For the 4th consecutive year, BCSDN prepared background analysis on how civil society development (CSDev) in treated and what progress (or lack thereof) has been noted form the past year in Enlargement countries. The Analysis notes that overall, the Commission has maintained its focus on the issues pertinent to involvement of civil society in policy and decision making, administrative capacity of state institutions to draft and adopt quality legislation through an inclusive process and on the mechanisms that stimulate funding of CSOs. However, the most crucial areas for consolidating the enabling environment for CSDev in the mid-term such as tax…
Author: anja
On 17th October, Tanja Hafner Ademi, Executive Director and Venera Hajrullahu, the Chair of the Board held several meetings in DG Enlargement. In the context of EC Enlargement Strategy and Progress Reports 2012-2013 and start of planning of civil society support under IPA II 2014-2020, the aim of the meetings was to present BCSDN vision and concrete recommendations on the Commission’s support. The main issues discussed with Joost Korte (Deputy Director General), Andris Kesteris (Principle Advisor for Civil Society and Media) and the Civil Society Unit team were the importance of enabling environment for CSDev; the ways in which local…
On 17th October, Tanja Hafner Ademi, Executive Director and Venera Hajrullahu, the Chair of the Board held several meetings in DG Enlargement. In the context of EC Enlargement Strategy and Progress Reports 2012-2013 and start of planning of civil society support under IPA II 2014-2020, the aim of the meetings was to present BCSDN vision and concrete recommendations on the Commission’s support. The main issues discussed with Joost Korte (Deputy Director General), Andris Kesteris (Principle Advisor for Civil Society and Media) and the Civil Society Unit team were the importance of enabling environment for CSDev; the ways in which local…
In the frames of the “Government Mirror: Public Participation in Legislation Preparation Procedures” Project, a webpage has been recently introduced providing information on the active participation in the drafting of laws. The webpage also represents a tool for monitoring of the state institutions and organs. The good practices mean that the state organs should publish their activities on the internet, thus enabling the public to follow the process of drafting of laws. Moreover, to inform the public contributes to their timely preparation for the next legislative processes and better participation. The webpage is designed in a way that facilitates the…
Civil society activists, journalists, bloggers, and academics from all over the world, have gathered on the eve of the World Forum for Democracy to formulate their contribution to the debate surrounding the nature and future of democracy. BCSDN participated on the INGO conference on the 7th of October and the opening of the Forum. How can we narrow the divide between citizens and leaders and ensure that no-one is left out of democratic processes? How can we empower women and ensure their equal participation in public and political life? These were the questions at the core of the discussions at…
From 8-12 October 2012, in Nicosia, Cyprus, an inter-regional learning exchange conference has held, organized by the Cyprus Peace It Together Civil Society Network with the support of UNDP, USAID, World Vision, CYINDEP, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the EU. The objective of the conference was to promote the exchange of knowledge between Europe and the MENA region on the role of citizens and civil society in stimulating social change during periods of transition. Ilina Nesik, BCSDN Project and Communication Manager took active part on the conference and the Souq that followed it. Such a conference usually serves as a…
The Philanthropy Award is becoming a tradition to express a gratitude to individuals, families and businesses who contribute to improving the quality of life in the society. The appreciation and stimulation of this activity is important considering the human and economic dimension it represents. Partners Albania invites all social actors in and outside Albania to submit their nominations for individuals or entities who have and continue to give their contribution in benefit of the community and its development in Albania. The categories for nominations for the Philanthropy Award 2012 are: entities contributing at the National Level; entities contributing at Local…
TUSEV launched the Civil Society Monitoring Project 2012 with the financial contributions from Chrest Foundation, Open Society Foundation and German Marshall Fund. The second edition of the Civil Society Monitoring Report will focus on developments in the 2011-2012 period to report on the strength and overall viability of non-profit sector in the country. Furthermore, the report will highlight both advances and setbacks in sectoral development. Following the first edition in 2011, TUSEV will continue with this research initiative on a yearly basis to allow for comparisons over time. This year’s report will provide information on various aspects of civil society…
At the invitation of the Croatian Government office for NGOs, BCSDN supported by ECNL presented the draft monitoring matrix on enabling environment for CSDev to 15 representatives of 7 countries’ mechanisms or bodies dealing with CSDev on 26th September on the margins of the Zadar conference. The meeting was organized with the aim to established mechanisms for exchange of best practice and cooperation between Governmental bodies that deal with CSOs on which Government representatives agreed to organized regular regional exchange meetings and exchange tools. As a further development, the representative of the Montenegrin Government informed the meeting that their Government…
On October 1st, Publish What You Fund, the global campaign for aid transparency advocating for a significant increase in the availability and accessibility of comprehensive, timely and comparable aid information, launched the 2012 Aid Transparency Index, aiming to assess how closely donor organizations’ data conforms to best practice. 72 donor organizations are included in the Index, which looks at 43 indicators of aid transparency at the organization, country and activity level. The Index relied largely on CSO partners to survey 41 of the 43 indicators of aid transparency, based on what is available on agencies’ websites. Many of the donor…