BCSDN candidate for the CIVICUS Board has been selected as one of 26 candidates that is on the ballot paper submitted to the membership of CIVICUS for election. CIVICUS voting members will elect 13 of the 26 candidates on the final ballot, who will serve as the new Board of Directors of CIVICUS for the next 3 years. As a regional network working on one of CIVICUS key area of work enabling environment for CSDev, we believe BCSDN can have a strong contribution to make to CIVICUS as an organization, and Venera Hajrullahu, BCSDN Chairperson of the Board and KCSF…
Author: anja
On 30 August 2013 BCSDN team (Tanja Hafner Ademi, Ilina Nesik and Deniza Bundalevska) met with Andrea Cox from the Pontis Foundation in order to discuss the implementation of the Slovak and Balkan Public Policy Fund, to coordinate the activities among the project partners and to plan the implementation of the project activities. During the meeting the on-going application process was discussed, the evaluation procedures and contracting. More information on the Fund can be found here.
The Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) in partnership with NGO Dona opened a civil society Help-desk on 25 July, 2013 in Shtërpcë/Štrpce. The Help-desk falls under the project “Strengthening civil society involvement in policy-making and implementation in Kosovo”. KCSF and NGO Dona, through the Help-desk in Shtërpcë/Štrpce, aim to support the development of the civil society sector through promoting and assisting CSOs with good governance, participation in decision-making, and participation in the European Integration process. Starting from 25th of July 2013, civil society organizations, citizens, and public authorities from Shtërpcë/Štrpce and the region will have at their disposal information, trainings,…
TUSEV first published the Civil Society Monitoring Report in 2011 in order to more closely observe and evaluate developments in the area of civil society. The report is aimed at making civil society as well as the challenges they face better recognized and understood while at the same time providing an historical timeline of its development. This year’s report provides information on various aspects of civil society such as public sector-CSO relations, the legal and fiscal environment, institutional infrastructure, the financial sustainability of the non-profit sector in Turkey, the governance of CSOs, and international relations related to the sector. The…
The European Commission, in December 2012, asked the European Economic and Social Committee to draw up an exploratory opinion on the Role of civil society in EU-Serbia relations. Civic Initiatives participated in the consultative process and submitted their comments about the draft text of the Opinion. Civic Initiatives’s comments regarding the need of increased support to civil society organizations (CSOs) for capacity building, increase of funds for the work of CSOs within the Civil Society Facility program and the support for establishing partnerships have been accepted. These comments were incorporated into the document which was officially adopted at the plenary…
Polio Plus, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) and the Commission for Protection against Discrimination have announced a competition for the best photography in 2013, on the topic “Discrimination through my lens”. The aim of the competition is to stimulate regular and objective media monitoring and the perception of discrimination in Macedonia on all related topics including unequal opportunities for all vulnerable groups. It further aims at encouraging greater awareness and responsibility of the whole community for overcoming discrimination. The competition is open to all photography on the given topic, by professional photo journalists or amateur photographers, published on…
On the 8th of July, 2013 the Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV) held a consultation meeting on the BCSDN Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development. The meeting was held in Istanbul and was attended by 17 representatives from academia and CSOs as well as legal experts. At the meeting several topics related to the Matrix were discussed and defined. Including secondary resources available for the matrix research, experts and organizations to be consulted for the matrix research, issues that needs to be taken into consideration for the adaptation of the matrix into the Turkish context, and…
Under the Visegrad-Balkan Public Policy Fund, Young Researches Programme, the Balkan Civil Society Development Network – BCSDN, the Pontis Foundation (Slovakia), the Association of Czech Non-governmental Organizations – DEMAS (Czech Republic), the Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights – Demnet (Hungary) and the Kosovar Civil Sociey Foundation – KCSF (Kosovo) announce the first Call for Proposal for researchers and organizations from Macedonia and Kosovo, to undertake research projects on the topic of: 1. National Aspects in Transitional Processes (CZ) 2. Financial instruments of the EU for development of non-governmental actors (SK) 3. Monitor of waiting lists and corruption in the…
On 14 June, 2013 BCSDN submitted its comments on the DG Enlargement’s draft Guidelines for EU support to civil society in enlargement countries, 2014-2020 which were sent to them in May, 2013. The draft Guidelines has included some positive changes, such as more flexible programming and the availability of longer-term program support for civil society. BCSDN has welcomed these changes. They have also welcomed the more inclusive way of developing the IPA 2014-2020 support as compared to the IPA 2007-2013 cycle, with special focus on the support to civil society under the Civil Society Facility (CSF). BCSDN additionally, highlighted some…
European Parliament (EP) Elections will be held on 22-25 May, 2014. The 2014 EP Elections provides a chance for citizens of the 28 EU member states (MS) to elect their representatives to the EP for 2014-2019. It is the first EP Election held under the Lisbon Treaty. The Lisbon Treaty creates expectations because it provides an enhanced role for citizens as political actors in the EU and strengthens the powers of the EP (e.g. allows MEPs to have the last word on international agreements), consolidating its role as co-legislator and giving it an additional responsibility: the election of the president…