What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

The Future Of the Western Balkans: Five Scenarios for 2030

The Visegrad Insight has published the report — The Future Of the Western Balkans: Five Scenarios for 2030 — with a series of scenario-building workshops, nobody could imagine how dramatically the situation in Europe would change in a matter of only several months. The focus of the report is the Western Balkans region that includes

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CSOs Reacting to the Events in Ukraine and Supporting Ukrainians

Following the latest event in Ukraine and the the unenviable situation in which the Ukrainians were brought to the end of last week, CSOs, CSOs associations and other formations of civic assembly, various stakeholders acting in the civic space have taken a stand regarding the developments. The VB Platform and the members, many of which are

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Unusual Allyships for Common Good: CSO – Private Sector Cooperation (Regional Online Workshop, 3 March)

This Thursday (3 March) BCSDN is organizing an event aimed to re-think our approaches for further and more effective empowerment of civil society. By sharing experiences of successful CSO-private sector partnerships, the aim of this regional workshop is to serve as inspiration to other CSOs for initiating such partnerships that go beyond mobilization of resources

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Regional Forum “COVID-19 Impact on the Economy with Special Focus on Social Economy”

The regional Forum has been conducted within the framework of the project “Fostering regional cooperation and policy responses in time of crisis” implemented by five BCSDN member organizations: Albania for Change and Development, Macedonian Center for International Cooperation, Center for Civic Initiatives, Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organisations, Civic Initiatives, and Kosovar Civil Society Foundation.

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Economist Democracy Index 2021: North Macedonia and Montenegro Upgraded to “Flawed Democracies”

According to Economist`s Democracy Index 2021 – an index that measures the state of democracy based on the electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties, Montenegro and North Macedonia have transitioned from hybrid regimes to flawed democracies. Although all the counties in the region are noting slight

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Representation and Participation: Two Faces of a Strong Democracy

After the Conference on the Future of Europe, in a recently published article, the European Civic Forum amplifies some key takeaways from the citizen’s panels, namely that the EU must change to deliver social, economic, environmental, and democratic integration. Advocating for people-centered and people-powered policymaking, the article seeks fulfillment of the requirements for the institutions

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Policy Brief: The EU as a Promoter of Democracy or ‘Stabilitocracy’ in the Western Balkans?

Recently published policy brief, authored by multiple experts in the field, explores the role of the enlargement process in the democratization of the Western Balkans 6 (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). The report identifies eight flaws in the EU’s strategies, policies, and implementation that are believed to contribute to stabilitocracy

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CfA: 2022 Youth Campaign for Revitalizing Democracy (Deadline: 16 May)

Target group: Youth CSOs Countries: International Short description: In the framework of the campaign, local, national, and international activities will take place allowing young people, youth workers, youth organizations, and youth policy institutions to shape the themes, the content, and the outcomes of the campaign in the spirit of participatory democracy. Link to more information

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