This recent article by Adam Fagan contributes to a growing literature focusing on the substance of donor-driven democracy promotion in Kosovo and presents a picture of donor behavior in flux. Drawing on extensive empirical research between 2010 and 2012, the research provides greater insights into which donors are providing what sort of assistance; how the content and focus of aid are decided and formulated; and the behavior of the EU and other large donors compared with small bilaterals and private foundations. The conclusion reached is that, although overall levels of aid to Kosovo have remained relatively stable since 2008, donor…
Author: anja
From 27th -29th November BCSDN was guest on the Regional Academy for Democracy’s fourth seminar and closing conference in Belgrade, devoted to the topic of State and non-state actors in effective policy implementation and oversight. The seminar was opened by Ms. Sonja Licht, president of the host organization – the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, the 2015 Dean of the Academy, Mr. Pierre Mirel and Ms.Tanja Miščević, the Head of the Negotiation Team for the Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union. BCSDN’s Policy and Advocacy Officer, Ms. Biljana Stojanoska took part at the panel discussing the…
In response to the current situation taking place along the borders and train stations of the refugee route in Southeast Europe, the German Foundation Schüler Helfen Leben (SHL) announces a call for small and non-bureaucratic financial emergency relief fund. It is targeted to local NGOs and initiatives with the aim to support refigures in the countries of the Western Balkans. There is no specified application form – applicants are required to send a short description of their idea (max. 1 page), contact details and corresponding budget that does not exceed EUR 2 000 so that support of various initiatives at…
The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) published a new policy brief on the Western Balkans and the EU, titled “Beyond the Autopilot Mode”. This policy brief addresses the EU’s drained transformative leverage towards Western Balkan accession countries, on-going political tensions in Montenegro, the agonizing economic situation in the region, the main outputs of the Vienna EU-Western Balkans Summit, the Declaration on the Solution of Bilateral Disputes in the region, redesigned accession countries’ Progress Reports, and the impact of the refugee crisis on the Western Balkans region. The brief is available for download here. [EFB]
CAS SEE is announcing a new annual call for Fellowships for the spring 2016, organized along the following themes: 1) Refugees, Migration and Democracy: Faces of the Protracted Relationship, and 2) (Re)thinking (about) the Crisis: Exploring the Danger and the Opportunities of Current Crisis-Hysteria; but also offer the possibility of open applications. The Fellowship Programme will stimulate the building of smaller groups of Fellows working on similar topics (or different aspects of one particular topic). The Fellows will present their work on a bi-weekly basis in Rijeka or other regional centers, and will engage more intensively in research in the…
TACSO Office for Montenegro, the Government Office for Cooperation with Non-governmental Organizations and the Center for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations (CRNVO) are organizing a conference „Development of Social Entrepreneurship in Montenegro“ aiming to improve knowledge of civil and public sector regarding social entrepreneurship as a mechanism for development of society and sustainability of NGOs and their results. Speakers at the conference will be Ms. Zorica Kovačević – Minister of Labor and Social Welfare and Mr. Goran Djurovic, Resident Advisor TACSO Office Montenegro. More information is available here. [TACSO]
The Euclid Summit is Euclid Network’s new flagship pan-European event, which captures the latest trends in skills and knowledge for social impact. The Summit will take place in Zagreb, from 24th to 26th February 2016 and it will foster knowhow exchange and develop foresight on emerging skills needs across knowhow for people, knowhow for money and knowhow for impact. This event will feature forward-thinking masterclasses, knowhow-sharing sessions and informal knowhow cafés across these three key management issues for any CSO or social enterprise. Everyone with a commitment to maximizing the power of CSOs and SEs so as to drive positive…
TechSoup announced the launch of TechSoup.Global, the world’s first donor technology platform, designed to help social benefit organizations (SBOs) that cover 236 countries and territories. This technology, whose worth is USD 5.5 billion, has been providing service program for philanthropy and from now on it will provide an inclusive approach to donated technology for specific organizations that meet the criteria. By far, TechSoup centers have provided scare jobs skills-trainings and helped the trained people in finding jobs afterwards. TechSoup has also been offering Microsoft products. The Global platform will soon provide offers from other technology donators. More information regarding this…
The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announced an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for a mechanism that will respond to evolving opportunities and threats to the protection and advancement of the fundamental freedoms of association, assembly, expression, and religion. DRL anticipates having USD 2,970,297 available for one successful application submitted, which is exactly how much the applications should request. Co-financing is not an eligibility requirement. Applicants should include an anticipated start date between January 2016 and April 2016. Typical periods of performance for new DRL awards are between one to…
2015 has been marked by important international decision-making moments, including the Financing for Development Conference in Addis, the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in New York and the lead-up to the climate negotiations in Paris. Given the importance of these events for the existing development framework, it is no surprise that the EU declared 2015 as the European Year for Development. The tenth CONCORD AidWatch Report takes stock of what the EU has achieved this year and more importantly, it warns member states that the real work starts now. It is long past time for the EU to deliver on its…