Projects

The most perfidious form of attempts to suppress freedom of expression and limit the work of professional media and activists are the so-called “SLAPP lawsuits” (Strategic lawsuits against public participation). This phenomenon did not originally arise in Serbia, but was previously applied in other countries, and their primary goal is to intimidate journalists, the media and activists, then to exhaust them financially, which brings them to the limit or even below the limit of existence, and the final goal is to stifle media freedom, discipline “disobedient” media and intimidate them as a result of which they resort to self-censorship, as well as to intimidate activists with the aim of giving up their activities and actions through the process of political participation and public advocacy. The CASE coalition, which keeps track of SLAPP lawsuits across Europe, published an updated report in 2023 with data collected in the previous year. On the list, among 35 European countries, Serbia took 10th place with 28 registered lawsuits. Since the coalition only publishes data on cases it has been able to verify, the actual number of lawsuits is potentially higher.

The project aims to empower activists to respond to corruption and undue influence without the threat of judicial harassment, contributing to media freedom and institutional independence. This will be achieved through the following specific objectives:

1. Establishment of the National Anti-SLAPP Task Force
2. Preparation of the first comprehensive report on SLAPPs against civil society organizations and activists in Serbia
3. Training sixty attorneys and human rights defenders to identify and properly respond to SLAPP claims
4. Public advocacy to include anti-SLAPP initiatives in national public policies for the first time
5. Creating a multimedia awareness campaign that explains SLAPP in detail in an understandable way

One of the main goals of this project is to create a National Anti-SLAPP Task Force, which will serve as a focal point for the anti-SLAPP initiative at the country level. This working group will become a forum for the exchange of data on ongoing SLAPP cases and will be responsible for advocating for legal recognition of SLAPPs in Serbia. As part of this, anti-SLAPP response mechanisms will be established to respond to new SLAPP cases in a timely and appropriate manner by providing legal expertise, making statements and disseminating information about the cases through international networks and human rights bodies. The National Anti-SLAPP Task Force will be integrated into ongoing European anti-SLAPP initiatives, as part of the Coalition Against SLAPP in Europe (CASE), and Citizens’ Initiatives will be the national focal point for Serbia.

The target groups of this project are: activists, journalists and civil society organizations affected by SLAPP lawsuits, especially those who operate at the local level, lawyers and journalists who are not directly affected by SLAPP lawsuits. This project will also target the decision makers in the country and the general public. The project will last 30 months and is financed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Serbia.

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The project “From the margins to the center” contributes to greater participation of citizens in decision-making at the national level, which affects a greater degree of democracy in society, and at the same time strengthens all existing mechanisms created to ensure the participation of citizens in decision-making and their transparency.

General objective:
Greater participation of citizens, especially young people, in decision-making processes, as well as improvement and development of local communities in Serbia through strengthening and providing support to groups of united citizens (informal, grassroots and single issue activist groups)

Specific objective(s):
1. Local groups of citizens are empowered to mobilize the support of citizens and represent their interests in decision-making processes.
2. The participation of associated citizens in networks and coalitions has increased in order to increase their influence on decision-makers for the benefit of their communities.
3. Increased participation of young people through the creation of communication strategies of groups of associated citizens for the inclusion of young people in their advocacy initiatives.
Users:
1. Groups of united citizens (grassroots, single issue and informal initiatives);
2. Employees of LGUs and other competent institutions;
3. Young people in local communities.

Activities:
1. Mentoring support in creating advocacy maps;
2. Logistical-administrative support in the implementation of advocacy initiatives;
3. Formation of informal coalitions;
4. Expert support in developing communication strategies for youth involvement;
5. Expert support in formalizing groups of associated citizens;
6. Facilitating media campaigns that accompany advocacy initiatives.

The project “From the margins to the center” is supported by the SMART Balkan project, which is financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, which is implemented by a consortium of organizations: the Center for the Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD) from Bosnia and Herzegovina as the lead applicant, in partnership with the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) from North Macedonia and the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) from Albania.
The overall goal of the Project is to contribute to the strengthening of participatory democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration in the Western Balkans by empowering civil society organizations and their networks for a stronger and more active role in creating peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Duration of the project: 01.07.2023. – 30.06.2023.
Project value: NOK 509,869.34

You can view the contract HERE.

The project “Openly about the open calls” is jointly implemented by Civic Initiatives and the Balkan Research Network (BIRN Serbia), with the support of the British Embassy in Belgrade, in the period from December 2020 to December 2022. The focus of this project is the consumption of public money through public tenders, as the most important model of budget financing in sectors dealing with activities of public interest. The goal of the project is to create conditions for transparent and efficient distribution of budget funds through public tenders, in accordance with the principles of good management and the best interest of citizens.

Funding from the budget of citizens’ associations and the media creates many ambiguities. Insufficiently transparent decision-making, allocation of funds on a political basis, absence of clear procedures and competition criteria, ad hoc allocation instead of strategic direction of institutions are just some of the elements that greatly characterize this process, which led to a lack of trust of both organizations and citizens in the institutions that allocate funds. Bearing in mind the importance of budget funding for public information, as well as for civil society organizations, especially those that deal with activities of public interest (sectors of social protection, culture, youth, sports, etc.), ambiguities in the existing system create a big problem – both for CSOs and the media as users of funds, and for citizens whose needs the programs and projects financed from the budget should respond to.

With this in mind, the project “Public about public tenders” strives to ensure a more transparent and fair distribution of budget funding in the best interest of citizens, which it does through its two components: research and the creation of a common platform for advocacy. The first component of the project is the creation and promotion of a comprehensive online database of public tenders conducted by all levels of government — local self-governments, provincial authorities and national authorities, i.e. ministries, during 2019 and 2020, which will then be regularly updated during the duration of the project. Statistical analysis of collected data, monitoring of trends and mapping of shortcomings in the tender procedure will form the basis for further advocacy actions within the second component. The second component of the project aims to strengthen the influence of civil society on the regulatory framework and policies in this area by building a coalition of CSOs, media and think-tanks around a common platform for advocacy, as well as producing reports (annual reports, shadow reports and ad hoc reports) that will contain a detailed insight into systemic problems related to public tenders, as well as policy proposals and solutions.

The goal of the project “Facing the Past – New Generations, New Perspectives” is to strengthen the capacities of the new generation of veterans to face the past and relaunch this topic among the Serbian public. This goal will be achieved through strengthening the community of historians and other scholars who professionally deal with topics from the recent past and who have the potential to become creators of public opinion when it comes to topics related to dealing with the past.

The target group of the project is young historians and other scientists who will actively participate in all project activities and their synergy will give additional impetus to the achievement of the project goal.

The project “Facing the past – new generations, new perspectives” is implemented methodologically through education and capacity building of young scientists (through activities such as the School of Transitional Justice), familiarizing them with the situation on the ground through study visits to Srebrenica and Kosovo, and strengthening the community of historians and other scientists through the publication and promotion of collections and scientific articles.

Through the realization of this project, Serbia will get a strengthened new generation of fighters to deal with the past, equipped with knowledge and with scientific results behind them, who will be ready to relaunch the topic of dealing with the public and oppose the dominant nationalist narrative.

The project “Facing the past – new generations, new perspectives” is implemented by Citizen Initiatives within the framework of the project “Support of the European Union to building trust in the Western Balkans”, funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP, and implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Festival “Miredita, good day!” in Belgrade presents the cultural scene of Kosovo to the Belgrade public. The goal of holding this festival is to contribute to the establishment of lasting peace and normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo every year through various art forms.

Bekim Fehmiu, an Albanian, Kosovo, Belgrade, Yugoslavian and international actor – a symbol of the common past with all its challenges, achievements and misunderstandings – served as inspiration for the establishment and implementation of the festival.

Visitors to the Festival have the opportunity to get acquainted with the Kosovo cultural scene – theater, film, music, art. In addition to the artistic program, the festival also includes public debates where the relations between Belgrade and Pristina are critically reviewed, from the point of view of the heritage of the past, but also the perspective of cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, education, sports, the civil sector and all parts of society.

Since 2015, a part of the festival program has also been held in Kosovo, and is dedicated to the figure and work of Bekim Fehmi.

The festival is organized by: Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Civic Initiatives, Center for Practical Politics and Integra from Pristina, with the support of ForumZFD for the Western Balkans and the Fund for Open Society of Kosovo.

This project is a continuation of the project that was implemented from May to December 2019, which resulted in the creation of Media Shelters in several cities throughout Serbia with the aim of defending freedom of expression and the media.

The goal of the project is to build a sustainable protection mechanism and a safe space for the defense of media freedom through support for Media Shelters at the local level.

The project will create links between local civil society activists, local media, independent journalists and citizens by creating Media Shelters that will be able to protect journalists, promote freedom of expression and monitor the local situation regarding freedom of expression and media freedom.

The innovative component of the project is the inclusion of young YouTubers and the building of stronger cooperation between local media and the YouTube community, so that young people would be motivated to recognize the importance of the right to freedom of expression and media, as well as so that local media could recognize the needs of young people for objective and truthful information.

The project is supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Civic initiatives within the Protecting Civic space – Regional Civil Society Development Hub project, which they implement as a member of the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN), prepare an annual Report on monitoring the development of an enabling environment for civil society in Serbia and participate in the Task Force group of the new regional Hub for Civil Society Development. The project lasts from September 2019 to September 2021.

Monitoring is based on the Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development Monitoring Matrix (CDRaz) developed by the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) and the European Center for Non-Profit Law (ECNL). The matrix contains the main principles and standards whose existence has been identified as crucial in order to view the legal environment as an environment that provides support and encouragement to the work of civil society organizations. The matrix is ​​organized around three areas: (1) Basic legal guarantees of freedom; (2) Framework for financial feasibility and sustainability of civil society organizations; (3) Relationship between the Government and civil society organizations.

Principles, standards and indicators have been formulated taking into account the current state of development and diversity in the countries of the Western Balkans and in Turkey. They rely on internationally guaranteed freedoms and rights and best regulatory practices in the European Union and European countries. The goal of the Matrix is ​​to define the optimal desired situation for the efficient functioning and development of civil society, while at the same time it aims to establish a realistic framework that public authorities can follow and apply. Bearing in mind the fact that the main challenges lie in implementation, the indicators are defined to monitor the situation at the level of the legal framework and practical implementation.

The indicators monitored by the Matrix were adopted to monitor the stimulating environment for EU civil society, and the findings of the annual Report on monitoring the stimulating environment in Serbia are used when writing the European Commission’s Annual Reports on Serbia’s progress in the process of European integration.

The Hub was established with the aim of creating a regional center with global influence that will create and share knowledge and innovations about the role of CSOs in the promotion of democracy and provide long-term support for the development of civil society in the Western Balkans.

One of the Hub’s activities will be the regranting program, where support will be given to organizations from the entire region through Ad Hoc grants and Regional Multi-Country Action grants. More information on current Hub calls can be found here.

The Task Force group, of which Citizens’ Initiatives are a part, was established to support the establishment and functioning of the Hub. It consists of BCSDN members who have the necessary knowledge for the development of the Hub: expertise and experience in supporting the development of CSOs, a good understanding of civic space trends and a well-established network of civil society contacts across the countries covered by the regional Hub. The group is in charge of the capacity building component by sharing knowledge and experience.

The project is supported by the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

The National Association of Practitioners of Youth Work – NAPOR is an alliance of associations with 80 full and 10 affiliated members of civil society organizations that carry out youth work in the Republic of Serbia. NAPOR was established in March 2009 with the main goal of ensuring the quality of youth work programs and the professionalization of youth work in the Republic of Serbia. NAPOR carries out the accreditation of youth associations and youth associations for the implementation of youth work, as well as the validation of youth workers for work with young people.

Civic initiatives participated in the Founding Assembly and in formulating the strategic documents of NAPOR. At the Assembly held in November 2014, a representative of Civic Initiatives was voted a member of the NAPOR Supervisory Board, and the organization was previously accredited for youth work.

SEKO for civil society, media and culture

Civic Initiatives is the leading member of SEKO for civil society, media and culture, within the consortium consisting of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia and the Association of the Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia. Civic initiatives in cooperation with the Office for European Integration (KEI) organize training for representatives of citizens’ associations in order to improve their knowledge and skills in terms of their active involvement in the processes of programming, monitoring and reporting on EU funds and development assistance to the Republic of Serbia, participate in the processes of consultation and harmonization of positions according to the KEI plan and establish a platform of civil society organizations with sub-platforms for each of the three topics covered by SEKO.

The SEKO mechanism was established in 2011 in order to improve the dialogue between state authorities and civil society in the programming process and to increase the efficiency of the use of development funds, especially EU funds. Within the framework of the SEKO mechanism, there is cooperation with the Office for European Integration of the Government of the Republic of Serbia (KEI), which includes consultations, participation in the work of sectoral working groups where proposals for the use of funds from EU funds, training organizations, etc. are prepared.

You can find more information on the website www.sekomehanizam.org

The Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations of Serbia (FeNS) was founded in Belgrade on February 16, 2003, at the “United Citizens and Citizens” conference. This is by far the most numerous network of non-governmental organizations – at the moment the network has 550 member organizations from a total of 102 municipalities in Serbia.

The executive body of the network is the Council of FeNS, which is composed of 17 representatives of organizations, selected on a regional basis. The council has three co-chairs who represent FENS in public.

In the coming period, the revitalization of FENS and the use of the potential of this network in the implementation of various advocacy initiatives are expected in order to improve the framework for the further development of civil society.

Support to civil society organizations in the strengthening of technical skills, social inclusion of persons with disabilities and the implementation of EU standards in Southeast Europe – 2nd phase

After the successful implementation of the first phase of the SOCIETIES project (2016-2019), Caritas of Serbia and its partners started the implementation of the second phase of the project.

Project goal:

Improving the capacity and expertise of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the field of social inclusion of persons with disabilities and the deinstitutionalization process so that they can influence decision-making processes and improve social policies through participation in public dialogue.

Specific objectives:

1. Increasing the capacity of organizations, their responsibility and effectiveness for managing initiatives of social inclusion and deinstitutionalization, and for the promotion and advocacy of social inclusion of persons with disabilities, in accordance with European Union standards.
2. Encouraging a favorable environment for the implementation of civil society activities by establishing permanent structures and mechanisms for cooperation and dialogue between CSOs and the public sector.

Expected results:

1. Civil society organizations of persons with disabilities have been strengthened
2. The effectiveness of initiatives of civil society organizations for social inclusion has increased
3. The quality and efficiency of the dialogue on social policies between civil society organizations and authorities has increased
4. Increased public perception of the contribution of CSOs in promoting the process of social inclusion

Civic initiatives are one of the implementation partners in this project.

For more information about the SOCIETIES project, visit www.caritas.rs

The project is supported by the European Union.

“Amplifying Local Voices for Equitable Development” -ALVED is a project funded by the UK government and will be implemented in the period from September 2020 to August 2022. This project will be implemented in three municipalities in Serbia – Vranje, Bujanovac and Lebane, in places where both the municipal administration and civil society have shown a commitment to improving the lives of all residents. The project is being implemented in parallel in Kosovo, where partner organizations are implementing similar activities.

Through a focus on participatory planning of social services, supplemented by grants to local civil society organizations, the project engages the expertise of project consortium members with representatives of civil society and municipalities to ensure that high quality social services are available to all. By connecting the planning and provision of services in municipalities with the needs of citizens, this project will help to ensure inclusiveness and efficiency in the provision of social services, thus improving the lives of all residents of the municipality.

This project also pays special attention to the needs and concerns of young people. Project activities focus on exploiting the potential of this vital demographic category, by investing in knowledge and skills relevant to the creation of new businesses and their active participation in the digital market.

The main goal of this approach is to ensure that citizens in Serbia and Kosovo are better able to empathize with the perspectives of others, play active civic roles in society and celebrate diversity.

The project is implemented by a consortium led by Peaceful Change Initiative (PCi), a charity registered in Great Britain, in close cooperation with People in Need (PiN), an international organization registered in the Czech Republic, and in partnership with Civic Initiatives (GI), NGO Aktiv and Peer Educators Network.

During the entire post-war period in the Western Balkans, war victims played only a marginal role. They were largely left out of the development of transitional justice (TP) processes to deal with the wartime past. This project is jointly implemented by the Dutch organization PAX, together with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), INTEGRO and New Social Initiative (NSI) from Kosovo, Peace Action from North Macedonia and Civic Initiatives from Serbia.

The Consortium will work with victim groups in Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia to strengthen (institutional) capacities, improve the quality of their initiatives and projects and create deeper relationships between different victim groups, while connecting them with young activists and artists.

Empowering Civil Society Through A Learning Environment (ECSTALE) is a project funded under the Erasmus+ program, and aims to create a learning environment for civil society organizations, providing an opportunity for partner organizations from Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Bulgaria, Estonia, Serbia and Israel who work with CSOs and have extensive experience in their fields to meet and exchange good practices that will help them acquire new skills.

The result of the 22-month cooperation will be that all partners, as well as their users (civil society organizations), will have the opportunity to improve their work, improve their performance and increase their social impact.

The project is implemented within the consortium consisting of:

• HIGGS – Greece
• Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini S.R.L.SRB – Italy
• Black Sea NGO Network – Bulgaria
• Vabaighungste Liit – Estonia
• Midot – Israel
• Synthesis Center for research and education limited – Cyprus
• Građanske inicijative – Serbia

Expected results:

• Mapping good practices, successful strategies and methods
• Exchange of good practices, tools and programs
• New skills of persons who will participate in learning, teaching / training activities
• Gathering and strengthening cooperation among partner organizations
• innovative ideas and creation of new tools
• More than 4,000 members of civil society organizations will improve their skills and services

The project is a joint initiative of Partners Albania with Civic Initiatives (Serbia), the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation (KCSF), the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation MCIC (North Macedonia), the Center for the Development of Non-Governmental Organizations CRNVO (Montenegro) and the Center for Civic Initiatives (BiH). These organizations, as well as the National Resource Centers in their countries and specific centers for the development of civil society, will collaborate on improving knowledge, sharing lessons learned and proposing practical policies in response to the emergency situation caused by the pandemic of the COVID-19 virus in the countries of the Western Balkans.

The project is supported by the Balkan Trust for Democracy and lasts from July 1, 2021 to June 31, 2022.

The HomoEuropeanus project is dedicated to first examining the knowledge of citizens, both those who live in member states and those who live in candidate states, and then discussions about what we as citizens think about the EU, what we expect from it and whether our schooling teaches us anything about the community that Serbia should join.

The project is intended for young people, high school students – exchange of their experiences, knowledge and attitudes about the EU, common goals in such a community of states and gathers organizations from 12 countries. What and how much do we know about the European Union? What did they teach us at school and what did they fail to teach us? Is there a European identity, and if so, what does it entail?

“Even 30 years of EU evaluations have not managed to reveal what every Sicilian peasant could have told them at the very start: What the money is intended for and how it is spent.” These ideas of leading scientist Alina Mungiu Pipidi are behind the “Ask the Locals” project.

Inter Alia with Citizen Initiatives and other partners intend to use the influence of informal social networks in small communities in order to investigate and improve the local work of anti-corruption agencies and the regulation of the spending of public funds. Information will be collected from citizens and will be used by citizens with the aim of deconstructing negative images that further deepen inequality and injustice and lead to victimization and defeatism within the communities themselves, but also in their relationship to other member countries and the people who live in them.

After the research, we go to record all the interesting stories of the locals with a camera and put it all together in a documentary film.

MLADGRAD is an award given by Civic Initiatives since 2010 on the occasion of August 12, International Youth Day, to local governments, associations, informal groups and individuals for their contribution to improving the position of young people in the local community. The idea of

MLADGRAD awards were created in 2010 before the opening of the 100th office for youth and before the start of the International Year of Youth, in the context of providing greater support to local governments in working with young people.

The aim of awarding recognition is to provide support to local governments, organizations, groups and individuals in their work with young people. Acknowledgment, promotions and spreading the story of successful examples in work with young people – all with the aim of placing the issue of the position of young people high on the agenda of all organizations, institutions, political parties, both at the local and national level.

MLADGRAD is awarded in 3 categories:

• for the overall contribution of local self-government to improving the position of young people in the local community,
• for local self-government for allocated public space for young people,
• for a youth organization, initiative or informal group, for contributing to the improvement of cooperation between local self-government and young people;

As part of the award, in addition to the mentioned categories, a special recognition can be awarded in each category for a special contribution to improving the position of vulnerable categories of young people.

The expert jury, made up of representatives of youth organizations, national institutions, partners and donors, meets and after the nomination process is completed, makes a decision on the winners.

In 2015, the Mladgrad concept will be refreshed with new ideas, with the aim of achieving a long-term impact on local communities that will receive awards in the following years.

The issue of public spaces and their availability, as well as the availability of information, is one of the key ones if we are talking about systematic civic organizing and activism. This is especially important in the case of youth organizing, because despite the need, most youth initiatives, projects and groups do not have access to a space to work due to unclear procedures and application conditions, unclear competences of institutions, lack of information and often, lack of will.

Because of all this, Civic Initiatives launched a campaign on public spaces in early 2009. The campaign was planned and designed for a long time with numerous consultations with institutions and youth groups. At the same time, a network of associations and youth groups across Serbia was created, which provide local support for the campaign.

The goals of this campaign are:

• • Demystification and displacement of the topic of public spaces from the sphere of business, politics and corruption to the sphere of public supervision and control,
  • Enabling information and data about public spaces and state-owned real estate, their status, leasing possibilities, conditions and procedures and all other information that is difficult or impossible to reach, to become public, transparent and easily accessible,
  • Increasing the availability of public spaces for citizens’ associations, especially for youth organizations, groups and initiatives,
  • Increasing the transparency of the work of public authorities in relation to public spaces,
  • Increasing the awareness of citizens about their possibilities and rights in relation to public spaces,
  • Increasing the awareness of citizens about public spaces in general;

The campaign takes place in two directions – one is direct cooperation with civil society organizations and local youth groups with the aim of raising awareness about this topic and obtaining specific spaces for use, and the other is developing dialogue and cooperation with institutions in connection with the collection of information, procedures and examples of good practice.

The project “Let equality become a reality” is jointly implemented by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality and the House of Human Rights and Democracy Association with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway.

The project aims to contribute to the suppression of discrimination and the promotion of equality of marginalized groups and their members, through improving the knowledge and skills of national councils of national minorities for recognizing discrimination and filing complaints due to discrimination, and raising the capacity of civil society organizations that deal with youth issues, so that they are trained to recognize discrimination and implement activities aimed at raising the awareness of the general public about discrimination in their local communities.

In order to increase respect for freedom of expression and the media, Civic Initiatives are launching a project that will enable the monitoring of planned measures and the effectiveness of applications in the area of ​​media freedom during the process of European integration.

The activities will contribute to the improvement of government measures, the improvement of policies and actions in the field of freedom of expression by involving the wider civil society and the association of journalists. The activities will ensure monitoring of existing and definition of new measures in chapters 5, 8, 10, 23, 28 and 32.

Through dialogue, coordination and exchange of information between civil society, media and institutions regarding freedom of expression, the Media Freedom Matrix will contribute to better visibility of planned and implemented measures.

The project will also involve citizens in the procedures for monitoring the application of laws and practices that protect freedom of expression.

Activities will include journalists, media associations, CSOs dedicated to media freedom and freedom of expression, human rights defenders and other actors in the media. Implementation will be monitored in at least 15 municipalities in Serbia.

All monitoring activities will be presented to government institutions – police, judiciary, prosecutor’s office, independent and regulatory bodies – all institutions leading coordination groups in the above-mentioned chapters.

The activities will be implemented together with the FoNet news agency and the recently established Intersectoral Group for Freedom of Expression within the EU Convention.

In the following six-month period, an online platform will be created for media freedom in the processes of EU integration – the Media Freedom Matrix. Civic initiatives, with the support of other actors on the media scene, will continue to update the platform with relevant information. Requests for the availability of information of public importance will be sent to all institutions responsible for the enforcement of laws concerning media freedom.

During the floods, a crisis headquarters called “United Citizens for Serbia” was established in the offices of Citizen Initiatives, which was available to all civil society organizations for activities aimed at helping the citizens of Serbia after the floods. The “United Citizens for Serbia” accounts have been launched on Facebook and Twitter, as well as the website www.udruzeni.org. Already during the first days of the floods, Serbian civil society reacted with full force and all capacities through the distribution of humanitarian aid on the ground, the organization of volunteers and the distribution of information about the needs of the vulnerable population. The United Citizens for Serbia crisis headquarters coordinated the activities of more than 200 organizations that put their resources at the service of providing immediate and direct support to citizens affected by floods throughout Serbia. In this phase, civil society focused on the collection and distribution of humanitarian aid, cleaning actions of public areas and facilities and providing psychosocial support, and already during the summer, concrete works began on rehabilitation and reconstruction of facilities and permanent care of persons who were placed in reception centers. In the next phase, in addition to monitoring the reconstruction process, the activities of civil society will be focused on transparent reporting on the expenditure of funds and the implemented activities of the state in order to rehabilitate the consequences of floods.

Civic initiatives, as part of the activities of the United Citizens for Serbia network, created and put into operation an interactive map that provides a direct insight into the work of civil society in Serbia during the activities of providing aid, rehabilitation and reconstruction of buildings (private and public) that suffered damage from floods. Also, Civic Initiatives presented a report on the consequences of floods, which was prepared on the basis of data collected by networked civil society organizations from various parts of the country.

In 2015, the existing interactive map will be improved, so it will contain information on the activities of state institutions and local self-governments on the restoration of flood damage.

The goal of this project is to create a network of 10 contact organizations for three independent institutions (Commissioner of Citizens, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data and Commissioner for Protection of Equality), in order to improve the connection between these institutions and citizens at the local level.

The network of contact organizations will improve the capacities of independent institutions through the development of platforms of local organizations in order to better respond to violations of the rights and needs of citizens in local communities.

Within the project “Independent Institutions Closer to Citizens”, Civic Initiatives organized a three-day training for selected organizations in order to obtain more information about the possibilities for bringing the work of independent institutions closer to citizens at the local level. After that, in cooperation with local organizations, visits of the Protector of Citizens, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and the Protection of Personal Data and the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality to selected local communities will be organized.

The project is intended for organizations from Serbia outside of Belgrade, whose activities are related to the scope of work of independent institutions, which have direct contact with citizens and which have sufficient capacity to participate in the activities. Organizations from economically underdeveloped areas and from areas where national minorities live have a special advantage for participating in the project.

As part of the project “Global development and the role of CSOs in the Western Balkans” implemented by the Austrian development and humanitarian organization “Horizont3000”, together with partner organizations from Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Slovenia, Civic Initiatives organized a series of events and published works on the topic of development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

During the EU accession process, Serbia will have to harmonize its legislation with the legal framework of the European Union. On that occasion, Serbia will undertake to change its role from a recipient of development aid to a provider of development aid.

Several national and regional meetings were organized within the project, which had the role of empowering CSOs in Serbia to initiate debates in this area, as well as to raise the awareness of representatives of organizations and authorities about the importance of this topic.

Civic initiatives participated as partners in the development of three publications – “Inclusion of civil society organizations of the Western Balkans in the achievement of sustainable development goals”, then “Creation of an encouraging environment for the contribution of civil society to global development” and finally “Case study in the Republic of Serbia”.

You can download the publications here:

Involvement of civil society organizations in achieving the goals of sustainable development
Creating an enabling environment for the contribution of civil society to global development
Serbia Country Study Report

“YouthBuild” is a program that is implemented in the United States of America, as well as in 15 countries around the world. For the past 30 years, “YouthBuild” has contributed to more than 94,000 young people becoming active and engaged in building their communities.

“YouthBuild Serbia – Educated and Active Youth” includes intensive training for acquiring skills necessary for employment and activism in the local community. So far, 212 participants from Southern Serbia and Sandžak have gone through YouthBuild Serbia, divided into 5 generations of participants.

During the 6 months of participation in the program, young people engage in various activities. The program takes place in three phases:

The first phase of the project lasts four months and includes intensive practical training in the Training Center. Activism in the local community, language learning, financial literacy, leadership and teamwork skills are some of the topics that participants encounter in this phase. Seminars on project writing, active job search and entrepreneurial skills are also part of the training in the first phase of the program.

During the second phase, participants implement socially useful projects within the community. The theoretical knowledge and skills they get inspire them to get started, but also to motivate their fellow citizens to join them in community improvement actions.

In the third phase, which lasts two months, participants volunteer, look for jobs, do internships and do professional practice in private companies, public institutions and civil society organizations.

The young people who participated in the Program have so far carried out a total of 39 socially beneficial actions. They included the renovation of public spaces, local environmental actions, the installation of access ramps for people with disabilities, actions that promoted the principles of human rights and active citizenship. More than 5,000 citizens participated in these actions, and the local community contributed more than €20,000 to their implementation.

After the end of the program, 64 participants found a job, and 4 informal youth groups were founded, which continued to actively participate in the improvement of their communities.

It is important to note that the participants of the YouthBuild program were also involved during the floods that hit Serbia. Young people collected funds for hygiene, clothing for children and adults, food for babies, diapers, water. Also, a multi-ethnic group (Albanians, Bosniaks, Roma and Serbs) of about thirty young men and women from Sandžak and from the south of Serbia participated in the action to clean up the flooded Paraćin with the desire to promote the principle of solidarity and the necessity of young people’s participation in the reconstruction.

Finally, a group of 17 youth coaches from southern Serbia and Sandžak were trained as part of the program. They continue to work with all those interested in the development of local communities and the improvement of the position of young people.

The Project of Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organizations (TACSO) has chosen a consortium consisting of Civic Initiatives, the House of Human Rights, the Center for the Development of the Non-Profit Sector and the Dokukino Foundation for New Communications to be its Resource Center in Serbia.

The partnership between the Resource Center and TACSO is designed to strengthen the capacity of Resource Centers to take over TACSO’s key functions in strengthening civil society. This refers to internal capacity building activities, creating partnerships and networking, public advocacy, visibility raising actions, as well as technical help desk assistance. The common goal is to provide support to the entire civil society in Serbia in order to strengthen it and create a stimulating environment for its functioning.

The partnership between TACSO and the Civil Initiatives consortium raises the provision of technical assistance to civil society organizations to a new level. This cooperation will ensure the sustainability of the TACSO project, activities and services even after its completion in 2017.

Technical assistance to civil society organizations (TACSO) has been supported by the EU since 2009 under the CSF mechanism, in order to strengthen the capacities of civil society and additionally stimulate the creation of an enabling environment for the development of civil society and culture in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

TACSO operates through one regional office in cooperation with national offices in seven countries, which permanently employ 22 professionals. TACSO brings the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey closer to each other and the EU, by organizing activities at the regional level. In addition, TACSO responds to the specific needs of civil society organizations by providing technical assistance, providing support for capacity building and facilitating dialogue among key civil society actors.

During the years of declining media freedom in Serbia, attacks and pressures on journalists were not adequately investigated, or were completely ignored by the authorities, resulting in a lack of accountability that only further encourages attacks on independent media and journalists. Condemnation of civil servants and the public for attacks on journalists is often absent; moreover, it is often the highest-level officials or persons close to the authorities who verbally attack journalists. The impunity with which media freedom is dismantled in Serbia has had dire consequences for the public, especially during the public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The goal of this project is therefore to provide adequate legal and public protection to those journalists so that they can continue to inform the public about all important information for citizens, and especially about government activities in times of crisis. The project refers to the provision of legal aid and legal representation, supported by a strong public advocacy component in support of persecuted journalists and media.

The project lasted from October 2020 to June 2021.

This project is supported by the Human Rights Support Mechanism – Freedom House.