Report of activities 2001

During the year 2001, the Confederation of Funds for Cooperation carried out a series of activities, amongst which, stand out the following:

• Consolidation of the relations with the UNOPS: participation in the "International Seminar on Cooperation and Territorial Partnership for Development in the Mediterranean Area"( 15th-16th January), which took place in Vibo Valentia (Italy), and the signing of collaboration agreements with some Funds (Euskal Fondoa, Fons Català, and FAMSI).
  
  
• Appearance before the Senate: on May 10th, the Confederation of Funds appeared before the Report for the Study of Decentralized Cooperation of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, where the importance that decentralized cooperation has acquired in the last years at a state level was set out, and therefore its need to be promoted and to receive support from other institutions was defended.
  
  
• Analysis of the models of decentralized cooperation in Europe: from which it stands out that there are four countries: Belgium, France, Italy, and Sweden, which recognize explicitly -through legislative regulation- the local and/or regional administrations' own powers on cooperation. The last three countries include as well the possibility of cofinancing projects presented by local authorities.
  
  
• Opening of a permanent office in Morocco: in October a Confederation office was started in Tetuan. It was set up by the Catalan and Majorcan Funds in order to encourage the cooperation relation with the Maghrib countries and, in the long term, with all the South and East Mediterranean zone.
  
  
• Publications: also in October the book Municipalism and Solidarity. Guide to Decentralized Cooperation was published in Spanish, in Catalan, and in Galician. It intends to be a reflection instrument on the possibilities and alternatives offered by decentralized cooperation. On the other hand, the Report 1999-2000 is being translated into French, intending to turn it into a letter of introduction facilitating external relations, above all with the EU and with the Maghrib.
  
  
• Municipalia: invited by the Lleida Town Council, the Confederation took part in the fair Municipalia (October 16th to 19th). On 17th the Guide to Decentralized Cooperation and the Study of Catalonia's Local Cooperation with the South Countries were presented, and the conference on "Participatory Municipal Management and Solidarity", was given by the Uruguayan expert Arlés Caruso.
  
  
• Interregional Committee: on September 24th, the call to the Interregional Committee was attended. It had as a main issue the approval of the Annual Plan 2002. The government's complete proposal was amended by the Confederation through a document in which several points, both conceptual and formal, were discussed.
  
  
• Meeting with the Secretary General of the AECI (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation): on October 31st an interview took place between a delegation of the Confederation of Funds and the Secretary General of the AECI, Mr. Rafael Rodríguez-Ponga Salamanca, in which it was decided to promote the generalization of collaboration agreements between the Spanish Agency and the Funds that do not have them yet, by elaborating a standard agreement that makes easier the presentation of projects in the framework of Operative Plans.
  
  
• Interregional Permanent Committee: out of the meeting held on September 19th, it is to be remarked the government's will of giving contents to the Interregional Committee in the line of coordinating the call, execution, and monitoring of direct cooperation and emergency projects, as well as improving the accounting of resources of decentralized cooperation, and above all establishing agreements. It was also informed about this year's CAD exams.
  
  
• Monitoring of Nicaragua's elections: on the occasion of the general elections in Nicaragua on November 4th, the Confederation sent a delegation of observers composed by representatives of the Basque, Catalan, Majorcan, Eivissa and Formentera, and Valencian Funds, who could afterwards visit several projects in Nicaragua and El Salvador, whose monitoring is carried out from the technical office in Managua. They could also take part in an International meeting of women elected for local administration public posts (El Salvador, November 8th to 12th).
  
  
• Contact with possible committees of management of new Cooperation Funds: the Confederation was invited to a meeting in Asturias, on November 8th, in order to make known the features of Funds for Cooperation in general and the different forms they take, before the constitution of a committee that manages the creation of an Asturian Fund. On the other hand, and also in order to contribute to the consolidation of possible new Funds, the Confederation of Funds for Cooperation took part in each Congress on Decentralized Cooperation respectively organized by the Secretariat of Foreign Action of the Autonomous Government of Murcia and by the Association for Development Cooperation in the Municipal Area (ACODAM) of Badajoz.
  
  
• World Social Forum in Porto Alegre: the Confederation has been following up the process started with the 1st WSF in Porto Alegre in late January 2001 and it has valued it as very positive. It was specially interesting the proposal of meetings at a regional scale, which should be useful not only to facilitate the dialogue but also to incorporate sectors, geographical areas, and cultures, which are not represented in the Forum yet. In this respect, and following the principles of the Local Authorities Forum for Social Inclusion, the Confederation of Funds decided to send some delegates to the 2nd WSF in Porto Alegre 2002.

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