The OSCE Mission to Serbia in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania is inviting representatives from youth organizations from Serbia and Albania to participate in the OSCE Mission to Serbia project for building bridges. The project aims to support youth actors from Serbia and Albania to improve connectivity, co-operation and dialogue. The project consists of several phases: 1) Conducting of two five-day training modules on digital skills and project cycle management for up to 26 representatives; 2) Development of an on-line platform for youth co-operation; 3) Development and implementation of selected participants’ joint project proposals; and 4) Conference on…
Author: anja
The first call for proposals under the IPA2CSO Mechanism in Macedonia is to provide support for CSOs in the process of developing sectoral policy analyses, which describe the current situation in one of the sectors identified in the CfP and give suggestions and recommendations for its improvement, as well as implementing related advocacy activities. The specific objective is the promotion of the IPA 2 Mechanism that provides effective support to participative democracy through cooperation between the government and CSOs. The overall indicative amount made available under this call is EUR 40.000, while any grant requested must fall between EUR 3.000…
The specific objective of this call is to support quality media production in the areas related to Montenegro’s European Integration and to enable media to report fairly, freely and in a professional and ethical manner. At the same time the citizens are meant to be further educated about their rights in the context of the Code of Ethics to strengthen implementation while the economic models of media enterprises should be strengthened. The priorities of this call for proposal are the following: strengthening investigative reporting, strengthening EU affairs reporting, and supporting the Code of Ethics. The overall indicative amount made available…
The specific objectives of this CfP are to: 1) establish, improve or sustain community-based social services, 2) establish and strengthen social business initiatives, and 3) support local-level inter-sectoral measures for decreasing early school leaving, preventing dropout and increasing educational attainment. The overall indicative amount made available under this call is EUR 5.500.000. Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fail between minimum EUR 60.000 and maximum EUR 200.000, with 60%-90% of the total eligible costs of the action. The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 12 months nor exceed 24 months. The deadline…
Despite the initial reaction by civil society on 20th May over the sudden adoption of the Decision on the Establishment of the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Civil Society, on 23rd May the General Secretariat of the Government published a Call for selection of 13 members of the Council coming from associations and foundations. With this procedure, the Government did not take into consideration any recommendations and indications of the CSOs regarding the establishment of the Council and thus additionally undermined the already fragile trust between the state institutions and the civil sector. Therefore, 89 CSOs have signed…
On 13th June, the Agency for Supporting Civil Society (ASCS) announced the list of CSO representatives to become members of the National Council of Civil Society (NCCS), based on the online voting process for the candidates of civil society representatives to the Council. ASCS has published the final results of the voting process, as well as the final list of the members elected to the Council in the first electoral process for NCCS. The NCSS is a bilateral forum with state and civil society representatives, established in the attempt to create an organized structure that includes the voice of civil society in the policy-making processes in Albania.…
On 3rd June, the Slovenian Ministry of Finance enacted amendments to the Rules on the Implementation of the Law on Value Added Tax, which stipulate that smaller CSOs are no longer required to issue invoices when selling their products or services, thereby they will no longer be obliged to use fiscal cash registers. The change is the result of intensive joint advocacy efforts and actions by CNVOS, the Olympic Committee, Alpine Association and the Association of Pensioners. Thus, as of 04th June, when the conditions specified in the Rules are met, CSOs that make small sales revenues will not need…
Fundamentalism can encompass much more than religion, and in this report the Special Rapporteur takes a much broader view of the term. He believes that fundamentalism can and should be defined more expansively, to include any movements – not simply religious ones – that advocate strict and literal adherence to a set of basic beliefs or principles. Adherence to the principles of free market capitalism, for example, has spawned what has been called “market fundamentalism.” And the unbending belief in the superiority of one ethnic group, race, tribe or nationality can lead to what might be called “nationalist fundamentalism.” Numerous…
The 2016 Open CSO Days in Croatia were held from 23rd to 25th May, and more than 300 associations presented their programmes and activities, bringing them closer to the citizens. With their participation in the CSOs activities, the citizens were able to gain insight in the wide array of activities that the associations are engaged in, so that they could gain incentives for action in their own local communities, either as service users or as volunteers. They organized sport activities, amateur radio courses, handicraft workshop, they marked the European Day of Parks, held a number of volunteer actions, opened a…
In some countries, new laws and government decisions have blocked the ability of CSOs to fully participate in public policy, often through restrictions on access to foreign funding. Human rights defenders have been harassed or arrested, and CSOs closed down. The Conference of INGOs organized a debate on 6th and 7th June in Strasbourg “Only a matter for politicians? Civil society, money and political activities”, which looked at the challenges facing CSOs in a time when civil society space is shrinking. Participants outlined methods to prevent inappropriate restrictions on CSOs, which are essential contributors to political debate and to the…