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Serbia 2030: More information than ever, but more disinformation as well

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Novi Sad event consisted of two panels and was highly influenced by the Russian aggression against Ukraine which happened days before the conference. Journalists who spoke at the panel I used the way in which media reported about the war in Ukraine to depict overall role of the media in political processes in Serbia.

At panel I, there were three speakers – Dinko Gruhonjic, professor of journalism at the University of Novi Sad, Darko Sper, Chairman of the Trade Union of culture, art and media and Denis Kolundzija, journalist and winner of numerous awards in the field of civic oversight of the work of the government. They spoke about the role of the media in the country’s democratization process. They also gave their position about the control of the work of institutions, timely, objective and truthful information of citizens and the process of building inclusive institutions at all levels of government, and they also referred to the manner in which media in Serbia report on the war in Ukraine.

 Denis Kolundzija pointed out that when reporting on the conflict in Ukraine, conflicting messages are being sent to the public, and that even the European Union is being sent messages that, although we are trying to lead a balanced policy, our heart very clearly belongs to one of the sides. He emphasized that completely contradictory information is being distributed to citizens, with the explanation that Serbia will not choose sides in the conflict, and that the fact that the authorities are standing behind these information is particularly problematic. Kolundžija warned that meaningful, investigative and critical journalism remains extraordinary rare, and that in situations like this one it is very easy to manipulate citizens’ fears. He emphasized that it is not enough just to list information, often contradictory, because then citizens are only overwhelmed with data and information, while in fact they are very ill-informed. He stated that the role of media is also to process information, analyze data, follow-up on the stories and hold authorities and institutions accountable to citizens.

Darko Sper warned that there are not many serious and meaningful articles about the conflict in Ukraine, that every information is presented with disclaimers, that there is lot of unconfirmed and unverified information, fake news and propaganda and that there is very little awareness of how dangerous processes we are witnessing are. He emphasized that a month after the start of the war, the situation is increasingly dangerous and that any voices siding with Russia or expressing support to the war have to be condemned. Sper assessed that the situation now resembles the situation in Serbia in the 1990s. He warned that the entire media scene is tabloidized and that both the government and the opposition are happy to give statements, interviews and cooperate with tabloids, depending on whether they are pro-government or pro-opposition oriented. Speer noted that many political parties are trying to benefit from the situation in Ukraine and using it in the electoral campaign trying to show support for Russia. He said that currently one of the main problems is the lack of an organized editorial audience and that the fact that only 1% of information about European integration is in the media is of particular concern. He also warned that the situation in Ukraine could spill over into the Western Balkans first. Speaking about the role of the media in the electoral campaign, Speer stated that there is no culture of civic dialogue in Serbia, and that the fact that many journalists and analysts who pretended to be independent found themselves on electoral lists and campaigns of different parties also indicates how deep the crisis is. He said that there is no realistic, truthful and non-biast information for voters and citizens, and that they have nowhere to hear the views of political parties on key topics, such as the European Union, war crimes, facing the past, and so on.

Dinko Gruhonjic said that Serbia is Putin’s only ally in the Western Hemisphere. He said that the cruicial question, the one that depicts overall situation in media, is why the media do not warn the public about the dangers that are arising from this position of Serbia, just as they ignore the dangers that come from Greater Serbian nationalism, the consequences of which are currently felt most in Montenegro. Gruhonjić wondered why the media, even those that are considered to be liberal, analytical and civic-oriented, do not deal with these topics at all, even though they are crucial for our society. He stated that the root cause of the downfall of journalism in Serbia was in 2006 during the constitutional campaign, when the so-called independent media apparently joined the campaign to promote the referendum, despite numerous warnings that they have to stay independent and must not engage in political campaigns. 

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Serbia 2030: Serbia’s position towards the war in Ukraine will determine its future path

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Speakers at the Panel II were H.E. Oleksandar Aleksandrovich, Ambassador of Ukraine to Serbia, Bohdan Ferens, President of the SD Platform from Ukraine, who participated online directly from Ukraine, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Sonja Biserko, prof. dr. Milivoj Bešlin, historian, Aleksandar Popov, president of the Center for Regionalism and one of the founders of the Igman initiative and Balša Božović, Chair of the Executive Board of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development.  Activist and President of the SD Platform from Ukraine Bohdan Ferens joined directly from the field from Ukraine and emphasized that the situation in Ukraine is extremely difficult both in humanitarian and security terms, and that this war is not only war between Russia and Ukraine, but also a struggle between totalitarianism and the values ​​of freedom and human rights. He warned that the Russian side is trying to push part of the Ukrainians into Russia and that the citizens of Ukraine are very grateful for all the help that arrives in Ukraine, primarily from neighboring countries, such as Poland and Hungary, but also Germany, whose position was very delicate from the beginning of the conflict. Ferens emphasized that one of Russia’s basic weapons is propaganda, and that the fight against propaganda and the fight to hear the truth about the real state of affairs are extremely important.Balša Božović, Chair of the Executive Board of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development, said that solidarity and joint activism are important in such difficult times and that it is crucial to explain to citizens what is propaganda and what is the truth. H.E. Oleksandr Aleksandrovich said that Ukraine will never give up on its main goal, which is the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from the territory of Ukraine. He emphasized that every help is valuable, as well as the organized admission of refugees in Serbia, and expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the Government of Serbia organized this admission. He warned that Russia will use every opportunity to destabilize relations in the Western Balkans region and then offer help in solving the crises it deliberately caused itself. He said that the history of Russian-Serbian relations is similar to the history of Russian-Ukrainian relations, that the success of Russian attempts will depend on the power of the countries in the region and the ability to resist Russian influence. The ambassador said that sometimes the interests of the governments of countries in the region coincide with Russian interests and that the danger lies in that. He said that it was expected that before the attack on Ukraine, Russia would create small fires everywhere – in the Balkans, in Syria, Kazakhstan – to distract the attention of the international community. The ambassador said that he has been warning for years that violent groups that the government thinks it controls can very easily get out of control and start receiving orders from various structures from other countries. He expressed his belief that Ukraine will prevail.

Historian Prof. Dr. Milivoj Beslin gave the historical context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and stated that Ukraine did not pose any danger to Russia and drew a parallel with the attack on Czechoslovakia in 1968. He interpreted Russia’s attack on Ukraine as an attack on the idea that democracy and liberalism are possible in a large Orthodox Slavic country. He assessed that Ukraine proved with both Maidan events that it can democratize and build a civil and plural society, that it can have free elections and media, and that the only danger Kremlin could see laid in that fact. He assessed that the ideological basis of the attack on Ukraine were two speeches – one by Vladimir Putin, in which he said that Ukraine does not exist as a nation and state, and the other by Sergey Lavrov, when he said that artificial creations should not exist. Beslin drew a parallel with the ideology of Greater Serbian nationalism and recognized similarities in the attitude towards neighboring states whose existence Serbian nationalism also calls into question.

The director of the Center for Regionalism, Aleksandar Popov, assessed that we are witnessing Russia’s long-term malignant influence in this area and continuous attempts to destabilize the situation in the region, citing Montenegro as currently the biggest victim of that pernicious Russian influence. He said that more than a quarter of a century was missed to make Bosnia and Herzegovina a functional state and a service for citizens, and that the fact that there was a need to strengthen EULEX’s forces is worrying. When it comes to Kosovo, Popov warned about the events of a few days ago and the crisis that arose around the organization of elections in Kosovo and said that it is a dangerous game in which all actors have their own interests, and that the definitive victims will be the Serbs in Kosovo. Popov said that in the western part of the region there is unequivocal support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but that, as we move eastward, the situation is becoming more and more worrying. Speaking about Serbia, Popov said that attempts to “sit on two chairs” can be extremely dangerous. He estimated that many things in the region will change depending on the position of Serbia. He assessed that the Open Balkans and the “Serbian world” do not go together and that precisely those contradictory messages coming from Serbia prevent the stabilization of the region.

The president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Sonja Biserko said that the preparation of the aggression against Ukraine began with Putin’s coming to power, that it was not a decision that was made at the moment, and that Putin had been announcing and hinting for years that exactly this would happen. She drew parallels between the “Russian world” and the “Serbian world” and warned that the “Russian world” has turned from a project to protect the Russian people and the Russian language into an attempt by Russia to expand its influence and territory. She agreed that there was no reason to suggest that Ukraine could pose any threat to Russia and that the only surprise for Putin was that Ukraine showed incredible strength and courage to stand up to such a military power as Russia. She warned that Putin has managed to corrupt many leaders in the West and to finance left and right movements in various Western democracies. The fact that the West will not intervene and only helps despite Russia threatening nuclear weapons, and that this reaction largely depends on whether Russia will try to implement other activities in other areas, primarily in the Western Balkans region. Biserko assessed that Serbia is facing a whole series of questions and that it is in a situation where it will soon have to make a decision. She said that in Serbia it was Russia that launched an anti-NATO campaign through its media and that it succeeded in establishing a presence in all areas of public life and political processes. She concluded that a big mistake was made in Montenegro when the riots were not immediately recognized as a danger and an attempt at destabilization organized by Moscow and the Russian services.

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Serrbia 2030: Parliamentary representation of Albanian national minority must not be denied

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Round table in Presevo turned out to be dedicated to the most relevant topic in the local community at the moment, since they were held in the eve of the repeated elections for National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. Election results were contested four times in the attempts to prevent Albanian national minority from parliamentary representation and this is why the panel there was of extreme importance for the local community.  Topics discussed were, among others, inter-ethnic relations, efforts to make Serbia a truly civil society, coexistence and tolerance, human rights, rights of national minorities, equality, reconciliation, overcoming differences and various local initiatives that aim to achieve those goals, as well as their results and scope. The participants of the round table were activists, journalists, members of parliament, representatives of local youth civil society organizations who have been working for years to build better inter-ethnic relations in this part of Serbia.

The Chair of the Executive Committee of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development, Balša Božović, strongly condemned the attempts to illegally annul and change the results of the last parliamentary elections and to deny the Albanian national community the right to parliamentary representation. He warned that no one has the right to deny the right of citizens of Serbia who belong to Albanian national minority to have their own representatives in the Parliament of Serbia, and that attempts to change and negate their electoral will send them the message that they are not an equal part of our society. He called on all pro-European parties in Serbia to stand up for the protection and defense of the election result, thanks to which the list of the Party for Democratic Action won one mandate in the elections, and to strongly oppose attempts to strip Albanian minority from that seat by force and contrary to the law. Božović assessed that without that, without the complete integration of all national communities in Serbian society, there is no possibility for Serbia to become a democratic country and that this is an issue that goes beyond the electoral success of any party. He concluded that respecting the electoral will of the Albanian national community is a way to build trust, and that it is key to establishing good inter-ethnic relations. Long-term Member of Parliament and President of the Party for Democratic Action, Šaip Kamberi, said that the year 2022 is crucial for the image of Serbia in 2030, and that this image netirely depends on how Serbia will determine itself according to some of the most significant issues and challenges it faces. He said that among them are the question of the solution of the status of Kosovo, which is crucial not only for the situation in Serbia in the coming years, but also for the stability of the entire Western Balkans. He warned that the citizens of the Preševo ​​Valley are hostages of what is happening in the relations between Serbia and Kosovo and that in order to reach a permanent and sustainable solution, the cooperation of all the countries of the Western Balkans is necessary. In this regard, Kamberi stressed the importance of the Open Balkans initiative and emphasized that some of the ideas coming from the central government, such as the one about the “Serbian world”, are directly opposed to everything that cooperation in the Balkans entails and that they go hand in hand with the glorification of war crimes and war criminals and politics from the 1990s. Commenting on numerous obstructions and sabotages in connection with the last national elections for deputies and attempts to challenge the election results of the Albanian community and prevent parliamentary representation, Kamberi assessed that the Albanian community in Serbia is at a crossroads and that even those political forces that have always, since the 1990s, advocated for participation in the elections, are brought into a situation where they have to reconsider the expediency of their views on participation in the elections and political processes in Serbia and make a new decision about whether it is worth participating in the elections or resorting to other methods with the full risk that they may have destabilizing effects.

 

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Regional Agenda 2030

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More than 400 concrete recommendations for policymakers

More than 400 recommendations for policymakers

The Regional Agenda 2030 is a project that aims to develop joint regional policies, offer solutions to shared projects, and later on implement projects in order to realise these policies through the network established during the development of the policies. The project is led by the ADD and is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Belgrade, the Olof Palme International Center and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

The Strategic Document we are sending you is being presented to European and regional political public, European Parliament, Eureopan Commission, embassies in the region, international experts and policy-makers and is a product of comprehensive work which was done through several separate events and conferences held between November 2020 and June 2021. The list of contributors includes decision-makers, officials, members of parliaments, ministers, activists, experts and CSOs from the region. The entire list of participants and contributors to the Regional Agenda 2030 final document is included in the document itself and ADD thanks all those who contributed.

The Strategic Document before you, offers more than 400 concrete recommendations in six different policy areas and all of them are a product of thorough analysis, detailed debate and careful deliberation. All of those recommendations represent the Regional Agenda 2030 – a set of recommendations and tasks that need to be conducted by the governments of the region in order for those countries to become truly democratic, modern and humane societies which are governed by the principles of democracy, rule of law, independence of institutions, respect of human rights, equality, liberty, progress and reconciliation in the region.

Policy areas in which the Regional Agenda 2020-2030 offers solutions are:

  • Active Citizenship, Participatory Democracy and Accountability
  • Equality and Human Rights, Freedom of Media
  • EU Integration, Foreign Policy and Security
  • Rule of Law and Independence of Institutions
  • Economic Cooperation, Environment and Sustainable Development
  • Sustainable Peacebuilding and Interethnic Dialogue
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In the light of the events that took place during the production of the paper (2020/2021), and especially concerned about the dangerous consequences and repercussions of the non-paper presented to the European and regional public by Slovenian Prime minister Janez Jansa, ADD sees following as the key recommendations and a backbone of the process of democratization of the region as a whole and of the countries in it:

  • Any change of the borders between the countries of the region, especially along the ethnic lines as proposed by Slovenian Prime minister, further destabilize peace in the region and endanger good neighbourly relations. All attempts, initiatives, ideas and notions of new ethnic divisions need to be rejected and condemned by all political actors. Ideas of greater ethnically homogenous nationalistic states and ethnoterritorialism promoted by corrupt and conservative political elites have to remain in the last century where they belong and should be replaced by a shared vision of the countries as developed, modern, democratic and humane societies working together towards the same goals, rule of law, democracy, respect of human rights and freedoms and sharing a common future for their citizens.
  • In this sense, attempts and initiatives for creation of new projects which foresee greater national states, such as projects for creation of greater Serbia (“Serbian World”), greater Albania or greater Croatia which are becoming ever more vivid in public discourse, are especially dangerous, since they violate integrity and sovereignty of neighboring states, infringe human rights of their citizens and actively negate mere existence of nations and countries in the region and, by doing that, they are continuing the darkest traditions and aspirations for creation of greater states, permanently destabilize entire region, putting pressure on neighboring countries and directly interfere in their internal matters.
  • Regional transformation from stabilocracies to democracies is essential for economic, political, financial, democratic, cultural and any other development. In the process of promoting the EU rule of law, it is necessary to include additional actors – both expert and non-political – who will complement the EU’s efforts by convincing national elites of the need to internalise EU values.
  • There can be no substitute to the full EU membership of all the countries of the region. No regional imitative cooperation, be it political, economic, cultural, financial, institutional, fiscal, infrastructural or any other form or forum of cooperation, can serve as a replacement for the accession of all the countries of the region to the EU. A credible and tangible perspective of membership is therefore needed, and the process needs to be transformed and adjusted to the new circumstances both in the region and in the EU.
  • The first group of countries needs to be fully prepared for EU memberships in 2025, the second in 2028 and the third in 2030. The role and support of the countries of the region that already are NATO and EU member states, Slovenia and Croatia, is essential in this endeavour, both formally and informally.
  • All the countries of the Western Balkans need to fully harmonize their foreign and security policy with NATO and EU in order to strengthen mechanisms which would enable them to fight destructive and harmful influences coming from Russia and China. Countries which are part of the Partnership for Peace, and are not members of NATO, should apply for membership in NATO.
  • Authority of certain EU Institutions, such as European Public Prosecutor’s Office in charge of investigating corruption and misuse of EU funds, needs to be expandedto the countries of the Western Balkans even before formal acceptance in the EU membership.
  • EU and USA should coordinate and introduce targeted sanctions for individuals and organisations involved in undermining democracy, the rule of law and democratic institutions in the region, as well as for those violating human rights, spreading ethnic hatred, promoting war criminals, negating war crimes and disrespecting the decisions and rulings of courts and international tribunals for the war crimes. Sanctions need to be applied to the individuals and media that are spreading hatred, involved in war-mongering activities and leading orchestrated campaigns against officials and citizens of other countries.
  • Justice needs to be achieved for all the victims and their families. All war crimes need to be prosecuted. Prosecutors’ offices for war crimes of the countries of the region need to coordinate their work, exchange experience, knowledge, materials and information and to work together towards bringing justice to all the victims.
  • All the parliaments of the region need to adopt resolutions that condemn war crimes and pay respect to all the victims. Any negation, relativisation and promotion of war crimes needs to be sanctioned and criminalised.
  • Sentenced war criminals need to be banned from practising politics, being politically active, speaking publicly. promoting war crimes and holding offices.
  • All needed mechanisms which will enable citizens’ participation in the work of institutions, political processes, control over the work of the government, control over spending the public funding, holding politicians accountable need to be established, and the role of the political parties in political processes must not overpass legal framework.
  • In order to establish truly democratic model of good governance, emphasize needs to be put on the fight against populism and empowerment of the institutions which are systematically being diminished by populism.
  • Electoral systems in the region must not incite and strengthen autoritarism and ethnic divisions, further deepen ethnic divisions and motivate politicians to mobilize voters exclusively on ethnic basis by using chauvinist and nationalistic discourse, hatred speech and by promoting war crimes and war criminals.
  • Background of all politically motivated assassinations and murders needs to be discovered, perpetuators and organizes found out and sanctioned. All cases of attacks on journalists need to be solved and all responsible need to be subjected to legal procedures. All those responsible for assassination of Kosovo opposition leader Oliver Ivanovic need to be identified and sanctioned. Political background of assassination of Prime minister of Serbia Dr. Zoran Djindjic needs to be investigated and discovered.
  • Comprehensive and binding agreement between Belgrade and Pristina needs to be reached and signed by the end of 2022 and it needs to be a product of comprehensive institutional and inclusive dialogue.
  • Countries of the region need to be secular states in which religious communities have their role which is determined by the law and constitution and do not actively participate in the political activities, party politics, electoral and other processes. životu, stranačkoj politici i izbornim i drugim političkim procesima.
  • Countries of the region need to become fully integrated part of the European Green Agenda and implement all modern standards for protection of environment. This not only includes implementation of all the provisions and obligations from the Paris Agreement, but it also means joining the “4 for 1000” initiative which foresees completely new approach to the absorption of excess CO2 from the atmosphere and which brings together some of the most developed countries of the world.
  • Investments coming from the EU need to be significantly higher and Investment plan upgraded to enable creation of sustainable, quality and better paid jobs which require qualified labour force. Strengthening the economic system and rule of law will result in diminishing the brain-drain and workers leaving the region. Cooperation between the countries of the region in this sense is crucial, and joint infrastructural projects which will increase free movement of goods, labour and capital are necessary.
  • There needs to be political and societal consensus and support for regional cooperation in the hearts and minds of the people. Leaders and officials of the countries need to be devoted to regional cooperation and refrain from inciting conflicts, using old and opened wounds to gain political points and fostering a system in which exploiting ethnic and other differences are the easiest way to mobilise voters and gain popularity. CSOs in the region need to contribute to this process and peace-building.

READ THE REGIONAL AGENDA 2020-2030 HERE!!!

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Academy for Democratic Development:Alternative and response to non-paper: a shared vision of the future

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The Regional Academy for Democratic Development, founded by leaders, MPs, ministers, officials and civil society activists from Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo, held a conference on 21, 22 and 23 May in Herceg-Novi in ​​Montenegro, during which it responded to a non-paper that appeared in public and further disturbed the region by redrawing the borders in the Balkans using the long-outdated concept of creating states according to the ethnic principle that had

Members of the Academy for Democratic Development are convinced that the answer to the question of what state does for its citizens is much more important than the answer to the question of how big the state is and that the only alternative to changing borders according to ethnic principles can be offering joint long-term policies that will democratize and modernize all of the states pf the region and make them truly and indivisible parts of the Europe. During the meeting, they worked on developing common answers to the numerous problems faced by citizens in this part of Europe who see the only alternative in leaving the region.

ADD emphasized that an alternative to drawing borders according to the ethnic lines and provoking further conflicts, which is the concept offered by outdated traditional political elites in the Balkans, must be a clear vision of development based on democracy, the rule of law, respect for human freedoms, a dignified life, equality, peace, stable institutions and respect of the European values. This requires not only a change of policies, but also the overall concept of understanding politics, government and acceptance of the ethics of responsibility by elected representatives of citizens in this area. This means that today there is a gap between the traditional political elites in our countries and the citizens and their needs and interests.

Some of the participants of the Conference and founders of the Academy for Democratic Development are: Minister of Justice in the Government of North Macedonia Bojan Maricik, Deputy Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council Tanja Miscevic, Member of the BiH Parliament Sasa Magazinovic, member of the Croatian Parliament Bojan Glavasevic, former Minister of European Affairs in the Government of Montenegro Aleksandar Andrija Pejović, former Deputy Prime Minister of Albania Senida Messi, former Members of the Serbian Parliament Balša Božović and Dr. Aleksandra Jerkov, State Secretary for European Integration in the Government of North Macedonia Kalinka Gaber, Vice President of SD Women Slovenia Mija Javornik, Vice President of the Council for Inclusive Governance of Shpetim Gashi, from Kosovo, representatives of the civil sector as well as partner NGOs from all countries in the region

The conference took place within the project “Regional Agenda 2020-2030”, which is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Serbia and Montenegro, Olof Palme International Center and the Fried

Regional agenda 1

Regional solutions to the problems of the citizens

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Regional solutions to the problems of the citizens

A meeting of the Regional Academy for the Democratic Development took place in Belgrade from March 5 to 7. Members of the Parliaments, ministers, officials, and activists from the region discussed possibilities for cooperation in the region and finding common solutions to the problems facing all Western Balkan countries.

Participants from Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, and Kosovo agreed that citizens’ problems know no state borders and that air pollution, poverty, young people leaving the region, pandemics, lack of democracy, poor education system and weak institutions recognize no boundaries, and that solutions to these problems cannot be partial. They concluded that it is high time for the countries of the region to realize that they are allies in the important job ahead of them, and not opponents who set obstacles for each other and competing against each other.

At the beginning of the meeting, the participants were addressed by the Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia H.E. Urs Schmidt, the director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Belgrade Max Brandle, and the director of the Western Balkans program at the Olof Palme Center Jonas Anderson.

Several founders of the Academy for the Development of Democracy, MP from Bosnia and Herzegovina Sasa Magazinovic, MP from Croatia Bojan Glavasevic, State Secretary for European Affairs of Northern Macedonia Kalinka Gaber, and former member of the Serbian Parliament Aleksandra Jerkov spoke at the press conference.

After defining topics that are common to all countries in the region, the Academy for the Democratic Development of will in the coming period develop policies in these areas and work to make the solutions they offer an integral part of national policies.

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The first meeting of the regional leaders Regional Agenda 2020-2030 New solutions to new challenges

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The first meeting of the regional leaders
Regional Agenda 2020-2030
New solutions to new challenges

The first meeting of the regional leaders
Regional Agenda 2020-2030
New solutions to new challenges

Over the past decades, it has become evident that none of the problems and challenges that prevent the countries of the Southeast European region from becoming truly democratic societies can be addressed separately in the individual countries that make up this region.

In order for any of these problems to be permanently resolved, each one of them should be approached from a regional perspective, and the solutions must be modern, bold, innovative and reached through a comprehensive and open dialogue that will not avoid unpleasant and difficult topics and open problems. Precisely because of this, all policies adopted, developed and implemented in the region must be the product of honest, open debate which will be free from prejudice and have to be developed through the mutual agreement of stakeholders in all of the countries.

The Regional Academy for the Development of Democracy is launching just one such initiative. Our goal is to develop and implement a common agenda for the third decade of the 21st century, to offer solutions to the most important problems that prevent the modernization and democratization of the region and its individual countries and to create a network of young leaders and civil society organizations and policies which will be actively implemented through various activities.

The project is supported by the Swiss Embassy in Serbia, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Olof Palme Center.

The first meeting of the network that will implement projects for the future of the entire region will be held from March 5 to 7 in Belgrade. Young leaders from the region, MPs, ministers and senior officials and representatives of the NGO sector will establish cooperation and agree on the most important topics for which they will jointly create and implement policies in the future, as well as on the principles on which we will base future solutions.

The creation of the new network represents a long-term cooperation between politicians and civil society organizations in the region. During the course of three days, we will lay the foundations for our future cooperation and create a joint plan for the region.

After our first meeting, our cooperation will continue in the future, when, after developing policies at the Academy, we will work with the NGO sector, through joint initiatives, projects and activities, to implement a new agenda for the new decade of the 21st century.

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Project: Regional agenda 2020-2030

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Project: Regional agenda 2020-2030

Objective

of the project is to develop and implement regional agenda for the third decade of 21st century in order to find solutions to the most prominent problems which present obstacles to modernization of the region as a whole and of separate countries of the region, such as: massive brain-drain and young people leaving the region, solidarity and mutual support of the countries of the region in the EU accession process, social equality, gender equality and the social dialogue, cooperation in the context of the Berlin process and challenges which come with it, reconciliation and conflict-solving process, education, etc.

The project will consist of a research, two meetings (“Setting up the agenda” being the title of first meeting and “Policy Lab” being the title of the second meeting), and follow-up activities.

Outcome

of the project will be developed policies for the entire region in seven areas which are of the highest importance to all of the countries of the region. The policies will be written in the way so that they can be incorporated into national policy-agenda. They will consist a clear roadmap and recommendations for the countries, including the list of needed amendments of the legislation, recommendations for the state institutions and authorities, necessary steps to be taken in each of the areas, public policies and recommendations for establishing the dialogue between the institutions, trade unions, CSOs, youth organizations, employers, universities and other stakeholders. Participants in the project and policy-developers are prominent politicians and decision-makers in their own countries and will be able to advocate for the implementation of those policies and solutions. The project will not be over when the policies are developed, agreed on and adopted by entire group – the results will go beyond it and the follow-up activities of the members of the group are equally important. This is why the fact that the group will remain active through the other activities of ADD is of outmost importance for the evaluation of the project and follow-up activities. 

Policies that are developed during the project will become laws, practices, notions, protocols and official state policies of the countries of the region.

1. Research

Prior to the first meeting, a comprehensive research was conducted, defining the main issues, topics and problems in the countries of the region. The research is going to be based on the work with the focus groups, desk research, different types of the analysis of the public polls and available and collected data all over the region. The findings of the research will be distributed to the participants prior to the first meeting and presented by the researcher to the participants. The researcher will also provide the participants with all necessary data, information or anything else they might need in order to write policies between the two meetings.

Download the results

2. "Setting up the agenda" Meeting

First meeting, called “Setting up the Agenda”, was held online on December 6th. Building upon the research about the main problems that all of the countries of the region share, topics in which common policies are going to be developed are going to be defined, discussed and selected. The discussion among the participants (seven decision-makers and seven representatives of NGOs – two from each of the countries of the region) who will carefully analyze the research, select areas in which they are going to develop policies and distribute among themselves who will be in charge of each of the selected topics is crucial for the quality and eventual implementation of developed policies. The results of this meeting are going to be guidelines for future development of the policies in selected areas. During the course of three days, participants are going to be active and present in the media and entire conference will have media coverage, as well as online streaming.

Between the two meetings, the participants are going to write policy paper drafts, in accordance with discussions, conclusions, guidelines and agreed principles during the first meeting.

3. "The Policy Lab" Meeting

Second meeting, called “The Policy Lab” is going to be held in the end of January (or beginning of February). During the course of the three-days long meeting, draft policies are going to be discussed, amended, adjusted and fine-tuned according to the discussions and suggestions made by the participants, guests and experts. Again, public will be included in all of the events. Following the meeting, final policy documents will be adopted, and if there is possibility, they will be printed and distributed to the state institutions, embassies, political parties, experts, NGOs and stakeholders. The developed policies are going to contain analysis of the current situation in the area, proposals for amendments of laws and other legal documents, recommendations for the state institutions, authorities, officials and other players for policy development, guidelines and roadmap to achieving the solutions to the problem, recommendation on the dialogue between authorities and stakeholders, etc.

Between the two meetings, the participants are going to write policy paper drafts, in accordance with discussions, conclusions, guidelines and agreed principles during the first meeting.

Main goal of the project

Developing common regional policies for crucial areas defined by politicians and NGO experts at the kick-off meeting that will lead to the improved situation in the selected areas, amendment of the selected legislation, improved behavior of the institutions and authorities, enhanced dialogue between institutions and stakeholders and improvement and democratization of the overall situation in the region. e.g. The expected result of the policy in the area of youth emigration which is increasingly becoming one of the burning problems of the region is to find and offer solutions, ways, laws, programs, procedures and activities with which states of the region can fight this problem and keep young people in the region.

Project goals

  • Enhancing regional cooperation and democratic development
  • Raising the awareness about the shared problems in the region
  • Offering solutions to some of the region’s key problems
  • Promoting the need of joint efforts to solve problems
  • Strengthening the sustainable network of young decision-makers and NGOs from the region

Expected results

Developing and implementing common regional policies in selected areas, that will be implementable on national level and that will considerably improve the situation and existing policies in the countries of the region.

This project is supported by

switzerland embassy serbia
Frilagd Jpeg RÖD (1)
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