Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights concluded a regional workshop entitled "Exchange of Expertise for Promoting the Freedom of Association in the Arab Spring Countries" on November 14th 2013.
The workshop came in the framework of the project "Cultural Exchange for the Freedom of Civil Work" implemented by Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights in cooperation with the Anna Lindh Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures and Non-Governmental Organizations in Egypt and some Arab countries.
The workshop put the first building blocks for the establishment of the Regional Network for Civil Work Advancement.
The workshop concluded with setting the first building blocks for establishing a regional network to promote civil work.
The network seeks to defend the freedom to form civil work organizations, open horizons for partnership and exchange of experiences between organizations in the Euro-Mediterranean region, and to enhance the capabilities of civil work organizations to exercise their societal roles efficiently and freely.
The membership of the network will be open to civil work organizations in the Euro-Mediterranean region, with its two Arab parts in the south and European in the north, within the framework of cultural and civilizational exchange to transfer the pioneering experiences in the civil work system.
The Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights is currently consulting with the founding partners to draft the statute of the network, which will be widely discussed in preparation for the call for the founding conference of the network during the next stage.
It is worth noting that the regional workshop recommended the need for a networking framework that brings together civil work organizations in the region and defends the right to freedom of association, provides training opportunities and capacity building, and accommodates the transfer and exchange of experiences.
The recommendations of the workshop also emphasized the need for pressure to change the legislative frameworks governing civil work in some Arab Spring countries, especially Egypt, to be more in line with the standards of the right to freedom of association as approved by the principles of the International Bill of Human Rights.