Philea Forum 2023: A New Compass for Europe

Ten years after the accession of Croatia to the EU, the philanthropic community will come together to assess how it can contribute to creating the Europe we need, for the world we want – and this against the backdrop of the most important war on the continent in generations; ahead of the second “SDG Summit”, marking the mid-point in the implementation of the 2030; and one year before the EU elections.

While cross-cutting themes of key interest to the philanthropic community will inform conversations, the programme will be structured around four functional tracks: Strategy, Philanthropy Toolbox, Collaboration, and Policy and Data.

Daily reports

Day 1: Thoughts from Philea

Charles Keidan, Alliance magazine

Today, Croatia, a country which lies at the crossroads of central and southeast Europe, and once part of the former Yugoslavia, is in the EU, in the Eurozone and in Schengen – allowing freedom of movement across much of Europe.

It was against this optimistic outlook that the National Foundation for Civil Society Development in Croatia joined forces with Philea, Europe’s leading philanthropy support organisation, to host the annual gathering of philanthropic elites, national networks and member associations. Read more…

Day 2: ‘Be an octopus’

Amy McGoldrick, Alliance magazine

The second day of Philea’s Annual Conference began with one of ten site visits across the Šibenik region. From The Falconry Center, a scenic walk through Krka National Park, to a boating trip to the island of Zlarin, these visits allowed attendees to explore Šibenik outside of the glossy conference venue.

Zlarin is the first plastic-free island in Croatia, situated on the Dalmatian coast. With just 300 inhabitants – that swells to 3,000 in the height of tourist season – and no cars, local community activism has managed to ban single-use plastics in their entirety. Amidst gorgeous surroundings, we heard the story of their work since 2018, and their ideas for the future – including bringing back traditional rainwater harvesting. Read more…

Day 3: Do good – by doing good, everything is possible

Magda Pekacka, Alliance regional representative for Central and Eastern Europe

Philea Forum 2023 closing plenary began with the remarks of Cvjetana Plavsa-Matic, the director of the National Foundations for Civil Society Development. Cvjetana, with a ‘heart full of emotions,’ summarised three days of the gathering, which provided space for talking, exploring, and connecting. Participants took part in 11 site visits and met 45 Croatian civil society organisations. Cvjetana was grateful to Philea and The National Foundation for Civil Society Development teams for exceptional cooperation. She ended her speech with two words ‘Do good – by doing good, everything is possible.’ Read more…

Poll winners

Alliance asked its readers what session they would like to hear about most in a poll. This year it was a tie! The winners were ‘How do we fund? How do we listen? How do we level the playing field?’ and Building infrastructure to support resilient youth climate movements: Lessons from across Europe take a look at our conference reports below.

‘We’ve never had our money refused before’

Strong and responsive youth movements need sound infrastructure in order to survive longterm, and to flourish. There needs to be not just investment in activism around climate, but to support around the projects, too – in the movements’ mental health, building their capacity and skills, and working to counteract the extraordinary burnout rate. Read more…

How do we fund? How do we listen? How do we level the playing field?

Three foundations shared their journeys of soul searching and taking a critical look at how their funding aligns with their values. From deep listening to ending the starvation cycle of non profits.

Reflections from delegates

Wilhelm Meya, The Language Conservancy

European philanthropy has the tools to embrace emerging global issues

Attending the Philea Forum was an eye-opening experience that showcased the immense potential of European philanthropy. The event successfully brought together a diverse range of stakeholders, including NGOs,foundations, and organisations of foundations, all sharing a common goal of making a positive impact on the world. I was struck by their concerted effort to streamline and systematise European giving, ultimately leading to more effective approaches in addressing various funding areas and methods. Read more…

Florence Wild, CORRECTIV

How we talk about crises matters

Taking place on the beautiful seashores of Sibenik, nautical references naturally abounded at the Philea Forum 2023. There was talk about maelstroms, sailing winds, and the need for a compass in these tumultuous times. It is my strong belief that public interest journalism can be that compass for society. Although it may still be a fairly niche topic for European philanthropy, I do think the tide is high for us to work closer together. Read more…

Winnie Asiti is a member of the Next Generation Climate Board, and Climate Analytics.

Actualizing trust-based, participatory grantmaking for youth climate movements!

Young people engaged on climate action are faced with a myriad challenges including the fact that they are living with impacts of climate change in the global south. Some of these impacts which are currently more frequent and intense include floods, drought, sea level rise, cyclones and heatwaves. These impacts affect the lives and livelihoods of youth in immeasurable ways. Read more…

Anna Tramonti, AVSI Foundation

Who has relevant knowledge of a place?

At this year’s Philea Forum I was particularly struck by two strings of conversations, one on the relationship between Africa and Europe and one on localisation and partnership. Like any good conversation, they caused more questions than answers. Read more…

Nani Jansen Reventlow, Systemic Justice

Our response to the climate crisis must be intersectional

On 23 May, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Philea Forum, the flagship event of Philea (Philanthropy Europe Association), which brings together foundations, philanthropic organisations, and networks. I had the opportunity to address nearly a hundred changemakers and funders during the Forum’s first ever session on climate justice and the need for intersectionality within the climate movement and philanthropic giving, organised by the Gender Equality Network. Read more…

Tobias Bürger, Bertelsmann Stiftung. Dieuwertje Nelissen, Enviu Foundation. Tabatha Schmidhauser, Haas Foundation.

Empowering future changemakers

The world is not short of challenges, but it desperately needs solutions. The Triangle, an innovation hub for the next generation of entrepreneurs based in Šibenik in Croatia, illustrates how to foster innovation and education in a regional setting with a long-term goal. Read more…

Fiona Montagud O’Curry, Calala Women’s Fund

We still have a long way to walk

Nearly 10 years have passed since my first European Foundation Centre conference in Sarajevo. I remember entering a very homogenous space where women, the LGBTQ+ community, young and racialised people, were an absolute minority. Read more…

Jo Swinson, The Partners For A New Economy

A tale of two conferences

The appetite for funding deep transformation of systems, in place of piecemeal projects, was the most striking to me. Maybe it was the particular sessions I attended, but the fact that the ‘Scary but refreshing’ session on systems change was so oversubscribed that many more chairs had to be brought in to the room spoke volumes. Read more…

Celia Turner, Urgent Action Fund

Courage and creativity in the face of polycrisis

In a session called Creativity for Social Change, Lwanda Xaso said, ‘We must change ourselves from the inside – and tackle our own resistance to change.’ An energizing thread I found weaving through Philea from various sessions and presenters was a push for participants to think differently and do things differently to tackle the extraordinary crises facing social movements and democracy across the world. Presenters called on funders to step up and respond to our shared and pressing challenges. Read more…

News from the conference

Philea release study into European philanthropic funding in the field of arts and culture

The recently released report which is the second volume of its study revealed a philanthropic sector that is strongly committed to resourcing artistic and cultural organisations to strengthen their resilience; has a cross-cutting and intersectional tendency in its work; and is clearly open to collaborative and participatory approaches. Read more…

Most comprehensive ever report on European environmental philanthropy launched by Philea

On 22 May 2023, Philea published the sixth edition of its Environmental Funding by European Foundations report, the most comprehensive of its kind, which covers topics ranging from thematic focus of environmental grantmaking, to geographical distribution, to approaches taken by environmental funders. Read more…

Philea Forum 2024…

Helping to close #phileaforum2023 Brieuc Van Damme, Chief Executive Officer of @K_B_Foundation announces that the 2024 Philea Forum will take place in Ghent! ??❤️ pic.twitter.com/F9qu1aJ4lD

— Philea – Philanthropy Europe Association (@philea_eu) May 25, 2023