2016, A Year-long Commitment

A summary of the activities carried out by the team of Dianova International (OID) in 2016 

Representation, Partnership building and Advocacy

Participation in 38 international meetings and events

CSW60

From January to December 2016, Dianova representatives participated in 38 events, meetings and international committees in 12 different countries on 3 continents including:

The 59th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs; The 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women; The Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the world drug problem; the 59th session of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission; an expert meeting of the European Commission on drugs and the internet; a High Level Meeting on Refugees and Migrants at the UN; the UNESCO International Conference of NGOs; in addition to a number of meetings of the NGO Commissions of Women, Mental Health and Migration.

Three events organized – attendance of 141 people

  • International Ewodor SymposiumVienna (Austria), March 17: organization of a side event to the 59th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs – “Treatment of addiction in southern Europe: providing solutions in times of crisis.” Co-organized jointly with associations Proyecto Hombre and Kethea.
  • New York (USA), March 22: Side event to the 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women – “Women, drugs and development: a gender perspective on drug use in women and their impact on sustainable development.”

Presentations of representatives of the Dianova network at the following international forums :

  • New York (USA), February 10: Interactive informal consultation for the UNGASS preparatory process, with a presentation of the experience of Dianova Chile in providing a gender perspective in treating addiction, by María de los Ángeles Lobos. Read article.
  • Caracas (Venezuela), October 3: Forum on the Prevention of Violence organized by the EU Delegation in Venezuela. Jorge Alós shared the experience of a project implemented by Dianova Uruguay: “Empowerment of educational and
Jordi Alos (right) during the forum on the prevention of violence

 

Online and offline impact

Online and offline impact

5 press releases – impact & media mentions

Press releases  – online impact

Impact of press releases

Mentions in online specialized media

Mentions in specialized media

Participation in 11 surveys and international studies

Dianova International and its members have participated in various studies and surveys, from the European Union, UNESCO, NGO platforms, etc. Emphasis should be placed on the Network’s participation in the following surveys : Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the European Strategy on Drugs and Drug Action Plan (European Commission); and the survey launched by the Civil Society Forum on Drugs about the involvement of civil society in the development of drug policies.

Web and social networks

Campaign against gender-based-violence

Dianova’s new website www.dianova.ngo was launched this year; our web now focuses on the work developped by the Dianova network member organizations, as well as the actions and activities of implemented by its international headquarters. The web site has now a section especially dedicated to advocacy activities and an ‘Act Online’ section. Overall, more than  90 original articles have been published on the following issues: addictions, human rights, education, gender, migrants and refugees, prevention and health promotion, civil society and third sector, youth and international organizations.

The ‘Act Online’ section is intended to present a number of online advocacy campaigns, e.g. the 16-day activism campaign initially developed by UN Women to put an end to gender-related violence, as well as an awareness campaign on Internet addiction: #DontLetThemPossessYou

A total of 23,900 sessions were opened by 17,696 users who have viewed 85,232 pages and a number of visits increased by 30%, a number of unique visitors by 25% and the number of pages visited increased by 124%, as compared to 2015.

1,200 posts were published on social networks of which 80% presented original contents. 3 indicators have been used: size (number of followers, fans, subscribers) with a 50% increase; vitality (reach, impressions, queries, mentions, favorites): + 600%, and influence (interactions, ‘like’, retweets, shared content): + 75%

11 newsletters were sent (Dianova NewsBriefs) to 1,000 subscribers, 3 of them were special issues.

Coordination, Strategic Orientations and Training

June 27: Presentation of the member organizations’ strategic plans at the assembly

Presentation of Dianova Spain's strategic plan

Since 1998, Dianova International has been organizing a series of meetings every four years with the participation of people representing the Network and with diverse experiences and backgrounds in the objective of  designing the Network’s strategic orientations.

Based on these orientations, Dianova member organizations will then then be responsible for developing their own strategic plans according to each organization’s specific environment and activities.

The latest strategic guidelines were adopted in 2015:


  • Diversification : We develop projects through strategic alliances which guarantee our autonomy and sustainability.
  • Internationality: Our purpose is to be citizens of the world, acting as international ambassadors of community networking.
  • Proactivity: We take responsibility for making things happen.
  • Adaptability: We provide effective responses to the challenges of a changing environment, thus strengthening internal cohesion and organizational development.

 

By June 2016, each member organization had to have designed their strategic plans based on the guidelines approved in October 2015. During the first part of the Assembly of Delegates, the representatives of the network’s member organizations presented the results of this important work (read a summary of the process)

Corporate Activities and Development

Dianova's four associate members

During this year, the Assembly of Delegates of Dianova International (i.e. the highest organ of the organization, composed of delegates from each member organization) had quite a busy agenda: among other issues, the delegates had to approve the 2015 annual activity report (click here to see a summary of the report in English, or Spanish), as well as the inclusion of new associate members of the Dianova (SPYM organization in India, Ray of Hope in Pakistan and the Slum Child Foundation in Kenya). This new statute will allow organizations that share a similar commitment to join the Dianova network to advance our common goals and broaden the voice of civil society organizations in international forums.

As the mandate of the Assembly Council meeting was coming to an end, the delegates representatives proceeded with the election of the 11 members of the Council. The new Assembly Council is composed of five women and six men. (Read the presentation of the members of the Council)

The Assembly council during a working session in Castelldefels

Dianova and the Challenges of Third Sector

During this year, a study has been prepared with the objective of providing information and reflections on the history and development of the social and third sector in Europe and the Americas. The third sector, along with other social agents, will have an important role to play in this century for the construction of a society that is more just. The final version of the study will be released in the Spanish and English languages during the first quarter of 2017.

The Dianova Network Manifesto

During the year, a comprehensive review of the “Dianova Network Manifesto” was carried out, a document originally published in 2010 to reflect the commitment of the Dianova Network. The new version of the Manifesto is divided in two parts: the first one describes the environment in which Dianova is working and the relations that the network maintains with it, while the second part is dedicated to the corporate stance of the organization on a series of social issues of great import for the Dianova Network. The new version of the Manifesto will be approved by the members by the end of 2017.