EU TACSO 3 is pleased to announce the electronic publication “Mapping and Needs Assessment of the Regional Networks and Regional Projects Funded within Civil Society Facility in the Western Balkans and Turkey (WBT)”. During last year, thorough research was conducted resulting in this 132-page publication that provides a comprehensive picture of the state of play, capacities and needs assessment of civil society networks operating in WBT region.

EU TACSO 3 organised the third coordination meeting with National Resource Centers (NRCs) on 28 April. The meeting was aiming to continue the overall coordination, to inform and exchange on specific aspects of EU TACSO 3 mandate and build on the national level coordination on the capacity development and exchange, EU Civil Society Guidelines promotion, monitoring and visibility. Representatives of all 7 NRCs, EUDs and project team, as well as the DG NEAR attended the meeting. A detailed overview of EU TACSO 3 activities as of July 2020 was presented. It was noted that capacity building and hands-on trainings were specifically requested by civil society, and EU TACSO 3 has met this demand to the extent possible.

EU TACSO 3 organised Regional Training and a P2P exchange event on the topic of Quality Standards and Good Governance Principles for Regional CSO Networks between 26 and 28 May. The training introduced participants to the existing standards for the CSOs and networks, focusing on the Global Standard on CSO accountability as an international self-regulation initiative for civil society. The training offered practical skills in conducting self-assessment for CSOs and networks.

More than 40 representatives of CSOs and public institutions, mainly members of the Councils for cooperation in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia, as well as CSOs working on the topic and relevant public institution representatives from Serbia and Turkey attended the  People to People (P2P) exchange event held on 17 and 18 June. The event aimed to discuss the needs and benefits of cooperation of CSOs with public authorities.

On 9 and 10 June, EU TACSO 3 and Trag Foundation from Serbia organised a P2P event under title ”One Year Later – Grassroot Organisations Taking the Lead in Solidarity Response to the COVID-19 pandemic“. This two-day event provided an opportunity for more than 70 representatives from local grass-root CSOs  from the WBT region to learn from their peers on main challenges faced during the COVID-19 and jointly explore the solutions that local communities employed to deal with challenges, practical developments, and civil society responses to them.

Regional online Training on Storytelling and Efficient Communication, primarily dedicated to the PR, visibility and communication officers from CSOs from the Western Balkans and Turkey, was organised by EU TACSO 3 on 31 May, 1 and 2 June. The objective of the training was to increase the capacities of CSOs in basic communication skills and to enable them to prepare attractive stories delivered through different channels to a general audience and specific target groups.

The “Srdjan Aleksic” award, supported by EU TACSO 3, is given to journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina who professionally and continuously report on various marginalized and vulnerable groups in our society and who contribute to the development of socially responsible journalism. The event was supported under the P2P On-demand programme. In category I, in which journalists are nominated by civil society organizations, the first prize went to Minela Jashar Opardija from H1 television. According to the explanation of the jury, Minela Jašar Opardija, who was nominated by the Cure Foundation, approached the topics excellently, tried to listen to the stakeholders and tell stories in a very high-quality way.

On 7 and 8 April, the Conference titled: “United Toward Essential Post-Penal Reintegration”, organised by the Network of Organisations in Post-Penal Support in Serbia (NOPSS) was supported by EU TACSO 3 project under its P2P On-demand Programme. The aim of the conference was to open regional dialogue about strengthening post-penal support and protecting the human rights of previously incarcerated persons, develop models of innovative approaches of cooperation between CSOs and governmental institutions and develop a network of regional CSOs and other stakeholders working in the area of post-penal support.

On 3 June 2021, under its P2P On-Demand programme, EU TACSO 3 supported an online event on “Gender and European integrations: Approaches and Practices from Kosovo and Serbia”. More than 50 participants gathered to learn about the current situation of Gender and European Integrations in the Western Balkans with a specific focus on women’s movements from Kosovo and Serbia who continue to advocate for gender inclusion in the European Integration related policies. The activity was implemented by Centre for Research and Gender Policy from Kosovo (CRPG) and its partner organization Centre for Girls (Centar za Devojke) from Serbia.

The arts association ‘Naš most’ in Zenica from Bosnia and Herzegovina, through art and culture, promotes the social inclusion of elderly and other vulnerable groups, and is one of the few places in the city where they meet, socialise and have fun. The art group was founded six years ago by a group of retired individuals, consisting mostly of self-taught painters who have only recently begun to make art. Through painting workshops and creative craft lessons, they engage elderly persons, who have never been exposed to art, develop new interests and meet new friends in an effort to nurture their mental wellbeing.