KOPIN is a voluntary, autonomous, non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Malta working in the field of North-South cooperation and global education. KOPIN aims at poverty eradication and the wholesome development and effective empowerment of the poorest communities. It carries out development education and advocacy work on North-South issues directed mainly at local and EU policies. Although KOPIN is not bound to any other organisation, it has good relations with a number of Maltese and foreign organisations and networks.
In fact, ever since its foundation in the year 2000, a main aim of KOPIN is to network with other NGOs so as to share experiences and expertise with a focus on development cooperation and global education, and to build a strong position in advocating for a rights-based approach to social global justice.
KOPIN is the founding organisation of The National Platform of Maltese NGDOs, today called SKOP, which it was mandated to coordinate from its establishment in June 2001 until May 2007. KOPIN also participates in a number of thematic working groups at local and European level.
KOPIN is also a member of the Maltese Forum for Justice and Cooperation (FJC), and actively collaborates with networks like EUROSTEP, the Terre des Hommes International Federation, and in networking and advocacy projects such as TRIALOG and DEEEP.
The organisation has implemented a number of projects in the fields of North-South Collaboration, such as Global Action Schools (GAS), Building Unity Through Diversity (BUTD), a project on “Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society in Malta, Cyprus and Slovenia to engage effectively in Dialogue with the European Institutions over Sustainable Livelihood in the Mediterranean and the Barcelona Process”, and a policy research project on Development Issues in Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. KOPIN’s current projects are a "Global Action Schools 2 Communities" (S2C), an awareness raising campaign on Food Security , a project to design eight university modules that provide a wide ranging introduction to International Development Cooperation (“Raising Awareness on Development Cooperation”), and a networking and capacity building project involving Maltese, Greek and Cypriot CSOs and local councils (“Mediterranean Development Network” - MeDevNet).
Following its research and partnership building visit to Ethiopia in late 2008, KOPIN is the first Maltese NGDO to bring a structural approach to the collaboration between Maltese and Ethiopian civil society. KOPIN has also substantially contributed to the MOU between SKOP and the Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA), Ethiopia’s and East Africa’s biggest network of NGOs. Moreover, it has itself established partnerships with two Ethiopian NGDOs, namely the Emmanuel Development Association (EDA) and the Women and Children Development Organisation (WCDO). In 2009, KOPIN organised a visit of the director of CCRDA and the Ethiopia representative of the Catholic NGO MISEREOR to Malta, during which KOPIN’s representatives and their Ethiopian partners had meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and with a number of Maltese civil society organisations.
KOPIN also acts as the Maltese focal point for Social Watch International. It submits a national report for the yearly publication and undertakes advocacy initiatives with the national authorities regarding the relevant policies.
KOPIN is a registered voluntary organisation with the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations, ID Number VO/0200. KOPIN is also registered in PADOR (Potential Applicant Dated Online Registration), an on-line registration service of the EU Commission for organisations working for the development of developing countries.
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