bos@bos.rs 381 60 68 07 020

The Belgrade Open School (BOS) with the support of the Kingdom of Sweden is implementing the project "Advancing Media and Youth CSOs for Prosperous Democratic Development of Serbia - MAY4DD" which aims to encourage partnerships between the media and youth organizations to democratize society and respect the rule of law and human rights on a local level. The project was launched in June 2021 and will last until May 31, 2025. 

Unstable democracy in the Republic of Serbia directly affects the lack of transparency, independence and pluralism of the media, investigative journalism, civic activism and the commitment of young people to solving social and political issues.

The project supported 8 youth CSOs and 8 media, which jointly implement their 8 partnership projects and initiatives.  

Through financial and mentoring support, as well as the capacity building program of 16 partners annually, BOS will strive to strengthen the media, youth sector and youth and actively contribute to the democratic values of the rule of law and human rights, especially in their local communities. 

The focus groups of this project face a number of challenges, and while local media lack new fact-checking tools and evidence-based investigative journalism that could prevent fake news and improve media literacy, young people face very little involvement in decision-making processes and reduced youth activism. 

In addition, the content placed in the media is not adapted to young people, which we will try to bridge with this program through continuous work with youth associations and a focus on partnership projects and initiatives. 

The overall goal of the Program is to contribute to the strengthening democratic practices, rule of law and human rights standards and values in Serbia, grounded in independent media reporting and youth CSOs’ activism. 

The specific objectives of the Program are: 

  1. To facilitate sustainable partnerships between media and youth CSOs in addressing issues of democratization, human rights and rule of law in local context; 

  1. To improve young citizens’ engagement in community mobilization for pursuing necessary democratic changes; 

  1. To advance quality and standards of investigative reporting, media information literacy and fighting against fake news in Serbia. 

The project "Advancing Media and Youth CSOs for Prosperous Democratic Development of Serbia" will consist of the following units: 

Program activity 1: Financial Support to Media and Youth CSOs 

Financial and mentoring support will be provided for a total of 8 projects annually in four cycles, and each project will be developed and implemented by one youth CSO and one media organization, so that there will be at least 16 program beneficiaries each year. 

Program activity 2: Capacity Building Hub 

In order to improve the capacities of selected CSOs and media and ensure the sustainability of the project, this activity will be implemented in several methodologically different but complementary sub-activities. The capacity building and networking program will be organized at three levels. The first level includes group trainings in accordance with the needs of all program partners. The second level of training includes workshops tailored to the specific needs of youth CSOs and the media, while the third level will provide space for individual training that will allow partners to focus on the development of the organization, as well as its short-term and long-term goals. 

Program activity 3: Youth Investigative Journalism 2.0 

The Academy of Investigative Journalism will be organized in the form of a three-month educational program with the aim of providing young journalists with various trainings, mentoring support and networking with experienced journalists. The Academy will provide young investigative journalists with the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to be able to create media products independently, but with the mentorship of experienced colleagues and financial support.  

This four-year program represents a synergy between the media, youth organizations and young people working on the same mission of further democratization of Serbian society. The partnership between the media and youth CSOs will be based on common values and ideas, as well as project proposals that they will submit in partnership, while maintaining a special corpus of activities. 

You can find more about the project on the website mingl.rs.

In order to develop a dialogue between the civil and public sectors, the Belgrade Open School will implement the project "Dialogue of Change: Nurturing Participative and Evidence-Based Policy Dialogue in Reform Processes in Serbia" in the period from 2021 to 2023. The project will be implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Societal Dialogue, the Republic Secretariat for Public Policies, the EU Public Policy Center of the University of Belgrade, the Olof Palme Center, and the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. 

Data from the European Commission's report for Serbia for 2019 indicate that no progress has been made in establishing a favorable environment for the development and financing of civil society and that further efforts are needed to ensure systematic cooperation between the government and civil society.

Project objectives:
The overall objective of the grant support is to enable constructive and meaningful policy dialogue based on evidence from practice.

Specific objectives:

  • To support local CSOs involvement in decision making and policy development;
  • To strengthen capacities of CSOs for active and meaningful participation in policy development; 
  • To improve communication on policy dialogue between CSOs and public authorities.

Main activities:

  • Financial support for projects of civil society organizations aimed at dialogue, problem-solving and positive changes in specific public policies;
  • Financial support for research aimed at solving specific problems in the community;
  • Exchange of knowledge and experience related to multi-sectoral dialogue on solving specific problems in the community;
  • Capacity building for CSOs for effective involvement in decision-making processes and policymaking;
  • Promoting examples of good practice in a dialogue between CSOs and public authorities leading to the reform process.

Expected results: 

  • At least 100 CSOs will improve their technical capacities in concrete sectors thanks to the mentoring support, cooperation with individuals producing researches in specific policy areas, and additional support in acquiring specific knowledge and its usage in decision making process;
  • At least 40 CSOs will receive financial and mentoring support to implement projects directed towards institutional changes in specific policy areas.
  • At least 30 individuals (professors, researches, post-graduate students) will receive financial support to conduct research aimed at empowering CSOs to influence community reform processes;
  • Public officials and decision makers in at least 60 local municipalities will have access to evidence, data and information from the researches produced and will acquire specific knowledge on policy development thanks to public policy capacity building programme;
  • At least 5 line ministries of the Government of Serbia will expand their capacities and opportunities for networking, dialogue and cooperation with different stakeholders throughout policy dialogue;
  • The University of Belgrade (faculties, institutes, academics, researchers etc.) will acquire mentoring support and improve their managerial skills in transferring evidence and data gathered in policy research into compelling policy instruments and communication tools needed to facilitate process of achieving positive sectoral changes in reform process;
  • Media reporting on reform processes will improve their capacities to access and process evidence and data from different policy areas into easily understood information that can be communicated to wider interested but non-informed audiences.

 

The Dialogue for Change project will respond to existing challenges in the cooperation between civil society organizations and public authorities in the decision-making and policy-making process to address specific community problems. The project will enhance existing and develop new approaches in the dialogue between different stakeholders. The results of the conducted research will be used for capacity building of civil society organizations to be involved and influence the reform processes in Serbia. The project will also contribute to increasing the visibility, understanding, and overall recognition of dialogue as a key tool for decision-making and solving problems of public concern.

The project is supported by the EU Delegation to Serbia and will be implemented in the period from 2021 to 2023.

 

The Belgrade Open School in partnership with the Foundation BFPE For a Responsible Society and the Balkan Research Network (BIRN) of Serbia, is implementing a four-year project named „Active Citizens - Better Society: Advocating for Cooperation and Democratic Development“ with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Serbia.

The project targets the key aforementioned obstacles to CSOs influence to policy change and democratic community development in Serbia.

Project has following objectives:

Overall objective:

  • To contribute to strengthening democratic societies in Serbia grounded in participatory political culture and credible democratic processes.

Specific objectives:

  • To advance CSO advocacy practices in Serbia;
  • To increase citizen support for CSO activities and improve policy and decision-making processes through participatory policy making;
  • To enhance understanding of CSO advocacy role among citizens and relevant stakeholders.

This project: a) improves capacities of CSOs to strategically implement advocacy initiatives and to improve their communication skills and overall outreach of their activities, b) Implement in practice advocacy actions following “learning by doing” principle rooted in new advocacy approaches, citizens engagement, secured constituent feedback incorporated in learning process and adapting advocacy planning. Project provides innovative environment for continuous mentorship and assistance in key aspects of advocacy process. Finally, the project contributes to the improvement of enabling environment for COSs participation in policy development and public decision-making.

Belgrade Open School (BOS) is, with the support of Sweden, implementing the project "Civil Society as a Force for a Change in the Serbia's EU Accession Process– CS4EU", which aims to support the more active participation of civil society organizations and the media in the process of accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union (EU). The project is being implemented from October 2016 to October 2019.

Within the CS4EU project, BOS is implementing the Civil Society and Media Support Program in the field of European Integration, which aims to contribute to Serbia’s European integration process and democratic development by strengthening the role of civil society and the media.

Civil society and the media are recognized as drivers of change and key actors of democratic development. Civil society organizations and media are actors who are able to bring the process of European integration closer to the citizens, explain the significance of the social change and contribute to the involvement of citizens in decision-making processes. The stability of democratic institutions, the rule of law and respect for human and minority rights are unimaginable without the active involvement of civil society in the creation of public policies or free media that inform citizens and encourage their critical thinking. Civil society and the media are recognized as drivers of change, key actors of democratic development and they are direct beneficiaries of this Program.

With this project, BOS aims to present Serbia's negotiations with the EU as a process concerning all citizens and to link it with the policy-making process. In this way, a framework for social change will be established, which will enable citizens to recognize the benefits of Serbia's accession to the EU. This project will provide support for the civil society organizations and the media in representing the interests of local communities in the EU accession process.

The overall objective of the Program is to contribute to European integration and democratic development in Serbia by strengthening the role of civil society and the media.

The specific objectives of the Support Program are:

  • Strengthening the role of civil society as representatives of the interests of local communities in the process of Serbia's accession to the European Union (EU);
  • Encouraging the democratic influence of civil society on public authorities, improving practices and the quality of public participation in the decision-making process;
  • Improving the quality of public debate and citizens' awareness of the European integration process.

The Civil Society and Media Support Program in the field of European Integration consists of the following components:

Program Activity #1: Support for projects and partner organizations of civil society and the media;

Program Activity #2: Capacity Building and Networking Program.

This Program provides support for the greater participation of civil society organizations and the media in policy making within the process of EU accession, as well as the long-term partnership of program partners. Program partners will be those civil society organizations and media whose projects are accepted and supported under this Program.

Support for projects, partner civil society organizations, and the media involves the allocation of financial resources for the realization of activities that contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Program and achievement of the expected results. This is being realized through:

  • Institutional support for the sustainability of civil society organizations that actively participate or have the potential to participate in the creation of public policies in the process of EU accession and media that improve the quality of information and encourage public debate on the process of European integration;
  • Project support for civil society organizations engaged in public advocacy for greater involvement of local communities in the European integration process and for media in strengthening media freedom, media independence and improving the quality of reporting on democratic development issues and the process of Serbia's accession to the European Union.

Capacity building and networking program include the following components:

  • Expert support for project implementation;
  • Capacity building program for civil society organizations and the media;
  • Study visits to EU institutions in Brussels;
  • Exchange experience program;
  • Networking workshop.

The project will include 45 civil society organizations and media from all over Serbia in the network of partners who will work for the next three years (2017-2019) in order to increase the role of civil society in representing the interests of local communities in the process of European integration, ensuring the democratic influence of civil society on public authorities, and improving the quality of public participation in the decision-making process and negotiations with the EU. Partners will, through their activities, strive to improve public debate and citizens' awareness of the European integration process.

The Program supported the implementation of 15 civil society organizations' and media projects during the first cycle of the three-year project, which lasted from April to September 2017. Partner organizations which implemented the projects sought to improve public debate and citizens' awareness on European integration process. The first cycle of the project directly contributed to the capacity building of 225 representatives and representatives of civil society organizations and media through four trainings, two study visits to the EU institutions in Brussels and an annual networking workshop. Also, the organizations that participated in the Program had the opportunity to apply for an Exchange of Experience and Expert Support, where 8 organizations went to visit civil society organizations from the region. The overall support within the CS4EU project has helped to sustain the work of civil society organizations and the media as well as to implementat planned activities in the areas of European integration, advocacy and improvement of participation in the decision-making process.

Organizations and media involved in the project will receive support for the realization of their activities which contribute to the European integration process, as well as support for strengthening the internal capacities of the organization in order to better achieve the goals they have set.

Through the aforementioned activities, civil society ensures that the voice of local communities is recognized in the negotiations on accession to the European Union. In this way, informed citizens stop being simply observers but become active participants in a comprehensive democratic reform of the community they are a part of. This project enhances the cooperation of public institutions, civil society, and the media and fosters partnerships in addressing the problems of local communities. This project builds the cooperation of civil society and public administration on the basis of knowledge, argumented debate, and respect for the principles of good governance.

At a given moment, the project is in the second year of implementation, where it has gathered 17 new projects from civil society organizations and the media that you can find out more about on the Transformer Internet Platform. The project is being implmented between October 2016 and October 2019.

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