On 15 March in Belgrade, the Serbian Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, in the partnership with BCSDN, the Croatian Office for Cooperation with NGOs and TACSO, organized a regional conference “Partnership for Change: Civil Society and the Governments in the Western Balkans and Turkey”. The conference brought together Government Offices, Institutions and CSO representatives from the Western Balkan and Turkey in a direct regional level policy dialogue to reflect upon the achievements and to define a path for joint platform for developing a coherent and coordinated strategy for the sustainable civil society development in the region.
On 15 March in Belgrade, the Serbian Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, in the partnership with BCSDN, the Croatian Office for Cooperation with NGOs and TACSO, organized a regional conference “Partnership for Change: Civil Society and the Governments in the Western Balkans and Turkey”. The conference brought together Government Offices, Institutions and CSO representatives from the Western Balkan and Turkey in a direct regional level policy dialogue to reflect upon the achievements and to define a path for joint platform for developing a coherent and coordinated strategy for the sustainable civil society development in the region.
The conference offered an interactive plenum, where representatives of Governments, the EC and the CSOs debated upon current achievements and challenges. This was followed by work in groups on the three most pressing issues: the EU support, the sustainable financing and the mechanisms for consultation as to pave the way for joint agenda for change. The conference was opened by Ms. Ivana Ćirković, Director of the Serbian Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, Mr. Vincent Degert, Ambassador of the EU and Mr. Michael Davenport, UK Ambassador. Over 150 participants attended the Conference, out of which 40 coming from the Balkan region. Due to different interpretations of the Arrangements regarding the Regional Representation and Cooperation, the representatives from Kosovo did not attend the conference. The full draft agenda is available here. The report and conclusions will be available soon. More information are available on the Serbian Office’s website.