ICNL’s “Educational Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe” helps support the introduction of NGO law courses in the region and brings together teachers who are interested in training new lawyers about the laws affecting NGOs (associations, foundations, and other non-governmental entities). The activities of the EI/CEE are as follows: 

• developing a network of teachers who are teaching or would like to teach courses on the laws affecting NGOs at universities and other institutions of higher learning in the region (including teachers of traditional law courses and clinical law courses);

• collecting from the teachers in the network their course materials, especially their syllabi, and sharing those materials with others in the network;

• using a web site for the sharing of information about courses and materials on the laws affecting NGOs; this site is linked to the ICNL site (with its unique database of legal materials affecting NGOs);

• holding in-person workshops to discuss NGO law courses and materials; and

• engaging in other activities that will support the development of NGO curricula at universities throughout the region.
  

Introducing courses in NGO law at universities in the region is of crucial value for the support of this new legal specialty. The need for a new specialty in NGO law has developed with the growth of NGOs in the region and the struggle for creating a favorable legal environment for the NGO sector. The countries of the region are working to create a stable legal environment for the genuine democratic development, and, as part of that effort, are adopting new laws to enhance the situation of the non-government, not-for-profit sector. However, adopting favorable laws and regulations will be insufficient without the training of future lawyers who can assist NGOs to solve legal problems, who can work on legal reform efforts, and who are genuinely aware of and trained in the values of protecting the freedom of association and citizen participation in social, political, and economic development.  By supporting the introduction of NGO law courses throughout the region and by encouraging the network of teachers who are presently involved in teaching such courses as well as those to hope to do so, the EI-CEE can help to assist these developments.

• The first face-to-face regional event for the EI-CEE will be held in Budapest, Hungary, September 8-11, 2000 (exact timing for the meeting will be determined shortly). This will be the “NGO Law Teaching Workshop, 2000.”  It will bring together teachers who are presently teaching NGO law at universities in the region as well as those who are interested in teaching such courses.  Experiences and approaches will be shared, and materials from the various courses presently being taught in the region will be made available. 

ICNL is an international organization whose mission is to facilitate and support the development of civil society and the freedom of association on a global basis. ICNL, in cooperation with other international, national, and local organizations, provides technical assistance for the creation and improvement of laws and regulatory systems that permit, encourage, and regulate the not-for-profit, nongovernment (NGO) sector in countries around the world. ICNL maintains a documentation center for laws, regulations, self-regulatory materials, and other relevant documents, it provides relevant training and education, and it conducts research relevant to strengthening and improving laws affecting the NGO sector.   For further information about ICNL and its projects, go to www.icnl.org