What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

Balkan Civic Space talks #2: Citizen Mobilization amid Election Irregularities in Serbia (17 April, 11 am CET, Zoom)

Curious about recent concerns over manipulated elections in Serbia? Wondering how citizens are mobilizing amidst these irregularities? How do government responses impact civic engagement, and what successful advocacy strategies have emerged amid challenges? BCSDN and Civic Initiatives are organizing an online discussion, scheduled for April 17th at 11 am CET via Zoom, to address these

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BCSDN April 2024 Monitoring Matrix Updates

As part of our efforts to provide a more enabling civil society environment, and to inform our audience about recent civil society developments in the region, we present our periodical civil society updates. Divided into three areas based on our flagship tool, the Monitoring Matrix, the April 2024 report highlights ongoing challenges and progress in

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Freedom House Nations in Transit 2024: Democracy Deteriorates in the Western Balkans

In its latest Nations in Transit report, Freedom House reveals that all Western Balkan countries remain categorized as hybrid or transitional regimes. In 2024, Freedom House introduced new labels to indicate differences between hybrid regime types depending on the overall trajectory of democracy in the last five years – differentiating between “autocratizing hybrids”, “democratizing hybrids,

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CSOs Call for Strengthened Rule of Law in the EU

Ahead of the European Commission’s fifth annual rule of law report in July 2024, 39 CSOs across the EU urge action to enhance the effectiveness of the rule of law dialogue, improve reporting impact, and combat systematic human rights violations in EU Member States. CSOs emphasize the need for a transparent, participatory, and rule of

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Open Gov Week 2024: Tools and Discussions to Advance Democracy

Open Gov Week is a global initiative promoted by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to raise public awareness of the values of open government. On this occasion, reformers will come together in public debates, assemblies, hackathons, and webinars, and by sharing stories and good practices will accelerate solutions to respond most pressing problems and advance

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CoE’s Recommendation: A Significant Milestone in the Fight Against SLAPPs

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers adopted the Recommendation on countering the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). The newly adopted Recommendation provides a definition of SLAPPs, understood “as legal actions that are threatened, initiated or pursued as means of harassing or intimidating their target, and which seek to prevent, inhibit, restrict

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EU Defence Of Democracy Package: Proposal for Directive Lacks Clarity and Legal Certainty on Key Definitions

ENCL’s latest position paper analyzes how the proposed Directive of the European Parliament and the Council establishing harmonised requirements in the internal market on transparency of interest representation carried out on behalf of third countries and amending the previous Directive may unnecessarily and disproportionately impact CSOs’ activities, as well as their freedom of expression, association,

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Albania: SafeJournalists Condemn Coordinated Attacks on Citizens Channel

The SafeJournalists Network expresses concern over coordinated efforts to undermine Citizens Channel, an independent media outlet in Albania. Recent actions to remove its content from Facebook, citing violations such as spam or rule-breaking, threaten independent journalism and citizens’ right to quality information. Such attacks not only infringe on journalistic rights but also intimidate other media

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Media Freedom in Romania Ahead of Election Year, Mission Report Published

Romania faces a year of intense political campaigning as it organizes European, local, presidential, and parliamentary elections. Jornalists’ ability to successfully exercise the journalistic mission will be crucial for ensuring free and fair elections. Journalists must resist political pressure to report on political leaders, their programmes, and their records in office to ensure the public

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GFCG Webinar: Measurement is Political – the Road from Bogotá (18 April)

The Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF) is organizing a workshop to challenge traditional metrics of evaluating community-driven initiatives. The discussion aims to promote more inclusive and community-centered approaches to measuring success. Traditional metrics often prioritize quantitative outcomes, neglecting the true impact and complexities of civil society. This conversation will highlight innovative measurement methods from

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