Project "To Act You Have To Know"

The project "To Act You Have to Know" financed by European Commission, represents another activity of PDCS focused on raising awareness of development problems, development cooperation and other development related issues. During the three years of this specific project, PDCS will closely cooperate with Slovak NGDOs Platform (PMVRO) and three NGOs from the new EU member states and a Dutch specialist on journalist education.

Who are our partners?

The leading partner on this international project is well-known Czech humanitarian and development organization People in Need (PIN). Other partners are Polish Humanitarian Organization (PAH), Hungarian Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights (DemNet), and Slovak NGDOs platform (P MVRO). The European Journalism Centre in the Netherlands will cover the media expertise.

What are our main objectives?

The project "To Act You Have to Know" seeks to strengthen the role of Central European countries within the context of European development assistance and international politics. This program will also work on the national level to open public debate in regards to the problems of less developed countries and development cooperation.

This project aims to raise the awareness of global problems and the role that developmental assistance can play; while increasing the capacity, of decision makers, university students, future politicians, experts and opinion leaders.

Building the capacity of journalists, and enhancing their ability to cover developmental issues is seen as another key component of the project.. Practical seminars, led by experienced trainers, will be open to reporters from throughout Central Europe. Furthermore, journalists will be invited to go on “study trips” to the Global South where they will have an opportunity to exchange ideas and strengthen contacts with their counterparts also covering developing countries.

The multinational spirit of the project will encourage cooperation, sharing experiences and the exchange of best practices, among these new member states in the field of Official Development Assistance. An international comparative analysis of national ODA will provide a framework for sharing successful policies and models of development cooperation within a Central European context.

 

What are the specific problems of the NMS?

  • The national ODA policies in these four new member states do not yet meet the standards of the other EU donors. Furthermore, none of the four countries is likely to reach the 2010 target to spend at least 0.17 % GNI on ODA policies.
  • Today’s mass media have the undeniable power to shape public opinion and to place considerable pressure on decision makers. However, the issue of development cooperation is relatively new to the media and journalists’ understanding of both basic concepts and of the subject’s wider context is limited. They also generally lack direct experience with developing countries. Consequently, the media coverage on development issues in Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia is insufficient.
  • Most university students do not have access to enough relevant information, or the academic support they need, to analyze fully the problems of the developing or the policies that relate it.
  • Most politicians from Central Europe have no direct experience with the extreme poverty in the developing world; hence, the personal motivation to engage in the development cooperation is rather low. Additionally, the lack of public pressure on decision makers means that they are under no significant pressure to perceive development cooperation as a high political priority or to ensure that the spending of public funds is both transparent and effective.

 

What are our activities?

  • To fulfill the objectives of the project "To Act You Have to Know", PDCS with PIN and its partners will:
    • Publish thematic prints and expertise covering the development issues and development assistance agenda.
    • Bulletins on development cooperation will be released quarterly in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
    • Thematic newspaper supplements will be published in major dailies and weeklies in the three participating countries.
    • A comparative analysis will be developed on the different systems of national ODA used by these Central European countries.
    • Reuter’s media experts will prepare a Media handbook, as a practical tool for local journalists covering developmental issues.
  • Inform about the problems through electronic media
    • WebPages of the participating organizations will be updated with thematic articles and analyses.
    • An interactive weblog will provide basis for a discussion on global issues and development cooperation among university students.
  • Expose the problems of the developing world to decision makers and journalists on “field trips” to developing countries.
    • Decision makers from Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia will participate in common study trips to Ethiopia. Individual trips to Angola, Sudan or Vietnam will be organized by the national agencies.
    • Journalists from the four participating countries will be invited on trips to various developing countries. At the same time, the major media from the four countries will host journalists from the Global South. This will forge links between the media in the North and South.
  • Organize series of educative seminars and international events
    • Annual seminars focused on development assistance issues will be targeting decision makers in the four participating countries.
    • An international conference on Central European policies towards less developed countries will provide space for the exchange of ideas and best practices between decision makers from Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia
    • Reporters from Central Europe will be invited to practical seminars led by experienced journalists who have worked for Reuters.
    • Media briefings will be held twice a year.
    • Student seminars and workshops will be held for up to 400 students from the four participating countries.
  • Introduce university students in the development issues and related problems and encourage them to take a deeper interest in this field.
    • Student thesis competition winners will be granted by free visit of the festival TRANZIT in Budapest.
    • The winning papers will be published in a collective volume.
    • Students from the Czech Republic can participate in the competition for the best video that covers development issues.