INGOs Conference

The INGOs Conference (International Non-governmental Organisations) is one of the pillars of the [Council of Europe] . It is made of around 400 INGOs and it builds a link between the representative politicians and citizens and its purpose is to make the voice of the civil society heard in the Council of Europe.

The Comenius Association has been taking part in this work for some years and it has now been granted in July 2017 the official participatory status. Our former President of the Comenius Association Geneviève Laloy is Vice-President of the NGO Conference.

The Conference organises two meeting sessions a year, as well as supplementary sessions in the different work groups. The Conference of the INGOs, run by a Bureau and a Standing Committee , monitors three thematic committees , a Gender Equality Expert , and an Experts Council .

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Several representatives of members of the Comenius Association have been mandated to follow more specifically the work of the three thematic commissions and the different work groups.

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Human Rights Committee :

Workgroups
Transversal, with the Human Rights Committee leading Freedom of association:
1. Protection mechanisms for endangered Human Rights Defenders
2. Grass root monitoring toolbox

Transversal, with the thematic Education and Culture Committee leading Digital Society:
3. Digital rights and digital future
4. Poverty, discrimination & exclusion

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Democracy, Social Cohesion and Global Challenges Committee
Workgroups
1. Participation in democratic processes
2. Preventing corruption by engaging in the civil society
3. Protection of the dignity of human beings
4. Social and territorial cohesion (transversal working group) + Transversal working group ’Poverty’ Linked to Human Rights Task Force on Migration

 

Education and Culture Committee:
Workgroups
Intercultural cities
The right of lifelong learning
The Europe of heritage and creation - Cultural routes
Digital Citizenship