Civil Society Dialogue Network

The Civil Society Dialogue Network (CSDN) is a mechanism for dialogue between civil society and EU policy-makers on issues related to peace and conflict. It is co-financed by the European Union (Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace) and EPLO, and managed by EPLO in co-operation with the European Commission (EC) and the European External Action Service (EEAS).

The third phase of the CSDN will last from 2017 to 2020. It will contribute to strengthening EU and civil society capacity to anticipate, analyse, prevent and respond to threats to stability and human development posed by violent conflict and crisis.

CSDN events (conferences, seminars and workshops) are open to all interested civil society actors and take place in Brussels, EU Member States and conflict-affected countries with EU presence. They focus on:

geographic and conflict-specific situations (including an early response element) and conflict analysis
strategic, policy-making and programming aspects of peace-building and conflict prevention
transversal thematic issues relating to conflict prevention and peace-building.

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CSDN events fall into the following categories:

1. Policy Meetings

2. Geographic Meetings

(including Early Response Meetings and In-country Dialogue Meetings)

3. Funding Instruments Meetings

4. Member State Meetings

5. The EU in International Peacebuilding Meetings

6. Training Seminars

EPLO will produce background material, including briefing papers, reports, and policy papers. Updates on the CSDN will also be disseminated via the EPLO External Newsletter.

Click here to download the European Commission’s press release on the launch of CSDN I.

Click here to download an overview of the CSDN.

Click here to read all the publications from the first phase of the CSDN (2010-2013).

Click here to read all the publications from the second phase of the CSDN (2014-2017).

Click here to read the report of an independent evaluation of the second phase of the CSDN (2014-2017).

For more information about the CSDN, please contact Ben Moore.

Latest Publications

Discussion Paper – Civil society peacebuilding actors in Iraq (October 2017)

Discussion Paper – The EU and conflict prevention in Jordan – Laura Davis & Fatima Ayub (March 2017)

Background Paper – The Impact of Train and Equip initiatives on Security Sector Reform: A Brief Literature Review – Laura Davis (November 2016)

Latest Event

Title	Conflict-sensitive engagement in Uganda: Gathering civil society perspectives
Type	Geographic Meeting
Date	23 March 2018
Venue	Entebbe, Uganda
Short Description	Uganda is currently facing internal sources of tension around issues such as land rights, possible changes to the constitution and future elections. In addition, the continuing arrival of people seeking refuge in the country from neighbouring states (in particular from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi) means that Uganda now hosts the largest refugee population in Africa. Such a context highlights the importance of collecting civil society analysis on how local, national and international actors can engage in a conflict-sensitive manner to contribute to resilience and support peace in the country. This meeting brought together international and local civil society working in and on Uganda, to provide gender-inclusive assessments on the sources of tensions and instability, possible risks of conflict, and drivers of resilience and peace in the North-West and South-West of the country. Discussions had a particular focus on the interface between local drivers of conflict and resilience (including those related to conflicts over land and to the national political context) and displacements. The participants were invited to share their views on the dynamics, risk factors as well as sources of resilience to violent conflict at the state, societal and community levels
Useful Links	For more information about this event, please see the concept note and agenda of the meeting or contact Lorenzo Angelini.