BCSDN has once again laid out in its Position on how this new phase of EU regional support to civil society should look like. EU should maintain a genuine regional approach and efforts so as to achieve greater in-country effectiveness, while remaining linked to the common objective for these countries. EU support should focus on local civil society organizations and initiatives through further and continuous empowerment and capacity-building, but also an adequate and prompt political support of their actions. Monitoring of the environment in which civil society operates, should continue to be done through the Guidelines for EU support to…
Author: anja
The Amnesty International Report 2016/17 documents the state of human rights in 159 countries and territories during 2016. For millions, 2016 was a year of unrelenting misery and fear, as governments and armed groups abused human rights in a multitude of ways. Large numbers of people continued to flee conflict and repression in many regions of the world. European Western Balkans presented a short review of each country in the region. Several different issues were reported In Albania – enforced disappearances, forced evictions, the justice system, refugees and asylum-seekers, torture and other ill-treatment. In a report on BiH, AI registered…
The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that trust is in crisis around the world. The general population’s trust in all four key sectors — business, government, CSOs, and media — has declined broadly, a phenomenon not reported since Edelman began tracking trust in these segments in 2012. With the decline of trust, the majority of respondents now lack full belief that the overall system is working for them. In such climate, people’s societal and economic concerns, including globalization, the pace of innovation and social values, are eroding and turning into fears, spurring the rise of populist actions now playing out…
Kosovo, in its latest endeavor to further improve the inclusion of civil society in public decision making, has launched a new online platform for Consultation with the Public. The promotion of said platform was held on 22th February in Prishtina. Through this online platform the Kosovo government will seek to facilitate the communication between the ministries and agencies of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo with the public, civil society organizations and other relevant partners in the policy and decision making process. It will do so by allowing the public and stakeholders to express their interest to participate in…
On March 3rd, 2017 (Friday), 13:00 – 14:00hrs, CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation will be streaming the “Backsliding on Civic Space in Democracies” on their Facebook Page. The event will provide an opportunity for the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and civil society leaders to reflect on the global climate for civil society operating in mature democracies and articulate key measures these states must take to ensure an enabling environment for civil society and human rights defenders both at home and at the UN Human Rights Council. The event is sponsored by Amnesty International,…
The Center for Global Prosperity (CGP) at the Hudson Institute has recently presented the 2016 Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances. The Index reframes the discussion about the roles of public and private sectors in foreign aid by showing that the full scale of a country’s generosity is measured not just by government aid, but by private giving as well. The research is a major step in identifying the public policy actions to improve the enabling environment for philanthropy. As in the previous editions of the Index, private financial flows—including philanthropy, remittances, and private capital investment—continue to grow and surpass government aid. In…
The Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organizations (TACSO) Project has shared the Regional Directory of Donors providing financial support in the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) countries, with 700+ donors and calls for proposals available for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The Directory aims to help civil society organizations in identifying and reaching out potential donors which could help them in providing funds to implement their valuable activities. In particular, the Regional Directory of Donors is intended to provide a comprehensive source of reference so that civil society organizations could obtain…
In a public statement circulated in early February, Macedonian ruling party leader and former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski warned civil society organizations to get ready for a ‘final showdown.’ He has also stated that allegedly 90-95% of CSOs in Macedonia are financed by George Soros, or by foreign governments under Soros’ control. According to reports of Macedonian CSOs working on the issue of financing of CSOs, it appears that these claims are false as about 5-10% of the total financial inflow in the civil society sector, comes from George Soros through the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia. Coinciding with these claims, a campaign “Stop…
As a key regional actor in civil society development, BCSDN with its members has been involved in the following all phases of EU regional support to CSOs. This year, with the new programming ahead, BCSDN has laid out in its Position how this ultimate phase in which local CSO should take over the responsibility and ownership, should look like. EU should maintain a genuine regional approach and efforts so as to achieve greater in-country effectiveness, while remaining linked to the common objective for these countries which is to contribute to the consolidation of democracy and the future accession to the…
The discourse about think tanks’ development and impact is inseparable from the debate on democracy and democratic societies. As part of the civil society, think tanks operate in a policy environment that has the public good as its ultimate beneficiary. The stronger the ties of think tanks/civil society and the public, the greater the guarantees of democracy. On the other side, divided societies in many Western Balkans countries are now increasingly falling for, or are at least left without an alternative, to populist politics. The new rulers look more appealing and palatable than the openly authoritarian leaders of the 1990s.…