The University of Michigan’s Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia (WCEE) and William Davidson Institute (WDI) are looking to build on and expand the highly successful NGO Leadership Workshops. In partnership with the Bratislava-based Pontis Foundation, these workshops offer training to leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from countries that have recently undergone democratic transitions. Workshops have been held in Bratislava, Slovakia, and involve participants from across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. WCEE and WDI are working to increase the number of workshops offered per year and expand the training to include additional regions of the world.

The workshops aim to make civil society organizations more effective and durable by gathering leaders of these NGOs for a weeklong intensive training. Participants are taught management skills that help them to successfully engage with the general public, government stakeholders, and international partners. Global faculty teach sessions on building strong and sustainable organizations, with emphasis on vision and strategy, financial management, resource mobilization, and proposal writing. Participants attend the workshops free of charge.

The most recent workshop was held in December 2016 and was attended by 25 NGO leaders who were selected through a competitive application process. Individuals from these organizations are working to build civil societies and promote democracy ​in what are often unstable political environment​s. Participants came from 13 countries (Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, and Ukraine), representing NGOs that focus on democracy, human rights, environmental issues, economic development, youth, and civil society.

In order to continue to offer this workshop and increase its reach, WCEE and WDI are actively pursuing co-sponsors and global partners who can help us improve and expand this successful program.

To learn more, visit ii.umich.edu/wcee/initiatives/ngo-leadership-workshop or watch our video below.

Contact weisercenter@umich.edu to learn how you can get involved.