This report, published by WAN-IFRA and prepared by Centre for Civic Education (CCE) – Montenegro, catalogues the forms and maps the extent of soft censorship by Montenegro’s state and public institutions against media outlets and media practitioners. This is done primarily through the lens of finances, which is the dominant means of soft censorship in the country. Included is an overview of instruments that facilitate or limit official financial support: allocation of advertising services by public institutions to favoured media; selective distribution of subsidies and other state aid; paid content; and other forms of administrative and technical assistance or obstruction.…
Author: anja
Perhaps no quality captures more effectively the distinctive character of non-profit institutions and related voluntary citizen behaviour than the quality of resilience—the ability to withstand significant shifts in fortunes and challenges and find ways to persist in the pursuit of their missions. This past year has certainly demonstrated this quality of the non-profit and citizen sector over and over, from the sector’s role in responding to the refugee crisis triggered by the violence in Syria and Afghanistan, and the popular movements displaying solidarity in the face of terrorist attacks in places like Paris, California, and Beirut, or standing up for…
In the OECD bi-annual statistical report How’s Life?, describing the essential ingredients that shape people’s well-being in OECD and partner countries, one chapter analyses the importance and features of voluntary work – i.e. the time devoted to unpaid non-compulsory activities whose concern is the common good. The study suggests that volunteering produces benefits not only for the beneficiaries but also for the volunteers themselves: volunteering helps people to acquire skills and knowledge that may enhance career development or employment prospects, and is also associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and positive moods. Moreover, volunteering is beneficial to society at…
A new GPF working paper, jointly published with Brot für die Welt and MISEREOR, examines the role and impact of philanthropic foundations in development. It addresses the impacts and side effects of philanthropic engagement by taking a closer look at the priorities and operations of two of the most prominent foundations, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in two crucial sectors, health and agriculture. So far, there has been a fairly willing belief among governments and international organizations in the positive role of philanthropy in global development. But in light of experiences in the areas of…
The TACSO People2People, TACSO BH and TACSO by VESTA are jointly organizing the conference “Transparent Allocation of Public Funds – EU good practices and Models” in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 29-31, March 2016. The event aims to examine good models for ensuring transparency of public funding for civil society and sharing mechanisms for implementation and monitoring so to contribute to possible strategies, mechanisms and cooperation models for improving the enabling environment for CSOs in the region of Western Balkan and Turkey. The conference will bring together around 70 participants from civil society, European Institutions and national authorities from the…
TACSO Albania and Macedonia Offices in cooperation with EU Delegations from both countries and Operating Structures of IPA/Cross Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020 Macedonia and Albania are going to organize a Partnership Day event between Albanian and Macedonian CSOs and Local Government Units (LGUs).The aim of the event is to facilitate the establishment of contacts and partnerships between CSOs and LGUs benefiting from IPA/CBC Program between Albania and Macedonia, identification of common areas for collaboration in the cross-border and regional IPA funded projects and preparation for the up-coming IPA 2 Cross Border Cooperation Call for Proposal under IPA/CBC. More information is…
In 2016, sixteen journalists from Southeast Europe will be selected to participate in the ‘Economic and Political Reporting from Southeast Europe’ programme, managed by experienced staff from Thomson Reuters Foundation and Robert Bosch Stiftung. The programme includes two 10-day training courses in London, UK (10-23 April) and in Berlin, Germany (11-24 September) and is run by skilled ex-Reuters journalists. Participants will also travel to Brussels and Frankfurt to meet policy-makers and journalists covering European financial and political affairs. The course will cover the following broader topics: Writing about emerging market economies; Markets reporting and covering companies; and Practical exercises based…
Pursuant to the Decision on criteria, standards and procedures for the allocation of property owned by the Croatian Government to the use by CSOs for implementation of programs and projects of interest to the common good, the State Office for State Property Management (DUUDI) published a public call for applications for granting property owned by the Republic of Croatia to the use of CSOs. A right to submit an application have civil society organizations including, associations, foundations, art organizations and institutions that are not founded as public or have become one, fulfilling certain defined criteria. More information is available here.…
World Bank’s Global Program on Forced Displacement (GPFD) has issued a call for ideas to improve development response for refugees and internally displaced persons. Proposals are currently being accepted innovative and transformational ideas that can improve the development response to forced displacement. Innovative ideas may include analytical work, use of new technologies, or development projects. Many such ideas are often at the inception stage, requiring further work to be sufficiently detailed and specific for donors or investors to support them. GPFD will provide up to USD 40,000 for selected teams to develop their idea into a full concept note that…
The ‘Balkan-Mediterranean 2014-2020’ is a new transnational cooperation programme bringing together five countries, three EU member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece) and two candidate countries, Albania and Macedonia. The BalkanMed Programme’s overall objective is to build on shared territorial assets and promote integrated territorial development and cooperation for a more competitive and sustainable Balkan – Mediterranean area. To meet its overall objective the BalkanMed Programme is built on two priorities: Priority Axis 1: Entrepreneurship & Innovation Priority Axis 2: Environment The Balkan – Mediterranean Programme is co‐financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with EUR 28.330.108. The total support…