Kosovar government agencies should be required to publish all of their budgets, along with financial reports explaining the allocation and spending of public money, according to this Riinvest Institute policy brief. The paper states that the reporting of budget expenditures by the Ministry of Finance to the Assembly of Kosovo is incomplete and does not allow for transparency of public expenditures and consequently discourages public participation. It adds that many other ministries do not report budget expenditures, or report them in a complex format. The brief focuses particularly on analyzing the drafting process of the budget, in light of issues…
Author: anja
The Regional Conference: Philanthropy in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Investment for the Future was held in Belgrade, Serbia from 25-27 November 2015. By bringing together a variety of different stakeholders in the region, the conference aimed to contribute to initiatives across the region for creating an enabling environment and greater cooperation between stakeholders in the areas of philanthropy, development and promotion. Furthermore, the enabled dialogue between stakeholders would lead to increasing the capacity of CSOs to use philanthropy for the benefit of citizens and societies in general, and to help CSOs achieve greater organisational sustainability. While there has been…
The European Civic Forum is organizing, in partnership with the European Alternatives, a public debate in Brussels in the European Parliament on 18 February 2016 (11:00 – 12:30) titled “Time to declare a State of Democracy!” This event comes at a juncture in time where fundamental rights and the EU founding principles of human dignity, freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, solidarity, non-discrimination, and equality are at the centre of debate all across Europe. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance and justice prevail. Article 2 has a prominent place in…
The Regional Mobility Fund (RMF) for Experts in the Black Sea Region and the Balkans is initiated by the Romanian NGDO Platform – FOND with the financial support of CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness – CPDE. This pilot activity was implemented during the period 5th October– 1st December 2015 and is now extended for the period 3rd February– 31st March 2016. More information is available here. The objective of the RMF is to encourage the mobility of civil society/ think tank/ academic experts in the region as to foster knowledge sharing, expertise and exchange of best practices within the framework…
The ENV.net new distance learning course “CSOs and participation: lobbying, advocacy, policy influencing” will provide support to CSOs on how to effectively influence the decision-making process at local, national and international level. It will also allow participants to better understand the importance of the involvement of citizens in the decision-making process, in order to set policy goals and priorities more linked with the people’s needs. During the course, participants will learn how the CSOs can analyse specific national issues, spread information and change the way in which public affairs are managed. Finally, this e-learning course will focus on different kind…
The British Embassy in Ankara has opened the bidding window for project funding from our EuD Bilateral Programme Fund. The aim of this fund is to help support reform in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The BPF funds projects between GBP 10.000 (approx. EUR 12.800) and 80.000 (approx. EUR 102.700) and above GBP 80.000 aimed at supporting FCO strategic priorities and individual Post objectives. The priority objectives for 2016/17 of the Bilateral Programme Fund are: 1) Enable strong rule of law, including through strengthening reforms in the justice sector, countering corruption, organised crime and promoting human rights; 2) Establish and…
USAID in Serbia is seeking applications from eligible prospective Serbian organizations to fund a programme entitled “Promoting informed voting and increasing citizens engagement prior to and following the elections” in Serbia. Subject to the availability of funds, USAID expects to fund individual program in amount of USD 450.000 (approx. EUR 400.000) for duration of 12 months. The deadline for submission of applications is 29th February, 2016. More information is available here. Source: USAID Serbia
Applications are now being accepted for the RWI-Human Rights Research Grant for Turkey (HRRG). The main goal of the RWI-Human Rights Research Grant is to enhance human rights law education and to support human rights research capacity at the academic institutions in Turkey. The deadline for submission of the research proposal is 14th March, 2016. The maximum amount awarded for each research project is TL 15.000 (approx. EUR 4.500). Research proposals must be relevant to contemporary human rights issues in Turkey. The planned duration of the research study should be a maximum of six months, and the submission date of…
The DSP objective is the achievement of visible and sustainable changes that will contribute to the development of a democratic society in Kosovo. More information is available here. Institutional grants enable CSOs to plot their own agendas and invest significant time in the areas of critical importance. Financial support for institutional development is intended to sustain organizations that are, or have the potential of becoming, change agents in the field of citizen participation, good governance, transparency, inter-ethnic relations, and gender equality. Institutional grants also permit DSP partners to build thematic and organizational capacities internally. Organizations are eligible to receive 2…
On 4th and 5th of February, in Belgrade, the Western Balkan CSOs Global Development Partner and Strategy Meeting took place. The two-day annual partner strategy meeting brought together CSO representatives of each partner country, in order to refine the strategy for implementation of the project, as well as to exchange information and enhance knowledge on relevant topics related to development cooperation and CSO platform building. The project objectives are: to strengthen Western Balkans’ civil society and its involvement in efforts towards global poverty eradication and global justice, and to mobilize and support CSOs to work together to raise public awareness…