Csaba Sógor and Gyula Winkler met with the representatives of the Diakonia Project Development network
DAHR’s MEPs Csaba Sógor and Gyula Winkler met with the representatives of the Diakonia Project Development network Tuesday morning (22.03.2011) in Brussels. This informal professional network coordinates the work of four organizations with religious background, involved in social activities in Transylvania.
The delegation represented the Lámpás Foundation, the Diakonia Christian Foundation, the Diaconate of the Saxon Lutheran Church and the Reménység Háza Reformed Christian Center. The representatives informed the Hungarian MEPs from Transylvania about their activity: they plan and implement social programs with EU funding. They spoke of their already implemented and their future plans, as well as the difficulties they’ve encountered.
They spoke of the difficulties confronted as civil organizations, namely their main challenge being financial management and fundraising. NGOs respond to these challenges through mid- and long-term planning and the development of current programs.
At the meeting, MEP Gyula Winkler said that NGOs activating on behalf of the historical churches in Transylvania need to present themselves in Brussels as well. He also reminded that Hungarian historical churches have a century-long history of diaconate, social and educational activities. We have specific Hungarian community institutions and solutions and we need to call Europe’s attention to these values, to create an inclusive medium for new ideas, new projects – he told the guests.
During the discussion Csaba Sógor explained that diaconates can increase their chances in accessing grants and broaden their possibilities of gaining experience by publishing the documentation about their activity in a foreign language of international relevance. These publications can later be distributed by those who lobby for the communities because the main aspects of their activity, common work and learning, constitute an organic part of the European Union’s values.
They spoke of the difficulties confronted as civil organizations, namely their main challenge being financial management and fundraising. NGOs respond to these challenges through mid- and long-term planning and the development of current programs.
At the meeting, MEP Gyula Winkler said that NGOs activating on behalf of the historical churches in Transylvania need to present themselves in Brussels as well. He also reminded that Hungarian historical churches have a century-long history of diaconate, social and educational activities. We have specific Hungarian community institutions and solutions and we need to call Europe’s attention to these values, to create an inclusive medium for new ideas, new projects – he told the guests.
During the discussion Csaba Sógor explained that diaconates can increase their chances in accessing grants and broaden their possibilities of gaining experience by publishing the documentation about their activity in a foreign language of international relevance. These publications can later be distributed by those who lobby for the communities because the main aspects of their activity, common work and learning, constitute an organic part of the European Union’s values.
