IDM Albania - SMART Balkans

New Social Initiative- NSI

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

New Social Initiative – NSI is a civil society organization working in Kosovo, but also cooperating with the key stakeholders in the Western Balkan region, to ultimately impact inclusiveness, trust-building, democratization processes and good governance in Kosovo. While doing so, NSI follows its vision of inclusive society built on trust and appreciation among its communities, in which citizens from all ethnic groups actively participate in the society and its governance. New Social Initiative’s vision is an inclusive society built on trust and appreciation among communities in Kosovo and active participation of citizens from diﬀerent ethnic groups/non-majority communities.

Beneficiaries and target groups:

Activities involve youth from Kosovo, representatives of NGOs and the business sector, institutional representatives, as well as international organizations operating both in and outside Kosovo. This broad spectrum of collaboration enables the creation of networks and bridges between communities.

Kosovar Organization for Talent and Education – TOKA

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation
TOKA’s mission is to accelerate social changes in Kosovo by investing in its youth. Our focus is that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds develop the capacities to become agents of positive change, through innovative educational methods and civic activism.

Since 2015, TOKA realizes its mission through:
1. Development and implementation of programs that develop the skills, employment and active citizenship of young people – over 25,000 young people served directly;
2. Building the capacity of Leaders who work with young people – over 300 teachers and trained youth workers, and more than 100 schools have participated in our programs;
3. Advocating for better policies and providing practical assistance in the fields of education and youth development – especially at the local level, but also at the central level.
Beneficiaries and target groups:
Direct beneficiaries include schools, young people and students. Other beneficiaries include policy makers and state institutions, young leaders,

Foundation Seventeen

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

Foundation Seventeen was registered as a foundation in 2018 in Pristina, based on need to re-functionalize alternative public spaces. Seventeen has a vision that its citizens of all genders to participate and contribute meaningfully and freely in the community and public life through culture, education and activism. Its mission is to drive change positive in society through the empowerment of communities through through our Arts and Education, Cultural Activism and Space programs. Our priorities strategic include:

Public space;
Cultural activism,
politics,
advocacy;
issue gender;
Community development and cooperation
Democracy and Human Rights
Foundation Seventeen has founded and manages three spaces: Project Space 17, Gallery 17, and Residence 17 which serve as spaces for education, activism, artistic and courageous experimentation.

Beneficiaries and target groups:
During the last three years, F17 has directly involved over 25 thousand citizens in its programs and has realized about 100 events that have brought together the community, activists, artists and decision makers.

Democracy Plus

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

Democracy Plus (with the acronym D+) is a non-governmental, independent and non-profit organization that is committed to the creation of a democratic society through increasing citizen participation in political processes, increasing accountability and influencing decision-making processes. D+ aims to promote the use of information technology through the integration of information technology in all initiatives and activities because the latter has an important role in the democratization of a society. D+ undertakes initiatives aimed at bringing decision makers closer to citizens through policy research, facilitating dialogue or communication and public education.

Beneficiaries and target groups:
During the last three years, D+ through the assistance provided to the Assembly of Kosovo in monitoring of the implementation of laws, has offered dozens of recommendations for improving the legislation; has offered interns in almost all parliamentary committees of the Assembly of Kosovo that they have help MPs in monitoring laws and improving communication with citizens over time monitoring the implementation of laws; has strengthened the participation of women and men in the processes policy and decision-making through public reactions through over 300 media appearances, hundreds of infographics, video animations, columns and articles produced and distributed widely in the media; D+ has advocated for fair, impartial and transparent spending public funds through public procurement through the monitoring of over 200 tenders, D+ has facilitated the communication of citizens with the candidates for mayors during the elections 2022 has continued to maintain and update online platforms including NDREQE.COM (over 5000 reports, close to 2000 fixes, and almost 4000 updates); Results Portal of the Kosovo Elections (it is a platform for analyzing the results of about 10 pairs of elections e results); Courts (quality of services in Basic Courts according to citizens and lawyers); Fake News Course (online training built into six learning units grouped into six chapters since in 2022 the section on hate speech was added).

United Nations Association Albania

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation
United Nations Association Albania (UNAA) is an organization dedicated to information, inspiring and mobilizing Albanian youth and Albanian citizens to support and follow the values of the United Nations. Since its establishment on October 24, 2016, on the anniversary of the UN Convention, UNAA aspires for a society led by peace, democracy and sustainability. In its work, UNAA has the main mission of working in partnership for it improve informed political making, to encourage society’s participation and activism young people, as well as advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It main programs consist of:

Participation and Advocacy (mainly of young people)
Education on Democracy and Good Governance
The nexus between the EU and Sustainability
Peace and Security

Beneficiaries and target groups:
The direct beneficiaries of UNAA work are definitely young people, activists and young professionals who are interested in pubic policies, democracy, peace and sustainability.

Res Publica Center

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

Res Publica is a civil society organization that strives to promote and protect respect for fundamental human rights through strategic litigation, advocacy, human rights education, research and policy development.

The main strategic objectives of Res Publica are:

• Promoting transparency and good governance in public administration, with a focus on environmental and anti-corruption issues;
• Ensuring effective access to justice for all citizens in need;
• Ensuring the accountability of state officials in matters with a high public profile, with the aim of setting precedents;
• Advancement of freedom of expression and ethical journalism.
• Preservation of procedural rights

Cross-sectoral strategic objective: Increasing and deepening the knowledge of local lawyers and judges about the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.

Beneficiaries and target groups:

The Res Publica Center is well known for its intensive activity in various issues of public interest, in an effort to increase the accountability of the Government. More specifically, issues such as support for the victims of the Gërdec explosion on 15.03.2008 and the killing of demonstrators in Tirana on 21.01.2011, both in civil and criminal cases, have been fully pursued by Res Publica. In its 13 years of activity, a good part of the Center’s energies have been focused on protecting the freedom of the press, protecting journalists in the face of SLAPP lawsuits, supporting investigative journalists in the search for public information, especially when it is sensitive and to cases that have created precedents such as the case of the online media Lapsi.al against the prosecutor’s office in defense of the journalist’s privacy and resources.
Pursuing the most sensational cases of journalists in Slapp lawsuits against the highest exponents in the country starting from the Prime Minister and securing information rejected through court processes that have been productive and used by investigative journalists in their writings, are part of the activity of the Center. Precisely these results and the pursuit of challenging cases is the advantage of this organization compared to other organizations, which are not invested in the pursuit of court cases that bring lasting changes in the respect of human rights and increased government accountability. Dedication in this field for 13 years and finding previously untested paths with tangible and concrete results is another advantage of this organization.

Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA)

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation

PPNEA’s mission is to guarantee a governing and social climate where the preservation of natural heritage is a priority. This is intended to be achieved through rigorous scientific research, community involvement, the creation of strategic partnerships and continuous interaction with decision-making institutions. In addition, PPNEA focuses on five strategic directions:

Conservation and protection of important, rare and endangered species,
Conservation and protection of areas with high biodiversity values,
Study of wildlife and habitats,
Education, awareness and advocacy for nature conservation and protection issues,
Institutional development of civil society environmental organizations

Beneficiaries and target groups:
Nature conservation is directly related to inter-institutional, inter-sectoral and necessarily international cooperation. Separated from partisan political goals, PPNEA in more than 30 years of operation has proven to act clearly on the objectives of conservation of habitats and wildlife. Even today, the organization is known for conducting monitoring schemes together with government agencies or institutions, training provided to law enforcement bodies in the field such as Protected Area Administrations, planning agencies, etc.

PPNEA’s cooperation with businesses has always been based on the objectives of nature conservation, accepting those that promote nature conservation such as eco-tourism agencies. PPNEA has a deep cooperation with investigative media and not only.

Hand to Hand Against Nation Apathy

Summary of organization’s strategic orientation
H.A.N.A is a youth center as well as a non-profit and non-governmental organization in Lezha with an organizational mission to serve as a liaison of the potential of communities, especially young people, and their chances for development through innovative ways that encourage meaningful participation in life social, cultural, economic and political society.

The most important organizational objectives are:
– Education of communities and structures (public/non-public) with the importance of citizens’ involvement in decision-making regarding the social (locations), economic (employment) and political (local government) life of the country.
– Serving as a liaison of community potentials, especially youth, and their opportunities for development through innovative ways that encourage meaningful participation in the social, economic and political life of society.
– Impact on public and political awareness on the importance of investing in creating/strengthening/enriching a professional and developmental work culture for current and future generations.

Beneficiaries and target groups:

The main target group of their work are young people. They will not only benefit from the activities that will be implemented from the center, but will be active contributors in co-designing the programs, projects and events and will be encouraged to take concrete actions in the community.

GERMIN: “The Engagement of the Diaspora for Advancing Policy-making in Kosovo”

On December 13, 2023, in the premises of the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Berlin, Germany, Germin held a meeting with a part of the Albanian diaspora community in Germany to discuss their potential contribution to the development of policies in Kosovo, as well as their needs and challenges in connecting and engaging with state institutions.

The opening remarks at this meeting were delivered by Mr. Faruk Ajeti, Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo in Berlin, and Blerta Lazebegu, President of the Organization of Academies and Students of the Albanian Diaspora (OASA) in Berlin. Meanwhile, Lirim Krasniqi, Co-Executive Director at Germin, informed attendees about the purpose of the project “Diaspora for Policy Development.”

During the open discussion, participants shared their opinions and suggestions regarding the strategy and the new law for the diaspora, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora is expected to publish for public consultation soon. Some of the key challenges highlighted during the conversation were obstacles and opportunities for learning the Albanian language outside the country, organizational shortcomings of associations in the diaspora, as well as bureaucratic processes for investments and economic engagement in Kosovo. The registration of the diaspora was another topic discussed in this meeting.

The summary of these discussions and analyses will be further examined and advocated for with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, as well as the relevant Commission of the Kosovo Assembly, to include the voices of the diaspora in the new strategy and law.

The Balkan Forum: TokeQark

60 young and motivated members of the ToKeQark Network, from municipalities of Ferizaj, Fushë Kosovë, Graçanica and Mitrovica, attended the three-day intensive training program where they gained new knowledge and skills on how to deal and promote implementation of innovative and sustainable solutions for climate change, how to tackle environmental challenges and the transition towards a circular economy, for the benefit of the citizens in their 4 municipalities and beyond.

The 4 trainers [Esmeralda Metko, Franceska Korance, Granit Gashi, and Sytrime Dervisholli] throughout the 3-day training program facilitated the group to discuss innovative ideas, as well enabled them to conceptualise the project idea for the youth initiatives that they will undertake at a later stage of a project, with aim to meet the needs of the community where they live and become true agents of change.