News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The Kosovo Stability Initiative, Lens and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung are implementing the “GrassRoots Action Support – GRAS” project, which aims is to support the consolidation of a tolerant and democratic culture in Kosovo by strengthening the internal management, accountability and transparency of civil society at the local level. The Call for Proposals under this project aims to
Read more →The Heartefact Foundation supports local actors, organizations and initiatives in Serbia with the aim of fostering socially responsible action. Hartefakt supports projects that are implemented in the areas of socially engaged culture and arts and the protection and promotion of human rights. The call for submitting project ideas is open throughout the year, as the Grant
Read more →The MEP tasked with setting the European Parliament’s position on the EU’s planned support for NGOs has proposed a billion-euro program for promoting democratic values and civil society. The effort is part of the EU’s next long-term budget, set to start from 2021, which is under discussion among member states and the parliament. The EU Commission in
Read more →GrantCraft has just released its new guide – Deciding Together: Shifting Power and Resources Through Participatory Grantmaking. This guide is a first-of-its-kind look at how funders can cede decision-making power about funding decisions to the communities they aim to serve. Funders are increasingly looking to engage the communities they serve in the grantmaking process, but
Read more →This report seeks to correct this oversight and to probe more deeply into the rise of conservative civil society around the world. It does so under the rubric of Carnegie’s Civic Research Network project, an initiative that aims to explore new types of civic activism and examine the extent to which these activists and associations
Read more →On 9 October 2018, the Government of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia adopted the Strategy for cooperation with and development of the civil society, as well as the Action Plan 2018-2020. The Strategy is based on the results achieved so far, but it also elaborates a framework for future activities that will enable
Read more →The Coalition Saradnjom do Cilja (Co-operation to the goal), which consists of 100 NGOs, demands from the Ministry of Public Administration to urgently announce a call for co-financing projects and programs of NGOs financed from EU funds, and thus fulfill its legal obligation. The Government of Montenegro has adopted a Regulation on the procedure of co-financing
Read more →Now more than ever, businesses have strong incentives to take seriously their responsibility to respect human rights. Human rights developments can spark stock price fluctuations, negative consumer attitudes and loud employee demands to take action. In developing their human rights policies and processes, companies have come to depend upon civic freedoms that enable civil society
Read more →The European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs just adopted the resolutions which mark the progress made in five Western Balkan countries on their path towards possible EU accession. The Resolutions highlight three most pressing issues in the region: Visa liberalisation is vital for Kosovo; Macedonian Government is encouraged to honour Prespa name agreement with Greece; and Serbia
Read more →A new book by Natasha Wunsch examines civil society empowerment during the EU enlargement process. Building on extensive fieldwork, it compares mobilisation around rule of law issues in Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the top-down impact of EU support, it demonstrates NGOs’ agency and analyses their shifting strategies throughout the membership
Read more →The Civil Society Programme for Albania and Kosovo is a three-year (2018-2021) programme funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pristina. The lead implementing organization of the programme is the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) with Partners Albania for Change and Development (PA) as partner organization. The
Read more →According to the report of the Conference of INGOs’ fact-finding visit to Skopje that took place from 26 to 27 March 2018, NGOs are ready to contribute to reinforce the public authorities in order to achieve progress in the democratic reforms. However, NGOs continue to have legitimate expectations towards the Government regarding its accountability, transparency
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