What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

Joint Civil Society Accountability Efforts in the Balkans: Call for Participation in the Regional Accountability Community of Practice

The Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) is cordially inviting you to become a part of the Regional Accountability Community of Practice (RACoP) and support our Pledge for joint action and discussions in a safe space where we can commit to strengthening accountability and transparency of our actions. RACoP will enhance continuous learning, improve our

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Can the Berlin Process Do Better?

The latest Berlin process summit yielded three agreements facilitating the flow of people in the Western Balkans, which took the six governments two years to negotiate. While the German hosts of the gathering commend this achievement, one may wonder: can regional cooperation in the Western Balkans go beyond technical issues? Could the Berlin process be

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Western Balkans Agreement on free Movement and Diplomas

The Heads of Governments of the Western Balkans Six signed the three mobility agreements under the Common Regional Market (CRM) Action Plan’s mobility agendas – on Freedom of Movement with Identity Cards, on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications, and on Recognition of Professional Qualifications for Doctor of Medicine, Dentists and Architects – at the Berlin

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EU Institutions and Strengthening Civic Space: Giving With One Hand and Taking With The Other?

On 19 October 2022, the European Parliament adopted a report on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023. Two worrying amendments were added to the report, criticizing the European Commission for allegedly financing campaigns promoting the hijab and radical religious and political organizations and is calling on the Commission “to

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Reanimating Civil Society: A Lifeline Guide for Narrative Change

The guide reanimating Civil Society introduces that across the world, authoritarian governments and non-state actors are restricting civic space and trying to silence critical voices or those that challenge the status quo. Governments are launching smear campaigns to taint the work of CSOs and human rights defenders. This guide supports activists, CSOs, and social movements

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A New Generation of European Citizens’ Panels – Making Citizens’ Voices a Regular Part of Policymaking

European Citizens’ Panels (ECPs) is a proposed form of consultation ahead of key legislative proposals. As a first concrete follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), beginning next year, the European Commission plans to make European Citizens’ Panels (ECPs) a regular form of consultation ahead of key legislative proposals. This paper makes

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IFRC Feedback Kit

Community feedback mechanisms are meant to help CSOs hear from communities and act on what they are hearing systematically and efficiently. This toolkit aims to assemble all available resources across the six stages of the feedback cycle and directs the user to those most relevant to a specific situation. Read more here. Source: Community Engagement

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Feminist Development Policy: A Pathway Towards Feminist Global Collaboration

The new resource on the Feminist approach in the context of global cooperation presents recommendations in the policy document, based on conversations with Shrishtee Bajpai, a researcher from the environmental action group, highlighting that feminist development is not something that is only or primarily necessary “over there” but rather something that practitioners and institutions in

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New Donor-Funded Support Programme for Ukraine

A new donor-funded Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU) was launched by contributing OSCE participating states. The Support Programme addresses some of the immediate challenges to civilians posed by the Russian war against Ukraine. It supports the long-term democratic and social resilience of Ukrainian institutions and CSOs. The Support Programme currently consists of 23 projects aiming

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Five International NGOs Launch Fresh Bid to Tackle Power Imbalances in Aid

The Pledge for Change outlines specific adjustments that a group of International CSOs have committed to making by 2030. They center around three core areas: equitable partnerships – for example, directly implementing only when there isn’t enough national or local capacity to meet needs; authentic storytelling – moving away from storytelling associated with the “white

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