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Maja Trajković

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA of the month.

YEA of the Month September 2022

Maja is a YEA who has shown great progress since she joined our network.

She is a true example of how a young person changes and thrives in motivating surrounding. She has been involved in activism for five years now and says that she is eager to continue working with NGOs, trying to make positive changes in her community. She is a member of the UNICEF advisory board for mental health, where the primary goal is to help young people express themselves more regarding mental health. Maja is also a member of the board called “Savet mladih” in “Prijatelji dece Srbije”, where she learned how to write a number of project proposals and organize events such as debate tournaments and charity events.

We can’t wait to see what she has prepared for YEA!

YEA participate at the Western Balkans Youth Forum

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

More than 70 young people, actors, and stakeholders highly engaged in youth-related issues from the WB6 region and the EU have gathered in Berlin, to participate in the Western Balkan Youth Forum which was organised from 31 October to 3 November.  YEAs Desantila Muriqi, Klajdi Kaziu, and Stefan Vukmanovic represented the YEA Network.

 

The main topic of this year’s Youth Forum included democratization and civic education, youth, peace and security, green agenda and energy security, as well as social economy and solidarity.

 

The Western Balkans Youth Forum of the Berlin Process 2022 is organized by the Regional Youth Cooperation Office in partnership with Franco-German Youth Office and Crossborder Factory. The Forum is supported by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Regional Cooperation Council’s Western Balkan Youth Lab project, and a regional project funded by the European Union (EU) Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organisations in the Western Balkans and Turkey (TACSO).The event is designed for representatives of a wide range of relevant actors in charge of youth issues, including umbrella youth organizations of the WB6, youth structures at the EU level, institutions, NGOs, young activists, as well as experts on youth-related topics, and the topics of the Forum from the Western Balkans and the wider Europe.

“Block the hatred; Share the love”: Discussion against hate speech and discrimination towards Roma people

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On 26th October 2022, Representatives of the City of Bijeljina, its Roma community and other partners, with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe organised an activity with the aim of sending a message of condemning hate speech and discrimination towards Roma people. The activity included discussion with pedestrians and pupils about the dangers of hate speech and those of stigmatising certain segments of the society, sending the message of equality and inclusion to the Roma community.

 

Armin Poljak, Young European Ambassador for Bosnia and Herzegovina, also participated in this activity in Bijeljina which was organized under the campaign “Block the Hatred, Share the Love” organized by the Council of Europe. He pointed out that youth can definitely contribute to the social inclusion of young Roma population. He added that raising a voice makes it possible to gradually develop an environment free from discrimination, including on ethnic grounds.

 

The “Block the hatred. Share the love!” is an awareness raising initiative that aims to combat various forms of hate speech targeting specific communities and individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Western Balkans. The initiative is supported by prominent public figures, institutions and activists, who are promoting diversity and equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region, through personal storytelling, testimonies and exchange of good practices.

Bringing young people closer to culture and art

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Interactive, innovative tools in an EU-funded youth work programme bring cultural institutions closer to young people in Serbia and beyond.

The Gallery of Matica srpska in Novi Sad, founded in 1847, today represents one of the richest art museums in Serbia. The permanent collection exhibits significant artworks from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and illustrates the origin and the development of Serbian art of the New Age, showing the position of national Serbian culture in a European context. Apart from the permanent exhibition, the Gallery is a place where international, monographic, thematic and other temporary displays take place. There is never a lack of visitors to the gallery, however, the number of young people among them was disappointing.

The lack of young visitors is not something specific to this gallery. The issue has been noticed in other countries of the region and beyond. In order to address this problem in a wider context, and bring cultural institutions in general closer to young people, an association of NGOs from Serbia, called NAPOR, launched the Melting Pot project with funding from the European Union. The project was implemented across three countries, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia.

“The idea of the project was to bring young people closer to cultural content in general but also to incentivise the creation of programmes for young people by cultural institutions.”

Nedeljka Ivošević is the communication manager of NAPOR. She explains that the idea of this project was based on the strategic plan of the organisation, which is to bring together institutions and youth workers and youth work methodology.  “The idea of the project was to bring young people closer to cultural content in general but also to incentivise the creation of programmes for young people by cultural institutions,” says Nedeljka

Initially the project conducted research in three countries on the needs of different youth groups related to culture. The research findings were that 60% of young people who participated in the survey said that culture is an important part of their lives, but 90% of them claimed that the institutions never consulted them when it comes to involvement in programme planning, assigning them the role of passive consumers of cultural content. As other main reasons for them not participating regularly in cultural events they stated the lack of information, the content being not attractive and the lack of cultural activities where they come from.

In order to provide good examples of connecting youth with cultural institutions, and test these good examples, the project developed and implemented six cultural programmes: two per country. The programmes involved 20 young people per country and each lasted for about four months. For example, in Serbia the Matica srpska gallery developed a programme called “Let’s play: art and free expression” that connects the paintings at the gallery with information next to the paintings such as details about other artists of the century when the painting was produced. “The purpose was for young people to feel the gallery space as something which is not just for elites,” says Nedeljka.

 

“It was a big and complex project implemented in three countries. The EU support was crucial as without the funds we would not have been able to implement the project.”

About the project

The Melting pot project started on March 2021 and ended in September 2022. The project was implemented across three countries – Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia – through partnership with NAPOR, Galerija Matice srpske, Mreža mladih Hrvatske, Pogon – Zagrebački centar za nezavisnu kulturu i mlade, Sojuz za mladinska rabota Skopje and Opstinska ustanova Muzej na grad Negotino. The project was funded by the Tempus Foundation through the ERASMUS + programme of the European Union.

The project also developed an education curriculum for the application of non-formal approaches with the aim of increasing the capacities of youth workers and cultural workers to understand the approaches and principles that support young peoples’ personal and social development. Their booklet, “Melting pot of innovation in youth work and cultural institutions” contains an overview of youth work and culture in North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and other EU countries. The booklet provides examples of innovative and creative digital youth work and lists more than 50 digital platforms, tools and approaches.

Over 600 young people were involved directly and indirectly in the project activities. Nedeljka considers that the project had an important impact and that the EU support was essential. “It was a big and complex project implemented in three countries. The EU support was crucial as without the funds we would not have been able to implement the project,” she says.

READing throughout the Western Balkans

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An EU-funded project promotes reading habits and skills, and cultural cooperation.

One of the first things the former Goethe institute director for North Macedonia, Tanja Krüger, noticed when she took office was the lack of reading habits among young people in the country. She therefore decided that during her mission she and her team should prioritise increasing reading habits amongst young people, in particular in rural and remote areas of the country. The Goethe institute already had projects being implemented on this topic in North Macedonia, but there was a need for more to be done, remembers Marija Chorbeva Penovska from the Institute in Skopje.

An opportunity came with the call for proposals for cultural activities from the Civil Society Facility and Media Programme of the European Union. With their support, the Goethe Institute – along with partners from other countries in the region – launched the Regional Network for Cultural Diversity (READ) project which aims to promote intercultural reading skills and democratic values through reading culture and the handling of supra-regional high-quality literary works.

“The focus of our visits were hard-to-reach communities: places where kids had never had a chance before to participate in a cultural event.”

Marija Chorbeva Penovska is the manager of the READ project. She explains that the project includes four different programmes, one of them being “READ on wheels” which is a regional mobile library stocked with books and other content from the project partner countries. The library is touring through the region and Turkey with a special focus on schools and libraries, over a period of three years. The mobile library in a van with accompanying crew has already toured North Macedonia and Serbia, visiting mainly remote villages where they organised storytelling, creative writing illustration workshops, presentation of new writers, lectures and debates, book rental and book donations and similar cultural events with children and young people. “The focus of our visits were hard-to-reach communities: places where kids had never had a chance before to participate in a cultural event,” says Marija.

Another project component is support to literature festivals in the five target countries, which is a key vehicle for promoting cross-cultural cooperation in the region. The project also includes a residency programme which, through open calls, provides authors in the five countries with an opportunity to get to know the literary, artistic and cultural scene in the region and to support the regional diffusion of literary work from the target countries. At the same time, the local audience is given a unique opportunity to be introduced to the work of the selected artists.

The fourth project component is civil society capacity support, through a sub-granting scheme providing support to smaller organisations in the area of translation, publication, and/or promotion of works in order to increase access and awareness of literature beyond the national context. The component includes innovative multilingual and intercultural projects.

Marina Terpovska Stargo, the grants coordinator of the project, explains that they have so far provided grant support for 54 organisations through two calls for proposals. In total, 90 organisations are expected to be supported through the project’s grants.

“I believe that by building this big network of cultural workers and CSOs working in the cultural sector, we will ensure the sustainability of the project.”

About the project

The Regional Network for Cultural Diversity (READ) is a four-year EU-funded regional cultural project implemented by the Goethe Institute in Skopje together with the partner organisations: the Centre for Balkan Cooperation – Loja (North Macedonia), Instituti I Librit dhe i Promocionit (Albania), Kalem Culture Association (Turkey), Krokodil (Serbia), and Qendra Multimedia (Kosovo). The project contributes to reconciliation and intercultural tolerance by opening new channels of communication between independent cultural societies, offering them networking opportunities away from the political stage. The project aims to promote intercultural reading skills and democratic values through reading culture and the handling of supra-regional high-quality literary works.

Marija Chorbeva Penovska says that they are very satisfied with the results of the project so far, and in particular with the performance of the sub-grants. “At the beginning we were sceptical about the outcome of these small projects as the financial amount of the grants was symbolic. However, each small project turned into a success story thanks to efforts of these smaller organisations,” says Marija.

However, Marija believes that the most important success of the project is the facilitation of cooperation among cultural organisations and young people in the region “I believe that by building this big network of cultural workers and CSOs working in the cultural sector, we will ensure the sustainability of the project,” she says.

Berlin Process Summit: EU announces €1 billion energy support package for the Western Balkans and welcomes new agreements to strengthen the Common Regional Market

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Today, President Ursula von der Leyen, and High Representative Josep Borrell participated in the Western Balkans Summit in the context of the Berlin Process. During the Summit and as advanced during her mission in the region last week, the President announced a substantial energy support package of €1 billion in EU grants to help the Western Balkans addressing the immediate consequences of the energy crisis and build resilience in the short and medium term.  
The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “The EU continues to stand behind the Western Balkans – both in good times and in hardship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we mobilised an unparalleled €3.3 billion package for the region and today we are putting together a €1 billion energy support package to protect the most vulnerable groups and boost much needed investments in energy diversification. We are investing in the economic fabric of the region to advance in the clean energy transition and come out greener, stronger and more sustainable from the current crisis.”  
In the immediate term, the Commission is ready to provide €500 million budget support, which will be adopted in December and available in January. This amount will support households and small and medium sized enterprises to cushion against energy price increases and their impact.  
Over the short- and medium term, the Commission will provide another €500 million to advance in energy diversification, renewable energy generation and gas and electricity interconnections through the Western Balkans Investment Framework. Short-term measures (next 1-2 years) will support diversification of energy supplies, by boosting gas and electricity interconnectors including LNG as well as by supporting the construction of renewable energy projects and the energy efficiency measures.  The medium-term assistance (next 2-3 years) will include other investments contributing to the energy transition and security. These measures will cover large-scale renewable energy generation projects, upgrade of energy transmission systems, district heating and schemes for energy efficiency for the old blocks-of-flats.  
The Summit also focused on the progress achieved by the region under the Common Regional Market; the regional initiative agreed upon by the Western Balkans leaders in Sofia in 2020 bringing together the six economies, as well as on the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) launched in October 2020.  
The European Union welcomed the breakthrough in the negotiations of three new Common Regional Market agreements facilitating freedom of movement and employment across the region. The agreements concern ID travel within the region, recognition of academic qualifications and recognition of qualifications for certain professions. It will substantially improve mobility and cooperation within the region.  
The region also endorsed a declaration on energy securitycooperation, in which the leaders committed to redoubling their effort to implement the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans aligned with the EU’s Green Deal. This cooperation will contribute to greater energy diversification and cleaner energy, as well as to speed up reforms on their national energy markets to align with the EU.

The “o-dva-ja-mo” household waste separation project starts in Dimitrovgrad

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On October 24, in front of the local cultural centre, the “O-dva-ja-mo” household waste separation project was officially presented to the citizens of Dimitrovgrad, Serbia, in an event organised by the Municipality of Dimitrovgrad and JP “Komunalac”.

 

The “O-dva-ja-mo” household waste separation project was initiated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, with the support of the European Union and the Kingdom of Sweden. The project aims to establish a system for waste separation at the point of origin in 17 municipalities of Serbia by investing in equipment and informing citizens about the advantages of separating household waste, for its later successful recycling thus reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfill.

 

In his address, the deputy mayor of the municipality, Zoran Gerov, explained that with the implementation of this project, Dimitrovgrad and other local governments will improve waste management and the state of the environment.

The “O-dva-ja-mo” domestic waste separation project will provide 26 waste collection vehicles and over 90,000 bins and containers, as well as public opinion research and public information campaigns.

Ambassador Giaufret meets Serbian Minister Miščević

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Minister for European Integration, Tanja Miščević, met on 1 November with the head of the Delegation of the European Union in Belgrade, Emanuele Giaufret, with whom she discussed Serbia’s upcoming activities in the EU accession process. Minister Miščević presented the Government of Serbia’s plans for the acceleration of reforms in the process of European integration, in order to create benefits for the citizens of Serbia. As she emphasised, reforms in line with European Union standards contribute to a stronger economy, a more stable energy sector, efficient public administration, and especially the rule of law.  
Ambassador Giaufret congratulated Minister Miščević on her appointment saying, “Your leadership and coordination role for all EU-related matters will be key in successfully meeting the challenges that lie ahead of us. Our close cooperation with you, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant ministries will be essential in accelerating the adoption of reforms for the benefit of Serbia’s citizens and the implementation of the EU Economic and Investment Plan.” Ambassador Giaufret invited the Minister to make use of the recently published 2022 Commission Report on Serbia as a guidance for reforms.

€165 million of EU aid to Serbia for energy

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The European Union will provide Serbia with €165 million in direct budget support so that citizens and small and medium-sized enterprises can pay for energy and deal with the current energy crisis. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the support during a tour of the works on the gas interconnector near Niš. “I think this is necessary so that Serbia, like other countries, can support the vulnerable parts of society, so that they can cope with the higher prices of energy products,” she said.

 

The President of the Commission noted that this is a short-term solution and that it is necessary to work additionally on the strategic strengthening of energy security, regional and European connection and the diversification of gas sources.

 

The new Serbia – Bulgaria gas interconnector will make it possible for the country and the region to receive gas from different sources. The project was partially financed through EU grants, with €49.6 million euros, as well as a €25 million favourable loan from the European Investment Bank, for Serbia to pay for the part of the gas pipeline that passes through Serbia. So far, the Republic of Serbia has allocated €15 million for this project and €7.5 million for preparatory work and design.

 

The gas interconnector, joining up the gas networks of Serbia and Bulgaria, will increase the diversification of energy sources in Serbia and the Western Balkans region, enabling Serbia to have a more secure and stable supply from a number of gas network systems, especially from Azerbaijan and the future LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece, which can receive gas from all over the world.

Doubling the workforce at Catwalk Sarajevo

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An EU-funded project supported a fashion company from Bosnia and Herzegovina to grow their business.

Catwalk Sarajevo is a fashion company from Sarajevo, founded by Ema Burdžović in 2011, initially as a trade and sales company importing goods to Bosnia and Herzegovina and selling them in their Sarajevo shop. However, as Ema explains, the business did not go well at that time as she was aiming to import quality goods which were expensive, and the turnover was not high enough due to overall buyer capacity in the economic situation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Six years ago, she decided to change her strategy and shift from trade to production, employing two experienced tailors.

However, the shift was not an easy one. Ema is an economist by profession and at the time of the shift she knew very little about the specifics of the textile production process. She remembers facing numerous challenges in securing raw materials, proper machinery and the necessary workforce. “Unfortunately, there is a trend of skilled workers moving from Bosnia and Herzegovina in search of a better life. It was not easy, but we managed to find qualified and ambitious workers who are the cornerstone of our company,” says Ema.

“The EU-funded project has significantly improved our business and helped us overcome the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic years.”

Just when the company began to settle and build a vision for a better future, the COVID-19 pandemic started. Textile companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina faced numerous challenges during the pandemic. Orders and sales significantly dropped, and supply chains were disrupted, making the purchase of raw materials very difficult from early February 2020. The industry estimates that that every third job lost in the country during the pandemic occurred in the textile sector.

Ema did not have to fire any workers; however, she could not grow as planned. At that time, she came across the announcement by the EU-funded project EU4Business Recovery who provided financial and technical support to the textile industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mitigating the impact of the pandemic on sales and jobs. Ema applied and got the support she needed so badly. “The EU-funded project has significantly improved our business and helped us overcome the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic years,” she says.

Crucial contributions from the project included the purchase of new equipment and launch of an online store, as well as a new retail store in Montenegro.

“With the support we received from the EU, we doubled the number of our workers, from 12 to 24.”

About the project

The EU-funded “COVID-19 Investment Response-EU4 Business Recovery” project is implemented by the

International Labour Organisation, in partnership with the German development agency GIZ and the United Nations Development Programme. The aim of the project is to support the recovery of the BiH economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific objective is to provide emergency support to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to ensure their business continuity, retain more than 1,000 jobs, and create at least 100 new jobs, especially supporting women entrepreneurs, young people and other vulnerable groups.

As a result of the support from the project, the management originally planned to create five new jobs. Ema proudly points out that that aim was not only achieved but eventually exceeded. “With the support we received from the EU, we doubled the number of our workers, from 12 to 24,” she says.

The company is currently launching their new product line – swimsuits – and have improved their production processes by purchasing software for clothes design. They also aim to start exporting to EU countries. According to Ema, their vision is to build a strong medium-sized factory that will not grow too big, but will be able to make sufficient profit – and, more importantly, pay good salaries for their workers.