On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at the premises of the Centar za promociju civilnog društva (CPCD), as part of the SMART Balkan project, agreements were signed with civil society organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina for the implementation of new projects, with a total value of approximately 750,000 NOK.
The organizations were selected and awarded under the second public call for National Interventions projects, which received a total of 194 applications from six countries, with 25 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, from which four most successful were chosen.
“Norway strongly supports civil society and truly strives to help organizations improve the lives of citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For Norway, civil society is a key part and foundation of every democratic society and a true partner to the authorities. A vibrant civil society also contributes to fulfilling the conditions for EU accession and membership, which is a strategic goal of the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and most citizens. Over a three-year period, Norway has supported 60 civil society organizations with over five million BAM. Today, we are here and proud to support organizations that deal with key issues such as youth development, environmental protection, and community engagement,” emphasized Stefan Almehagen Sandstad, Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“In the midst of bad news and concerning circumstances, it is a great pleasure to sign four new contracts with organizations today at CPCD. In this round, we have selected projects that concern the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two projects are focused on youth, one on the EU integration process, and one on natural resource management to avoid future disasters like the one we unfortunately witnessed recently in Donja Jablanica,” said Aida Daguda, Director of CPCD.
The SMART Balkan program addresses issues faced by the population, and the issue of stone exploitation that threatens their well-being is certainly one of them. To enhance safety, one of the projects to be implemented by the UG Fojničani is dedicated to better management of quarries, identifying their environmental impacts, and improving the role of citizens, civil society organizations (CSOs), and media in ensuring greater transparency and accountability in this sector.
“This is very important project for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We will try to map as many quarries as possible, and all of them are in some way a potential threat to our citizens. I invite all citizens to get involved and report quarries and potential hazards, and we will do everything in our power to primarily map them, as well as their owners, and try to point out those that are critical to the safety of citizens. We are facing a large and serious task,” said Davor Šupuković, Secretary of UG Fojničani.
In addition to the aforementioned project, contracts were signed with organizations – the PRONI Center for Youth Development, the Institute for Development and European Integration (IREI), and the Center for the Development of Youth Activism (CROA) – for the implementation of projects focused on national security, stability, and good governance through the development of interactive tools that help young people recognize fake news, a more efficient participatory role for CSOs in the EU integration process, and the empowerment of youth from the Sarajevo Canton, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, West Herzegovina Canton, and Republika Srpska for active civic participation in decision-making processes.
Apart Bosnia and Herzegovina, during March 2025, contracts for the implementation of SMART Balkan National Interventions projects will also be signed with organizations in Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
