About us
CEE Bankwatch Network is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) with member organisations currently from 12 countries across the central and eastern European region. We monitor the activities of the international financial institutions (IFIs) which operate in the region, and propose constructive alternatives to their policies and projects in the region.
CEE Bankwatch Network was formally set up in 1995 and has become one of the strongest networks of environmental NGOs in central and eastern Europe. Members of CEE Bankwatch Network are NGOs from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovak Republic and Ukraine. Bankwatch is working to prevent negative environmental and social impacts of IFI projects, and promotes public participation and access to information about IFI activities across our region.
- Our vision is an environmentally, socially and economically just world, built on solidarity, participation and respect for ecological limits. People enjoy fulfilling lives and are aware of and responsible for the consequences of their actions.
- To make this vision become reality, we are working to prevent the environmentally and socially harmful impacts of international development finance, and to promote alternative solutions and public participation.
- In our work, we pay attention to values shared by our staff and member groups: trust, justice, solidarity/team work, diversity, value of nature and people, critical thinking, believe in change, integrity, dedication to the cause, grassroots approach, openness.
Our goals
- To create public awareness about the activities of international financial institutions (IFIs) in central and eastern European countries and their social and environmental impacts.
- To promote public participation in the decision making process about the policies and projects of the IFIs, at the local, national and regional levels.
- To help non-governmental environmental organisations and citizen groups to monitor what the IFIs are doing in central and eastern Europe.
- To change - or stop - the environmentally and socially destructive policies and projects of IFIs in central and eastern Europe, and to promote alternatives.
- To cooperate with environmental citizen organisations in order to stop the destructive activities of transnational corporations, and to limit their overall impacts on the environment in central and eastern Europe.
How we reach our goals
- Collecting and disseminating information about the activities of international financial institutions within the region.
- Building the capacity of national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to participate in environmental decision-making, including training, joint analysis of projects, and joint publication of analytical materials about the IFIs.
- Developing cooperative working relationships among central and eastern European environmental activists, while utilising western experience on the IFIs.
- Preparing case studies of IFI-funded projects, critiques of their policies, and proposals for more sustainable alternatives.
- Undertaking advocacy activities vis-à-vis the various IFIs, particularly in the areas of transportation, energy, extractive industries, human rights and climate change. Members of CEE Bankwatch Network attend the annual meetings of the IFIs and are engaged in an ongoing critical dialogue with their staffs and executive directors at national, regional and international levels.
Institutions we monitor
The CEE Bankwatch Network concentrates mostly on monitoring policies, projects and activities of the following international financial institutions (IFIs) :
Bankwatch also watches the relevant financial mechanisms of:
|
|
|
Bankwatch keeps an eye on:
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
Find even more details in the following documents:
- Bankwatch statute
- Bankwatch governance structure
- For more details on what Bankwatch is all about, check out our brochure
CEE Bankwatch Network gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
