Foundation WeekHighlights from the EFC’s 21st AGA & Conference, Open Days & Interactive FairBrussels 31 May–4 June 2010

Foundation Week

Foundation Week, held from 31 May to 4 June, marked a new departure for the European Foundation Centre (EFC) from its traditional annual gathering. Held at the new SQUARE conference centre in Brussels, the event brought together foundations of all different sizes and backgrounds to meet each other and open themselves up to the public, NGOs and representatives of the European institutions.

Foundations have been around in Europe for centuries and it is estimated that there are some 110,000 across the continent, yet most people would be hard pushed to describe what a foundation does. Uniquely for such an event, the public were encouraged to attend and invited to learn more about the important role the sector plays in so many aspects of society.

Foundation Week was divided into two distinct parts. The Open Days, from Monday to Wednesday lunchtime, were open to anyone. They offered

a programme of talks, debates and workshops covering a wide range of topics, from today’s societal challenges to more sector‑specific issues. This was followed by the 21st EFC Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Conference (hereafter referred to as the AGA), which was entitled ‘A Conversation with the Institutions’ and took advantage of the event’s Brussels location to engage in discussions with the European institutions.

An Interactive Fair ran alongside these two parts of the week, with a number of foundations setting up exhibitions to demonstrate their work and actively engage visitors. A highlight of the fair was the Cinema Corner, which ran over 100 films exploring issues at the heart of foundations’ programmes and projects.

This report brings you some highlights of the event and views from participants on specific aspects of the week.

2 Interview EFC Chief Executive Gerry Salole talks about his aspirations for Foundation Week

Foundation Week

Contents

The Open Days 4 The Open Days: some session highlights

8 All the fun of the fair A guide to the Interactive Fair, a new initiative for foundations to showcase their work to colleagues and the public

10 The Interactive Fair: some highlights

The AGA 12 Interview Luc Tayart de Borms on the relationship between foundations and the European institutions

13 A conversation with the institutions With Foundation Week making the most of its Brussels location, the opening plenary focused on the future for foundations and Europe

16 The European game plan A special plenary focusing on how the European Foundation Statute can help foundations address the new global challenges

20 Interview Caroline Hartnell talks to Mo Ibrahim, this year’s winner of the Raymond Georis Prize

21 The closing plenary The Raymond Georis Prize, the EFC photo competition, and a reflection on 20 years of the EFC

24 Interview Francis Charhon considers whether the EFC is a European or an international organization

25 The AGA: some session highlights

Postscript 27 The new CEOs Following a dinner for the EFC’s new CEOs, Sara Llewellin talks about the value of a new network

28 What did they think? Conference participants from around the world say what they got out of Foundation Week

30 The Next Generation Programme A new initiative guided 12 prospective foundation leaders through the events of Foundation Week

32 Final thoughts from a ‘Euro‑sceptic’ Filiz Bikmen and Gerry Salole

1 Interview EFC Chair Emílio Rui Vilar introduces Foundation Week

1Foundation Week

What was the idea behind Foundation Week and what do you hope will come out of it?We thought it was very important to show the diversity of work of foundations, not only to other foundations but also to our stake‑holders, among whom politicians, members of the European Parliament and the leaders of the European institutions feature very prominently. If we are looking for a European Foundation Statute, we must convince those stakeholders of the need for it and of the work we do for the public good at local, regional, national and cross‑border level. On the other side, the ordinary citizens of Europe are key stakeholders too, and we hope that through this week, and through the media, we can create a more favourable public opinion towards foundations.

In terms of what comes out of it, first of all we hope that founda‑tions will learn from each other. I think it’s very important to share experiences and to see how we can leverage our resources if we work in partnership. Second, we want to show all our stake‑holders, from the common citizen to the European institutions responsible, that we are playing an important role in the public life of Europe in all kinds of spheres.

What kinds of effort have been made to engage policymakers?We have members of the European Parliament, officials from the European Commission and the President of the Council of Europe coming. Yesterday [1 June] I had a long conversation with the officials working on the European Foundation Statute, so I think our message is gradually getting through – though we can‑not consider that this is a one‑shot work. For instance, today there was a constructive and positive suggestion from MEPs that we should do something in the European Parliament to illustrate the work of European foundations.

Is there a role that foundations can play that they aren’t playing at the moment?I think we should increase our advocacy capacity. Advocacy is an important task for foundations. We have the intellectual lead‑ership and the people, so I think we should be more active in advocating good causes and pushing forward the public interest that is at stake in our work.

The recent financial crisis, with its economic and social con‑sequences, showed very clearly that the actions of governments are not enough and that civil society must find new answers. Foundations have a role to play in that respect, both in them‑selves and in mobilizing other institutions of civil society such as NGOs to fill the holes that the crisis opens. In recent years, we have seen many foundations working in partnership with others, but there is room for much more of this, and for collaboration between foundations and other actors. For instance, if we look at developing countries and development aid, foundations must work with governments from both donor and recipient countries, with NGOs that have experience of working on the ground, and with the beneficiaries of aid. If we don’t pay attention to the con‑text and to local knowledge of it, our aid will not be effective.

What’s your impression about how the week is progressing?I came on the eve of the opening and I was here early in the morn‑ing of the opening day. Every day, I see more movement, more people, more interaction, so I am happy with the way things are developing.

Do you think the public character of this event is a sign that foundations are opening themselves up more to the public? We all insist that transparency and accountability are corner‑stones of our governance systems. We must not only be transpar‑ent, we must also be proactive in showing what we do.

Interview Emílio Rui Vilar

“ We want to show to all our stakeholders, from the common citizen to the European institutions responsible, that we are playing an important role in the public life of Europe in all kinds of spheres.”

Emílio Rui Vilar is EFC Chair and President of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Portugal

2 Foundation Week

How did Foundation Week come about and what is it meant to achieve?The EFC is 20 years old this year. Looking back at meetings we’ve had in Brussels, we realized we hadn’t capitalized on previous meetings in terms of engaging with Brussels institutions. So the real litmus test of this meeting is whether we can do that.

Also, my sense is that foundations would like to engage with the public but aren’t as good at it as they should be, so Foundation Week is a step in that direction too. The conference portion of the week is dedicated to ‘a conversation with the insti‑tutions’ because we want to make sure that governments feel that foundations are more ready to listen and aren’t just going into their own agenda.

What kind of response has there been from the European institutions?We’ve got a number of people coming from the different DGs [Directorates‑General]. Stefano Manservisi from DG Development, for example, has instructed his staff that they should come and see what foundations are doing and where partnerships are possible. He’s actually leading one session and involved in another and his staff are involved in sessions. We’ve made a point in the AGA of ensuring there are people from the different institutions actually presenting.

On the other side, I’m really excited by the number of founda‑tions who are sending large numbers of mid‑level and new staff and see this as a training opportunity. That will change the confer‑ence, too. And there’s a confidence in European philanthropy that wasn’t there ten years ago.

Why do you think that is?First, foundations have recognized that it’s no longer possible to fly under the radar. You need constituencies that are on your side. Also, there used to be a belief that everything that was being done in the US was perfect and the rest was a bad copy. More and more people are coming to see that European philanthropy has a different ethos. Both sides can learn from each other; it isn’t about one side copying the other or adopting their methods.

You’ve talked about foundations engaging more with the public and with institutions. Do you think it’s a particularly good time to do that?No, it’s a difficult time! Just as European governments are begin‑ning to recognize what foundations can do, one of the greatest potential problems is the possibility that governments will think that foundations can step in where they’re withdrawing. But I think we’re coming into a phase where more coalition building, more pooling of resources, more shared agendas will have to become the order of the day. It’s not going to be easy. It will come very gradually and mature foundations see this and are preparing for it. Then again, the crisis and the questions it throws up for the European project may galvanize foundations to play a strong role because, by and large, they really are believers in Europe.

Another reason for the confidence I mentioned earlier is that foundations have just dealt with a crisis. That gives you strength, and I think it will galvanize activity in areas where foundations haven’t typically been involved. A few years ago, for instance, the difficulties over the Lisbon Treaty galvanized NEF [Network of European Foundations] to move on the citizen participation agenda, and now no one questions the role of foundations in involving or informing citizens. I expect things like that will happen again.

Finally, what concrete thing would you like to see come out of this week?The European Foundation Statute. For me, the subtext here is: if you take us seriously as a sector, if you can see the diversity and the potential the sector has to offer, and you want people to work and think European, take the impediments out of the way.

Interview Gerry Salole

“ There’s a confidence in European philanthropy that wasn’t there ten years ago.”

Gerry Salole is Chief Executive of the EFC

3Foundation Week

“It is inspiring to be able to participate in a European foundation congress where most of the key foundation actors are present in one place.”

Why have you come to this conference and what have you learned? I came to the conference both to learn more about the way foundations work, and to see how we can make better links for the refugee cause. I now understand better the important work foundations do on matters such as integration,

asylum and countries affected by conflict or disaster. The event was a good opportunity to broaden our view on the multifaceted way foundations work and the way they engage in issues. Altogether, I really took a fresh perspective from the conference.

What do you mean by a fresh perspective?It is refreshing to witness the positive debate about integration in Europe, for instance. I saw a lot of scope for future relationships. I also learned a lot from seeing how foundations organize themselves to make a difference. The work on foundation infrastructure and impact indicators is interesting. It is

inspiring to participate in a European foundation congress where most of the key foundation actors are present in one place. It’s an opportunity that won’t come up very often, to meet that many people and get so many different perspectives.

Jens Hesemann is UNHCR Foundation Relations Officer

A total of 2,197 people visited the Open Days, of which 549 registered for the AGA as well. 532 organizations were represented, including European institutions, NGOs, companies and universities, as well as foundations. A total of 62 events took place.

Of the 59 session organizers, 64 per cent were EFC members and 36 per cent non‑members. More than 100 films showcasing the work of foundations were shown. Of the 20 exhibitors, only two were not members of the EFC. 87 per cent of attendees were not members of the EFC. By contrast, at the AGA, 66 per cent of attendees were EFC members.

Interview Jens Hesemann

The Open DaysSome facts and figures

Over half of attendees (56 per cent) were first‑time visitors. Of those attending, 31 per cent said their reason was to attend sessions relevant to their field of work, while 26 per cent cited networking opportunities and 23 per cent wanted to find out more about foundations and their activities.

4 The Open Days

Visionaries for a just and peaceful worldIn 2004, the UK’s Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) celebrated its centenary. As Stephen Pittam, Trust Secretary, remarked, it used the occasion to reflect on its fundamental val‑ues, which had given rise to a long tradition of trusting people and of ‘strengthening the hands’ of those doing valuable work in the social sphere. The result was the visionaries project.

What they did was to select seven ‘visionaries’ – individuals who had an ambitious, big‑canvas approach to some element of social change – provide them with an income for five years and,

in Pittam’s words, ‘let them get on with it’. The visionaries were subject to minimal interference and were not required to give any‑thing in the nature of a fully worked‑out plan.

The session, hosted by JRCT, was designed to showcase both the project and the work of the visionaries, each of whom gave short presentations of their work. What it also did – quite inten‑tionally – was to sound a plea for foundations to take greater risks with the freedom they enjoy.

The range of these aims and ideas is breathtaking, both in the breadth of their intended effects and the inventiveness of their conception. But what had been the effects of the project?

For the Trust itself, many of the projects involved would have been rejected in the ordinary course of its work. But they had determined not to play safe and instead to go for projects that might fail. The bigger the risk, the greater the potential success if the gamble paid off, they felt. For the visionaries themselves, the experience had been liberating. Among other freedoms, it had given them ‘the freedom to make mistakes’, as one of them put it. ‘I don’t know of any other funder who would have funded such an idea,’ said another.

One of the session participants, Nicolas Borsinger of ProVictimis Foundation, probably voiced a common feeling when he said that the greatest compliment he could pay to JRCT’s ini‑tiative was that this had been one of the most disturbing sessions he had ever taken part in. Disturbing is right. In the visionaries

The Open Days

The Open DaysSome session highlights

The JRCT visionariesKaren Chouhan Founder of Equanomics UK, a grassroots movement seeking to promote racial equality through economic justice, and of the Roots research centre to back up the movement.

Roy Head Uses the power of mass media to save lives in developing countries. Through the use of mass media, many potentially life‑saving interventions can be rolled out simply and quickly.

During Foundation Week’s Open Days, more than 60 sessions covered a wide range of topics, including migration, women’s rights, education and biodiversity. The following four pages show just a few highlights from the menu of sessions on offer.

Heather Parker and Mark Hinton Set up Freshfields Vision Project in Coventry, UK, to build bridges in a local UK community and between that community and the developing world.

Carne Ross Set up diplomatic advisory groups to help developing and small states, and non‑state actors involved in diplomatic processes. This helps, for example, small island states bearing the brunt of the effects of climate

change to have a stronger presence in high‑level negotiations.

Clive Stafford Smith A campaigning human rights lawyer whose aim is to close illegal enclaves like Guantanamo Bay and what he describes as its ‘evil twin’, Bagram Air Base.

Geoff Tansey A writer and consultant who works across borders and sectoral boundaries to promote a world in which everyone can feed themselves sustainably.

Andrew Milner

5The Open Days

On Tuesday evening, many delegates gathered in the Delvaux Foyer for a Peace and Security Funders Briefing reception. The reception featured a performance by Colombian singer and peace activist Juanes, whose Fundación Mi Sangre was set up to address the issues of children in conflict.

partnership is crucial in working on a problem that is essentially multi‑sectoral. Its backing has also helped to make the multilateral development banks realize the need to work together on road investment programmes. World Bank analysis and statistics are tremendous ammunition in any argument, he added.

For their part, foundations could provide both small amounts of very flexible money and their own specialist knowledge and access to networks. Bertelsmann Stiftung, for instance, demon‑strated how they had done this in two of the programmes on which they worked with the Bank: Cities of Change and Towards European Integration.

It’s not all plain sailing, however. Jenny Hodgson, of the Global Fund for Community Foundations, and David Ward had both found the experience of working with the Bank bruising at times, with the divide between the contrasting cultures a difficult one to bridge. Both Hodgson and Ward had assumed – wrongly, as it turned out – that once the Bank was involved, money would automatically flow. It didn’t, and in both cases there had been a misunderstanding about who was raising funds for an initiative.

The Bank remains a difficult institution to navigate. You have to find a champion, as Barry Gaberman remarked, and this takes time. Then the champion moves on to another department and you have to start again.

Jennifer Barsky highlighted the need to find a concrete issue on which to build a partnership. This takes time and patience. Marc Shotten, the Bank’s principal in the road safety initiative, noted three necessary preconditions for the creation of a suc‑cessful partnership: it should redefine the development debate; it should help devise and implement a solution to the issue in ques‑tion; and it should produce sustained, measurable momentum.

So while there are real opportunities to advance development, there are also challenges. The Bank is not blind to these and is willing to listen. ‘We need a partnership unit at the Bank,’ Barsky observed. ‘That is what I’m hearing.’ Foundations, she suggested, need to help the Bank determine what form this should take.

project, JRCT turned most of accepted grantmaking practice on its head – funding individuals and not requiring a detailed plan or a set of targets. Even the application form, as Geoff Tansey rue‑fully remarked, had been novel in the extreme. As Stephen Pittam reminded participants, the session was partly aimed at encour‑aging foundations to take more risks. He added that, while the project has come to an end, the work of the visionaries has not, and there is space for other funders to step in and help continue the work that has begun.

And the effects of the projects themselves? As usual with far‑reaching ideas, many of these will be seen only in the years to come. In the short term, said JRCT trustee Peter Coltman, you can count the prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay or the numbers saved by mass media interventions in healthcare. Finally, however, he quoted anthropologist Margaret Mead: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.’ Plainly, JRCT didn’t, and by the end of the session, no one else in the room did either.

New partnership models, new opportunities: Working with the World Bank to broaden impactWorking in partnership, the World Bank and foundations can increase the impact of a programme by bringing to it their different and often complementary skills. However, there are a number of things to beware of: both the expectations of the programme and the roles of each partner in it need to be made clear at the outset. Each side also has to realize that building a partnership takes time. As Jennifer Barsky of the World Bank’s Foundation Unit, who moderated this session, remarked at the start, collaboration between the two is more about pooling and leveraging skills than it is about money.

Partnership with the Bank in a road safety initiative for the developing world, said David Ward of the FAI Foundation, has been critical to leveraging the issue with the UN (the UN has now declared a decade of action on road safety). Moreover,

Andrew Milner is Alliance Associate Editor

The first day of Foundation Week ended with an operatic concert courtesy of Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca, with two male and two female singers performing a selection of Puccini’s most famous arias. Puccini was born in Lucca and died in Brussels, in 1924. A wonderful concert ended with the interruption of a shrieking alarm (if there

Among the threats to European unity and cohesion is the question of migration and the resentment and hostility it can provoke among the host population. What can be done to counter this and what part can foundations play in doing so? A number of sessions during Foundation Week explored this question, among them the two listed below.

Key challenges for Roma inclusion in Europe

Migration, public opinion and politics

Giacomo Puccini operatic concertFrom Lucca to Brussels, a journey without end

had been a fire, no one was taking any notice). All four singers were on stage for a second encore. The pianist hesitated for a moment, then the tenor Fulvio Oberto (pictured above left) took on the challenge and his astonishingly powerful voice soared above the siren. A great demonstration of how to respond in times of crisis!

6 The Open Days

Migration and European cohesion

Political attitudes and public opinionBoth political leadership and the media are critical to chang‑ing popular attitudes – this was perhaps the main message to emerge from a session on migration, public opinion and politics organized by the Barrow Cadbury Trust. Unfortunately, as MEP Jean Lambert and Nick Lowles of Searchlight in the UK pointed out, it is often far to seek. The main political parties did not tackle the race and migration question at all in the recent UK elections, for instance, which left the field clear for far‑right parties.

What could politicians do? They could use straightforward lan‑guage; they could acknowledge concerns rather than dismissing them; they could present immigration in human terms, rather than as a set of statistics; and they could refrain from making promises

7The Open Days

Former President of Latvia speaks at DAFNE/Governing Council reception

on immigration that they can’t keep. Even where such promises seem to pander to anti‑immigration sentiment, if they are broken the basis of trust between people and governments on the issue is eroded.

Two approaches pointed to ways in which foundations could contribute. Lowles’ Hope Not Hate campaign against the British National Party in the UK elections offered a potential commu‑nity‑organizing approach to combating discrimination against immigrants, which foundations could fund. Second, the German Marshall Fund’s transatlantic trends survey, presented by Zsolt Nyiri, demonstrated that funding research could shed light on an area that is notoriously populated by prejudice and partial truths.

The Roma questionThe crude economic effects of discrimination against Roma (one consequence of which is that they are unable to participate fully in the labour market) are estimated losses in productivity and tax revenue of 1 billion across Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia alone, according to the World Bank. However, a first crucial step, argued Ivan Ivanov of the European Roma Information Office, is action to combat discrimination. This requires political action, but individual member states often lack the political will to adopt and implement anti‑discrimination meas‑ures, while local authorities and local Roma communities often lack the capacity to manage EU structural funds, which are seen as a key instrument to give effect to such measures.

The role of foundationsWhat could foundations do to promote Roma inclusion? Mediator schemes of the kind funded by King Baudouin Foundation in Ghent (which has a large immigrant population, including many Roma) are one way. However, as Christian Petry of the Freudenberg Stiftung said, mediators are active in many parts of Europe. What is needed is a good European programme to bring them together so that they can learn from each other. Other roles suggested for foundations included promoting training and capacity building on the use of structural funds among local civil society organizations, provision of the matching funds structural funds often demanded and the piloting of projects that structural funds could come in and develop.

Other areas where foundations might usefully take action were identified. These included investing in early childhood education, and building on the strengths of the people and communities themselves (reliance on institutions, particularly in the current financial climate, is misguided). In any or all of these, Roma them‑selves need to be involved, something which unhappily was often neglected in the past.

Perhaps what emerged most strongly from these sessions is that, though political leadership is important, at the root of the problem is deeply entrenched prejudice (often on both sides), which no amount of legislation will change. It will take slow, patient work with individuals and communities and through civil society in all its manifestations. Here, foundations – with their longer reach, better access through their grantees to grassroots groups, and ability to experiment where politicians would fear to tread – have a distinct advantage.

The second day ended with a reception hosted jointly by Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (DAFNE) and the EFC Governing Council. The keynote speaker was Vaira Vike‑Freiberga (pictured above right), President of Latvia from 1999 to 2007 and now Vice‑President of the Reflection Group on the long‑term future of the European Union.

‘Foundations frequently do the sort of work that governments don’t manage to do,’ she said. ‘They have expertise that allows them to look at questions in depth or in breadth as they choose; they have the leisure to choose their priorities; they don’t have to worry about the next election; and they can look long‑term. The long‑term view is

extremely important and it’s frequently lacking on the political scene. I would be very happy as a former head of state to see foundations have more visibility, more cooperation between them, and to see how they can better interact, both with European institutions and with the governments of every member state.’

8 The Open Days

espite the slightly soulless basement surround‑ings, the fair was a bright and inviting area, with Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian’s Darwin exhi‑bition taking pride of place in the centre. The problem was getting people to it. Sessions were all on the other side of the SQUARE maze, and

until lunch was served there on Wednesday there was little to get conference attendees down there. Similarly, there was little encouragement on the outside of the SQUARE to entice mem‑bers of the public. That said, once there, people were impressed, and eager to walk around the stalls.

The cinema cornerOn arrival, visitors were greeted with the Cinema Corner, which showed a variety of documentaries, shorts and animated films showcasing the diverse work that foundations are involved in. As Inês de Oliveira Magalhães of the EFC explained, the Cinema

Corner was not about promoting the foundations themselves, but rather delv‑ing into the issues that are at the heart of their programming. Overwhelmed by interest from foundations, the Cinema Corner was extended to run all week, with some very interesting and hard‑hitting films, especially one I saw on female cir‑cumcision called The Secret Pain. With a full programme of sessions elsewhere in the building, it was difficult to find time to watch as much as one wanted. The initiative was very popular, however, with

suggestions that in future films be screened in the evening, or put online to allow more people to see them.

Touching every senseThe stall run by Fondazione di Venezia described their latest museum, M9, as an ‘exhibition space that will stimulate all the visitor’s senses’. As if following their lead, the Fair developed what the Cinema Corner started, providing different and stimulating displays that indeed touched every sense.

Fundación ONCE had set up a basketball court where the wheelchair basketball team they sponsor, CD Fundosa ONCE, currently ranked fourth in Europe, showcased their skills. It also allowed people to try wheelchair basketball, giving them an insight into the challenges of being disabled. With visitors from a school trip and people from the European Commission giving it a go, the organizers saw it as a great success in highlighting their work and making important connections.

Similarly, the European Cultural Foundation ran a very inter‑active stall, featuring The Cloud, a ‘guided tour of the historical museum of the future’. For them it was a very special week and, in contrast to previous closed EFC conferences, gave them the opportunity to link policy and practice, meeting the public and people from the EU institutions and other foundations.

A reason in prisonOne central and often busy stall was that of Compagnia di San Paolo. A foundation of banking origin, Compagnia was showcas‑ing and presenting its initiatives in prison, which gave the stall the name: ‘a reason in prison’. It showed their efforts to support work, skills and education in prison, with the aim of rehabilitat‑ing offenders. Prisoners receive a small salary for their work and

All the fun of the fair Kai Hopkins

In keeping with the change in format for this year’s AGA, a week‑long Interactive Fair ran alongside, designed to bring foundations together and allow them to showcase their work to fellow foundations, the public, and representatives of the European institutions. A smaller ‘interactive fair’ was trialled last year in Rome, but it was held on the last day of the conference when most people had either left or were busy with last‑minute catch‑ups, so many delegates missed out on it.

9The Open Days

can continue working for the cooperative even after they leave prison. It also described some of the social prison cooperative projects it supported and had a wide variety of examples of the products that are made in prison. The stall offered free tasters of coffee that had been roasted in prison, and of beer brewed inside. It also handed out jewellery and purses all made by prisoners. Even the EFC conference bags had been made in a prison in north‑west Italy. Compagnia wanted their stall to be an example to other foundations, and also to the public, to help change the poor image of inmates and to show how offenders can become active members of society again. The stall seemed to be a very busy one,

with plenty of interest, especially in the coffee at the start of the day, and in the beer towards the end!

Another busy and interactive stall was run by Fondazioni4Africa, who organized an area for presentations and discussions. Formed by four major Italian foundations, Fondazioni4Africa invests in north Uganda to encourage the return of internally dis‑placed people, and in Senegal to improve economic and social conditions in rural areas. Sessions held here included one on the contribution of diaspora to development and another on how edu‑cation about sustainable development can increase the impact of funding in Africa.

Forging new relationshipsNext door was the Turkish Foundations’ Corner, hosted by the Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV), which operates at the national level in a similar way to the EFC at a European level. Showcasing the work of about ten foundations out of its 120‑strong membership, they attracted a lot of interest from other organizations looking for partnerships. This was a success for them, as they were not so interested in meeting the general public, but rather in forging new relations with European institu‑tions and bureaucrats, and cementing their ties with other EFC members.

Another foundation that was looking to further relations with the European institutions was the largest EFC member, the Wellcome Trust, which saw this conference as the first step to doing more work in Europe. Highlighting key areas that the trust focuses on, they wanted to raise their profile with MEPs and policymakers, although they were also attracted by the thought of including an element of public engagement during the week.

Overall, this event lived up to its name of Interactive Fair, and was a nice touch to the week. A distinct lack of ‘public’ was a shame, but it was a bit of an unknown experiment, and one that can be counted as a success. It was clear that those displaying were unsure about what to expect too, and some were better than others about making it truly interactive.

I really like the new concept of Foundation Week because it has an ‘open day’ philosophy to open it up to other people rather than the usual suspects who attend these kinds of conferences. So they really tried − and they succeeded − to lower the entrance to make it accessible to more people, and I think that’s very interesting. I’ve

Jan DespiegelaereWhat do you think of Foundation Week so far (at the end of Day one)?

already heard of a lot of people who are coming to Foundation Week who have never been attached to the EFC and never taken part in any of these events before. These people really seemed attracted by this new concept. It’s a very good idea and I’m looking forward to attending as many sessions as possible.

Kai Hopkins is General Manager of Alliance magazine

Jan Despiegelaere is Coordinator of Community Foundation West Flanders at King Baudouin Foundation

10 The Open Days

n fact, the original, much larger, version of the exhibition opened in Lisbon on 12 February 2009, the 200th anni‑versary of Darwin’s birth, and ran until 24 May, attracting 162,000 visitors. It also served as an educational outreach programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, through which more than 1,500 school groups visited the

exhibition and participated in activities related to the themes of Darwin and evolution.

For the scaled‑down version of the exhibition presented at Foundation Week, an enclosed space was constructed in the exhibition hall. The outside walls of this showed the intellectual and scientific context to Darwin’s work, while inside Darwin’s life and works were explored and illustrated with a selection of the interactive media developed for the original exhibition and a number of original objects. These included a drama‑documentary on Darwin’s discovery and exposition of the theory of evolution, film clips of scientists explaining the centrality of Darwin’s work to modern scientific thought, samples of plants and beetles col‑lected by Darwin during his voyage, and copies of his seminal work On the Origin of Species in a number of languages.

Apart from the evident general interest of the exhibition, there was another important reason for staging it during Foundation Week. ‘In his book Descent of Man,’ explains Vilar, ‘Darwin clearly demonstrates that in both human and non‑human com‑munities, where there are benevolent, altruistic practices, those communi‑ties are more likely to survive and

perpetuate themselves. That makes it particularly appropriate for this big gathering of foundations and the altruistic purposes of our work.’

Moreover, believes Vilar, the exhibition has other lessons to teach us. ‘I think the work of Darwin calls our attention to pre‑sent challenges of environmental sustainability. Species fight for survival but their survival depends very much on the existence of adequate conditions.’ Our use of limited resources and our pollution of others such as air and water are diminishing those conditions, he believes. ‘His [Darwin’s] work also shows very clearly that we live on one planet, that we must preserve diversity. On the other hand, there is a unity in it and in the principles on which life is based.’

The exhibition is currently based in Spain and will be presented in Porto in November this year. Its display in Porto will become the focus for the creation of a new Museum of Biodiversity in the city’s university, and most of its contents will form the basis of a new science museum in Oeiras, Portugal, next year.

The original exhibition

The Interactive FairSome highlights Andrew Milner

Darwin’s EvolutionThe centrepiece of Foundation Week’s Interactive Fair was an exhibition on the life and work of naturalist Charles Darwin, mounted by Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. ‘We decided to organize an exhibition on Darwin in our headquarters in Lisbon to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth and 150 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species,’ explains Emílio Rui Vilar, Fundacão Calouste Gulbenkian President.

In its original concept for the Gulbenkian exhibition space, ‘Darwin’s Evolution’ was organized in three sections. To begin with, visitors were shown the cultural and scientific context of Darwin’s time. This was illustrated by a recreation of Ole Worm’s cabinet of natural curiosities and a replica of the Beagle. The second element centred on Darwin’s

life and achievements, while the third section focused on post‑Darwinian developments, such as the modern study of genetics. Finally, there was an interactive laboratory and a module on our current understanding of global and human evolution. The exhibition is on display at the Parque de las Ciencias in Granada until October 2010.

11The Open Days

art of an area of cultural works on display at the Interactive Fair, The Cloud was sponsored by the European Cultural Foundation. Its two per‑formances drew over 50 people to each. The device is a familiar one in science fiction – look‑ing back from the perspective of an imaginary

and superior future to expose and satirize the flaws of the pre‑sent. Participants were given a headset and taken by performers Luc van Loo and Petra Ardai on a short walk through the streets of Brussels (the interactive museum) in the course of which the performers asked members of the public (in the theatrical illusion of the show, museum staff were ‘animators’ trained to simulate the attitudes and responses of people in 2010) how it felt to live in 2010, while the Cloud narrated the performance. ‘Animators’ talked briefly of the problems of the world and themselves, while the Cloud explained how people had overcome the mutual dis‑trust we could see demonstrated in the ‘interactive museum’. They had learned instead to base their relations on compassion and empathy and, by doing so, had not only escaped the solitude and uncertainty of the individual condition but also discovered the basis for the solution of humankind’s larger problems.

The Cloud A historical guided tour into the future

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By turns, it was imaginative, uncomfortably voyeuristic, occa‑sionally moving and funny. The performance finished with the ceremony of the melon, which epitomized the mixture of the absurd and the serious character of the whole performance. A watermelon was passed among the group, and each person was asked to make a wish, then pass it on to their neighbour. Some made a great production of the rite, some handled it with grav‑ity, either mock or actual, and some simply passed it on with a self‑conscious smile.

It’s 2060. You’re about to be taken on a guided tour of the year 2010 exhibition in an interactive museum. Your guides are Ardai and van Loo, who model themselves on the two people who, in 2010, first discovered the Cloud, a virtual compendium of information and sense perception which allows people in 2060 to live in a world where the keynote feelings are compassion and empathy. As a theatrical convenience, the Cloud has a personality and can speak.

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How do you think the conference in Brussels is going to promote relationships between foundations and the European institutions?There is a huge physical advantage to being in Brussels because the European Commission is not far away. So it’s a good oppor‑tunity for foundations to meet people from the Commission, the Parliament and other institutions.

Europe is influencing our lives more than ever, especially in the eurozone. It is said that 60 per cent of legislation by national parliaments is simply implementing European measures, and this figure will surely go up. So if you work on research, migration or employment issues, you need to take into account European‑level ideas if you want to have an impact. It’s not a question of not doing local things any more; it’s a question of awareness of what’s hap‑pening at the European level so that you don’t do things on the local level that are no longer relevant. We can use this conference to create a consciousness of that among foundations.

We also have to teach people in the Commission and the Parliament about what kind of animals we are. They are used to people coming to them to ask for money. But when we come we bring money, and instead we ask for partnership and look to scale up, using a certain knowledge or expertise.

If you look at Europe’s many research‑driven foundations, they have the longest tradition of work with the Commission because science by definition is not national. If you take a sec‑tor like migration, the fact is that the European Union will take more and more decisions on migration policies, but national and local NGOs don’t know what’s happening on the European level. So foundations must inform the Commission what’s happening locally and also inform the local people what’s happening on a European level.

So foundations could perform this intermediary role to make sure the institutions connect with citizens in their own countries?Yes, foundations can help to close the gap between the citizen and Europe, through civil society organizations, to let people learn about Europe and to help Europe listen to what’s happening on the ground.

What about the European Foundation Statute?The main reason for having the conference here is that we have been working for some years now on the European Foundation Statute, and we wanted to create as much fuss as possible at Foundation Week by inviting a lot of MEPs so that they see what good work foundations do. We have to try to get the statute through with this Commission and this Parliament. It’s a long pro‑cess, but we have to create a political climate in Brussels where it is accepted that there will be a European Foundation Statute.

Were you encouraged or discouraged by yesterday’s findings? Awareness of foundations was pretty high among the sample of MEPs.1 The advantage is that we have elements we can play with now – at least we can identify the people in the Parliament who are willing to help. Also we can take forward this idea of having an informal group of European parliamentarians who meet with foun‑dations twice a year. Foundations in the different EU countries can identify high‑level MEPs who are sympathetic. In Belgium we have our vice chair, Jean‑Luc Dehaene, who is quite influential in the European Parliament, and he’s chair of a foundation called the Madariaga – College of Europe Foundation. As he has an interest, I know I can call on him.

So I’m pretty confident. The poll was an instrument of market‑ing, but at the same time it was more positive than I would have expected.

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Interview Luc Tayart de Borms

“ We have to create a political climate in Brussels where it is accepted that there will be a European Foundation Statute.”

1 This interview took place on 3 June. The question refers to the findings of the Gallup/EFC poll presented at the AGA opening plenary the previous day.

Luc Tayart de Borms is Managing Director of the King Baudouin Foundation

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mílio Rui Vilar, Gerry Salole, Luc Tayart de Borms, Francis Charhon – all stress the importance of the statute in their interviews in this report. President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, address‑ing a special plenary, acknowledged it to be ‘a sen‑sible idea’ and exhorted European foundations to be

patient for a year or two longer. ‘Ideas need time; even sensible ideas,’ he told them.

‘A statute enabling foundations in Europe to work in neigh‑bouring countries is long overdue. Not having this mechanism in place is stopping foundations from realizing their potential – and in these difficult financial times foundations have an increasingly important role to play,’ said Gerry Salole, Chief Executive of the EFC, in the opening plenary.

Under current regulation, a foundation in one of the EU’s 27 member states will find it hard to set up a programme in another European country even if it has the funds to do so. ‘This is not in line with the European vision that we all support so fervently,’ said Salole. A recent study by the EU estimated that there are some 110,000 foundations in Europe, collectively spending between

83 billion and 150 billion annually on projects and programmes, and providing employment for up to 1 million Europeans.

The opening plenaryThis year’s AGA opened with a debate on the results of an EFC/Gallup poll of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) which gauged how much they know about foundations and the work they do. The survey was carried out in February and March this year, and 92 MEPs responded – 12–13 per cent of the total, with a representative spread of age, gender, nationality and politi‑cal party. Of those who responded, a large majority were familiar with foundations and many had had direct contact with them. Of the almost 20 per cent with no knowledge of foundations, many said none had approached them. As many as 83 per cent said they would be interested in meeting foundations active in their fields of expertise.

Perceptions of foundations and the role they play were over‑whelmingly positive. Almost 90 per cent said foundations play an important role in society, while 75 per cent agreed that founda‑tions play a role no other organization could play. The public good

A conversation with the institutions

The chief ‘presence’ at the EFC’s 21st Annual General Assembly and Conference (AGA) was not to be found on the delegates list: the European Foundation Statute, still a dream rather than a reality but a dream that does at last seem to be coming closer to reality.

Caroline Hartnell

was the concept that respondents associated most closely with foundations. Piloting new initiatives and helping underprivileged groups were the two most recognized roles, the latter being more prevalent in new member states.

Foundations’ role in the EU 2020 AgendaDo foundations have a role to play in the EU 2020 Agenda, defined on the official website as ‘a vision of Europe’s social market econ‑omy for the 21st century’ and ‘a strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’? Of MEPs responding to the survey, 70 per cent said yes but most didn’t know what it should be.

Perhaps the most significant finding was that almost 90 per cent of respondents said that MEPs should have a role in promot‑ing foundations in Europe; 73 per cent said they would back a proposal for a European Foundation Statute.

Gerry Salole was encouraged by the results. ‘Now is the time for foundations to open the door and go in,’ he said. ‘It’s not the time for foundations to be shy. Europe is in deep crisis and foun‑dations have a unique role to play.’

Creating partnerships for the futureIn the debate that followed, panellists were asked what they saw as the most important gap for foundations to fill. There was much talk of partnership in what followed, but partnership with different sectors. While MEP Nadja Hirsch put the emphasis on founda‑tions and European institutions working together, former MEP Manuel Medina Ortega (pictured on page 13) mentioned foun‑dations working directly with citizens and developing European citizenship. But Salole cautioned people not to put foundations in boxes. ‘Foundations are forever changing,’ he said. ‘They work in many different areas.’

One issue that inevitably arises when you talk about European foundations and governments working together is whether foun‑dations are taking over the role of government. Where should the line be drawn? Foundation funding is small‑scale compared to that provided by governments. Partnership works best where foundations pilot initiatives and government takes them up. The example was given of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, which

How much do MEPs know about foundations? Around 70 per cent said they felt relatively knowledgeable about foundations. 83 per cent said they could name a foundation – though only two‑thirds could actually do so. 36 per cent had worked with a foundation; this figure was higher among younger people. 13 per cent had established a foundation; those from new member states were five times as likely to have done so. 27 per cent had received a grant from a foundation; the figure was twice as high in new member states.

At the end of the first day of the AGA, delegates walked to the nearby BELvue Museum for a drinks reception. The museum, situated in a magnificent 18th‑century house, contains one of the largest collections of Belgian art and artefacts. The atrium and gallery provided plenty of space for people to meet and discuss what they had heard so far during the conference. Good weather also allowed people to spill into the courtyard and enjoy some fresh air.

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recently piloted a migrants programme that was later taken up by government.

Despite all this talk of partnerships, are European foundations still too near‑sighted in their relationships? ‘Is globalization pass‑ing you by?’ Akwasi Aidoo of TrustAfrica asked European founda‑tions, which, he said, are less global than US foundations. Salole disputed this. ‘You must not be fooled by the inter‑galactic noise,’ he said. He pointed to research funding as an example, and the amount going into research in African universities. ‘We think 8 per cent of European foundations work outside Europe,’ he said.

On Wednesday morning, in a session called ‘Walking through the EU maze’, Janis Emmanouilidis of the European Policy Centre began a most important conversation on the impact of the current credit and political crisis in the European Union on philanthropy’s role in society – especially European society.

His remarks, most of them rather pessimistic about the ability of European nations to rise above domestic politics for the good of the EU, set the stage for an incredible set of conversations at this conference. At the opening session of the EFC conference, Emílio Rui Vilar of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian began by saying, ‘These are, indeed, times of uncertainty.’ He

Are MEPs doing enough to use the unexploited potential of foundations? Could they approach them to help work in their constituencies? It was generally agreed that decisionmakers should take advantage of their untapped potential and founda‑tions should make the case and contribute to Europe. For Salole, the next step is to contact those MEPs who have indicated themselves to be willing to work with foundations. One valuable outcome of the EFC/Gallup poll is the identification of a group of MEPs who want to work with foundations and are willing to support the European Foundation Statute.

was soon followed by the Programme Committee Chair, Luc Tayart de Borms of King Baudouin Foundation, who made clear, ‘This conference is not business as usual.’

As if these two comments were not sufficient, Gerry Salole, the EFC’s Chief Executive, was even more direct. He said bluntly, ‘This is not the moment for foundations to be shy, to withdraw. Europe is in a deep crisis and it needs civil society to engage.’ All three voices displayed the appropriate leadership we now seek from philanthropy in today’s world. Good for them!

But I couldn’t help wondering if this crisis and philanthropy’s response isn’t the next chapter in our tepid walk towards a more global definition of philanthropy’s role in society. Over the past two years, we in the US have witnessed a more activist federal government taking a careful look at what is the appropriate level of the public sector safety net and protection for our citizens. As we all know, the US has long supported both a stronger market‑based system and limited government, with philanthropy playing

a larger role in the social lives of our citizens. I suspect that today we are beginning to see a recognition within Europe that governments are limited, by resources if not desire, in how much they can/should do for their people. And as European governments begin a difficult era of fiscal discipline, I suspect that European philanthropy will be pressured – by its social conscience if not for political reasons – to do more in support of the common good of its fellow citizens.

In some ways, Europe and the US are again taking a step towards more common definitions of the respective roles of the public, private and philanthropic sectors. I’ve long suggested that the early years of the 21st century will define philanthropy’s role as one growing in size, service and scrutiny. Now, after two consecutive economic crises, those words remain true. Philanthropy will grow in size – both in Europe and the US. Philanthropy will do more. And as the informal, if not formal, partnership between the public and philanthropic sectors continues to grow we must accept the fact that the scrutiny of our sector – both in what we do and how we do it – will also grow.

“I couldn’t help wondering if this crisis and philanthropy’s response isn’t the next chapter in our tepid walk towards a more global definition of philanthropy’s role in society.”

Steve GundersonView from across the pond

Steve Gunderson is President of the US‑based Council on Foundations. These comments were first published as a contribution to Alliance’s Foundation Week blog.

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Mark Walport focuses on the global challenges The plenary began with a presentation by Mark Walport of the Wellcome Trust, who focused largely on the global challenges we face and how these will push foundations to be more effective. ‘The global challenges are so great,’ he said, ‘that foundations will be forced to think hard and make choices as to where they can make the most difference.’ He went on to suggest some concrete guidelines:

Foundations must think in terms of partnership, not substitution: we mustn’t do what others, either government or private sector, would do otherwise. We must avoid entering open‑ended funding commitments, without partners. Our work must be excellent. Finally, we can’t do everything.

He gave some examples of Wellcome’s own work which he felt matched these demanding standards. One was the Human Genome Project, for which the Wellcome Trust provided one‑third of the funding. If foundations want to maximize impact, the digital universe makes wide dissemination possible. Human genome sequences are now available to all, through the European Bioinformatics Institute.

Finally, Walport emphasized the importance of the European Foundation Statute. The challenge is for Europe to be an enabler for what foundations do, he said. ‘Our biggest resource is the people of Europe. We need to remove bureaucratic red tape, encourage donations and encourage innovation.’ In the light of the global challenges we face around poverty, environment and sustainability, ‘European foundations are needed as they’ve never been needed before.’ The European Foundation Statute is essential to enable foundations to play this much‑needed role, he insisted.

Endorsement from the President of the European CouncilHerman Van Rompuy, first full‑time President of the European Council and former prime minister of Belgium, who spoke next, also backed the statute, which he called ‘a sensible idea’. If foun‑dations do so much for the public good, he said, they are entitled to ask for support. ‘I hope that you will ultimately succeed in this endeavour,’ was his conclusion to a speech that recognized the key role that European foundations can and should play in the EU 2020 Agenda and congratulated them on the way they act as a link between citizens and governments (see opposite for extracts from his speech).

‘We will be patient,’ Emílio Rui Vilar said in summing up. ‘A new dialogue is opened by the speech today.’

Making it work: collaboration between foundations and the EU institutionsAmidst all the talk of foundations and the EU during the special plenary, an inevitable question arises: how easy is it to collaborate with the EU institutions? A breakout session on ‘Making it work’

The European game plan

This special plenary, chaired by EFC Chair Emílio Rui Vilar, focused on how foundations can contribute to the development of a stronger Europe in the years to come, a Europe that is better equipped to serve citizens in the 27 member states. Both plenary speakers expressed their support for the idea of a European Foundation Statute to enable European foundations to work more effectively.

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suggested that it isn’t always easy at all. One tension emerged in relation to the Platform for Intercultural Dialogue – an initiative facilitated by the European Cultural Foundation and supported by five other foundations. The Platform was established to pro‑mote practice exchanges between grassroots organizations and to act as an interlocutor between these organizations and the EU institutions. Today 11 European‑level and 26 national‑level organizations in 18 countries are involved. They are in ‘structured dialogue’ with the EU institutions. While convinced they can have policy influence, they also realize that the EU institutions would prefer to collaborate with large European‑level associa‑tions rather than local‑level organizations, though this is where the best work is often done. The EU likes to support innovation but in practice only supports organizations that have been in existence for five years.

There are also practical difficulties, described by Sabine Frank, Secretary‑General of the Platform. EU application processes and reporting requirements are lengthy and time‑consuming, and payments often come late. Only the larger, more experienced NGOs could hope to deal with the extent of bureaucracy involved, referred to by one speaker as ‘cumbersome and horrible’. Another

participant referred to the problem of high staff turnover in the DGs (Directorates‑General).

These difficulties in fact point to a valuable role for foundations. While NGOs can be literally ruined by the bureaucracy, late pay‑ments, etc, all this is much more manageable for foundations. They have cash and can cope with the delays and outlay of time. Foundations can offer a service to NGOs, said Gerrit Raws of King Baudouin Foundation, which interacts with the EU institu‑tions in several ways. While foundations should not undermine the chances of NGOs getting grants, they can usefully take on an intermediary role, he said, and provide support for those with good projects who don’t have sufficient expertise.

There may also be a role for the EFC in all this: presenting best foundation funding practices to EU institutions. Raws, among others, was a bit dubious about whether it’s worth expending time and effort doing this. In his experience, new people in the EU are always keen to simplify the funding processes and then find they can’t. Underlying the endless red tape is huge pressure from the European Parliament not to make any mistakes, and above all to avoid fraud. In his view, foundations just have to learn to deal with it, and to support those less able to do so. One thing was clear: if anyone is to take on this project, it has to be the EFC.

On the role of foundationsWe need strong institutions, certainly in a stormy period of rising individualism and populism. We also need a strong civil society to strengthen social coherence in a period of change.

‘Change’ can be an objective, but ‘change’ can also be dictated from the outside. We constantly have to adapt ourselves to a new world. But we also have to ensure stability in our societies. Organizations and structures are indispensable actors between the state and individuals. A democracy cannot

live and prosper without that feeling of ‘togetherness’ and ‘belonging to something’. That is why your foundations are important, both on a national and on a European level.

I value the social contribution of foundations highly – both your work within the member states and your work in bringing the citizens of different member states together. Both are important!

I do not underestimate a foundation that operates only in one village, for one school, for one hospital, far away in Portugal or Finland. It is great if there are contacts with other nationalities, but in my view this is no requirement to pass the test of being a ‘good’ European. The ‘Europe’ I cherish does not only exist in cross‑border projects. The Union is made up of about 500 million people living in 27 democracies. The European public good cannot flourish without vibrant cities, without lively villages, without well‑functioning member states. And I think that in the Union we are all more and more aware of this interconnection.

On the European Foundation StatuteSince foundations do so much work to enhance the public good, they are entitled to ask at some point: what does our political system do for us?

In your case, per definition, politicians should only create the conditions. The European Foundation Centre has strongly made the case for a European Foundation Statute: one legal framework for public benefit foundations in 27 member states. This would reduce cross‑border barriers and stimulate foundation activities more generally. It is a sensible idea.

In European politics, however, ideas need time; even sensible ideas, and sometimes especially sensible ideas!

In conclusionI should like to congratulate you on the important work you do. You constitute a vital link between European citizens and the work of the Union. You are a symbol and a guarantee of our European way of life.

Herman Van Rompuy is President of the European Council

Herman Van RompuyExtracts from his speech to the EFC special plenary on 3 June

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Advocacy in the framework of Europe: How to influence policy making?There was much talk during the AGA of advocacy with the EU institutions, but a breakout session on ‘Advocacy in the frame‑work of Europe’ turned out to be more a discussion of how foun‑dations can support advocacy per se. One of the main issues for those carrying out advocacy with EU institutions seems to be understanding how they work. More generally, the discussion focused largely on whether foundations should engage in advo‑cacy themselves or support others to do it.

Views on this varied considerably. ‘Wouldn’t you like these foundations just to give you the money and get off your back?’ Stephen Pittam of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) asked Carlotta Besozzi of the European Disability Forum. ‘Carlotta, be brave, speak your truth,’ he encouraged her. Besozzi was politic in her reply, insisting that ‘added value on top of fund‑ing needs to be decided jointly’.

Astrid Bonfield of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund disagreed with Pittam, drawing on her experience of supporting a campaign to ban cluster bombs. ‘It’s not just about money,’ she

said. ‘As foundations, if we’re not using every asset we have to access the people we have unique access to, we’re not doing our job.’ She stressed the importance of the ‘honest broker’ role foundations can play: they can access and bring together gov‑ernment and other sectors. And if they have board approval in advance, they can act quickly and take advantage of often very short windows of opportunity.

But Nicolas Borsinger of the Pro Victimis Foundation sup‑ported Pittam. Organizations like the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and Fundación ONCE have real weight in their own countries, he said, but most foundations, including his own, don’t. ‘Most foundations who want to support advocacy need to support NGOs that do have credibility and expertise and stay back.’

Christopher Harris, formerly with the Ford Foundation, made the point that, unlike the two examples presented, most foun‑dation support for advocacy is ineffective. A huge amount of money may not be needed, but foundations must be willing to offer long‑term core support, with capacity building for their NGO partners if needed.

The political will for a European Foundation Statute exists at European Commission level, but the support of all 27 member states is needed to carry it into effect. This was the principal message relayed by Claire Bury of the EC’s Internal Market and Services Directorate‑General, who was one of the panellists at this discussion. Therefore, one of the key roles for foundations in securing the statute is to help the Commission to convince them. While DAFNE (Donors and Foundations Network in Europe) is useful as a representative organization, she said, what is needed is for foundations in individual countries to produce solid arguments, since this is where the real fight lies. European pronouncements would cut no ice with member state governments. This week was an opportunity to do this.

Another area of difficulty, she remarked, was that, unlike with companies (and she reminded participants in passing that the

European Companies Statute had taken 20 years to achieve), there is no common definition or set of characteristics that could be applied to foundations across the EU. Here again, the Commission needs foundations’ help to frame the statute in the terms that would be most beneficial to the sector.

Fellow panellist Hans Fleisch of the Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen felt that there was probably already 95 per cent agreement on what the statute should look like. He said this was a chance to set a standard (without interfering with diversity) for European public benefit organizations, which would in turn have an effect on national legislation.

One participant remarked that next year would see the Hungarian presidency of the EU. Why not try to win the Hungarian government over in advance? Also, why shouldn’t supporters of the statute present their ideas to MEPs who, in turn, could bring political pressure to bear? Claire Bury

responded positively to both of these ideas. With the so‑called trio system, whereby three successive presidencies cooperate to provide additional continuity by sharing common political programmes, picking the member states off one by one might pay dividends; she recommended participants to look also to Luxembourg and Italy.

But the next hurdle, she argued, was to present the idea to the EC’s Impact Assessment Board; evidence from individual member states would be needed to convince what is a fairly hard‑boiled entity. The crucial phase of this fact‑finding is between now and November – and the sooner, the better.

The European Foundation StatuteWhere does it stand?

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Interview Pier Mario Vello

“I think that this new economic crisis in the eurozone is worse than the financial crisis in 2008 and the beginning of 2009 – but we’re not talking about it.”

What are your impressions of the conference so far?My overall impression is very good of course. I have two comments. First,

the theme is the relationship between foundations and the European Union, but I feel there is a lack of commitment on the EU side. Some of the people here representing the EC have not been well prepared. Although they declare a positive approach towards foundations, the statute has nevertheless encountered a lot of difficulties, so there is a sort of contradiction.

Second, I think that this new economic crisis in the eurozone is worse than the financial crisis in 2008 and the beginning of 2009 – but we’re not talking about it.

I would expect someone among the European institution or foundation

representatives to have raised the issue because European countries will have some big social problems in the future and we have to forecast a higher number of requests to foundations because state funding will be cut.

Pier Mario Vello is Secretary General of Fondazione Cariplo

The second day of the AGA ended with a networking reception at the Musée Magritte Museum, situated in the Altenloh Hotel in the heart of Brussels. The museum, which opened in 2009, was partly funded by the Magritte Foundation and displays over 200 works by the surrealist artist. A large number of delegates attended the reception to mingle and enjoy the unique surroundings. After dark, the party continued with dancing at the BELvue Museum.

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In your speech on receiving the Raymond Georis Prize, you talked about the fact that we have our own governance challenges in Europe and the US. You talked of undemocratic institutions that are supposed to be making decisions, of a revolving glass door between business and government. What do you think foundations and civil society organizations can do to help address these challenges?You can do a lot because you are much, much more powerful than you think. The balance of power between governments and civil societies is changing. Because of the development of telecom‑munications and the web – emails, YouTube, etc – people are connected now. Every one of us can be a walking newspaper; it’s no longer just the big institutions. That gives civil society an amazing voice.

Someone like Obama couldn’t have succeeded before. The Clintons had the Democratic Party machine, they were the king and queen of the Party – who was this guy Obama? He comes from nowhere and suddenly comes in with the nomination. Very intelligently, he used things like the internet to connect the com‑munity. So technology is giving a lot of power to players who were not actors before; now they can be actors.

But so far the banks have escaped unscathed with their bonuses. We have let them do it.We are not putting enough pressure on our politicians. You notice British politicians outbidding each other on who’s going to be more tough on the banks, so we need to hold them to that. One of the problems, I’m afraid, is that some of the things the banks are doing are not really clear to the public – we don’t understand this concept of casinos. It has nothing to do with banking, it’s about speculating. It has no social or economic function what‑soever other than generating fees, which feeds bonuses. The public unfortunately don’t have enough financial education to understand this. We really need to explain to people exactly what the banks have been doing. Already there is a huge amount of

anger; we live in dangerous times. I was telling our banker friends last night: you guys are finished; by your actions you have really finished capitalism.

So the logic for foundations would really be to give their support to civil society organizations that can mobilize public support and hold politicians to account to push them to rein in the bankers?Absolutely. Once people get organized, they can talk, they can debate, they can make decisions, they can act, and we can put pressure on the politicians. We can ask our MPs questions, we can write in newspapers or on our websites. We can make things difficult for people, and we hope that the bankers and the govern‑ment will really appreciate how serious the situation is.

Do you feel it’s time for Europeans and North Americans to start looking to themselves instead of looking at Africans and accusing them of being corrupt?As an African, I have to face our own shortcomings. I just wish that my friends in Europe and the US would do the same. Europeans and Americans in general are fond of talking about us corrupt Africans and the lack of rule of law, lack of this, lack of that – and in many cases maybe they are correct. But I think we should not speak with forked tongues because we should also look to ourselves in Europe and America and ask ourselves how much partnership in corruption we are in with those corrupt people in Africa or Asia or anywhere else.

We have no right to criticize others unless we are happy to indulge in self‑criticism, and unfortunately my friends in Europe and the US have developed this resistance. They all think they are lily white, above reproach. African observers of the recent British elections were stunned when they found that at several election stations huge numbers were unable to vote. They are saying, ‘Excuse me, when this happens in Kenya, you guys have a go at us and say Africa is again failing its people, and this time it’s here and nobody’s taking any action.’

So what I’m trying to say is that we are not perfect in Africa, and we have to face it. Europe and America are not perfect either, and when we accept lower standards in what we’re doing, we lose the moral right to preach to other people. So we should get off our soap box and sort ourselves out before we preach to everybody else.

Interview Mo Ibrahim

“What I’m trying to say is that we are not perfect in Africa, and Europe and America are not perfect either. So we should get off our soap box and sort ourselves out before we preach to everybody else.”

Mo Ibrahim was Chairman of Celtel International until 2007, when he stepped down to run the Mo Ibrahim Foundation

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his comprises the Ibrahim Index, which measures 84 parameters of good governance, and the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. This prize has not been awarded this year, for the second year run‑ning. According to the seven‑member prize committee, there have been ‘no new candidates or new develop‑

ments and therefore no selection of a winner has been made’. ‘In his work to encourage good governance in Africa, Dr Mo

Ibrahim matches the best of Europe with the best of Africa. In doing so he is at the cutting edge of a new paradigm for global philanthropy,’ said Raymond Georis.

As Mo Ibrahim was to do in the speech that followed, Georis made the point that Ibrahim’s efforts to promote good govern‑ance could serve as a model for other regions, including Europe. ‘We need to look at EU institutions in these dangerous political and economic times. Important decisions are taken in situations where there is no democratic control.’

In his speech, Ibrahim stressed the need for Africa to put its colonial history behind it and take responsibility for its own future.

‘Africa is a very rich continent,’ he insisted. ‘Don’t believe Oxfam and our other friends. Africa has 950 million people and 23 per cent of world resources. But the people are very poor. We can’t continue to blame colonialism; that ended 50 years ago. It is time for us to take responsibility. What happened was a failure of leadership, of governance. All good things start from good governance.’

But the failure of governance is not just an African problem. ‘For every corrupt African leader, there are a dozen corrupt busi‑ness leaders in the US and Europe,’ he said. ‘In the financial crisis so much pain has been inflicted on the world by the irresponsible behaviour of the bankers. Have they dispensed with their fiduciary duty? There is a glass revolving door between governments and banks. A $30 billion payment to Goldman Sachs from a Secretary to the Treasury who was previously with Goldman Sachs was not identified as corruption. If it had happened in Kenya, it would have been on the front page of the Financial Times. We are working on governance in Africa, but you should pay attention here too.’

The closing plenary

The closing plenary began with the awarding of the Raymond Georis Prize for Innovative Philanthropy in Europe, now in its seventh year. This year’s winner was Mo Ibrahim, founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, for the initiative he has developed to promote better governance in Africa.

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The photo competitionThe awarding of the Raymond Georis Prize was followed by the announcement of the photo competition results. This year’s win‑ner, submitted by King Baudouin Foundation, shows hero rats saving people’s lives. Ludwig Forrest, who received the prize on behalf of KBF, explained that the rat is a real hero, educated by Tanzanian organization Apopos to detect landmines and diag‑nose tuberculosis.

Twenty years of the EFCThe keynote speaker was Francis Charhon of Fondation de France. Charhon began by declaring himself very impressed by the new form of meeting represented by Foundation Week, then went on to look back over the last 20 years of the EFC. Laying the Foundations: 20 years of the EFC properly closes the first two decades of the EFC, he said. In 1989, foundations and their activities were little known in most European countries. The EFC has brought the foundation sector into view as well as working for legal and fiscal changes. ‘One of the Centre’s great successes,’ he said, ‘has been to inject a real dynamism in this young sector, and above all to introduce its leaders to one another, allowing them to build working relationships on a basis of mutual trust and friendship.’

The EFC has been through many phases, he remembered, pay‑ing tribute to the help – both money and experience – received from ‘our American friends’ in the hard early days, which was in his view ‘a determining factor in the Centre’s survival’. Now the

issue is European integration. ‘Each of our 27 member states has their own culture and traditions, and it is not easy to get them to march to the same tune . . . We need to work together to find our own strategy for development and action, through collective sug‑gestions, consensus and active cooperation, if we want to build a Europe which truly serves its citizens.’ Europe is now a safe and peaceful place, he said, but the emergence of isolationism, nationalism and xenophobia is a danger.

There remains one issue to be solved, said Charhon: are we a European centre or an international organization? The European Foundation Statue derives from the wish to have ‘more Europe’ in our lives. Ignoring questions about whether the statute would be useful, he turned the question around: why don’t we have a stat‑ute? It would cost nothing. Foundation efforts can never replace those of states, but if we can leverage our efforts, we can make a significant difference. ‘As I look at the path we’ve come down,’ he

Hero rats saving people’s lives Sylvain Piraux

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“My impression is that it was an experiment and I think a successful one.”

What are your impressions of the conference?My impression is that it was an experiment and I think a successful one. I like the Foundation Week nature of it. There were things you wouldn’t expect, like the Darwin exhibit – it was interesting to have that here. The formal part, of course, was like everything else – some of it was better than others, some was better prepared than others. I think the EFC staff did a great job of giving us a menu to choose from and I like the more informal character that’s emerging

– like lunch and dinner from a buffet. And simple things like all of the meeting rooms having good natural lighting.

What was the session you most enjoyed?Bizarrely, maybe, the one on cross‑border giving regulations – which is not what you might expect me to enjoy. But really I’m impressed with what’s been accomplished in terms of lowering the barriers for cross‑border giving among EU member states – up to 15 now out of 25. Just five years ago, it was almost like all these tax lawyers didn’t know what charitable giving was. This year, it kind of stopped them in their tracks when I asked them about giving to Ghana. They said, that’s not on our agenda, but then five years ago cross‑border giving in Europe wasn’t either.

ended, ‘I’m confident of our ability to deal with the difficulties with imagination, commitment and enthusiasm.’

Any other businessThe closing plenary was also the occasion for the signing of Memorandums of Understanding between the EFC and the European Venture Philanthropy Association and the Arab Foundations Forum, to strengthen the relationship and collabora‑tion between them and the EFC.

Finally the time came to announce the theme of the next confer‑ence and the next Chair of the EFC. ‘Challenging times neces‑sitate pulling together so we can not only survive but improve,’ he

said. ‘For the next conference we looked for a theme to illustrate the interconnec‑tion of Europe and the rest of the world. We thought the oceans themselves pro‑vide an inspiring theme, representing the very essence of life and at the same time alerting us to the difficult environmental problems we face. We would like to wel‑come you to Cascais, Portugal, next year.’

It is in Cascais in May 2011 that the next EFC Chair, Marco Parlangeli (left), Chief Executive of the Italian foundation Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, will assume his new role.

Interview Chet Tchozewski

MOUs with the EFC.

Below: Marwan Awartani signs on behalf of the Arab Foundations Forum.

Left: Serge Raicher signs on behalf of European Venture Philanthropy Association

Chet Tchozewski is Honorary President of Global Greengrants Fund

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Going back to something you said in your speech in the closing plenary, do you think the EFC should be a European organization or an international one?For me this has been an important question from the beginning. It’s curious because this is something that has never been clear. It’s probably why we were able to grow up. When we started we were European and we were helped by many international organizations, and we were extremely happy to be supported. Since then the organization has gone in two directions – one international and one European. I liked the idea of the European Foundation Statute – I was in fact the father of the idea – because of the European perspective. In my view, the EFC is a European institution which can have very strong relationships with the Council on Foundations and other non‑European organizations.

Whenever the idea is to reinforce Europe, people start to say you have to enlarge, you have to create a new space. They are constantly trying to update the idea of Europe and the spirit of what we are doing. The question is: is the EFC working as an international organization for Europe in the world or it is a European organization working for Europe in the world? It’s a difficult question to answer.

So do you think that until now it’s been more international – and you want it to be more European?We have gone phase by phase. First, it was a European centre paid for by foreign donations. It took a long time to set it up. We were very preoccupied with Eastern Europe because of the Wall falling and we didn’t really have time to think about the organiza‑tion. Now we are on the way to financial independence, and a real European project, the European Foundation Statute. After that there will be tax issues and other European projects.

We have to find a way to represent the 27 countries, but also to have strong links with other foundations outside Europe and to connect with the world. The idea is not to close things; we will always be open. If you look at the Council on Foundations, it’s an

American organization with an international programme. In fact, they are less international than the EFC, but perhaps that’s not a good idea.

I think what the rest of the world, particularly the Americans, want is a strong Europe. They’re worried that the debt crisis in the eurozone is going to bring the rest of the world down.But crisis is good for Europe. Each time there is a crisis we find a new solution and we step up. I don’t know where the idea comes from that Europe can disappear or anything like that, but it’s impossible. When I think of the European Foundation Statute, and the EFC, these are political projects to reinforce the citizen‑ship of Europe, so that we can have institutions in which we can recognize ourselves.

Do you feel encouraged by Herman Van Rompuy’s remarks about the statute happening? I’m sure it’s going to happen. I never quit!

Francis Charhon is Chief Executive Officer of Fondation de France

Interview Francis Charhon

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The AGA Some session highlights

Impact measurement, evaluation, benchmarking, non‑profit analysis – what works?Andrew Milner

Over the past few years, remarked Barry Knight of CENTRIS, who co‑presented this session, techniques and tools for evalua‑tion have proliferated. How do you choose one over another? He proposed four basic rules: it should be owned by the organiza‑tion using it – that is, it should be seen as an integral part of the organization and staff should be comfortable using it; it should be useful; it should be robust (that is, deliver valid and reliable results); and it should be simple.

Fellow presenter Lisa Jordan of the Bernard van Leer Foundation also pointed out the distinction between evaluating a foundation’s programmes and evaluating the institution itself. Most are more ready to do the former, yet understanding their impact as grantmaking institutions is imperative not only for learning how to make the best use of their resources but also for

AGA sessions offered the chance to discuss various EU policies, and also more general sector‑wide issues such as impact measurement, partnerships and the use of social media. Some session highlights are shown on the next two pages.

demonstrating the value of their privileged fiscal status in what could sometimes be a hostile climate.

Any evaluation, suggested Jordan, especially one to track long‑term change, needs to be built into the planning stage of a programme. This would enable progress on the perennially diffi‑cult questions of evaluation: attribution, measuring advocacy, and the disparity between the time it takes results to appear and the need to commit funds to programmes. Collecting baseline data, for instance, would provide a means of comparative analysis.

Both stressed, however, that there is no ‘philosopher’s stone’ – no single technique or method that will serve for all eventu‑alities. You have to choose the method to suit the job and, even when you have found the right tool, you are likely to have to modify it to your particular requirements.

Finally, as Knight observed, evaluation is a developing disci‑pline. As with each individual evaluation, the discipline, with many diversions and course corrections, is edging closer to accurate results. Both Knight and Jordan are trying to build a community of practice that should include not only foundations but also other organizations that have the same value base.

Beyond the emergency: lessons from disaster responseAndrew Milner

Public attention for disasters is short‑lived and the funds raised for them are not always well spent, said Rien van Gendt of the Van Leer Group Foundation, who chaired this session. Do founda‑tions have a different role in responding to disasters from relief agencies, and if so what is it? He outlined five rules from the book produced by the Foundation Center last year on disaster grant‑making: stop, look and listen; don’t act in isolation; think beyond the current emergency; use the expertise of local organizations; and be accountable to those you are trying to help.

Most of the two presenters’ (Joia Mukherjee of Partners in Health and Nicolas Borsinger of Pro Victimis Foundation) remarks naturally focused on the Haiti earthquake, but both also spoke from their experience of other disasters. Both broadly agreed that Haiti relief efforts had almost amounted to what Mukherjee called a disaster within a disaster: the UN’s cluster system had been exclusive, bureaucratic and counter‑productive; relief efforts had

bypassed what was left of Haiti’s public authorities and had, in some cases, undermined existing very effective programmes.

It didn’t have to be like this. Not everyone, said Borsinger, has the right to intervene in the wake of a disaster. The government in question and/or the international community should establish a priority system for relief agencies that could do essential work.

Accompaniment was the term Mukherjee used to describe the way Partners in Health works with both local communities and public sector authorities to strengthen their hand. We need to be able to fund and assist the grassroots and to work with public authorities so that governments and communities can together build a society that works. The absence of this in Haiti and in other disaster regions has made calamities infinitely worse. We also need to be more radical in tracking the money raised for disaster relief, she urged, and to be accountable for the waste of money.

Is there a particular role for philanthropy? For one thing, said Suzanne Siskel of the Ford Foundation, we need to take a long‑term approach. As van Gendt had noted, the world’s atten‑tion faded quickly although it was clear that rebuilding Haiti would take years.

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What is not counted doesn’t count: why researching foundations mattersMarta Rey García

This turned out to be an exciting debate about the state of research on foundations in Europe, with all panellists basically agreeing that knowledge about the sector is scarce but much needed. As Anthony Tomei of the Nuffield Foundation, chairing, said, the reasons for this include: foundations’ interest in evaluat‑ing their own practice; the need for the sector to demonstrate its impact to policymakers and potential partners; and the need for critical thinking about foundations’ role in European society.

Wioletta Gradkowska from the European Commission’s Research Directorate‑General described the ‘Foundations research and mapping’ (FOREMAP) project, which identifies areas of improvement and effective action in public‑private research partnerships, while John Healy from the Centre for Nonprofit Management, Trinity College, Dublin proposed rein‑forcing the quality and international scope of existing centres for research and teaching rather than creating new ones.

The session provided me with an opportunity to talk about the research that the Institute for Strategic Analysis of Foundations (INAEF) is undertaking. The project’s first step is to gather data

about the 11,000 or so Spanish foundations in order to get an idea of their impact. Our medium‑term goal is to provide the sec‑tor with tools to build its capacity and evaluate its performance, with a view to increasing its value to society.

The debate that followed reminded us that a sustainable agenda for research on European foundations not only requires the commitment of research bodies and donors’ associations but also makes demands of the accountability and transparency of foundations themselves. It would also benefit from the application of mainstream academic research theories and models, and from a focus on international comparability that starts with streamlin‑ing data‑gathering methods and exchanging best practice. The European Research Network on Philanthropy is already working towards this.

My personal concluding remark is that it also requires a new view from all of us researching the ‘foundations forest’: since we are counting the trees, we should make an extra effort to under‑stand the ecosystem where foundations enter into long‑term rela‑tionships with the public, business and civil society sectors, and to understand how these relationships can ultimately generate social capital.

Building philanthropic infrastructure – sexier than you thinkCaroline Hartnell

Judging by the fact that there was standing room only for this ses‑sion, one can only conclude that EFC participants already think it’s a pretty sexy topic, but sexy or not, the sad fact is that there are ever fewer funders willing to fund philanthropic infrastructure. Why? Moderated in great style by David Emerson of the UK’s Association of Charitable Foundations, the session tried to get to the bottom of this question and presented two foundations that actually do fund infrastructure.

Karin Jestin of Fondation 1796, which works on sustainable development, social entrepreneurship and helping to build the sector in Switzerland, cited the need for cooperation among foun‑dations as one reason for supporting philanthropy infrastructure. Another is the need to put philanthropy on the map: if they are not seen as relevant partners, she said, foundations will lose oppor‑tunities to have impact.

The second presenter was Pieter Stemerding of Adessium Foundation, a newcomer to the small band of infrastructure funders (see Alliance interview with him at http://www.alli‑ancemagazine.org/node/3158). Adessium’s decision to estab‑lish the Erasmus Centre for Philanthropy at Rotterdam University arose from their founder’s own difficulty in finding useful, inde‑pendent advice about embarking on philanthropy.

Why do so few fund in this area? The most obvious reason is that there are so many causes foundations want to support, and infrastructure can’t compete with children, human rights, etc. A speaker from New Zealand suggested that if trustees don’t see the value, they won’t fund. UK consultant David Carrington remarked that if investing in infrastructure fosters self‑criticism, something that foundations are bad at, this will help effectiveness and demonstrate the value of infrastructure. Overall, however, demonstrating the value of infrastructure remains neither easy nor straightforward.

Several speakers suggested that it should be the responsibil‑ity of every foundation as a good citizen to support their own ecosystem and make sure it’s sufficiently visible to the rest of society. Seen in this light, funding infrastructure could be seen as a ‘self‑imposed tax system’.

Marta Rey Garcia is assistant professor at the University of A Coruña, Spain and director of INAEF. This report is based on her contribution to Alliance’s Foundation Week blog.

Postscript 27

You were one of the people who attended the dinner for the new CEOs earlier in the week. I think the notable thing about the new group is that it’s almost all women? That’s right. Apparently almost all of the new appointments to CEO positions among EFC members over the past year have been women. There is one man, but he was unable to attend the dinner. This is unusual in continental Europe, but in the UK the foundation movement traditionally has a lot more women heads.

Did you feel that as a group you had things in common?Yes, we had both variety and things in common. Between six of us at the dinner, we come from five countries and fund across many countries in different areas of work – science, education, criminal justice, migration. But what we had in common was that we were all trying to get to grips with an organization that was new to us, and/or a new sector, sometimes in a new country. I think it’s a bit lonely being a new chief exec – you have to forge a new relation‑ship with your board, and some things take a bit of time to learn to navigate, like issues of governance and management.

Meeting up helped us to have that daybreak moment of reali‑zation that someone else is experiencing some of what you’re experiencing. We didn’t just talk about things that we were finding difficult, but also about the optimism of being agents for social change and about wanting to drive better impact measurement and better understanding of what we’re trying to achieve.

The fact that you’re all women is obviously an interesting thing in itself. Do you think it adds anything to the dynamic of the group? Would it have been different if it had been mixed?I think it is inevitably a different dynamic. We’ve all grown up try‑ing to change a cultural dynamic of male supremacy. We weren’t grouping together around the issue of glass ceilings or how other people perceive us as women in senior positions, but I think it does inevitably affect the tone of the conversation.

Do women tend to have a different style of leadership on the whole?I think so, but I think it is cultural rather than DNA, so the extent is different in different cultures. Management culture has become more psychological over the past decade or so anyway, so there are a lot of men in this field whose style of management is facilita‑tive rather than the old‑style autocratic machismo approach.

Is this group going to carry on in some form?I don’t think we will meet up much because we’re geographically dispersed, but we will keep up with each other as an email family. Certainly one or two of us will also be talking on the phone about things that we’re struggling with.

Postscript

Sara Llewellin pictured left, second from left, took up the post of Chief Executive of the Barrow Cadbury Trust in November 2009

Interview Sara Llewellin

“Meeting up helped us to have that daybreak moment of realization that someone else is experiencing some of what you’re experiencing”

The new CEOs

On Tuesday 1 June, six new foundation CEOs came together for dinner, giving them the chance to share their experiences of taking the helm. Caroline Hartnell talked to one of them to find out how it went.

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Views from around the worldGina AndersonPhilanthropy Australia

“We’re watching European countries struggle with the aftermath of the global

financial crisis, and yet I feel like here at the conference it’s the elephant in the room.”

Two things stand out for me. One is the focus on Africa, which is very understandable because of its geographic closeness to Europe, whereas Asia is our focus. And of course because of that focus – Europe and Africa – nowhere else makes it onto the map.

The second thing is, on the other side of the world, we’re watching the European Union and European countries struggle with the aftermath of the global financial crisis, and yet I feel like here at the conference it’s the elephant in the room – barely mentioned and certainly not discussed.

Europe, like Australia, has big government. And as big government has big debts and they’re going to have to cut government budgets, where’s that money going to come from, and how will that hit the poor and vulnerable, and what is expected of foundations in response? Will it undercut social funding of infrastructure for not‑for‑profits? What’s the responsibility of foundations in the face of this crisis at home, let alone abroad? At the conference, it feels like everyone knows it, but nobody’s talking about it.

The third comment I would make is I’m always struck when I travel

internationally that, at a general level, the issues philanthropy is facing are exactly the same whether you are from a large advanced economy or a very small developing economy. We’re all dealing with impact and evaluation, with measurement and transparency, with justifying our special tax status to governments.

It’s so very similar and yet I think we are all in danger of just tinkering at the edges. I think real social change happens, certainly in our part of the world, when foundations work with not‑for‑profits, business and government, and find that sweet spot. Because you have all those partners at the table, you think about things in a very different way. Often when we get together as foundations, what we really end up talking about is the sort of programme that might address part of the problem but doesn’t actually focus on the really hard stuff, which is achieving social change.

Patricia AragonésFundación Fabretto, Spain/Nicaragua

“It’s been a great way to exchange ideas and learn about opportunities with organizations

that I didn’t think we would have a particular match with before.”

The conference has been very informative. We are a family of three foundations – a US foundation and a Spanish foundation exist to serve the rural education programmes we operate in Nicaragua. We began in Spain five

years ago and now we’re beginning to look beyond Spain to the rest of Europe.

We have similar issues about cross‑border donations, being able to work more effectively throughout Europe in terms of raising money. We’re interested in the European Foundation Statute, and also the VAT implications.

We’ve had an opportunity to engage with other foundations, both grantmaking institutions to whom we often apply for funds and those that we might partner with on the ground. It’s been a great way to see them and, in an informal way, exchange ideas and learn about opportunities with organizations that I didn’t think we would have a particular match with before. It’s been very enriching.

Fernando RossettiGIFE, Brazil

“I missed the NGOs here and I see very few businesses, so I’m not sure if we’ve got the right format yet.”

I think the interesting thing about this conference is that foundations are trying to create dialogue with government. The challenge is to create the right format for productive dialogue with different institutions, like government, businesses and NGOs. I missed the NGOs here and I see very few businesses, so I’m not sure if we’ve got the right format yet. Maybe you do have to focus on dialogue with government on the European Foundation Statute, but for many of the themes, such as Africa or education or marginalized youth, the dialogue should be much wider.

What did they think?

Postscript 29

Views from around the worldYou also need to discuss public

policy, and although I don’t see that here, I do see the intention. What I’m saying is that we’re all learning. There was an intentional focus on the dialogue with the European Union in this conference, and I think we’re learning even if we haven’t yet achieved a format to produce more creative or even productive dialogue.

Akwasi AidooTrustAfrica

“I think European foundations can do more, and that’s my call – that they should take centre stage globally.”

The key point about this Foundation Week and the EFC conference is that they truly represent a crossing of borders. Europe has a long tradition of crossing borders – sometimes not in a good way – and Europe itself has been knocking down its own borders. I believe there is a need for European philanthropy to stress that tradition and to live it and to go global. I see this week’s event as a very important step towards that. The philanthropic community is reaching out to the bilateral and multilateral institutions, and to the Brussels institutions. With people from all over the world here, it’s more than a European event and that’s a very striking thing.

The good news from TrustAfrica’s standpoint is that even though we live in a period of crisis – the financial crisis has been the context of almost all discussion over the last couple of years

– there’s a lot of hope that foundations and philanthropic institutions are still very enthusiastic about what they do and eager to reach out and do more. There is a proverb that says, ‘when it’s dark enough, you can see the stars’ and I’m really happy to see that European foundations are not becoming more insular and inward‑looking, and are keen to step forward. There is an optimistic atmosphere about this event that is very healthy. I haven’t heard or experienced the sort of pessimism or fear that one senses very easily in the governmental and private sectors, with the euro crisis and what’s happening in Greece dominating the news. It’s almost as if this is going in the opposite direction. So it’s very optimistic, very hopeful, and I like that.

But I think European foundations can do more, and that’s my call – that they should take centre stage globally. There’s a lot that European foundations specifically and European philanthropy as a whole can bring to the global community.

Terry OdendahlGlobal Greengrants Fund, US

“This conference isn’t turning out to be as European as I expected.”

I took in two sessions on my

first day: a portion of the Peace and Security Funders briefing on ‘A view from Europe’ and the Global Fund for Community Foundations’ ‘Not such a poor cousin: understanding the unique role of community philanthropy in

driving development’. Each was good, although quite different in tone. Missing from the first was much discussion of the role that philanthropy might play in promoting peace. The Peace and Security Funders’ reception was a particular treat with philanthropic inspiration and music by Colombian star Juanes.

The Global Fund for Community Foundations has just completed a baseline study of 50 applications for grants. Sound boring? Not at all. Lively discussion followed the presentation of preliminary results, focusing on the importance of the community foundation as a model of locally driven philanthropy. I was particularly struck by the diversity in the room. Participants came from Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, and all had important stories to tell. This conference isn’t turning out to be as European as I expected.

Peter CleavesEmirates Foundation, UAE

“I got gems out of every session I went to.”

This conference focused very much on European

issues, so why would a foundation from the Arab world be interested in attending? The fact of the matter is that the European Foundation Centre is a source of value for any foundation. I went to programmes on evaluation, on volunteerism, on endowment management, on climate. These are all enormous issues worldwide and I got gems out of every session I went to.

Postscript30

The aim of this initiative is to: give a group of ‘younger’ foundation people the opportunity to meet and get to know each other; provide them with insights into issues relevant to philanthropy and their particular jobs; give them the opportunity to take part in this key EFC event and get acquainted with EFC staff and structures.

After this initial pilot the aim is to make this initiative an integral part of the EFC annual conference.

Caroline Hartnell met seven of the Next Generation group on the first day of Foundation Week and asked them what they were hoping to get out of the programme. On the final morning, she spoke to three of them about what they had in fact got out of it and which sessions they had enjoyed the most.

‘I am hoping to get to know better the typology of foundations, as it’s different to what we have in Italy, and to get inspired by their work.’Giulia Coss, Compagnia di San Paolo, Italy

‘As part of the Brussels microcosm, I’m aware of the EFC but don’t know much about the individual organizations. The Next Generation programme is a rare opportunity to have an exchange of national perspectives between younger people.’Thomas Fischer, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Belgium

‘My expectation is basically to be inspired and to have the opportunity to think outside of my day‑to‑day practice. I’m pleased that there’s someone taking me by the hand through the incredible maze of activities during this week.’Maite Garcia, European Cultural Foundation, Netherlands

‘I’m looking to learn about how women’s funds and women’s rights and feminist issues are addressed by different foundations, especially more established and traditional foundations, and to find out how we could work together and contribute to relevant discussions.’Amanda Gigler, Calala Women’s Fund, Spain

‘I’m here to exchange ideas with colleagues from other foundations – it’s a great opportunity to work out your most effective personal grantmaking strategy.’Jasmijn Melse, Adessium Foundation, Netherlands

‘What I’m hoping for here is to learn about what’s happening in the future for the EU, how it will affect our area, and how we can have positive relationships across the border. We also serve the migrant and Roma communities so it’s interesting to hear what other foundations are doing in this area.’Shelia Slemp, United States Peace Corps volunteer, Carpathian Foundation, Ukraine

‘I want to learn more about other foundations on a European level and to find out what other people of my age do at other foundations.’Anja Stanitzke, VolkswagenStiftung, Germany

For the first time, the EFC offered a group of 12 ‘Next Generation Leaders’ from foundations the possibility not only to attend the AGA but also to be led through it by EFC staff.

The Next Generation Programme

What they hoped for from the programme . . .

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Postscript 31

Giulia Coss“I liked the visionaries session – it showed a completely different way of interpreting

grantmaking from the way we do at Compagnia.”

This is my second conference, but the Interactive Fair is new. It has given us a chance to present ourselves both to people who know about foundations and to those on the outside. We have the chance to share ideas and experiences with people from different backgrounds. I don’t have much experience of European work, so this was a chance for me to grow and learn. It’s a huge conference so I might have felt a bit lost if I hadn’t had someone to guide me towards sessions that would be interesting for me. You also have this group of people around that you recognize, so you have someone on the same level to chat to and share your thoughts, questions or even problems. It helps us to form ideas for the future and be a stepping stone between the older generation and younger people who don’t yet have the vision of what a foundation is.

I liked the visionaries session – it showed a completely different way of interpreting grantmaking from the way we do at Compagnia. Sometimes ideals can seem a little unreal – too big to be possible – but these people invest their money to make them happen, and they reach results. The second session I liked was the one about social networks and how they are useful for communication. It’s probably not a method we would use ourselves but it’s interesting to see how different foundations work.

. . . and what they got out of itJasmijn Melse

“The Next Generation programme gives us a safe environment to discuss ideas and the reality

of what we’re doing. They’re calling it a leadership programme, but we’re all here to learn, both within the group and outside.”

I’ve been to a few smaller conferences before, but not a sector‑wide one, so for me this was a great opportunity to immerse myself in a sector that is really rich, diverse and dynamic. It helped me to find out more about what the philanthropic sector is about, and think about the added value of foundations in Europe. The foundation sector is so varied in terms of focus and organizational structure, and finding out the differences and similarities can help develop your own personal strategy as a grantmaker. The Next Generation programme gives us a safe environment to discuss ideas and the reality of what we’re doing. They’re calling it a leadership programme, but we’re all here to learn, both within the group and outside. You get a chance to meet inspiring people who can advise you on how to acquire the knowledge and skills you need for your work. We want to get the best from all the different people we’re meeting, both learning from the older generation and forming our own ideas on the way forward.

I thought the visionaries meeting was the most inspiring for me – it was interesting to see how, after many years, they [Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust] really re‑engage with the vision of the founders. The seven visionaries have unusual ways of approaching things, and it was impressive to hear how much they have achieved in the last five years. It showed me again that foundations shouldn’t always go for the safe project.

Shelia Slemp“When you’re labelled Next Generation, it gives people who’ve been around for a while permission to

come up and feel comfortable giving us advice; I felt like it opened the door for people to introduce themselves.”

This is my first conference in Europe, and getting to know different players in the field has been one of the most interesting things about it – it really is an interactive fair. It’s almost overwhelming, the amount of new things to take in. The Next Generation programme gave me people to talk to about what you’ve heard, to find out what other people thought and to help you reflect for yourself. Although we’re different ages and from different backgrounds, there’s a common link of energy and wanting to share ideas. When you’re labelled Next Generation, it also gives people who’ve been around for a while permission to come up and feel comfortable giving us advice; I felt like it opened the door for people to introduce themselves.

I’ve been focused on philanthropy in Ukraine for two years, so the evaluation session I went to got me thinking more globally about what we’re doing. In the US, where I come from originally, we have our models and our systems, but this session made me think about what it means for me here, working in an international arena. Another session I enjoyed was the community foundation session [‘Not such a poor cousin’, hosted by the Global Fund for Community Foundations] – it really spoke to the issues we’re trying to tackle in Ukraine right now. The information was not new but the focus was different because it was about the implications of foundations supporting the start‑up of new community foundations. I liked that it was rooted in evaluation and research; it really validates the work that these foundations do.

Postscript32

The first occurred at a dinner with TUSIAD (Turkish Industrialists and Business Association, the main EU advocacy organization representing Turkey in Brussels) on 31 May. As representatives of Turkish foundations, we were briefed on the latest develop‑ments in the EU and EU‑Turkey relations, and began to realize that EU‑Turkey relations are not only a job for others (the private, public and academic sectors) but also something foundations need to take part in.

The second moment was on the following day at the panel on Turkish Foundations (1 June). There was great audience engage‑ment and discussion about, among other things, whether Turkey looked east, west or both ways. One of the comments came from Swedish MEP Anna Maria Corazza Bildt. I was both surprised and pleased to see her come on her own time and of her own

accord. It sent yet another message to us that our work ‘on the ground’ is important to the accession discussions and process. We really did start to get the feeling that Foundation Week would be an important turning point for us.

The third and final moment was on Wednesday (2 June) when we had a series of meetings with high‑level officials at the European Council, the European Commission and the Turkish Embassy. One specific outcome of the meetings was the idea of preparing a ‘foundation report’ of activities to inform the unit that prepares Turkey’s annual report card (known as Progress Reports), which is published every October. Our input will bal‑ance the report by including examples of the positive social change foundations are helping to create in Turkey, and the Turkish government’s support (and, when needed, by sharing the bad news and lack of support as well!). This series of meetings was the perfect climax to our group’s growing sense that our hori‑zons are expanding to include Europe and European relations.

So, I confess: I arrived feeling very apathetic about a ‘conversa‑tion with the institutions’, and about the cold and dreary Brussels weather, but I left a sunny Brussels not only with heightened awareness and optimism about the value we as foundations can offer but also with a stack of cards and great interest from indi‑viduals that drive the accession process in Brussels.

When I first saw that the theme for the EFC conference 2010 was ‘A Conversation with the Institutions’ I was disappointed. It seemed irrelevant to our work in Turkey, which is not (yet?) a member state. And Brussels never had any appeal for me. So I was, I believed, destined for an unsexy conference in an unsexy city! In the end, the event wrecked all my preconceptions by producing three A‑HA moments that summarize what I consider to be a major success for the EFC and for Turkish foundations.

Confessions from a EuroscepticFiliz Bikmen

Gerry SaloleLooking back on Foundation Week

Looking back on the week, the SQUARE seemed to be a problem for some people – a common criticism was that it didn’t seem inviting. Other than that, it’s my feeling that the week exceeded expectations.

About a year ago we were warned by many that the event would be too large, and so EU‑focused that it risked turning off participants. Therefore much credit should be given to the EFC members who supported this idea from the very beginning. I’m also truly amazed by how well the EFC staff pulled the whole week together. I do think that we have been vindicated.

Foundation Week has proved that if you leave people alone to discuss the issues they want to discuss and invent their own session formats, and just let them get on with it, there is a great response to this freedom. The week has provided a great launchpad from which we can rethink and repackage our Annual General Assembly and Conference.

Foundations can support but not replace the state, says MEP‘Foundations will play an even more important role in society in the future – but they should not become stopgaps for duties to be fulfilled by the state,’ said MEP Nadja Hirsch, member of the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) group, ahead of the concluding day of Foundation Week. Hirsch was a panellist at the opening plenary of the AGA earlier in the week.

She added that she favoured a ‘cooperative approach’ whereby foundations might start initiatives that the state would scale up. However, she cautioned against the illusion that foundations’ budgets could ever compare with state budgets. She also spoke in favour of ‘an optional European Foundation Statute’, but warned against over‑regulation that could ‘harm the diversity of the foundation landscape and their capacity to act’.

Filiz Bikmen Bugay is Head of Programs at the Sabancı Foundation. These comments are based on one of her contributions to Alliance’s Foundation Week blog (http://alliancemag.wordpress.com).

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Alliance magazine was commissioned by the European Foundation Centre to produce this special report on Foundation Week, held in Brussels from 31 May to 4 June 2010. It will be published and distributed alongside the September issue of Alliance. In producing this report, Alliance has exercised its customary editorial independence.

© Alliance Publishing Trust 2010

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Good research needs good people, and European research foundations support many thousands of researchers in the sciences and humanities.

The 2010 Annual Conference of the European Forum on Philanthropy and Research Funding will focus on how foundations and other funders work with the researchers they support to foster creativity and innovation, and encourage mobility, international networking and the development of the research leaders of tomorrow.

The 2010 Grantmakers East Forum is about change and transformation in geographies ‘East’, which for many funders increasingly means beyond the EU member countries.

Georgia, aspiring for many centuries to be more closely integrated with Europe, with real prospect for European integration today, has experienced significant transformations in recent years. These transformations have often involved extremes, both positive and negative. This dynamic is not unique to Georgia. The issues and trends of transformations and extremes that will be discussed over the two‑day event resonate throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. An open dialogue about such phenomena should help this unique community of funders examine their own programming as well as understand better the work of their peers, and ultimately the people they seek to serve through funding commitments.

Using the oceans as a metaphor, conference delegates will embark on a voyage to explore the sea of opportunities and challenges facing foundations in their work.

Oceans act as a perfect prism through which to consider a wide array of programmatic themes. They symbolize connectivity and mould our cultures by their proximity or distance. For centuries they have defined human migration patterns, provided livelihoods and invaluable resources, and acted as a reminder of the vulnerability of our environment.

Delving deeper, the need to address the sustainability of our oceans and their resources mirrors foundations’ need to consider how to make the best use of the world’s resources (natural, human, knowledge, financial or otherwise) so that future generations can benefit from work done now. Sustainability and long‑term thinking are imperative if foundations’ contribution to society is to be lasting and meaningful, and not just a drop in the ocean.

In short, foundations cannot discover new oceans until they have the courage to leave sight of the shore. With its stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Cascais setting will give the impetus to foundations to lift their anchors.

Future EFC events

Are we running out of talent? The role of European foundations in building human capacity in research7–8 December 2010Stuttgart, Germany

For more information, contact Carl Dolan, Research Forum Officer at researchforum@efc.be

Facing the Extremes Grantmakers East Forum26–27 October 2010Tbilisi, Georgia

For more information, contact the GEF Secretariat at gef@efc.be

Resources and sustainability – the oceans22nd EFC Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Conference26–28 May 2011Cascais, Portugal

For more information, visit www.efc.be or contact aga@efc.be