International networks of Civil Society
In the civil society networks special attention is given to those vulnerable groups with communication difficulties, e.g., people with visual or hearing impairment; elderly and young people. Religious minorities are mentioned too, which are at risk to become a target for terrorist attacks. But also, the digital volunteers and citizens and science initiatives are considered as they could give valuable support in crisis situations.
Vulnerable People
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDF | European Disability Forum is an umbrella organisation of persons with disabilities that defends the interests of over 100 million persons with disabilities in Europe. EDF is an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) that brings together representative organisations of persons with disabilities from across Europe. | Website | ||
| DCDD | Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development promotes disability inclusion in international development cooperation.
Right now, people with disabilities around the world face many physical obstacles, communication barriers, inadequate laws and policies as well as negative stereotypes. |
Website |
Hearing impairment
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUD | European Union of the Deaf (EUD) is a not-for-profit European non-Governmental organisation whose members comprise of National Associations of the Deaf. It is EUD's vision that Deaf people all over Europe have equality in both public and private aspects of life. Its main objectives it wants realised are: the recognition of the right to use an indigenous sign language, empowerment through communication and information, and equality in education and employment. | Website | ||
| EFHOH | European Federation of Hard of Hearing People is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, registered in the Netherlands; currently comprised of 24 national member organizations and represents the interests of more than 52 million hard of hearing people throughout Europe. The aim is a Europe where hard of hearing people can live without barriers and have the opportunity to participate at all levels of society. | Website |
Visual impairment
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBU | European Blind Union is a non-governmental, non-profit-making organization, and is a regional union of the World Blind Union. It is registered in France under the laws of the French Republic. EBU is the united voice of millions of blind and partially sighted Europeans. EBU works towards an accessible and inclusive society with equal opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to fully participate in all aspects of social, economic, cultural and political life. | Website |
Reading impairment
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASHA | The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 218,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) identify, assess, and treat speech, language, and swallowing disorders. | Website |
Religious Communities
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EJC | The European Jewish congress addresses the many challenges currently faced by European Jewry. EJC’s agenda has evolved since its establishment in response to the broad diversity of Jewish communities within Europe. However, in spite of their cultural differences and heterogeneous historic backgrounds, EJC’s members share common needs and interests, which in turn become EJC’s primary objectives. | Website |
The old and the young
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGE | AGE Platform Europe is a European network of non-profit organisations of and for people aged 50+, which aims to voice and promote the interests of the 200 million citizens aged 50+ in the European Union and to raise awareness on the issues that concern them most.
AGE's work focuses on a wide range of policy areas that impact on older and retired people. These include issues of anti-discrimination, employment of older workers and active ageing, social protection, pension reforms, social inclusion, health, elder abuse, intergenerational solidarity, research, accessibility of public transport and of the build environment, and digital technologies (ICT). AGE seeks to give a voice to older and retired people in the EU policy debates, through the active participation of their representative organisations at EU, national, regional and local levels, and provides a European platform for the exchange of experience and best practices. AGE furthermore inform older people on their rights as EU citizen or resident and on EU policy making processes and recent EU policy development. Through its involvement in several EU projects, AGE also seeks to promote older people's participation in the development of projects and devices intended for them ('user involvement'). |
Website | ||
| Save the Children | Save the Children works in over 100 countries, doing whatever it takes — every day and in times of crisis — to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. | Website |
Citizens and Science
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSA | The Citizen Science Association is a member-driven organization that connects people from a wide range of experiences around one shared purpose: advancing knowledge through research and monitoring done by, for, and with members of the public.
Citizen science – the most recognizable term for this practice – is expanding the reach, relevance, and impact of science in almost every area of inquiry; in the field and online; through local and global efforts. By broadening who can contribute to, shape, and use the tools and skills of science, these efforts can address questions with increased data and insight, develop shared social and scientific understanding of complex problems, and open new opportunities for shared discovery, scholarship, learning, justice, and action. |
Website | ||
| ECSA | European Citizen Science Association’s mission is to connect citizens and science; to promote sustainable development through citizen science; and to ensure that citizen science contributes to policy processes.
They run interesting projects and working groups. The platform for sharing citizen science projects, resources, tools and training (https://eu-citizen.science) Participatory Approaches to a New Ethical and Legal Framework for ICT |
Website |
Digital Volunteers
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crisis Mappers Net | The International Network of Crisis Mappers is an international community of experts, practitioners, policymakers, technologists, researchers, journalists, scholars, hackers and skilled volunteers engaged at the intersection of humanitarian crises, new technology, crowd-sourcing, and crisis mapping.
Crisis Mappers leverage mobile & web-based applications, participatory maps & crowdsourced event data, aerial & satellite imagery, geospatial platforms, advanced visualization, live simulation, and computational & statistical models to power effective early warning for rapid response to complex humanitarian emergencies. |
Website | ||
| VOST EU | The aim of the VOST Europe federation is to create a space to interexchange experiences, best practices, mitigate common problems with common solutions, as well as to search for opportunities as representatives of a large number of digital volunteers. | Website |
Disaster reduction
| Network | Description | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GNDR | Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction is a voluntary network of civil society organisations, associations and individuals who are committed to working together, and engaging with partners and other stakeholders, to increase community resilience and reduce disaster risk around the world. | Website | ||
| EUROSAFE | European Association for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. EuroSafe’s mission is to prevent home and leisure accidents by working in partnership with industry, governments, research institutes and health and safety practitioners to help reduce the greatest risks.
Supported by its members, EuroSafe exists to promote: Better sharing of resources: To organise the exchange of injury data and successful practices in prevention and to develop partnerships for joint projects. Better policies: To raise political awareness as to the impact of home and leisure accidents and to mainstream the injury prevention in a coherent manner within European policy agenda’s and programmes. Focused actions on injury prevention priorities in Europe: To establish purpose driven networks to ensure on-going development, implementation and evaluation of efforts in view of enhancing consumer safety. |
Website |