Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation (AKÜ) is a NGO platform of 36 Estonian non-governmental organisations that work in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, sustainable development and global citizenship education.  As a national platform we carry out both national and EU level advocacy with our members and partners on development issues and on SDGs and policy coherence. We are committed to capacity building of our members to provide stronger and more capable civil society to achieve our common goals. 

1. Advocacy and Policy Influence

• AKÜ works to influence national and international policies related to development cooperation, sustainable development, and global justice.
• It represents its members’ interests in dialogues with the Estonian government, the European Union, and other international bodies.

2. Capacity Building

• AKÜ organizes training sessions, workshops, and produces resources to strengthen the capabilities of its member organizations.
• Focus areas include CSO capacities, advocacy skills etc.
• AKÜ provides a platform for NGOs to collaborate, share experiences, and implement joint initiatives.
• It connects Estonian organizations with international networks and funding opportunities.

3. Public Awareness rising and communication 

• AKÜ promotes global education to increase public understanding of international development issues, including poverty reduction, human rights, and climate change.
• It engages in campaigns and educational programs aimed at fostering a more informed and globally aware society.

AKÜ believes that All EU and Estonian policies and regulations must be coherent with each other and aimed at reducing inequalities and maintaining a more sustainable world. For example, today, on the one hand, the EU provides development aid, but at the same time some EU policies contribute to increasing poverty in developing countries. States and allies have a duty to monitor on how our decisions affect people all over the world and make necessary changes in their policies and legislations. 

International networks 

AKÜ is a full and active member of CONCORD (European Confederation of Relief and Development NGOs), Eurodad (European Network on Debt and Development) and Forus, by taking part of core priority advocacy and strategic actions as well as cross-cutting actions in both networks. 

AKÜ is also a member of ESDN (European Sustainable Development Network) to work with global sustainable development goals on EU level, and member of Bridge 47 Network and DEAR Community to hold the finger on the pulse of global citizenship education. 

Our members

Members of AKÜ are CSOs/NGOs working on development cooperation, environment, democracy, gender issues, global citizenship education and other fields of sustainable development: 

Development cooperation: Estonian Centre for Eastern Partnership, NGO Mondo, Peipsi Centre for Transboundary Cooperation, NGO Damota, Garage 48, NGO Humana, Estonian Refugee Council, Estonian School of Diplomacy, Practnet.

Environment: Estonian Green Movement, Estonian Foundation for Nature, NGO Cup Circle, Estonian Nature Conservation Agency.

Democracy and human rights: Estonian NATO Society, E-Governance Academy, Human Rights Institute, Centre for Human Rights, NGO Citizens Training, Johannes Mihkelson Centre, Jaan Tõnisson Institute,  Ethical Links, Estonian European Movement, Baltic Studies Institute, Transparency Estonia.

Gender and equality: Feministry, Women’s Support and Knowledge Centre, Women’s Training Centre, Estonian Women’s Studies and Resource Centre.

Global Citizenship Education: Unesco ERC, NGO Mondo, EstYes, People to People Estonia.

Children and youth issues: The Education and Youth Authority, Sillamäe Society for Child Welfare, Centre of Sexual Health.

Culture and cooperation: Fenno-Ugria Centre, Domus Dorpatensis.