News and updates from BCSDN and the region
As part of the Regional Civil Society Development Hub activities, BCSDN is proud to announce the 10 successful grantees awarded under the first Call for proposals for regional multi-country action grants. The aim of the Hub is strengthened regional cooperation in promoting the civic space in the Western Balkan region, by supporting activities that will
Read more →On 11 February 2021, EU TACSO 3 organized an online event to present the findings of the “Mapping and Needs Assessment of the Regional Networks and Regional CSF Projects” report. Panelists from four regional networks from the Balkans exchanged success stories of operating in a network. Tina Divjak, from CNVOS, as a chair of the
Read more →In its new publication, MCIC presents the case in which the Government of North Macedonia in 2020 decided to cut and then return and allocate funds to CSOs from the state budget. Following the basic principles of transparency and accountability, the publication offers conclusions and recommendations essential for establishing state support procedures for CSOs. The
Read more →The Expert Council on NGO Law of the Council of Europe published a review that analyzes the practices on NGOs’ participation in policy development in CoE member states. It presents the good practices and challenges of NGOs’ participation, providing an additional guide for the member states to ensure relevant application of the CoE standards and
Read more →On 29 January 2021, the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) held a meeting with the Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) representatives working on Western Balkans. The discussion was followed by more than 30 representatives, including countries’ EUDs and TACSO representatives. The aim of the meeting was BCSDN to present its
Read more →On 1 February, BCSDN participated at the FRP meeting 2021: Human Rights Work in Challenging Times– Ways Forward. The virtual event provided a platform on which the participants across Europe could share their opinion and lessons learned regarding the human rights challenges and opportunities they were faced in times of COVID-19. The event accented the
Read more →Economist Intelligence Unit presents its 13th edition of the Democracy Index, providing a snapshot of democracy in 165 independent states and two territories. The report’s main focus is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on democracy and freedom across the world. It reveals that besides Albania that improved its democratic status, the rest of the
Read more →EU TACSO 3 project has been mandated by the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) to facilitate the preparation of the Guidelines for EU Support to Civil Society in the Enlargement Region for the period 2021-2027. The first step was a preliminary discussion on the effects and lessons learned from the current Guidelines results
Read more →The publication is a collection of findings on hate and propaganda models of media and communication in the Western Balkans and Turkey. It is a result of the research conducted in the scope of a regional EU funded project Resilience: Civil Society for Media Free of Hate and Disinformation, implemented by eight media development organizations
Read more →In its latest publication, Aspen Institute Germany provides a summary of the topics covered in the framework of Aspen Germany’s Regional Dialog Western Balkans 2020, focusing on the effects of the pandemic in the Western Balkans as well as the current challenges of the enlargement process. The publication incorporates the following topics, with recommendations included:
Read more →BCSDN has been following the EU’s approach in supporting civil society in the enlargement countries and has advocated the civil society to be recognized and supported as a competent partner in the EU accession process. We present our early feedback on the First Draft of the new Guidelines for EU Support to Civil Society in
Read more →KCSF and BCSDN present the fifth report of the Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for CSDev regarding Kosovo’s developments throughout 2019. Some of the findings, presented in the report are: The amendment of the Law on Freedom of Association in CSOs has introduced institutes as the third legal form to register an organization; The legislation
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