The European Union (EU) is joining the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to support Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with a €6 million financial package to help it improve the energy efficiency of its public buildings. The package includes a €4.5 million EBRD loan and a €1 million investment grant from the EU, and will finance energy efficiency measures in 20 public buildings in Republika Srpska, including 16 schools and 3 hospitals. In addition, the EU is providing a €500,000 technical assistance grant for project implementation.
The energy measures will include thermal insulation, new windows, upgraded heating, ventilation and cooling systems, and energy efficient lighting. Once these improvements have been made, managers will be appointed to monitor the energy consumption and performance of each building.
The EU funds are secured from the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme, which is supported by the EBRD, the European Union, bilateral donors and beneficiary countries cooperating under the Western Balkans Investment Framework.
The EBRD and EU are also supporting energy efficiency improvements in public buildings of Sarajevo. The project, which includes renovating 40 public buildings, is already under way.
The city of Novi Sad, Serbia, is one of three cities in Europe to hold the title of European Capital of Culture in 2022. The other two cities are Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg, and Kaunas in Lithuania. Holding the title of European Capital of Culture gives cities the chance to boost their image, put themselves on the world map, promote sustainable tourism and rethink their development through culture.
Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, said: “During the pandemic, culture was vital in our societies. It enabled the circulation of ideas and brought our communities closer together, beyond borders. This is exactly the ambition of the European Capitals of Culture initiative, which comes back in force in 2022 with three dynamic title-holders.
Novi Sad is the first European Capital of Culture in Serbia. The year-long cultural programme of Novi Sad aims to further connect the city’s and region’s cultural community and inhabitants with the EU and reinforce their links with the rest of the Western Balkans area.
The Regional Housing Programme (RHP) handed over the keys to new apartments to 18 families in Gornji Vakuf and Domaljevac-Šamac in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Edin Ramić, Minister of Displaced Persons and Refugees in BiH, participating in the official ceremony and congratulated the families while noted with satisfaction that the flats are built according to the latest construction standard, including heating and energy efficiency ones.
The local authorities of Gorni are now in the process of removing the old houses in which the residents have lived until now in order to create green spaces and children’s playground.
The Regional Housing Programme aims to provide approximately 3 100 housing units to vulnerable refugees, displaced persons, and returnees in BiH. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than 1 800 housing units have been completed to date.
Participants from Montenegro were amongst 2021 edition winners of the European Commission’s Young European Heritage Makers under the joint action European Heritage Days. From 1 September to 10 November 2021 young Europeans from 9 participating countries, including Montenegro and North Macedonia, expressed their vision of heritage through more than 60 testimonies.
The competition invites children and high schoolers to explore their surroundings, learn about their local tangible and intangible cultural heritage and share a story of Europe. This initiative enhances young people’s understanding of the concept of heritage and its relevance for local communities.
After a first selection at national level in 2 age categories, the national winners were evaluated by a European panel of judges. Amongst 11 European winners, two projects from Montenegro were selected: Visiting Kula Redzepagica museum, in the age category 6-11 years old, and Memories Movie in the age group of 11-17 years old.
The European Heritage Days (EHD) are the most widely celebrated participatory cultural events shared by people living in Europe.
The joint campaign of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” focused on combating hate speech was launched in Skopje, North Macedonia.
Katalin Tamus, Head of Programmes in the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje highlighted the continuous support to public authorities in their efforts to fight hate speech and hate crimes especially for the most vulnerable communities in our society.
“This campaign aims to raise awareness about the various forms of hate speech that target specific communities and individuals in the society, as well as to promote different ways of fighting hate speech, primarily by spreading positive messages and an attitude of acceptance, and respect for diversity,” stressed Tamus.
In her remarks, Elizabeta Gjorgievska, First Lady of the Republic of North Macedonia, shared the importance of co-operation and commitment of all the actors in the fight against hate speech and hate crimes: “Every individual in the institutions, from top decision makers down to civil servants, should be equally committed to combat any form of discrimination that can generate tensions in our society,” said Gjorgievska.
Coordinator of the Young European Ambassadors from North Macedonia, Dona Srdikj Lazarevska also addressed the participants at the launch.
The “Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign aims to raise awareness of the various forms of hate speech targeting specific communities and individuals in the society, and ways of combatting it. During the next months this awareness raising movement will be extended in ‘online’ through the web and social media channels, as well as through public events. The campaign will involve prominent public figures, important institutions and key human rights activists, who will promote diversity and equality in the local communities and in the region, through personal storytelling, testimonies and exchange of good practices.
EU funding is restoring the National Historical Museum mosaic damaged by the 2019 earthquake
No visit to the city of Tirana is complete without taking a picture by the grand mosaic covering the main façade of the National Historical Museum. Occupying a central role among the ensemble of important buildings circling the main square of the capital, the mosaic was conceptualised in the early 1980s and is entitled “Albania”, depicting the people who have lived in the country at different times.
The mosaic has been witness to many historical events that have taken place right in front of it on Skanderbeg Square, but what shook its very foundations was the 2019 earthquake. This was the country’s strongest earthquake of the last half-century which took many lives and caused damage across central Albania to property including 53 cultural heritage sites.
“There have been only a few interventions since it was inaugurated decades ago – for instance, a star as a symbol of Communism was removed from the mosaic.”
EU engineers contribute to recovery
In the eyes of the civil engineer Daniela Kortoçi who is working on the restoration of the mosaic, one figure stands out amongst all the people in the “Albania” mosaic: a woman holding a rifle in her hand.
“The woman wearing traditional dress stands between two men at the centre of the mosaic, representing the strong Albanian woman of the Communist era but who also has her friendly side depicted by her open left hand which reflects hospitality,” explains the young engineer hired by United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) implementing the post-earthquake restoration works. The project involves combined international and local expertise, including the original creators of the work. While this restoration marks the first of its kind since it was inaugurated decades ago, there have been interventions, for instance when a star, that is a symbol of Communism, was removed from the mosaic.
Kortoçi is working with a team of experts who have listed 27 cultural heritage sites eligible for intervention as part of the largest cultural EU-funded project ever implemented in the country. EU expertise brings additional value in transferring knowledge to the new generation of local cultural heritage students. They are working shoulder-to-shoulder on damaged castle walls, old port city fortifications, museum buildings, and bridges. In an effort to preserve vanishing skills, work on castles or bridges involves traditional masonry while using local stones. The ultimate goal is to revive these selected sites to increase tourism potential, directly contributing towards Albania’s socio-economic recovery.
“For us women engineers, being in construction is a mission. We feel the urge to be a role model for that little five-year-old girl who is now drawing a house and putting a sun in the corner of the paper.”
About the project
In one of their largest cultural heritage programmes, worth €40 million, the EU is working in Albania to support the restoration of sites and monuments affected by the 2019 earthquake. The programme aims to contribute to Albania’s socio-economic recovery by rebuilding the country’s cultural heritage and restoring its potential for tourism as well as supporting local communities. The programme has become even more critical in light of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has badly affected Albania’s tourism sector.
Europe is where we want to be
Albania’s economic transformation began when democracy ended decades of Communism at the beginning of the 1990s. Kortoçi is therefore a second-generation citizen working to contribute to a country that aspires to EU membership. In addition to her professional engagement as an engineer, she has joined the Young European Ambassadors, a creative network of future game-changers from across the Western Balkans.
“I remember while growing up I listened to the call that ‘We want Albania to be like the rest of Europe’, meaning the developed EU Member States. That is why I wanted to learn more about the Union and share its values with my peers, looking forward to it as our common future,” Kortoçi says. Among those European values is the cherishing of the cultural heritage that exists in abundance in Albania.
Another important role Kortoçi sees for herself is leading by example for future generations, especially girls. Even though women make up less than 1% of workforce in the construction sector she says, “I am able to work and be recognised for my professionalism the same as men. For us women engineers, being in construction is a mission. We feel the urge to be a role model for that little five-year-old girl who is now drawing a house and putting a sun in the corner of the paper.”
Just like the woman in the mosaic who is portrayed both fighting and inviting others to join, the work to restore these monuments is not done only to preserve the past or the present, but for the future so that younger generations know where they came from.
Improved management of protected areas in Albania is reducing biodiversity loss
Shkodra Lake is the largest in the Balkan Peninsula. The lake in the north of Albania and the border with Montenegro runs through it. As a nature reserve, it is one of Europe’s richest areas for biodiversity, with abundant fish and bird species which can only be found here. The lake also plays an important role as a transit area – the so-called Adriatic Flyway – for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.
However, for a long time this rich natural life has been at risk from man-made pollution and exploitation. There was a need for intervention and expertise to introduce best practices from the European Union which have resulted in the first Lake Shkodra Management Plan.
“With EU assistance, a new era began of the proper management of protected areas.”
Sustainable management of protected areas
The management plan was put in place by the National Agency for Protected Areas (NAPA) and implemented by the Regional Administration for Protected Areas. Age Martini, Shkodra’s Regional Administration Chief Monitor, confirms that the plan has been a game-changer in the staff’s approach to protected area and securing the desired outcomes. “The staff in our regional office now have a clear idea of the protocols to be followed within the area and how to use new equipment to produce reports on flora and fauna,” she says.
The plan began to be implemented with EU assistance that brought know-how from experienced EU Member States. Their support ranged from wildlife monitoring, training and other capacity building, to developing relationships with the communities living in the protected area, as well as providing the professional equipment that help staff get the work done. “With EU assistance, a new era began of the proper management of protected areas, as each member of staff has clear guidance while all of us know the overall objective,” says Martini, giving the example of how even the relationship with tourists now has a protocol.
Protected areas and NAPA growing together
Over recent years there have been millions of tourists registered annually across all Albania’s protected areas. This success is attributed to the management plans that NAPA has developed with EU assistance which are being implemented across the country’s protected areas. Albania is getting a reputation among tourists who are attracted by its low prices, good food and great nature.
However, the focus remains the protection of biodiversity through the monitoring mechanism tools in protected areasintroduced in line with the Natura 2000 EU standards. Now, more than 100 NAPA staff are trained to deal with wildfires and natural disasters; they know the process of collecting and processing information about wildlife systems, and above all have strategies to increase cooperation between the communities living in protected areas and the areas’ management.
“We’ve seen communities switch their position from being sceptical about our intentions to becoming supporters of the positive change it has brought to their areas.”
About the project
The NaturAl project has contributed to bringing the network of protected areas in Albania in line with the EU’s Natura 2000 network, and by embracing EU standards, Albania is making progress towards EU membership.
From 2015 to 2019, focusing on ten selected protected areas, it worked to strengthen the management of protected areas in Albania focusing on: training and capacity building of the National Agency for Protected Areas and regional agencies; wildlife monitoring; providing equipment; and strengthening community relations.
NAPA Director, Zamir Dedej, confirms that there are huge benefits to having long-term objectives that prioritise both the natural habitat and the communities living there. “We’ve seen communities switch their position from being sceptical about our intentions to becoming supporters of the positive change it has brought to their areas.” Dedej explains that communities now understand that their activity needs to be monitored, and that this contributes to reducing illegal practices such as illegal logging or hunting. Moreover, they have understood that the better the protected parks are managed, the more tourists and economic benefits there are for everyone.
Such positive developments are credited to the EU’s assistance, which came at the time when it was most needed, with NAPA having become operational only in 2016. Since then, Albania has made significant progress in expanding the network of protected areas and increasing the level of implementation of its management plans from 19% to 53%. These results have encouraged the Agency further and they are positive that the cooperation with the EU will continue with a new phase that will further reduce biodiversity loss but also prevent environmental crime and increase investments in protected areas in Albania.
An EU-funded project offers virtual reality for museum visitors in BiH
The Battle on the Neretva River was one of the most epic Second World War battles in Yugoslavia. In late 1942, the German high command became concerned about the possibility of an Allied landing in the Balkans. As a result, Adolf Hitler ordered an offensive to crush the central command of the Partisan movement positioned in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. The turning point of the battle was the destruction by Partisan forces of a highly guarded bridge over the Neretva River to slow the advance of the German army.
The battle was immortalised in the 1960s through the production of the Battle of Neretva movie which starred Yul Brynner and Orson Welles among other Hollywood actors. The film’s poster was designed by Pablo Picasso free of charge. Following the publication and success of the film, the state authorities opened a Battle of Neretva museum near the site of the battle, in the town of Jablanica in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The museum has been functioning for half a century, but has had very few visitors in the past 20 years.
Thanks to the initiative of an NGO from Bosnia and Herzegovina, audiences can now relive the battle throughmodernised content and 3D virtual reality, adding a new reason to visit the museum in Jablanica.
“We realised that the museum in Jablanica is very attractive in terms of location and narrative, but did not offer much in terms of content and was not engaging for the visitor, and we decided to do something about this.”
Turning the museum into an attraction Association Link, an NGO from Bosnia and Herzegovina, had implemented a project on promoting natural tourism around Jablanica. However, as the region is also rich in cultural heritage, they decided to launch an initiative with this focus. “We realised that the museum in Jablanica is very attractive in terms of location, but did not offer much in terms of content and was not engaging for the visitor, and we decided to do something about this,” says Rasim Tulumović from Association Link. In consultation with colleagues from the National Museum of Montenegro, on the Montenegrin side of the border, they learned that the museum in Nikšić was in a similar situation, and they saw that this would be a great opportunity for a cross-border initiative promoting cultural heritage as part of a tourism package. For this they needed help, and support came from the EU-funded Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) programme for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
The main issues that museums on both sides of the border were facing were the presentation of content and promotion. Rasim explains that the use of modern equipment and techniques was almost non-existent in these museums, and as a result the number of visitors was low and those who came spent very little time in the museums. “In addition, there was no place to have a coffee or buy a souvenir, and in a way these museums were not serving tourism development,” says Rasim.
With the support of the EU, the partner organisations introduced an innovative way of presenting history by introducing modern equipment in museums and additionally developing a virtual reality presentation and an animated game which provides historical facts in a fun way. For example, if you now decide to experience the virtual reality tour for the Neretva Battle in the Jablanica museum, you will have to put on 3D glasses and will find yourself in the headquarters of the Partisan command, surrounded by animated actors. The commander will give you the task of saving wounded soldiers which will take you through the battle, and on the way you will face a number of obstacles that need to be overcome. “We believe that this approach is attractive in particular for young people who are bored of learning history in a traditional way,” says Rasim.
The virtual presentations were just a part of the project. The partner organisations also equipped the museums with 3D glasses, LED screens, tablets, e-guides and other virtual presentation equipment. In addition, they contributed training and certification of the tour guides in contemporary interpretation methodology, supported small businesses to produce souvenirs, and helped the museums in drafting business plans.
“As a result of the EU support now both museums can become fully financially viable, and other museums in the region have been in touch with them to learn how to implement their approach.”
About the project
The Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) assistance II CBC Programme Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro 2014–2020 has its overall programme objective the sustainable development of the cross-border area between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro which is promoted through the implementation of joint activities that maximise the comparative advantages of the area. The total IPA funding for the Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro Programme 2014-2020 is €8,400,000.
The EU-funded “Amusing Museums” project had an important economic impact on both museums. Jablanica Museum, for example, doubled their entry fee and despite being a pandemic year – when the number of foreign visitors was expected to be low – it also doubled the number of individual visitors. “As a result of the EU support, now both museums can become fully financially viable, and other museums in the region have been in touch with them to learn how to implement their approach,” says Rasim.
What is more important, the project also had an important impact on cross-border cooperation among the museums and cultural institutions of both countries. The project enabled joint tour operator visits on both sides of the border, where tour operators were inspired to bring their visitors to the museums, and also included close cooperation on project implementation between cultural and local authority institutions.
CEFTAWeek 2021 took place 13-16 December in Skopje, North Macedonia. The annual event serves as an opportunity to take stock of the results and achievements from the year-long chairmanship of CEFTA (the Central European Free Trade Agreement), held by North Macedonia during 2021.
Over the four days, Skopje hosted high officials from the CEFTA parties, business representatives, diplomats, and representatives from the EU and other international organisations. Speakers at the flagshipCEFTA Week 2021 Conference “15 years making trade happen” held on the final day included, Kreshnik Bekteshi, North Macedonia Minister of Economy, Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Marko Cadez, President of the Managing Board of the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF), Majlinda Bregu, Secretary-General of the Regional Cooperation Council, and Emir Djikić, Director of the CEFTA Secretariat.
The 2021 CEFTA Week got underway with official CEFTA meetings and workshops organised in cooperation with partners from the European Union Intellectual Property Office, USAID North Macedonia and WB6 CIF and with the support of the European Commission. A series of events also covered specific trade-related topics stemming from the Common Regional Market Action Plan, such as e-commerce, recognition of certificates, qualifications, and licences, and intellectual property rights.
UN Women Serbia and the Fenomena non-governmental organisation teamed up to organise a national campaign, named “#SOSagainstViolence,” aimed at decreasing violence against women during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, within the “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds” regional programme funded by the European Union and focused on ending violence against women. The campaign, which ran for a year from November 2020, included an extensive media campaign, a mentorship programme for journalists and a course for high school girls on gender-based violence.
The 12-month long media campaign resulted in more than 250 minutes of TV programming and 150 printed articles related to the prevention of violence against women and the need to report violence, as well as issues of toxic masculinity and gender roles, which have a direct impact on rolling back women’s rights during the health crisis and isolation. The campaign reached over two million people in Serbia.
The “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds” regional programme, funded by the EU and implemented by UN Women, aims at ending gender-based discrimination and violence against women, with a particular focus on the most disadvantaged groups of women in the Western Balkans and Turkey.
