NGO's and Political Parties

(November 14 - 26, 2004)
By Atty. Leah R. Olores and Eric D. Caliboso

Atty. Leah R. Olores

We arrived in Germany for the Seminar on “NGOs and Political Parties” in the middle of November, towards the end of fall. The short trip from Köln airport to the academy in Gummersbach was quite spectacular as the road was crowded with trees dressed in yellow, gold and rust foliage. The academy itself is ideally situated on top of a hill, surrounded by a forest and overlooking the small, sleepy town. The academy, whose lounge, dining and conference areas are bounded by glass walls was perfect for watching the colorful season pass by and the falling snow when it finally came. The ensuing days of white was a marvelous experience for someone who lives in the tropics.

The seminar discussions and activities were as colorful and exciting as the changing season outside the walls of the academy. The theme of the seminar revolves around the roles of NGOs and Political Parties in society and possible collaboration areas between the two and cooperation strategy tools. There were two participants from each country representing the NGO and Political Party sector respectively. The participants came from South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Latvia, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, Israel, Pakistan, India, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia and of course, the Philippines.

The following subjects were covered by the seminar:

Regional NGO/Party Reports

backgrounds, profiles and programmes of represented NGOs and Parties

regional political and socioeconomic specifics

Comparative Analysis of NGOs and Parties

history, status and identity of NGOs and parties

questions and differences of legitimacy, themes, public image and political communications

opportunities and examples of regional and international networking

From Competition to Collaboration

the specific importance of parliamentarism and political

the complementary importance of NGOs with regard to the promotion of liberal politics and good governance

the example of the German Political Foundations

expectations and cooperation capacities

Cooperation Strategies

a condensed strategy planning tool

concrete cooperation strategy and task per participating country

Eric D. Caliboso

When I saw the program, I thought that it would be an easy seminar especially when it comes to eliciting collaboration between the two sectors as I had in mind the existing relationship between NIPS (National Institute for Policy Studies) and the Liberal Party in the Philippines. It turned out that I was gravely mistaken. As it was, representatives of both sectors were wary of each other, if not downright distrustful. The NGO participants’ advocacy cover such diverse areas as race relations in South Africa, the right to information in India, community work for the favellas in Brazil, free markets in Costa Rica, women’s rights in Pakistan, government recognition of communities in the Negev desert, etc. The NGO people do not trust the “politicians” (the term used in the seminar for political party participants) to understand their causes and in most cases, it is supposedly the politicians who work against them. Thus, most of their work consists in lobbying against politicians and governments, where politicians are associated with. In turn, the politicians were wary of the NGO people as they think them disruptive and myopic. Then I realized that the seminar was not as easy or as lightweight as I originally thought.

The seminar was very intensive and exhausting. There were a lot of papers to read and presentations to make on topics ranging from what civil society is, the role of NGOs and political parties in society, the role of media, etc. The plenary discussions were very spirited but always being cut-off by the dreaded “German Time “ such that we were extending and re-scheduling added discussion time in the evening and even deep in the night at the VIP lounge, interspersed with dancing, drinking, ping-pong and some such. We also had very interesting and insightful lectures at the academy from Mr. Ulrich Mercker of Eine-Welt-Forum and Dr. Peter Zervakis of Bertelsmann Stiftung on the future of political parties and parliamentarism in Europe.

We had an afternoon tour in Köln and a trip to Dresden where we went to visit the Federal Commissioner for the Documents of the State Security Service of the former GDR. We also went to the State Parliament of Saxony where we had lectures from Mr. Torsten Herbst, the vice chairman of the FDP of Saxony and Mr. Karsten Bretschneider, a member of ATTAC, an international NGO. We had more lectures on the tasks and structures of the retail business association in Saxony from the CEO of the Retail Business Association, Mr. Eberhard Lucas and a truly educational and informative lecture on political history and structure, political parties and parliamentary work in Germany from Prof. Dr. Werner Patzelt, Chair of the Department of Political Systems and Comparative Studies at the Technological University of Dresden. We also went to the concentration camp in Buchenwald and spent a few hours in Weimar, all of which tours and lectures gave me a deeper understanding and knowledge not just of the main topic of the seminar but of Germany as well.

Even towards the end of the seminar, I think that the participants had misgivings about the possibility of the two sectors working together which is why the last working group assignment was I thought very fruitful. Participants from each country were made to work together and identify areas of possible cooperation and methods by which to help one another. All participants made a great effort and I thought that was a very good start by which both sectors can come together to achieve goals productive to their respective societies.

I must add that amongst all the countries, it was only the Philippines that presented an extant working relationship between the NGO and political party sectors. And in the midst of all the complaints of difficulties amongst the participants during the private evaluation, I pointed out that if we could at least bring home with us a mind that is open to the possibility of cooperation between the two sectors, then that is a good enough start. Fortunately, they all agreed with the Philippine contingent’s view that for the NGOs (that have grassroots connections and specialized knowledge) and the Political Parties (who have power) to work together would further the common cause of a better society for all. And after stating that as the group conclusion in the evaluation, Mr. Denhert pronounced the Seminar a success (as this was the first ever seminar on the topic) and we were all very happy.

After the very arduous seminar, I was sick and in bed for three days. Still, the wealth of experience and insights brought by all the participants, lecturers, and our very able moderators Dr. Rolf Freier and Tauseeq Haider, with the patience of our very competent Interpreters, Clementina and Dieter, and the friendly staff at the academy made it all worthwhile. Eric and I extend our gratitude to the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung for giving us the opportunity to participate in the conference and to expand our knowledge and network of friends. Most everyone from the conference are in touch and most have expressed interest in our work here in the Philippines as they considered us the model for NGO-Political Party cooperation.

Thus, I end my long-winding report, in violation of something instilled in Germany – brevity and precision. Yet, even this long report has not done justice to all I experienced in Gummersbach.