Ramallah – 1/10/2019 – The Ministry of Education and MIFTAH signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation to continue MIFTAH’s interventions as part of its “Finance for Development” project, which it implements in partnership with and support from OXFAM. The project’s objective is to promote the principles of transparency, integrity and accountability and to apply the principle of monitoring over public expenditure policies within state-run institutions. This is achieved through training and enabling a budget preparation team and specialized parties to formulate a fiscal policy for the education ministry that embodies a participatory approach which would guarantee that the ministry’s public budget falls within the context of a community participatory system. It also aims for sectors targeted by the ministry in its programs and interventions to have a key role in formulating the public budget so that official fiscal policies are more responsive to the needs of various social sectors, in particular the poor and marginalized.
It should be noted that this MoU covers a limited time period, beginning on September 1, 2019 and ending on December 31, 2020. The goal is to carry out the interventions of the aforementioned project in its second phase, for the fourth year running, which began on January 1, 2019.
The MoU, as mentioned in one of its stipulations, is a confirmation of the continued mutual strategic understanding between the two parties whereby the two parties have built on the outputs of this cooperation since 2017. This has been achieved through the Ministry of Education’s follow-up on promoting the participatory approach in the formulation of fiscal policies and integrating targeted sectors into fiscal decision-making in order to guarantee that their basic needs are met. Meanwhile, MIFTAH seeks to recruit the necessary funding based on these outputs in order to resume the strategic understanding and joint cooperation through a new MoU between the two parties in the coming years.
مذكرة تفاهم وتعاون مشترك بين وزارة التربية والتعليم ومؤسسة 'مفتاح'
تاريخ النشر: 03/10/2019
بقلم: مفتاح
رام الله – 1/10/2019 - وقعت وزارة التربية والتعليم، والمبادرة الفلسطينية لتعميق الحوار العالمي والديمقراطية "مفتاح" مذكرة تفاهم وتعاون بينهما لاستكمال تدخلات المؤسسة ضمن مشروع "التمويل من أجل التنمية" الذي تنفذه "مفتاح" بالشراكة وبدعم من منظمة أوكسفام، والهادف لتعزيز مبادئ الشفافية والنزاهة والمساءلة، وإعمال مبدأ الرقابة على سياسات الإنفاق الحكومي داخل مؤسسات الدولة، من خلال تدريب وتمكين فريق إعداد الموازنة والجهات ذات الاختصاص في رسم السياسة المالية الخاصة بوزارة التربية والتعليم في القضايا ذات العلاقة بتعزيز النهج التشاركي الذي يضمن صياغة الوزارة لموازنتها العامة في إطار منظومة تشاركية مجتمعية، وأن يكون للفئات التي تستهدفها الوزارة في إطار برامجها وتدخلاتها دوراً رئيسياً ومحورياً في صياغة موازنتها العامة، لتعزيز استجابة السياسات المالية الرسمية لاحتياجات المكونات المجتمعية المختلفة وتحديدًا الفقراء والمهمشين منهم..
يذكر أن مذكرة التفاهم هذه، محدودة بفترة زمنية بدأت منذ الأول من أيلول 2019 الجاري، وحتى الحادي والثلاثين من شهر كانون الأول 2020 القادم، لتنفيذ تدخلات المشروع المذكور أعلاه في إطار مرحلته الأولى للسنة الرابعة على التوالي، والتي بدأت بتاريخ 1/1/2019.
وتعتبر المذكرة – كما ورد في أحد بنودها - تأكيداً على استمرار التفاهم الاستراتيجي المتبادل بين الطرفين، بحيث يقوم الطرفان بالبناء على مخرجات فترة التعاون منذ العام 2017 في كافة القضايا ذات العلاقة، من خلال قيام وزارة التربية والتعليم بمتابعة تعزيز النهج التشاركي في رسم السياسة المالية، ودمج الفئات المستهدفة في صنع القرار المالي لضمان تلبيته لاحتياجاتهم الأساسية، بينما تسعى "مفتاح" لتجنيد التمويل اللازم بناء على هذه المخرجات، لغاية استئناف التفاهم الاستراتيجي والتعاون المشترك من خلال مذكرة تفاهم جديدة بين الطرفين في الأعوام المقبلة حال تجنيد التمويل اللازم لذلك.
MIFTAH was granted a Special Consultative Status with the United Nations' ECOSOC
Date posted: September 28, 2020
By MIFTAH
The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy- MIFTAH was granted a special consultative status to work with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), through which MIFTAH seeks to contribute to promoting the Palestinian narrative and international advocacy based on international legitimacy and United Nations resolutions related to the Palestinian cause.
The ECOSOC is the principal organ that coordinates the economic, social, environmental and related work of the 14 United Nations specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. It serves as the central forum for discussing international economic, and social and environmental issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system.
ECOSOC provides NGOs the opportunity to be heard by a truly global audience and contribute to its agenda. ECOSOC has been the main entry point into the UN system for NGOs. ECOSOC remains the only main UN body with a formal framework for NGO participation
What is Consultative Status?
Consultative Status is an accreditation framework that benefits both the United Nations and the NGOs. Consultative arrangements are to be made, on the one hand, for the purpose of enabling the Council or one of its bodies to secure expert information or advice from organizations having special competence in the subjects for which consultative arrangements are made, and, on the other hand, to enable international, regional, sub-regional and national organizations that represent important elements of public opinion to express their views according to ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, part II, paragraph 20.
NGOs with Consultative Status can work with the United Nations Secretariat, programmes, funds and agencies in various ways, including in consultation with Member States. They can also contribute to a number of activities including information dissemination, awareness raising, development education, policy advocacy, joint operational projects, participation in intergovernmental processes and in the contribution of services and technical expertise
An NGO with consultative status can attend international conferences and events, make written and oral statements at these events, organize side events, enter United Nations premises, and have opportunities to network and lobby.
MIFTAH considers obtaining this Consultative Status timely and paramount to begin organizing its participation through the Council's sessions during 2021.
Signing ceremony for new cooperation agreement between MIFTAH and the Norwegian Representative Office
Date posted: November 28, 2019
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – MIFTAH and the Norwegian Representative Office to the PA signed on Monday, November 26 a new one-year cooperation agreement in a ceremony held in Ramallah.
Head of the Board of Directors, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, signed on behalf of MIFTAH while Norwegian representative, Ms. Hilde Haralstad signed on behalf of the Norwegian Representative Office.
During her speech at the signing, Dr. Ashrawi said, "For the past 18 years the Norwegian Representative Office has been one of the oldest and most significant of MIFTAH's supporters in its efforts towards promoting the principles of democracy and good governance in Palestine”. She also said this support was a continuation of the crucial work at this stage in supporting and empowering young leaders and women as change-makers, saying it gives this sector the ability to influence and change, especially in light of the difficult circumstances and challenges of the current political stage. Ashrawi also reiterated the importance of collective efforts in a coordinated and holistic manner between the various parties, which inevitably lead to change.
Dr. Ashrawi reaffirmed the Norwegian support for the Palestinian cause, expressing hope that Norway and other likeminded countries continue to stand on the right side of human rights and good governance and recognize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom, justice and statehood. She concluded her speech by expressing sadness for Ms. Haralstad's departure from Palestine, where she has served since 2016.
Meanwhile, Ms. Haralstad confirmed Norway's continued support for Palestine in its quest for statehood and human rights. She said she was proud to have partnered with an institution that supports the principles of democracy and good governance and which works for women's and youth issues such as MIFTAH. She also stressed on the important role Palestinian civil society institutions play in supporting the Women's Peace and Security agenda and expressed her sadness for leaving Palestine, saying she would continue to support the Palestinian cause.
The signing was attended by women's and rights institutions in addition to MIFTAH board members, representatives from the General Union of Palestinian Women and representatives from other MIFTAH funders and partners.
