Skip to main content

Author: WeBalkans

Dragana Vuckovic

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

YEA of the Month March 2022

Western Balkans, meet Dragana Vuckovic, a true game-changer from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dragana has become a part of YEA network in 2020, and since then, her initiative, enthusiasm, and dedication to activism and promotion of youth values have truly been remarkable. Apart from being an inspiring activist, Dragana is also attending an MA in Democracy and Human Rights in South-East Europe, a shared interdisciplinary program taught by both the University of Sarajevo and the University of Bologna, while also studying for a master’s degree in International Relations at the University of Banjaluka. We congratulate her for her efforts so far, supporting her every step of the way.

The sleepwear company that wakes up to a digital boost

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in Stories.

A Roma entrepreneur from Serbia expands her business online with EU support.

Sladjana Vasić is a Roma entrepreneur from Kraljevo, a town in central Serbia. Her company produces cotton underwear and sleepwear branded as Arilje, from the name of a small town in the west of the country, where the quality cotton yarn is produced. Her company is a family business which she runs along with her two sons and her husband.

They have been in business as traders of the cotton made products for over fifteen years and in 2014, they started producing sleepwear and underwear which was sold at the family’s shop in the centre of town. However, this sales strategy had to change two years ago.

“We had no revenue and were not able to sell our products either wholesale or in our shop.”

Turning a crisis into an opportunity

With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic Sladjana had to close her shop without knowing when it could reopen. “We had no revenue and were not able to sell our products either wholesale or in the shop,” she says.

At that point she was contacted by the Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (REDI), an EU-funded initiative implementing a programme called Roma Digital Boost working with Roma communities across the Western Balkans to enhance their digital skills. They offered to support Sladjana in changing her sales strategy to sell her products online, and reluctantly she agreed to try. “In the beginning, I doubted I could sell my products online because these are not luxury products, but the people from REDI convinced me otherwise and now we sell online and it is going quite well,” says Sladjana.

REDI launched Roma Digital Boost to support the online transition of traditional businessesas well as their formalisation. The programme equipped Roma entrepreneurs like Sladjana with digital tools and skills to scale up their businesses and start developing entrepreneurial activity online. The entrepreneurs who passed through this programme received digitalisation kits, individual coaching, and mentorship support from REDI experts.

“Roma people must not be left behind, and I hope to see more programmes like this.”

About the project

The Roma Integration 2020 project, implemented by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) with the financial support of the European Union and the Open Society Foundations, aims among other things to reduce the socio-economic gapbetween the Roma and non-Roma population in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Orhan Usein is the Regional Cooperation Council’s Roma Integration Head of Office. He explains that it is crucial to empower the Roma community to use digital skills and follow the latest business trends. Educational programmes such as the Roma Digital Boost programme, which the Roma Integration action team supported both financially and with human resources, can speed up that process and strengthen the involvement of Roma citizens in promoting, shaping, and implementing the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans. “Roma people must not be left behind, and I hope to see more programmes like this,” says Orhan.

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic slows and lockdowns are over, Sladjana’s online sales keep increasing. She dreams that one day she will expand her company even further and become a well-known brand. Her message to others is inspiring: “I want to tell all Roma women in business that women can do the same work as men and even more. So go ahead, do your job: do it with all your heart and give it the best you can and success will come – it is guaranteed.”

EU-funded solar plant in North Macedonia starts producing electricity

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The first large-scale solar plant in North Macedonia has been connected to the power grid and is already producing clean electricity. The plant has been financed with the support of the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) bilateral donors and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).   
The 10MW photovoltaic plant was constructed by the JSC Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM) public company on the site of the former Oslomej lignite coal mine. The plant is part of a larger effort to clean up the site and to diversify energy sources and support decarbonisation. It is expected to produce nearly 15 GWh of electricity and save 12,177 tonnes of CO2 annually.  
In line with the Team Europe approach, the EBRD provided a €5.9 million loan, complementing a €1.6 million grant from WBIF bilateral donors and a national contribution of €1.3 million. In addition, Italy supported the project by financing the technical feasibility assessment.   
The Oslomej 1 solar power plant is one of the 21 flagship projects in the Western Balkan region selected for EU financing through the WBIF in 2022. The project has been identified as Flagship 4, for renewable energy, in the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans 2021-2027.

Western Balkans Fund announces 30 winning projects

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The Western Balkans Fund has announced the list of 30 winning projects from their fourth call for proposals, co-funded by the European Union through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.

 

The overall objective of the projects to be implemented under this call for proposals is to promote the participation of Western Balkan civil society organisations and grassroots organisations in regional projects. These are opportunities for cooperation on social, cultural, scientific and economic themes, including gender equality and disability inclusiveness, to enhance good neighbourly relations and reconciliation.

 

Over 800 civil society organisations from all over the Western Balkans submitted proposals to this call. The award ceremony and workshops will take place in Tirana on 13 and 14 April.

Journalists trained on safe and ethical reporting in crisis situations

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

To improve the way journalists report in crisis situations, BIRN Kosovo ran a training for 18 journalists and students of journalism, equipping them with the necessary knowledge and offering best practices for reporting from protests, with a special focus on violent contexts.

 

The EU-funded training consisted of two sessions – the first, delivered by Amir Gërguri, Commander of special units in the Kosovo Police, focused on communication with security institutions in crisis situations and the second, by Kreshnik Gashi, editor-in-chief of KALLXO.com,  covered safe and ethical reporting of crisis situations. Participants were given examples of the theoretical framework in practice and had the opportunity to ask questions and share their own experiences.

 

The training was organised as part of the “Providing a safe environment for journalists during protests” project funded by the European Union Office in Kosovo.

A healthy reminder

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in Stories.

An EU-funded project helps increase levels of childhood vaccinations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Emina Pleh from Goražde completed all the vaccinations for her older daughter, but when it was time for her son’s vaccination, the COVID-19 pandemic had already begun, so she decided to wait. At the beginning of last year, she received a call from the Bosnian Podrinje Canton’s Public Health Institute, reminding her about her son’s need for immunisation, and referring her to the paediatric service for more information. “They said that we should do it before he starts preschool, and we did,” says Emina.

Emina is one of around 500 parents from Bosnian Podrinje Canton who received a call from the Public Health Institute reminding them of missed vaccination appointments. This initiative is part of Unicef’s EU-funded Programme for Mitigating the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lives of Children and Families in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

“When you remind parents that they need to bring their children for vaccination, they will often do it. This communication was missing.”

Making up for missng communication

Fatima Čengić is a Programme Specialist with Unicef in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She explains that

Unicef has been working on the improvement of immunisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina for many years, and has conducted surveys and analysis of the reasons why parents avoid vaccinating their children. The main reasons identified were health professionals not sharing enough information on the benefits and risks of vaccination, but also that parents sometimes simply forgot. “When you remind parents that they need to bring their children for vaccination, they will often do it. This communication was missing,” says Fatima.

Unicef therefore started developing communication strategies including the development and launch of an online application that would remind parents about vaccination schedules. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, they decided to engage dedicated support staff to take a different approach. The staff first reviewed all health records of children born between 2014 and 2020 who had been treated in the health centres of Goražde, Prača and Ustikolina. A list was made of all those who had missed one of the mandatory vaccines and then those parents were called on the phone and invited to contact their paediatricians, and local health centres gave them all the necessary information about immunisation and booking an appointment.

“I am very sure that the health centres would not have prioritised children’s vaccinations if there had not been this action from us with the support of the EU.”

About the project

The Programme for Mitigating the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lives of Children and Families in the Western Balkans and Turkey is a two-year initiative launched in 2021 by Unicef and the European Commission.

The purpose of the initiative is to strengthen national health, education, early childhood development, and child protection systems to ensure core services for vulnerable children and their families in the immediate and longer-term recovery response to COVID-19. Through this €5 million programme, 490,000 children and parents are expected to have better access to public services that promote early childhood development, education, health, and protection as part of the COVID-19 recovery.

Since then, the project has expanded to Sarajevo Canton where it covers eight more health centres. A recent programme visit saw that out of 500 vaccinations given in one health centre in December, 175 were through this project. “That means that about a third of vaccinations that happened in one month were through our project and this is a huge success,” says Fatima.

Fatima explains that vaccinations were a critical issue for the healthcare system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as one of the first regular activities to be stopped during the pandemic was the vaccination of children. She believes that the project and the EU support had crucial impact, adding “I am very sure that the health centres would not have prioritised children’s vaccinations if there had not been this action from us with the support of the EU.”

“Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign launched in Sarajevo

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The European Union and the Council of Europe officially launched the “Block the hatred. Share the love!” campaign at an event in Sarajevo, delivering a message that every citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina can play an important role in reducing hate speech with positive language and mutual respect.

 

During the event it was stressed that anyone can be exposed to hate speech, but that vulnerable groups are certainly most affected. Preventing hate speech is something that largely depends on an individual, but each person can educate themselves about its consequences and take action.

Acting Deputy Head of the EU Delegation, Jurgis Vilcinskas, said that the EU will not stand idle, being ready to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in fighting hate speech. “Violence that happens on social media doesn’t stay on social media; it is real violence, but social media offer us ways to challenge this and promote tolerance and mutual understanding online. I believe that this campaign will help us amplify messages of peace and diversity,” said Vilcinskas.

 

The “Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign aims to combat various forms of hate speech targeting specific communities and individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also to inform the public, especially younger generations, by distributing anti-hate speech content on social media and holding public events. These activities will involve prominent public figures, institutions, and activists, who will promote diversity and equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region, through personal storytelling, testimonies and exchange of good practices.

 

The campaign is implemented within the “Promotion of diversity and equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina” initiative, which is  part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022 programme .

RCC launches Butterfly Innovation award

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) has launched a Regional Butterfly Innovation Award seeking innovative, scalable and market-based solutions from the Western Balkans. The Butterfly Innovation Award fund totals €30,000, with the best solution in each of six categories receiving a prize of €5,000.

 

Candidates can apply for up to two out of the categories of:

 

-Industry innovation including metal processing, the creative industries, agri-food, the green and circular economy, tourism, fintech, biotech, and technology in the education and health sectors;

-Green innovation e.g. climate action, sustainable energy, mobility and agriculture, the fight against pollution, protection of nature and biodiversity;

-STEM innovation (science, technology, engineering and mathematics);

-Youth innovation recognising university undergraduate or high school students;

-University innovation recognising entrepreneurial culture at universities;

-Women’s innovation recognising women innovators and entrepreneurs.

 

This first regional Butterfly Innovation Award is designed to encourage, promote and endorse innovations and innovators from the Western Balkans. The application process is open until 13 May. Award winners will be announced on 27 June at an event which will be livestreamed on RCC social media profiles. The Award is financed by the European Union and implemented by the RCC as part of the Common Regional Market Action Plan for the Western Balkans.

Western Balkans connecting through Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

Together with other Western Balkan partners, Serbia is building and connecting the 371.3 km Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor, for which the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) is providing €32.1 million of non-refundable EU funds.

 

Danko Gavrilović, WBIF Coordinator for Serbia, emphasises the importance of the project for the economy, connectivity and sustainability of renewable energy development. “The Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans 2021-2027 is a reflection of the European Union’s efforts to encourage the long-term economic recovery of the country and the region, with the support of so-called green and digital transformation and the acceleration of regional connectivity, and connectivity with the European Union. Intensive development of sustainable capacity also requires the development of the network of transmission,” said Gavrilović.

 

The project was identified as a flagship for transition from coal as well as being within the investment priority of clean energy, as determined in the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans 2021-2027. The project is part of the EU’s wider support to the sector – the EU has invested more than €830 million in the energy sector over the past two decades. In 2022 alone, EU support to Serbia’s energy sector is estimated at €100 million.

 

Diversification of energy sources, security of supply, energy efficiency and decarbonisation of the economy, in line with the Paris Agreement, are the main goals of the EU’s support, which is implemented in cooperation with the Government of Serbia. The EU will continue to support Serbia in aligning with the EU acquis and creating structures that will allow for further investment in the decarbonisation of the energy sector.

“Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign launched in Tirana

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The “Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign against hate speech launched in Tirana on 25 March. The launch ceremony gathered opinion leaders, activists and senior representatives from authorities who all raised their voices against hate speech and pledged to promote an equal society, without hate and discrimination.

 

The Head of the Political Section of the European Delegation to Albania, Alexis Hupin, emphasised the importance of enforcement in the process of fighting hate speech. “I would like to invite you to continue this fight together, to condemn cases of hate speech, to report cases of hate crimes and to count on each other in making Albania a better place, free of discrimination, free of hatred and with equal opportunities for everyone.”

 

Daniela Kortoçi, a Young European Ambassador (YEA) from Albania said that “As YEAs, one of our main areas of focus is to influence with purpose throughout the Western Balkans. Influencing youth also means that we need to listen more to each other, and share our experiences and stories related to hatred online and how we overcame it. So let’s start this campaign: block the hatred and share the love.”

 

The “Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign is an awareness-raising movement introduced in the Western Balkans last year to inform and engage local communities in the fight against various forms of hate speech targeting vulnerable groups and individuals such as those from the LGBTI community, immigrants, people with special needs and ethnic minorities. The campaign will continue in the months ahead with a series of public events promoted through websites and social media, but also in the mainstream media.

 

The campaign is implemented within the Promotion of diversity and equality in Albania initiative, part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022, which supports reforms in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy in compliance with European standards, and within the EU enlargement process.