News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The Literary Residence Program is a part of the Reading Balkans project, which is a cooperation project of the Publishing House Goga (Slo), Goten Publishing (MK), Krokodil (Srb), Udruga Kurs (Cro), Poeteka (Alb), Qendra Multimedia (Kos), PEN Centre (BIH) and partners. The Literary Residence Program ‘Reading Balkans 2021’ is open to welcome fiction writers (M/F),
Read more →As a part of the Regional Civil Society Development Hub, BCSDN is pleased to announce the Call for Regional Multi-Country Action Grants. All regional networks, platforms, initiatives, and other forms of partnerships established in the Western Balkans and having member organizations in more than 2 countries from the region, are invited to apply. With the
Read more →The global pandemic has plunged democracies across the world into a state of emergency, prohibiting and punishing mass protest, outlawing social gathering, and restricting commonly held, fundamental rights and freedoms. A strong civil society is essential to ensure that when the pandemic eases, the restrictions are not just repealed but reclaimed with a renewed sense
Read more →Ensuring sustainable gender-equality across public institutions in Kosovo is challenging to attain. The policies are not designed through a gender perspective, and women are not accordingly represented in decision-making positions. The policy article delivers an in-depth analysis of the necessity for integrating gender mainstreaming as a cross-cutting characteristic in the change of policies. It highlights
Read more →The next phase of UNDP’s COVID-19 crisis response is designed to help decision-makers look beyond recovery, towards 2030, making choices and managing complexity and uncertainty in four main areas: governance, social protection, green economy, and digital disruption. It encompasses our role in technically leading the UN’s socio-economic response. Governments and civil society will need to
Read more →Albania’s system for publishing government legislation was fragmented and ineffective. The lack of information was a problem, taking into account the new decentralization reforms that endowed local governments with a wide range of responsibilities. At the urging of INFOCIP, an Albanian NGO that promotes transparency and the rule of law, the Albanian government committed to
Read more →COVID-19 pandemic affects economic and social life, mainly targeting peoples’ online lives. Internet usage is spiking around the world, and the web is used in new ways. This situation is putting a strain on the infrastructure that underpins the internet, especially in developing nations. Amid pandemic, the average citizens are more aware of their data’s
Read more →Nineteen organizations from Southeast Europe have joined in a newly-established network that aims to advance the protection of digital rights and address the growing challenges posed by the widespread use of advanced technologies in society. Initiated by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, and SHARE Foundation, the SEE Digital Rights Network is the first network of
Read more →Feedback Lab acts as the node to support its more than 600 organizations to make listening and feedback the norm across aid, philanthropy, non-profits, and governments. In 2018, in cooperation with the larger Feedback Lab network, the Core Principles of Constituent Feedback were adopted. According to Feedback Lab, Feedback is not only the moral and
Read more →The stakeholder engagement is a key component of Dynamic Accountability, acting as a vehicle through which CSOs can solicit their constituents’ opinions and learn more about their contexts, get feedback about their work, and ensure that the inputs drive decision making. Besides the bilateral and conversational process, there are other creative ways for CSOs to
Read more →Philanthropy can play a unique and catalytic role in accelerating a real recovery by helping government leaders make smarter decisions. Helping the leaders develop and effectively use the data-and-evidence capacity, they need to give prominence to and understand community challenges’ root causes. Such a situation mainly targets racial disparities, and increase the impact of government
Read more →The paper narrows its focus in three ways. First, the paper concentrates on the risks inherent in the provision of personal data, such as data collected by social media companies. Second, it discusses the unique ethical risks involved when data is aimed at furthering policy-development, as distinct from ad hoc emergency or disaster-response arrangements. Third,
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