News and updates from BCSDN and the region
25 virtual meetings promoted by CSOs from all over the world will reflect on the international challenges, commitments and G20’s duties in light of human rights. On 6 October, in the C20 main plenary, the virtual meeting “Civic Space Restrictions in the Era of COVID: Why Is Democracy at Risk?” will be organized, aiming to
Read more →From 15 to 17 September in Budva, our network came together to review our work, discuss the way forward in addressing new challenges for achieving our strategic objectives, and re-think how we can further empower the civil society for ensuring sustainable and functioning democracies in the Balkans. Through lively and inspiring two and a half
Read more →A new blog by Gjergji Vurmo (Institute for Democracy and Mediation – Albania) discusses the developments in the enlargement process between 2014 and 2021, while referring to the fourth scenario – “The Balkans Big Bang”, developed and presented in the policy document “The Unfulfilled Promise: Completing the Balkans Enlargement”. Read more here. Source: BiEPAG
Read more →Civil society organizations play a vital role in promoting fundamental rights, but they face diverse challenges across the European Union. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published a new report titled “Protecting Civic Space in the EU” that presents a range of such challenges. The report looks at recent developments in the EU regarding
Read more →The growing trends of numerous attacks on civil liberties in the past decade all over Europe, even countries outside of the “usual suspects“, have reached their peak during the restrictive COVID-19 measures. With the collapse of the public trust towards the institutions and the democratic practices, civil dissatisfaction channelized, once again, through its constructive form
Read more →Dissatisfaction with the officials’ response to the COVID-19 crisis culminated with mass violent protests in the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. Two hours into the protest, during which the protestors were demanding resignation from the government, fire torches were thrown in the direction of the parliament. The police used tear gas and water cannons to break
Read more →“The 2020 Civil Society Sustainability Index for Bulgaria” report was published by the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL). The report marks the year 2020 as a “turbulent” one for the civil society, noting the impact of the state of emergency declared by the Parliament due to the COVID-19 spread. The report grades the Legal
Read more →The key for achieving the desired accountability during the implementation of the EU Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) might lay in the prospect of giving the right space and opportunity to specialized CSOs to concretely contribute to EIP’s good governance mechanism. The recommendation for inclusion of the civil sector in this process is stated in the
Read more →On October 25th, the program Civica Mobilitas, administered by the BCSDN member organization – Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation, organized the annual “Day of Civil Society Organizations” in Skopje. During the day-long, interactive event, significant space was allocated for over 90 CSOs to present their activities and goals to the citizens. The event was also
Read more →Ariola Agolli – manager of the National Resource Centre for Civil Society at Partners Albania for Change and Development, and Xhoana Zeqo – project manager, were interviewed on the topic of development of national standards for civil society organizations in Albania, by the Global Standard for CSO Accountability. “ Through this code, we hope that
Read more →Accountable Now has published a report that outlines the findings from Accountable Now’s 2020/21 Accountability and Whistleblowing survey. The survey collected information from staff and volunteers from Accountable Now’s member associations on their awareness, understanding, and perceptions around accountability and reporting within their organization. Read more here. Source: Accountable Now
Read more →Philanthropy in Europe is as diverse as European societies are, and this reality is reflected in the varied legal traditions and approaches to regulating these unique civil society actors. The research “Comparative Highlights of Foundation Laws”, to be published on 1 October, untangles this diversity and provides a nuanced understanding of the legal and fiscal
Read more →