News and updates from BCSDN and the region
Fifteen CSOs that are part of the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Civil Society, as elected representatives of the civil society sector, have expressed strong revolt against the attitude of the Government towards the Council and towards civil society in general. In an open letter sent to the President of the Government, CSOs
Read more →Liberties have published a policy brief that raises and elaborates their concerns on new draft law – the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which the European Commission presented in September 2022. The EMFA proposal addresses pressing issues, such as political interference in editorial decisions, surveillance of journalists and their sources, funding of public service media,
Read more →The Macedonian Young Lawyers Association (MYLA) monitoring report on Digitally Mediated Assemblies in North Macedonia provides an overview of the current state of affairs concerning digitally-mediated assemblies (DMAs) in North Macedonia, including the relevant legal framework, the frequency, occurrence, and types of DMAs and the enabling environment in which they occur. The purpose of the
Read more →According to Cohen de la Vega and Watson (2001), advocacy refers to a series of actions raised to transform “what is” into a “what should be,” considering that “what should be” makes society more just. All these actions take an important meaning when it comes to the context of Albania where the political, economic, and
Read more →On Think Tanks has published the report “Think tank state of the sector 2022,” which provides an annual snapshot of the state of the think tank sector across the globe. Drawing on data from the Open Think Tank Directory and a survey conducted by On Think Tanks, this year’s report offers insights into political funding
Read more →The OECD’s first comparative report on civic space offers a baseline of data from 33 OECD Members and 19 non-Members and a nuanced overview of the different dimensions of civic space, with a focus on civic freedoms, media freedoms, civic space in the digital age, and the enabling environment for civil society. It provides an
Read more →As part of the regional workshop on “The risk of misuse of non-profit organizations for terrorist financing in the Western Balkans”, held in Tirana, BCSDN member Partners for Change and Development Albania presented the Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Methodology for CSOs. The two-day event focused on the common understanding of global standards of relevance in
Read more →The policy paper published by the European Trade Union Institute explores the EU recovery strategy with a specific focus on its potentially transformative aspects vis-à-vis European integration and on its implications for the social dimension of the EU’s socioeconomic governance, intending to reflect on whether the established measures put forward sufficient safeguards against the specter
Read more →The UN report reflects the outcome of a hybrid roundtable on CSOs’ engagement in countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism in South-East Europe. The document notes that most of the SEE countries have adopted comprehensive national counter-terrorism strategies, and there is a trend of increasing engagement and openness among member states in the
Read more →The European Civic Forum has launched its podcast series under the title #CivicSpace – an audio piece dedicated to conversation with those fighting for systemic change in Europe and beyond, highlighting important campaigns and sharing inspiring stories of successful activism. The first episode focuses on the 2022 events and why Europe needs strategies for open
Read more →The report titled “Under Surveillance: (Mis)use of Technologies in Emergency Response” is the result of the joint effort of ECNL, the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations and Privacy International, to track the negative impacts of surveillance technology and measures deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic on activist movements and organizations in collaboration with local organizations
Read more →The CSO community in Montenegro has pointed out that the Bill on the Budget grossly violates the Law on NGOs, in terms of financing. As stated, the Law on NGOs stipulates that the state provides money for financing projects and programs in areas of public interest implemented by NGOs, in the amount of at least
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