What's New

News 1 November 2022

Research Studies Online Presentation: “Civil Society and Private Sector Cooperation: Regional Practices within the Global Trends and Threats”

BCSDN organizes an online launching event for the research papers prepared within the scope of the CSO – Private Sector engagement research, supported by the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness. At the event, our partners – Albanian Center for Economic Research, European Policy Institute – Skopje (North Macedonia), and TRAG Foundation (Serbia) – will present

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News 1 November 2022

MEPs: Accession of the Western Balkans Countries to the EU is its Geostrategic Priority

During the debate on EU-Western Balkans relations in light of the new enlargement package, the European Parliament Members have agreed that the accession of the Western Balkans countries to the European Union is its geostrategic priority. They warned that if the EU fails to act following this, third actors, such as Russia, China, and Turkey,

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Civic Space 1 November 2022

2021 CSOSI Report for North Macedonia: Largely Unchanged CSO Sustainability

BCSDN has published the 2021 Civil Society (CSOSI) Sustainable Index for North Macedonia. The report is a part of the latest edition of the Civil Society Organization (CSOSI) Sustainability Index for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, prepared by USAID and FHI 360, covering developments during the last year, which will be published in the

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Civic Space 1 November 2022

Berlin Process: Re-Focusing on the Reginal Cooperation

The “Berlin process” aims to promote the rapprochement of the Western Balkans countries with the EU. Its goal is to improve the economic situation in the region and improve good-neighborly relations. The meeting of foreign ministers in the “Berlin process” format will focus primarily on efforts to create a common regional market. The current German

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Civic Space 1 November 2022

Nonprofit Banking: New Tool from ECNL

ECNL and PILnet have teamed up with law firms to provide guidance for CSOs on bank practices in European countries. The tool helps the practitioners compare the conditions of how nonprofits can open and manage an organizational bank account in different countries. The tool covers 25 countries, and new profiles are uploaded on a rolling

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Civic Space 1 November 2022

Empowering CSOs in Combatting Discrimination and Furthering Women’s Labour Rights

A report by a group of CSOs working on gender equality issues in the Western Balkans aims to present an independent assessment of achieved results and recommendations to inform the future planning of the Coalition toward addressing Gender-based Discrimination (GBD) and furthering women’s labor rights. Regional cooperation is assessed as a successful model for further

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Civic Space 1 November 2022

CSOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina with Open Letters for Belgian Embassy and EU Office in BiH, and Other Relevant IOs

In an open letter, BiH CSOs have expressed concern to the officials regarding the Belgian company Green Invest activities. The company is the sole owner of the BUK d.o.o. with headquarters in East Sarajevo, which manages a small hydroelectric plant on the Kasindol river and plans to build two more. BUK d.o.o. recently filed three

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Civic Space 1 November 2022

Reporting Diversity Network: Monthly Monitoring Highlights Homophobia and Hateful Content

Throughout September, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse in the Western Balkans. A significant rise in homophobia has been noted in Serbia across both traditional and social media, as Belgrade hosted this year’s EuroPride. Islamophobia has been noted in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, following the interview of

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CSO Accountability 1 November 2022

2022 – 2023 OGP Co-Chair Agenda

The Open Government Partnership’s (OGP) unique model brings together governments and CSOs to initiate and implement change. As lead co-chairs of the OGP Steering Committee, Anabel Cruz (Founder Director of the Institute for Communication and Development in Uruguay, a Global Standard for CSO Accountability Partner) and the Government of Estonia (represented by Taimar Peterkop, Secretary

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CSO Accountability 1 November 2022

Civil Society Organizations Need to Lead the New Narrative

Nowadays, CSOs are working with the indisputable fact that civil society’s operating space around the globe is shrinking. Distrust, disinformation, and polarization are growing, hand in hand with obstructions and deliberate attacks against the very existence of civil society and its representatives. The lack of understanding has been mapped as the main issue because governments

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Donor Strategies 1 November 2022

AidWatch 2022: Is the EU a Payer, Player… Or Just Full of Hot Air?

Each year, the AidWatch report monitors the quantity and quality of EU ODA through the ‘four Es’: Is it enough, employed correctly, effective and equality-focused. AidWatch, and its ongoing activities, hold EU institutions and Member States accountable for meeting their target of allocating at least 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) to ODA by 2030.

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Donor Strategies 1 November 2022

USAID: Including Strengthening Local Capacities and Partnership

The bureau of Democracy, Development, and Innovation of USAID has issued a release stating that the Agency recognizes the central importance of partnerships that result in strengthened local communities—a longstanding practice across every sector, country, and context in which the Agency works. The Local Capacity Strengthening Policy guides USAID decisions about why and how to

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