institutional Development (CIRa) and BSC Estek, as part of USAID’s Civil Society Strengthening Project (CSSP). The study uses data gathered from a national survey, community focus groups, and interviews with a representative sample from five localities in the Republic of Macedonia.

From The Report:

Independent research shows that over two-thirds of Macedonians donate; and there is a culture of giving in Macedonia. A majority of individuals and companies reported a positive attitude towards donating; but half of the donations from both individuals and businesses are given directly to individuals and less than 5% of the surveyed population reported having donated to NGOs.

NGOs are reluctant to solicit funding from the public, leaving an untapped source of support. More than two-thirds of the surveyed individuals and nearly all interviewed companies have donated money or materials to address community needs. It appears that the difficult economic situation is not a major obstacle for philanthropic behavior: only 42% stated this as the primary reason for not donating.

Significant Findings:

• 70% said they have donated to address community needs; but Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are rarely the beneficiaries of the donations.
• 76% of individuals surveyed have never been asked for a donation by an NGO, yet 49% report willingness to donate to them.
• The majority of interviewed businesses reported willingness to financially support their communities and NGOs.
• Only 10% of the surveyed population reported volunteering, but 33% stated they would volunteer in the future.
• Volunteering has been an underutilized form of philanthropy so far in Macedonia.
• Only 10% of the surveyed population has reported volunteering, and 46% said they never considered it.
• Nevertheless, respondents across all sectors suggested that the culture of volunteering can be improved.

Sutka: A Lesson in Poverty

Suto Orizari, better known as Sutka (pronounced Shootka), is the largest Roma settlement in Macedonia and the only Roma municipality in Europe. Home to almost 20,000 Roma (Gypsy) people, the settlement formed following the devastating 1963 earthquake in Macedonia and increased in population when Kosovar refugees fled that war-torn country. Erdoan Iseni of the United Party of Roma is a member of the ruling coalition and was elected mayor of Sutka in September 2005. He is the only elected Roma mayor in the world.

Despite a thriving marketplace, I doubt that many tourists visit this depressing part of Skopje. Jeton and his sister offered to give Kristophe and I a tour, as we were very interested in learning more about the Roma people. As we drove into the neighborhood, I was struck by just how many people were on the streets, all trying to make a living selling the goods clearly imported from places like China and Taiwan. If you expected to see local artisans selling hand-crafted items, you'd be disappointed. Of course, when you think about it, where would they get the raw materials?

Sutka is depressing. I was both sad and angry by the abject poverty that surrounded us. Cardboard homes without any running water, electricity, or plumbing. Kids burning trash in the yard to take the edge off the cold winter wind. Part of me wanted to take pictures to show you how these people were forced to live, but it felt wrong. These aren't statistics, they're people. These aren't just slums, they are communities.

The picture I should have taken was of the multi-million dollar embassy that the U.S. government is building just outside the settlement.