In Brussels, the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development, or Concord, is well-known as an influential lobbyist. This stature stems from the group’s established relationship with the European Union as well as its large membership – more than 2,000 non-governmental organizations across the continent.
Any European civil society organization would highly benefit from actively participating in Concord if it wanted to succeed in engaging EU institutions, Justin Kilcullen told Devex late last year. The group embodies “the legitimate voice” of European nonprofits and has the resources and expertise in dealing with the European Commission, the Concord president said.
In this second and final part of our interview with Kilcullen, the Irishman discussed how civil society groups may help redefine the emerging partnership between Europe and China in helping Africa develop as well as how NGO networks can reduce inefficiencies of member organizations.