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News and updates from BCSDN and the region

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Better Regulation in Western Balkans: Improving Public Participation

On 21-22 September, in Sarajevo, the Regional Working Group on Better Regulation, consisting of relevant public administration bodies, endorsed the Western Balkans Recommendations on Public Participation of citizens and civil society in legislative and decision-making processes. The Recommendations represent a set of guidelines and rules for effective public participation and recommendations for policy-making cycle, including

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6th Western Balkans Platform on Education and Training

On 28-29 September, in Belgrade, the Directorate for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission organized the 6th annual ministerial meeting of the Western Balkans Platform on Education and Training. Commissioner Navracsics delivered the opening remarks, stressing that this year’s Platform will focus on two very important priority topics: research and mobility. According

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Public Consultations on Draft Strategy for Promoting an Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Montenegro

The Ministry for Public Administration of Montenegro has opened consultations with the interest public on the draft Strategy for improvement of the enabling environment for CSO activities (2018-2010) and a Draft Action Plan. The Ministry invites citizens, scientific and professional institutions, government bodies, professional associations, political parties, trade unions, religious groups, non-governmental organizations, international organizations,

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The Participation Revolution

The falling levels of public trust in public institutions we see all over the world should be a wake-up call for those of us who support open government. But to rebuild trust we need to rebuild governance from the ground up, and put citizens (back) at the heart of institutions, writes CIVICUS Secretary General, Danny

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Atlantic Philanthropies Publication Outlines Founder’s Vision of ‘Giving While Living’

The Atlantic Philanthropies foundation released a booklet entitled “Atlantic Insights: Giving While Living.” The booklet explores foundation founder Chuck Feeney’s philanthropic worldview, which centers on using a limited-life foundation to increase impact by freeing up funds for more rapid deployment. All told, more than $8 billion in grants were disbursed to nearly 2,000 grant recipients,

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Meaningful Involvement of CSOs in SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have come into effect since January 2016, bringing about a growing momentum towards upholding development and integrating it within good governance efforts. In this context, it is worthwhile to look at the SDGs from the more regional perspective of the Western Balkans, given that the region shares similar political and structural

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Explaining Civil Society Development: A Social Origins Approach

The civil society sector has long been the invisible subcontinent on the landscape of contemporary society. For the past 25 years, however, scholars under the umbrella of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project have worked with statisticians in countries around the world to assemble the first comprehensive, empirical picture of the size, structure, financing,

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Nonprofits: The DNA of Democracy

Recently, a prominent consulting firm asked several nonprofit leaders for feedback on the advocacy strategy that the company had developed for a large foundation. The meeting opened with one consultant asking, “Is it really necessary to involve the public in advocacy, and if so when? Wouldn’t it just be easier to get the one guy

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CfA: International Cooperation and Development Forum – 16 October, Istanbul (Deadline: 31.10.2017)

The International Cooperation and Development Forum in Turkey 2017 will be held on 16 October 2017, at Swissotel the Boshphorus, in Istanbul, Turkey. The event aims at creating a unique occasion and platform, to meet and discuss, for financial institutions, government representatives, consultancy firms, sectorial organizations, NGOs, academic institutions and all the other stakeholders interested

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