The Center for Civil Society Promotion (CPCD), in cooperation with partner organizations from North Macedonia – Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) and Albania – Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway, in the amount of 17 ,4 million EUR, successfully realized on December 20 and 21, 2022, at Hotel Cue in Podgorica, the first regional conference of the project SMART Balkans – Civil society for a connected Western Balkans.
The conference brought together more than 100 participants from 6 countries of the region, and 22 people from the civil sector, religious communities, media, academia, and researchers of social processes spoke on three panels.
The conference “Elephants in the Civic Space” aimed to open a dialogue on two essential topics: “The role of religion and religious leaders in socio-political movements and decision-making processes in the Western Balkans region” and “Practices and lessons learned on workforce management and human resources in the civil sector.” These challenges are the untapped potential for socio-political changes.
“Transparency, professional approach, integrity, and local ownership are values that every organization should have to be relevant and have a good image in their communities. Regional cooperation is important, especially as it brings people together and leads to a more consolidated, prosperous, stable, and secure region.” Nela Jović, Senior Program Advisor, Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Belgrade.
Aida Daguda, the directress of the Center for Civil Society Promotion, said that the topics of the conference were illustrated with elephants, which speaks about the size of the problem.
“In light of the general challenges faced by the Western Balkans countries, such as low economic development, slow transition, and problems with the rule of law, it is necessary to point out the contribution of religion and civil society in all these issues. Religion is vital in forming culture, self-awareness, and national identity in the Western Balkans. Therefore it is essential to discuss its influence on all the areas above. A particular problem within civil society is human resources and the outflow of labor. The problem is more common and visible than in other regions because civil society organizations are non-profit and operate for a higher mission. We open this topic because it is the responsibility of all of us in the civil sector to ensure the well-being of all citizens, “ said Aida Daguda.
The SMART Balkan project contributes to strengthening participatory democracies and Euro-Atlantic integration in the countries of the Western Balkans. This project is implemented in six countries; we want to enhance the role of civil society organizations globally.
