News and updates from BCSDN and the region
On 9th May, more than 500 civil society activists came to St. Mark’s Square in Zagreb to urge the government to preserve the Croatian model for support to civil society development. Representatives of the “For Strong Civil Society!” initiative emphasized that the aim of the massive gathering is to attack the public institutions and the
Read more →Civil Society Europe and its working group on Civil Society Recognition has prepared an online questionnaire on an assessment of civil dialogue mechanisms open for both European and national NGOs and associations. The responses to the questionnaire as well as the results of interviews with CSOs and EU institutions will contribute to the preparation of
Read more →The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Committee on NGOs (the Committee) considers applications by NGOs for ECOSOC accreditation and, as such, is a key gateway for CSOs to gain access to the UN. However, the Committee operates in a highly politicised manner, in particular regarding applications for accreditation from human rights organisations. The Committee
Read more →CRNVO published a Report on Financing CSOs in Montenegro from the Budgets of Local Self-Governments (LSGs) during 2015. The data have been collected through requests for access to information of public interest and manual search of municipalities’ websites. The data show that further improvements on the allocation of resources to CSOs at the local level
Read more →The Government Office for Cooperation with CSOs in Croatia published a report on the implementation of consultations with the interested public in procedures of adopting laws, other regulations and acts in 2015, which was adopted by the Croatian Government at its 17th session held on 28th April. The report was prepared in accordance with the
Read more →A global threat to civil liberties is unfolding, undermining democracy around the world. As protests multiply worldwide and activists powered by mobile technology and social networks proliferate, a counter-reaction by governments – not only in the Global South (something that does not make news due to their track-record of abuses in the not-so-distant past) but
Read more →One of the oldest paradoxes of development centers on the balance between inputs and outputs, broadly defined, and raise some important issues. This question is all the more poignant as international aid continues to dwindle in an era where nations increasingly resort to austerity. Contrary to popular perceptions, aid is not just money – however,
Read more →the Global Citizenship Commission, convened under the leadership of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to re-examine the spirit and role of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), has launched its landmark report “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the 21st Century: A Living Document in a Changing World.” The report and appendices
Read more →The 20th Issue of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has been published. In this issue you can read about: the closing space for civil society in the United Kingdom, as noted by the Special Rapporteur after
Read more →The Center for Research and Policy-Making and the Ministry of Information Society and Administration are organizing the second public event “Open Government Partnership – a dialogue with civil society on the National Action Plan 2016-2018” which will be held on 11th May, 2016 in Skopje. The event aims to present the first Open Government Partnership
Read more →The European Citizenship Awards 2016 are a joint initiative between Volonteurope and European Civic Forum, two European networks promoting active citizenship and social justice. The Awards will celebrate initiatives and actors who put European citizenship into practice and have a real, positive impact on their communities – be it at the local, regional, national or
Read more →The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is United Nations central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2016 session of the HLPF will address the theme “Ensuring that no one is left behind”. It will feature voluntary reviews of 22 countries and
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