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Welcome
to the third edition of our eNewsletter.
Although it seems to be a common understanding in
this part
of the world that during the hottest and wettest
periods of
summer and monsoon a significant decrease of
activities is
evident, we have to note: FNF South Asia does not
fall into
this pattern. Our programmes are carried out as
usual in the
different fields of the Foundation's work, no matter
how hot
or wet the weather may be. The following entries
will give
you an idea about our recent activities and our
plans for
the weeks to come. Currently, FNF's offices in Delhi
and Colombo
are in full swing for the preparations of events
commemorating
40 years of project work both in India and in Sri
Lanka. In
Islamabad, Peter-Andreas Bochmann has left us
recently. Until
the new Resident Representative will take over early
next
year, a former colleague, Horst August, represents
FNF in
Pakistan as Senior Consultant. All the details you
find below.
Please also do visit our homepage at www.southasia.fnst.org,
and the Foundation's German homepage at www.fnst-freiheit.org
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- Dr. René Klaff, Regional Director, FNF South Asia
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The
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit is a
German
institution working for civic education based on the
ideas
of Liberalism. It is active in Germany–our
headquarters
is in Potsdam, close to Berlin – as well as in many
other countries in all parts of the world. In South
Asia,
we currently maintain three offices: the Regional
and India
Office in Delhi, the Pakistan Office in Islamabad,
and the
Sri Lanka Office in Colombo. Through our Regional
Projects,
we are able to reach out to all SAARC countries. |
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Peter-Andreas
Bochmann leaves Pakistan to serve FNF in Bulgaria |
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After
five years as Resident Representative of
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung
für die Freiheit in Pakistan, Mr. Bochmann left the
office
in Islamabad and started his preparation period for
his future
work as Project Director FNF in Bulgaria. While
being based
in Sofia, he will look after the Foundation’s
projects
in four countries of the region, namely Bulgaria,
Romania,
Macedonia and Moldova. Unlike the work in Pakistan,
these
countries already have established liberal political
parties
which are the main partners of the Foundation. FNF
South Asia
loses a highly respected colleague and friend. We
wish him
success and fulfillment in his future personal and
professional
life.
Read
More... |
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New colleague with FNF Pakistan
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Horst
August has joined FNF Pakistan Office on 9th
September 2008,
as interim Resident Representative. Olaf
Kellerhoff will
take over responsibilities as Resident
Representative, FNF
Pakistan Office in January 2009.
Mr. August, journalist by profession, worked as
Regional
Director, FNF Latin America based in Costa Rica
from 1992
till 2002, and from 2002 to 2006 as Head of the
Regional
Office of FNF for Central, South East & East
Europe,
based in Budapest, Hungary.
We are very relieved that Horst August survived
the suicide
attack on 20th September 2008 outside the Marriott
Hotel,
where he stayed in Islamabad. He was injured and
lost his
entire luggage. We wish him to get well soon!
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Triumph for the Liberal Youth Guilds, Sri Lanka
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Provincial
Council Elections were held on the 23 August 2008,
in two
provinces of Sri Lanka, namely the North Central
Province
and the Sabaragamuwa Province. Each province has two
districts.
In the North Central Province, two young members of
the Liberal
Youth Guilds (LYGs), a FNF partner organisation,
contested
the elections from the United National Party,
representing
Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts.
Mr. H.G.P.K.Nelson from the Polonnaruwa LYG topped
the preferential
votes list in Polonnaruwa, Mr. Kasthuri
Anuradhanayake from
the Anuradhapura LYG came third in the preferential
votes
list from Anuradhapura district.
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In
1968, only ten years after the inception of the
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung,
the Foundation started with its project work in
India and
Sri Lanka. In Colombo, the Foundation maintained
right from
the beginning an office that was headed by Resident
Representatives
sent from Germany. Since 1996, Naumann affairs in
Sri Lanka
are prudently managed by Sagarica Delgoda, our
Country Representative.
The organizational structure in India, on the other
hand,
remained more flexible for many years. Some
representatives
worked for FNF part-time, while they were holding
other positions
simultaneously – as was the case, for instance, in
the
1980's with Urs Schöttli, whose other engagement was
that of foreign correspondent for the Neue Zürcher
Zeitung.
At times, project affairs in India were even looked
after
from Colombo – or from our office in Kathmandu, for
that matter.
Read
More ...
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Liberalism in India: An Historical Perspective
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S.V.
Raju, National Coordinator of the Indian Liberal
Group and
eminent "torchbearer" of organized liberalism in
India for many years, kindly contributed an essay on
the occasion
of the 40 years anniversary of FNF in the country.
Mr. Raju
sums up the "Liberal Initiatives in India after
Independence"
– a must read for everyone trying to understand the
roots of liberal thinking and practise in the
country. We
also add a speech by Mr. Raju from 2004 which deals
with some
additional structural perspectives. We can only
recommend
to take out the time to read the two texts.
Liberal
Initiatives in India after Independence
Read More ...
Of
liberalism and liberalisation
Read More ...
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FNF
Consultancy at work: three workshops on Strategy
Formulation
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Peter
Schröder, experienced strategy consultant with
a long-time relationship with FNF, visited
South Asia
in August to conduct two strategy workshops.
In Hyderabad,
capital of Andhra Pradesh, a group of
representatives
from Lok Satta Party discussed organizational
and policy
issues with Mr Schröder. Andhra Pradesh is a
prime
"political battlefield" in the Indian context,
whose political landscape is in turmoil since
the actor
Chiranjeevi established his new party. Many
things to
discuss, indeed!
The SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(SCCI) has
a new President since January, Tareeq Sayeed
from Pakistan.
Together with his team of Vice Presidents,
Office Bearers
and staff, he worked out a comprehensive
strategy of
goals, objectives and time-action-plans with
the help
of Peter Schröder as Consultant. The workshop
was
conducted in Colombo for two days, preceding
the 44th
session of SCCI's Executive Committee Meeting.
This
decision-making body of the Apex Institution
of South
Asia's private sector passed the new strategy.
Member
chambers, observers and partners like FNF look
forward
to dynamism and achievement!
Already in June, Dr. Peter Traub came to Delhi
and completed
a 5-day intensive Workshop on "Strategy
Building
and Emotionally Effective Communication" for
Deputies
of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. This was
the third
workshop of its kind in almost two years.
Regional political
issues and the options of the Tibetan
institutions were
dealt with in great detail. |
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How
do liberal parties function in Europe?
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This
was the general theme of an information
programme in
Brussels and Berlin organized by the Delhi
Office of
FNF for six representatives of Lok Satta Party
in May,
accompanied by the Regional Director, Dr. René
Klaff. After an introductory one-day seminar
with Prof.
Dr. Michael Dreyer, Director of the Institute
of Political
Science at the University of Jena, on
political institutions
and party systems in the EU and Germany, the
group met
a wide range of counterparts, mainly from the
liberal
political family, who informed about different
aspects
of politics, policies and institutional
set-ups of liberal
parties.
Read More...
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Regulatory
Reforms in India |
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The
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit
together
with its partner Rajiv Gandhi Institute for
Contemporary
Studies organized the first seminar of the
series on
“Regulatory Reforms in India” in Chandigarh
on 18th July 2008. Last year the two
organizations brought
out a publication “Regulations Nurture
Illegality
– Counterproductive Regulations of Delhi”.
This work identified the regulations existing
in Industry,
Business, Agriculture, Land, Service Sector
etc. This
national seminar was conducted to discuss the
findings
of the research work and to take the outcome
to a larger
target-group.
Read More... |
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Police
Reform in South Asia
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Democratic
nations need democratic policing. Effective
policing
must be based on accountability, transparency
and participation
of people. Unfortunately, in post colonial
South Asia,
policing has not kept pace with democratic
aspirations.
Across the South Asian region, police reform
and police
accountability are key human rights concerns.
Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has taken up
these concerns
on a regional level in its publication “Feudal
Forces: Democratic Nations”.
Read More...
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FNF Sri Lanka partner Business Development
Strategies
Consultancy (BDS) made another significant
stride in
their journey to promote the concept
“Education
Opens the Door to Freedom”. Having gathered
their
success with the Gainful Employment Programme
targeting
ordinary level & advanced level school
children,
the management of the Arts Faculty of the
University
of Colombo made a request to BDS to carry out a
similar
programme for the undergraduates.
Read More... |
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On 7 August 2008, Small & Medium
Enterprise Developers
(SMED), a joint project of the Federation of
Chambers
of Commerce & Industry in Sri Lanka
(FCCISL) and
the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die
Freiheit
(FNF) held their 6th Key Persons Forum of the
year.
The key note address was given by Hon. Felix
Perera,
Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Read More... |
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Politicians
of conflicting ideologies reach a consensus to
agree on
issues of Federalism |
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The
statement appears too good to be true. But
under the
umbrella of FreedomGate Pakistan, Pakistani
politicians
from liberal, democratic and nationalist
political parties
and factions sat for three days around a table
to listen
to each other’s viewpoints. The sessions
observed
hot debates, argumentations, persistence to
hold one’s
ground and finally resoluteness to formulate
some workable
formula that could be acceptable to all the
provinces
and factions existing in the troubled areas.
Read
More... |
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Liberal
Forum Pakistan recasts itself by revisiting its
strategy
and target image |
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Liberal
Forum Pakistan gets a tail wind by Mr. Manfred
Richter,
treasurer and board-member of FNF, to
reorganize itself
with respect to thematic and organizational
matters
during a three day Strategy Workshop held
28-30 July
in Islamabad. This strategy Workshop for
Liberal Forum
Pakistan was meant to streamline the
organization and
define its concrete objectives for the year
2008. It
served to bring all the members of the board
and thinking
minds around a table to discuss all the
internal organizational
matters after the transitional phase of LFP
during the
first half of the year and thematic issues
concerning
liberals in the current scenario.
Read
More... |
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FNF
Pakistan partners vow to cooperate for making
space for
liberal values in the country |
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There
is a dire need for the promotion of liberal
values in
the terrorism stricken society of Pakistan
where the
subsequent prevailing uncertainty and
declining economy
promises no future to investors. These
propositions
were debated during the
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für
die Freiheit (FNF) Partners’ Meeting on 2nd
August
2008 at Islamabad.
Read
More... |
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Liberals counteract the current
challenges posed
to the political economy and security of the
country |
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Political
stability, rule of law, and patience to let
the democratic
process continue are the fundamental
principles for
social, political and economic development.
These propositions
were debated during the two day IAF Alumni
Meeting in
Islamabad. The meeting was attended by the
Director
International Academy for Leadership (IAF),
Ms. Birgit
Lamm, and eminent politicians such as alumnis
Senator
Rukhsana Zuberi Former MNA, Dr. Donya Aziz and
Senator
Sanaullah Baloch.
Read
More... |
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“Economic Freedom for the States of India”
held in Jammu and Srinagar |
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The
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit
together
with its partner Rajiv Gandhi Institute for
Contemporary
Studies of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation
organized two
workshops in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in
June.
The programme in Jammu was jointly organized
by the
University of Jammu, invited Mr. Janak Raj
Gupta, the
political advisor to Chief Minister of Jammu
and Kashmir
to interact on the subject of Economic Freedom
for the
states of India with a special focus on J
& K. On
the other hand, in Srinagar, the seat of
parliament
in summers, the Deputy Chief Minister of J
& K,
Mr. Muzaffar H. Beigh, participated in the
discussions
on the issue of Economic Freedom.
Read
More... |
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Mutual
Funds - Dynamics of Liberalism in Pakistan
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“Mutual
Funds” aims to describe and analyze growth
dynamics
of mutual fund sector in the context of
financial liberalization
with special emphasis on the individual
investors. This
report has been prepared for mutual funds,
investors,
policy makers, regulators and students of
financial
markets.
Economies of the developing countries like
Pakistan
suffer chronically from a low saving rate
which feeds
into low investment rates.
Read
More... |
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The right to information is a unique civil
right, the
touchstone for all freedoms to which the
United Nations
is consecrated. More than 70 countries have
enacted
laws to provide people access to
government-held information.
“Our Right, Our Information” is a compilation
of case studies that illustrate how the right
to information
has been used to secure a range of human
rights from
the right to food and healthcare to the right
to be
free from torture and gender-based
discrimination.
Read
More... |
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A symposium on ‘Opportunities for Liberalism
in
India’ will be conducted by FNF India on 27
September,
2008 in New Delhi.
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Liberal
Youth South Asia (LYSA) will organize a ‘South
Asia
Youth Summit’ in New Delhi from 24-25 November
2008,
in cooperation with FNF New Delhi.
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Seminars
on ‘Rule of Law and the Civil Society’ and
‘Seminar Designing’ will be organized by
FreedomGate Pakistan with the support of FNF
Pakistan
in October, 2008.
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The
Society for the Protection of Rights of the
Child (SPARC)
will launch ‘Children’s Parliament’
in October, 2008 in cooperation with FNF
Pakistan.
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A Convention on ‘Provincial Autonomy’ will
be organized by Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan (HRCP)
in October in association with FNF Pakistan.
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FNF partner organisation PRAJA, will launch a
project
on ‘Accountability’ in Mumbai, India in
November,
2008.
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If you do not wish to receive our
eNewsletter,
please return this note with
“unsubscribe”
in the subject. More information on
recent
FNF South Asia is waiting for you in
our web.
Postal Address : USO House, 6
Special Institutional
Area, New Delhi 110 067
Tel. : +91-11-26862064 Fax :
+91-11-26862042
Email : india@fnst.org
Website : www.southasia.fnst.org |
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