News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The EU remains the Western Balkans’ primary trading partner and investor. But failing to step up engagement and deliver on enlargement promises will come at a high cost and benefit the likes of Russia and China. In the article published under the section Judy Dempsey`s Strategic Europe, 10 eminent experts in the field of EU
Read more →Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis have greatly exacerbated national and global inequalities, and the “leave no one behind” commitment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains hollow. The dominant interests of rich countries, and corporate powers continue to dominate political decision-making. Given the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis and
Read more →The 8th EESC Western Balkans Civil Society Forum was organized in Skopje on 30 September and 1 October, bringing together in a hybrid event over 100 participants, including representatives of civil society, EU institutions, international organisations and governments of the region. The main topics were how to enhance the accession process, the contribution of CSOs
Read more →On September 22nd, our Executive Director and CPDE Regional Coordinator for Europe, Ms. Biljana Spasovska provided an overview of civic space and human rights from the Balkans and the panel discussion “Big Bang of digital civic space”, organized as a part of the Global People’s Assembly, Forus, CIVICUS and CPDE.During the event that open forum
Read more →25 virtual meetings promoted by CSOs from all over the world will reflect on the international challenges, commitments and G20’s duties in light of human rights. On 6 October, in the C20 main plenary, the virtual meeting “Civic Space Restrictions in the Era of COVID: Why Is Democracy at Risk?” will be organized, aiming to
Read more →From 15 to 17 September in Budva, our network came together to review our work, discuss the way forward in addressing new challenges for achieving our strategic objectives, and re-think how we can further empower the civil society for ensuring sustainable and functioning democracies in the Balkans. Through lively and inspiring two and a half
Read more →A new blog by Gjergji Vurmo (Institute for Democracy and Mediation – Albania) discusses the developments in the enlargement process between 2014 and 2021, while referring to the fourth scenario – “The Balkans Big Bang”, developed and presented in the policy document “The Unfulfilled Promise: Completing the Balkans Enlargement”. Read more here. Source: BiEPAG
Read more →In light of the consultations on the IPA III Civil Society Facility 2021-2023 Multi-Beneficiary (Regional), BCSDN has prepared comments on the Action Document, based on the positions of the network also presented in the BCSDN Opinion on the IPA III. Along with the lack of consultations on a national and regional level and limited access
Read more →On 3 September 2021, BCSDN held an online presentation to reflect on last year’s events affecting the CSOs’ sustainability and the most important findings of each of the seven dimensions covered by USAID’s CSOSI methodology: legal environment, organizational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, service provision, sectoral infrastructure, and public image. The report presents that, overall, CSO
Read more →On 2-3 September 2021, the Balkan Network for Local Democracy (BNLD) organized the Regional Best Practice Fair in Skopje by hosting a hybrid event for around 30 CSO representatives, youth groups, BNLD members, and national stakeholders. The two-day event covered topics such as self-government, participation, and CSOs, as well as case studies of individual community
Read more →CIVICUS Monitor published the latest periodic report on the human rights situation during COVID-19, covering the last four months of 2021. The report notes various issues on which people staged protests, including those against COVID-19 measures, gender-based violence, police brutality, poor political leadership, etc. Protests regarding gender justice, equality, and reproductive rights issues took place
Read more →CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) has launched the CSO Development Effectiveness Review survey to help its members reflect on how they have practiced the Istanbul Principles and the challenges they face in the implementation. The aim is to support succeeding platform initiatives, including developing CSO DE frameworks, the conduct of country initiatives, global conferences, and
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