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Author: WeBalkans

EFSE supports the financing of small-scale farmers in Albania

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The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) has provided a €3 million loan to FED Invest, a specialised agriculture lender in Albania, to extend much-needed liquidity to farmers in rural areas. Agriculture contributes to 20% of Albania’s GDP and over half of employment. By increasing the availability of loans to micro and small enterprises in the agricultural sector, FED Invest and EFSE aim to equip rural farmers with the resources they need to weather the COVID-19 crisis.

 

The European Fund for Southeast Europe is a public-private partnership which is supported with funds from various private investors and donor agencies including the European governments and the European Union.

 

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WBIF and EBRD support Serbia to expand broadband to rural areas

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Over 90,000 households and 600 schools and public institutions in rural areas in Serbia will gain access to fast broadband thanks to a government digitalisation project supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and bilateral donors under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).

 

An €18 million EBRD loan and a €1.7 million WBIF bilateral donors’ grant will allow Serbia to finance the design and construction of fibre broadband infrastructure in rural regions of the country. The project is part of Serbia’s initiative to promote digitalisation as a driver of economic growth and to position the country as an IT development hub. It has been also identified as one of the flagship projects in the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.

 

The WBIF is a joint initiative of the EU, financial institutions, bilateral donors and governments of the Western Balkans, focused on strategic investments in energy, environment, social, transport and digital infrastructure sectors

 

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The film festival that brings 50,000 visitors to a small city in Kosovo

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From humble beginnings, the documentary and short film festival, DokuFest, has become one of the best-known film festivals in the region. An idea, the equivalent of €1,000 and a passion for bringing life to their small city was all it took for some enthusiastic film-lovers from Prizren in Kosovo to start what has become one of the best-known film festivals in the region –DokuFest. Next year DokuFest will celebrate its 20th anniversary. In that time, the festival has become one of the qualifying festivals for the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) awards, and for the last two years it has been rated as one of the “25 coolest film festivals in the world” by MovieMaker magazine. Veton Nurkollari is one of the founders of the festival. He reminisces: “It was immediately after the war, and we had an urge to bring some cultural energy to the city. We thought about organising a film festival but, to be frank, we had no idea how to do this. There were about ten of us, and none of us had any experience in organising a film festival. Actually, none of us back then had even visited a film festival! But nevertheless, we decided to give it a try.” “Through its selection and funding mechanisms, the EU has identified us as an activity worth supporting, and we can only express our sincere gratitude.” Starting small For the first edition, they raised the equivalent of around €1,000 from a donor organisation and contributed an equal amount themselves and borrowed an amateur film projector from a film professor. They managed to gather 32 short and documentary films for screening, mostly from neighbouring countries. The festival was ready to roll. A few dozen guests, mainly film professionals, attended the festival week. For the next five years, all the work done for the festival was on a volunteer basis, and the founders often had to contribute their own money to keep the festival going. Their efforts paid off. DokuFest  now brings around €5 million in turnover to the city each year and approximately 50,000 film lovers attend the week-long festival. This is an enormous contribution to the economy of a town with 80,000 inhabitants. In the past 20 years, the festival has also contributed to the wider image of Kosovo through articles in newspapers such as The Guardian and the ten-page feature about the festival in Lufthansa’s inflight magazine. However, funding remains a challenge. Veton references other film festivals such as the Berlinale, which runs on around €30 million, or Sarajevo’s film festival, which works with an annual budget of €2 to €4 million. By comparison, DokuFest’s recent budget of €400,000 seems tiny. “Of course, this is a huge increase compared to the budget we started with, but it’s not enough to organise a global level film festival,” Veton says. “We want to keep introducing innovations to the festival, but for this we would need to have a budget of at least €700,000 and maybe up to €1 million each year.” International donors, including the European Union, and the private sector have been the festival‘s most prominent supporters. Veton explains that the support provided by the EU was significant. ”The EU has provided continuous support for the festival. They supported us with the funding for the construction of the new cinema as well as many other smaller-scale projects,” he says. One that Veton highlights is the training programme for young filmmakers. This programme was initiated with the support of the EU’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) programme. The project started in 2013 with the aim of promoting inter-community and inter-ethnic relations in Kosovo through visual storytelling by young people from different communities and ethnicities. Even after the project funding ended in 2015, the training programme has continued and seven generations of young people have been trained, producing over 70 films. Some of them are now competing in important film festivals around the world. “Through its selection and funding mechanisms, the EU has identified us as an activity worth supporting, and we can only express our sincere gratitude,” says Veton.

“An opportunity to provide joy to so many people through your work is something incomparable. I hope that the festival will continue with this kind of positive energy and passion for the years to come.”

Twenty years may have passed, but the festival probably has many years to go. “It has been an extraordinary journey beyond my wildest dreams,” says Veton. “An opportunity to provide joy to so many people through your work is something incomparable. I hope that the festival will continue with this kind of positive energy and passion for the years to come. Every ounce of effort was worth it.” A legacy passed to younger generations Only two of the founding members remain part of the festival management and Veton is proud of this: “Our intention was to involve as many young people as possible in managing the festival. Our current festival director joined us as a volunteer many years ago, and now she is the manager of the overall enterprise.”

Making the Tara river canyon an international tourist destination

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An entrepreneur from Bosnia and Herzegovina has turned the Tara Canyon into a source of income for the countries connected by the river. The Encijan rafting camp sits in the Tara River Canyon, which connects Bosnia and Herzegovina with Montenegro. The Canyon is considered one of the most beautiful in the Western Balkans, and the camp the most special in the Canyon. With accommodation in chalets, traditional cuisine, a terrace above the river and the stunning environment around it, the camp has been a favourite spot for lovers of rafting and nature holidays for more than 15 years. From hobby to serious business enterprise Milan Šupić, from the nearby town of Foča, is the owner of the camp. Until 20 years ago, rafting was only a favourite hobby for him, but then he decided to turn it into a business. The decision changed his life but also created a new source of income for many of the citizens of his hometown. “At the beginning, the business did not do well. But then, over the next four to five years, the camp became a serious enterprise. When you do something you love, success is inevitable,” says Milan.
“At the beginning, the business did not do well. But then, over the next four to five years, the camp became a serious enterprise. When you do something you love, success is inevitable.”
Milan explains that when he decided to go into business, there was nothing there. Now, the Tara River Canyon is a popular destination for rafting lovers in the Western Balkans. Twenty-five new rafting camps have since been established around the Canyon. In each of the past two years, approximately 50,000 tourists visited the Canyon. The region also offers adventure tourism activities, including canyoning and hiking through the natural beauty of Sutjeska and Durmitor national parks. Milan explains that visitors usually stay five days to enjoy the full package. They spend the nights with traditional food, drinks and campfire, and during the day they go rafting or enjoy one of the other kinds of adventure tourism. However, like many enterprises starting out in the Western Balkans, Milan’s business had its challenges. He remembers that 20 years ago there was no proper road to the Canyon. The only way to reach it was to take a long walk through a dense wood, or a boat trip. “When I decided to construct the camp, I had to take all the material first to the other side of the border to Montenegro, and from there transport the material by boat to the location of the camp,” he says. A tarmac road now makes it possible to reach the Canyon by car and minibus, but the increasing number of visitors also called for improvements in visitor safety and better information services.

“The project placed new orientation signs along the road; in addition, they placed benches and identified panorama. These were maybe small but certainly important elements for an international tourist destination such as the Tara River Canyon.”

The T.A.R.A project was funded as part of the BiH-MNE 2014-2020 Cross-Border Cooperation programme. The lead partner is Plužine Municipality from Montenegro, and other partners are the Piva Nature park, Foča Municipality and the Foča Municipality Tourist Organisation from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
EU support for a safer, richer tourist experience To meet these challenges, support from the EU-funded Tourism, Adrenaline and Rafting Adventure (T.A.R.A.) project “came just at the right time” according to Milan. He explains that following the construction of the new road, the number of visitors who started to travel in their own vehicles increased. The road was not marked, and some of them got lost or delayed. Thanks to the project, the road is now properly signposted, with benches and panorama points indicated along the route. Other infrastructure improvements are ongoing. Plans include the construction of raft platforms at arrival and descentpoints, a floating platform on Piva Lake, viewing platforms for nature watching, and rock climbing routes. The project is also contributing to the safety protocols for visitors with increased coordination of the rescue services on both sides of the border, development of joint safety procedures with joint emergency drills and rescue exercises, and purchasing rescue equipment.

Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) launches the 2021 Social Cohesion Award to recognise outstanding social action in Europe

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With the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable, social action and innovation are needed more than ever. The CEB Award for Social Cohesion will award a €25,000 prize to a project that addresses pressing social issues. The competition is open to small organisations and individuals from the CEB’s 42 member countries who can nominate projects at an early stage of implementation. The deadline for receiving applications is 12 April.

 

“The driving force behind this initiative is our search for a way to give recognition to projects which contribute, each in its own way, to social cohesion in Europe. By drawing wider attention to such projects and rewarding them, we want to encourage more activities like these,” said CEB Governor Rolf Wenzel at the virtual opening event.

Call for proposals to promote diversity and intercultural dialogue at the local level in Serbia

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The Council of Europe has opened a call for applications by civil society organisations (CSOs) and local government institutions who have project ideas focused on promoting the rights of national/ethnic minorities and LGBTI persons and their protection from hate speech and hate-motivated violence. Preference will be given to proposals which demonstrate strong collaboration and partnership between CSOs and local/municipal authorities.

EU supports the recovery of entrepreneurs and farmers in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

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The EU4Business Recovery project, worth €13.7 million, will secure more than 1,000 jobs threatened by the pandemic, and at least 100 new jobs will be created. The project will support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to continue in business and keep jobs, and will also focus on helping women entrepreneurs, young people and other vulnerable groups to start up their own businesses.

 

Alongside this initiative, the EU4AGRI Recovery project, worth €5 million, will provide direct support to farmers, businesses and rural tourism operators to develop long-term resilience in the sector, retain existing jobs and create new ones, especially for women and youth. The project will ensure the retention of more than 400 jobs, while creating at least 100 new jobs with a focus on the environment and sustainable agriculture. Additionally, the project will provide support for establishing 20 new innovative and environmentally responsible start-ups.

 

Grants for farmers and entrepreneurs will be provided through an open call for proposals.

The European Union continues to assist Serbia in the management of migration flow

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Refugees and migrants in Serbia will continue to receive support for accommodation, food, medical, and pedagogical services, as well as help in returning to their countries of origin, where appropriate, through the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme. The EU Support to Serbia for Migration Management for 2021 is worth €13 million, and is part of a programme of similar support extended over the last five years. Since 2015, when the increased influx of migrants to Serbia’s territory began, the EU has donated to Serbia over €130 million for migration management.

 

The ongoing EU Support to Migration Management in Serbia has proved to be a key and resilient programme during the COVID-19 pandemic when, at its peak in 2020, the number of migrants accommodated in reception centres and asylum centres exceeded 9,000.  In addition, the EU has supported Serbia with more than €28 million to control its borders efficiently, thus contributing to Serbian citizens’ safety, making border crossings safer and preventing criminal activities, while ensuring swift crossing of travellers and goods.

Serbia’s 83-year-old volunteer heroine

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Danica Šmic from Serbia contributes as a volunteer by staying in touch with older people who need help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Danica Šmic was born in Belgrade in 1937 and survived the city’s bombing by hiding in the basement of the building where she lived with her parents. She is a retired physics and mathematics teacher with two sons; she is also a volunteering heroine, with more than 50 years of charity work helping people in trouble.
“Volunteering is one of my great pleasures. I love visiting people who are living alone, so that they don’t feel lonely or forgotten,” says Danica, who completed a course to become a volunteer Red Cross nurse in 1970, and hasn’t stopped actively participating in public life ever since – during both war and peace. “If we want this world to be a better, more just and humane place to live, the first step is to volunteer, to help one another, not only during pandemics or floods. It should be an everyday part of our lives.” Danica has stayed active during the COVID-19 pandemic: she writes and publishes and stays in touch with older people who need help, or who feel lonely, scared or rejected by the community.  

“Older people are not a burden for society: society can benefit from them.”

During over half a century of activism and volunteering, Danica has been an advocate of older people’s rights: “Older people are not a burden for society: society can benefit from them, but intergenerational solidarity is especially important, and this has become evident during the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus didn’t stop us from helping each other, and we still managed to volunteer, but in a different way, and intergenerational solidarity helped us to contact each other and to learn from each other.” This volunteer says that everyone must find their “inner volunteer” and help people in their neighbourhood as much as they can. Family and school are particularly important when it comes to building these habits among children and young people: “I think that there should be lessons about volunteering and solidarity and that people should engage in these activities from an early age. We are a nation that loves, knows how to and wants to help one another, but we also tend to forget things very quickly.”

“I am so happy because of the photo, I’m speechless. With all kinds of success and praise comes even greater joy, but even greater responsibility. This inspires you, and it is an incentive for you to continue working.”

This project was funded through a larger-scale project, Priority Action for Gender Equality – implemented in partnership with UN Women and the EU Delegation to Serbia – which aims to strengthen administrative capacities for gender equality and achieve progress in implementation of EU and national gender equality commitments through gender mainstreaming.     Danica appeared in a photograph titled “At a bus stop – a volunteer on her way to visit a dependent elderly person” which won first prize in the Best EU Project Photo category in the Human in Focus contest organised by the EU Delegation to Serbia in partnership with National Geographic Serbia The photograph was submitted by a project called “Increased Participation of Older Women in Public and Political Life”, implemented by Citizens Association Amity in partnership with FemPlatz organisation. She says “I am so happy because of the photo, I’m speechless. With all kinds of success and praise comes even greater joy, but even greater responsibility. This inspires you, and it is an incentive for you to continue working.

The digital economy: an opportunity during a crisis

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Young people in Kosovo and Montenegro launch social innovation and enter the digital economy with the support of an EU-funded project. Global and national virus containment measures, from social distancing to business shutdowns, have reduced household incomes and consumption, triggering an economic crisis all over the world. The Western Balkans are no exception in this regard: the World Bank’s Western Balkans Regular Economic Report: Fall 2020, predicted that economic activity in the region will contract by 4.8 per cent overall in 2020, causing a more severe recession than the most recent global financial crisis. At the same time, the pandemic has also opened up new opportunities. A brief on e-commerce in the time of COVID-19 published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development identifies how the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated an expansion of e-commerce towards new firms, customers and types of products. A promising initiative that could turn into a big business Miloš Laković, 27, is a high school teacher and part-time entrepreneur from Montenegro. He is one of the visionaries who saw the pandemic crisis as an opportunity. Miloš had a business idea for an online platform that would connect providers and users of services. The idea was there for some time, but the pandemic made him think more seriously about it and take the initiative to launch it. “As a schoolteacher, I know that many of my colleagues provide private courses after working hours. The situation imposed by the pandemic made me think ‘why not promote and provide these services online?’ and I decided to develop this idea further,” Miloš says.

“As a schoolteacher, I know that many of my colleagues provide private courses after working hours. The situation imposed by the pandemic made me think ‘why not promote and provide these services online”

As time went on, Miloš and his team came up with more types of services – beyond private teaching – that could be marketed through the platform, from art sales to cosmetics. They are now at the final stage of their market research and will soon start work on the development of the platform. Miloš explains that a lot of the credit for further developing this initiative goes to the support that he received from participating in the workshops provided by the EU-funded project, Self-Employment and Social Entrepreneurship for Youth. “By participating in these workshops, we managed to develop the idea further and take it to a level of real entrepreneurial initiative,” he says.

“By participating in these workshops, we managed to develop the idea further and take it to a level of real entrepreneurial initiative”

The Self-Employment and Social Entrepreneurship for Youth project is implemented within the IPA 2014-2020 Cross-Border Cooperation Program Montenegro – Kosovo, funded by the European Union. The project is being implemented by the civil society organisations Association for Democratic Prosperity – Zid, Lens, Liberal Democrat Centre and Creative Skills’ Center. The project started back in January 2019, and it is expected to end at the beginning of 2021.
I2 Space – a place of innovation
The purpose of the project is to improve access to the labour market for young people in Montenegro and Kosovo. The core of the project idea is the establishment of physical environments in a format known as Hackerspace –equipping these spaces with the necessary tools, and providing training and mentorship for young people on social innovation and digital technology. The project established two such spaces: one in Peja/Peć in Kosovo and another in Podgorica, Montenegro. The spaces were named I2 Space.  
During the two years of the project, more than 200 young people have benefited from I2 Space activities both in Peja/Peć and Podgorica. A number of them have already started to earn through employment or by providing freelance services. The project provided courses and mentorship programmes on coding and web customisation, 3D Printing and electronics, digital marketing, graphic design and photography.  
Božina Stešević is a project manager at the civil society organisation Association for Democratic Prosperity – Zid, the lead partner of the project from Montenegro. He says that one of the main achievements of the project is the conception and effective functioning of the I2 Space community itself. “There is this inner circle of I2 Space users who cooperate among themselves and do this in a common physical space. Then there is the circle of all young people who have participated in the training; and last, but not least, there is a wider circle which connects young people from both sides of the border who are already cooperating in exchanging ideas and business perspectives and also on breaking down prejudices.”  
One-to-one mentorship was one of the crucial components of the project. As part of this, the participants were expected to develop innovative business start-up prototype ideas that have the potential to develop further. To date, applicants of the program have prototyped 23 start-up ideas, including the brainchild of Miloš.