News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) has declared its principles and called upon other development actors to join. Within its agenda, CPDE commits to building inclusive partnerships, guaranteeing transparency and accountability, delivering results, and ensuring democratic ownership. The declaration responds to the detrimental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including restrictions that limit people’s rights
Read more →“#EUandYOU – Your story, our future” is a campaign that promotes opportunities and benefits provided by EU programmes available for young people in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The programme consists of three components, three region-wide communication campaigns, an online portal WeBalkans.eu, and a Young European Ambassadors network, all designed to overcome
Read more →BCSDN is glad to present the 2019 edition of the Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development, examining developments in the Western Balkan countries. In 2019, the Western Balkans experienced socio-economic and political challenges that remained unfavourable towards civil society development. While the freedom of association continues to be legally guaranteed in the
Read more →The Serbian government has abolished the Office for Cooperation with the Civil Society, which has existed for the last 10 years seeking to improve the enabling environment for civil society development. This decision has alerted Serbian CSOs who were already conscious of the deterioration of the civil society enabling environment in their state. Over 70
Read more →In the fifth edition of the magazine “Citizens for change”, Civica Mobilitas presents the challenges with which were faced the CSOs in North Macedonia, as well as the adjustment to the new circumstances. The CSOs have continued their activities in response to the COVID-19 crisis by providing services to the target groups they serve. They
Read more →A policy paper, published by IDSC, the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” – Skopje, finds that the Western Balkans are a compelling place for the EU to begin exercising the role of a strategically autonomous actor. The COVID-19 crisis has provided EU member states with a new-found sense of solidarity, with initiatives such as “Corona
Read more →In the first study of its kind, Tectonica and GQR surveyed 150 progressive organizations fighting for social, environmental, and economic justice across Europe. The organizations provided answers to questions, such as: How can we define digital organising? How well is it understood? What do digital organising practices look like? How much are they utilised in
Read more →BCSDN is happy to announce it has launched a new website for monitoring the enabling environment for civil society development in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The new website is based on the comprehensive Monitoring Matrix tool, developed to assess the legal, regulatory, and financial environment in which CSOs operate. The website features present the
Read more →USAID published the 23rd edition of their Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index (CSOSI) for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, covering developments in 24 countries in the region during 2019. In 2019, CSOs across Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia continued to be impacted by and respond to major political developments, including elections and changes
Read more →In a statement, Serbian CSOs demand the Government to provide sufficient resources and formal competencies for mechanisms to involve citizens in decision-making processes. They also request the Government to explain why the decision to abolish the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society and reduce the existing competencies within the new Ministry, was made through a
Read more →BCSDN published its 11th consecutive analysis of the European Commission Enlargement Package 2020, assessing the progress made in the area of civil society development and dialogue with public institutions in Enlargement countries, and published recently, against BCSDN’s Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development. Regarding the overall progress in the enabling environment for
Read more →During the COVID- 19 pandemic, governments in Southeast Europe have imposed significant restrictions on fundamental human rights and freedoms. The Associate Direction for programs at Human Rights Watch has suggested that government actions have been detrimental to human rights through excessive restrictions of movement, as well as, deepening discriminatory patterns to vulnerable groups, such as
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