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Author: WeBalkans

YEAs participate in the UNAA Youth Forum ‘Skills for Peace’ in Tirana

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From 23-25 October, YEAs participated in the Western Balkans Youth Forum ‘Skills for Peace’ organized by UNAA during the Peace Week in Tirana Albania. 
First day consisted more of gathering and networking between participants to get to know each other. Also, it was an interesting discussion about peace strategies and the role of youth in sustainability and partnership between countries in the region. The most important part of the event was the signing of the “Memorandum of Understanding” between UNA Albania, UNA Serbia and UNA North Macedonia as a symbol of cooperation and partnership in the region. 
The second day started with interactive training sessions on negotiations. After that, we were divided in groups and worked on the draft of the “Declaration on Youth Skills for Peace”. It was focused mostly on peacebuilding, the role of youth in activism and decision making and also in digitalization and its impact in society. The Public Diplomacy Manager of Webalkans was invited to the Panel Discussion: “Presenting the Declaration on Youth Skills for Peace”. After it, as a side event, the YEA Country Coordinator from Albania presented the YEA Network and how they utilize skills to bring social change.

EU Investigative Journalism Awards 2023: Meet the Winners

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The EU investigative Journalistm Award 2023 has officially concluded. Celebrating the most compelling investigative stories from the Western Balkans and Turkiye, these awards highlight journalism that contributes to freedom of expression, the rule of law, transparency, and delves into a wide array of critical topics affecting national and regional dynamics.

 

The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023 is part of the project “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II”. The project is funded by the European Union, and it is implemented by a consortium composed of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Hub, Central European University (CEU) – Hungary, Association of Journalists (AJ) – Türkiye, Thomson Media (TM) – Germany, University Goce Delcev Stip (UGD) – North Macedonia, The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) – North Macedonia, Media Association of South-East Europe (MASE) – Montenegro and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo (BIRN Kosovo).

Creative Europe call for European cooperation projects open

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This call will support projects to carry out a broad spectrum of activities and initiatives involving artists and stakeholders active in different cultural and creative sectors. With a budget of around €60 million, the action will foster cooperation between organisations active in the field of culture, to increase the cross-border dimension of creation and circulation of European artistic content. It will also encourage the development, experimentation, dissemination, and application of new and innovative practices.

 

The action will support at least 130 projects. European cooperation projects are open to all the cultural and creative sectors. However, considering that this action is part of the Culture strand of the Programme, projects with exclusive audio-visual content and/or exclusively composed of organisations from the audio-visual sector are not eligible to apply.

RCC opens applications for butterfly innovation award 2023

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The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is inviting creative minds to apply for the 2nd round of Regional Butterfly Innovation Award for innovative, scalable, and market-based solutions from the Western Balkans. The Butterfly Innovation Award fund is set at 30,000 EUR, where the best solution in each of the 6 categories will get the prize of 5,000 EUR.

 

The second regional Butterfly Innovation Award aims to continue supporting the Western Balkans’ economic development by embracing digital transformation and fostering environmental sustainability, and promoting the innovation culture in the region through showcasing successful innovative achievements and empowering especially sensitive groups such as youth and women. Road to innovation is not an easy one, but we will be glad if we can help on your path.

Exploring the Cross-Border Charms of Kosovo and Montenegro: Peja and Gusinje Unveiled

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The EU funded project supports promotion of cultural heritage at the Cross Border Region between Kosovo and Montenegro.

Nestled amid the splendid landscapes of Southeast Europe lies a hidden treasure, where the natural splendor of mountains harmoniously blends with a rich tapestry of cultures. The cross-border expanse spanning Kosovo and Montenegro, encompassing the municipalities of Peja and Gusinje, is a captivating destination that beckons intrepid travelers and culture aficionados alike. This cross-border region boasts awe-inspiring scenery that stands as a testament to the grandeur of nature. Towering mountain ranges, notably the Accursed Mountains, offer unmatched opportunities for hiking, mountaineering, and wildlife observation.

 

Yet, beyond the captivating landscapes, this cross-border territory is steeped in history and culture. Regrettably, the cultural heritage of the region has not received the same level of promotion as its natural wealth. Consequently, two cross-border municipalities, Peja in Kosovo and Gusinje in Montenegro, have taken proactive measures to address this discrepancy.

 “We maintain regular contact with visitors at our tourism information centre. Most of our project proposals stem from the feedback we receive from both visitors and the community.”

Blerta Harxhi Begolli holds the role of Senior Project Officer in the Tourism Sector at the Municipality of Peja. She elaborates on the municipality’s consistent success in securing support for Cross-Border Cooperation projects, stating, “We maintain regular contact with visitors at our tourism information centre. Most of our project proposals stem from the feedback we receive from both visitors and the community.”

The municipalities of Peja and Gusinje had established a twinning partnership for some time. Recognizing the shared need for enhanced promotion of their cultural heritage, they jointly decided to initiate and apply for the “Cultural Heritage: A Treasure of the Cross-Border Region” project. This project encompasses a series of measures aimed at enhancing the quantity, quality, and visibility of tourism activities related to the appreciation of cultural and natural heritage.

To enhance the conditions of heritage sites along the cultural route and offer improved services to tourists, audio guides have been acquired for Peja. Additionally, information boards have been installed at three main entry points to Peja to disseminate details about the city’s cultural heritage assets. Signage has been strategically positioned in front of these heritage assets in Peja, accompanied by seating areas for the convenience of visitors.

The project has recently concluded, and within its framework, the partner municipalities conducted extensive research on the cultural heritage assets of the region. They also compiled a study focused on the valorization of cultural heritage, established cultural routes, upgraded facilities at cultural route points to enhance visitor experiences, provided capacity-building opportunities for service providers, implemented signposting to promote the newly developed offerings, and executed various other initiatives to promote the cultural heritage.

“What’s even more important is that feedback from visitors indicates the project interventions are highly beneficial to them. The cultural routes are frequently used, and their quality meets the desired standards.”

About the programme

Under the 2nd Call for Proposals within the IPA CBC programme Montenegro Kosovo, the European Union allocated funds exceeding two million Euros for cross-border cooperation projects. These initiatives led by project beneficiaries have significantly bolstered the region’s quality of life. They’ve achieved this by promoting employment, fostering social inclusion, and enhancing the region’s tourism, cultural, and natural heritage.

Blerta underscores the profoundly positive impact of the project, highlighting one of its most significant achievements: the installation of orientation signs at cultural heritage sites across the city. She remarks, “For instance, before this project, visitors entering the city of Peja had no guidance whatsoever regarding the location of cultural heritage sites. Now, visitors have comprehensive directions to explore the city’s cultural heritage and the surrounding areas.”

Regarding sustainability, Blerta notes that the partner municipalities, working in collaboration with civil society and other stakeholders, consistently maintain the cultural routes and signage. She emphasizes, “What’s even more important is that feedback from visitors indicates the project interventions are highly beneficial to them. The cultural routes are frequently used, and their quality meets the desired standards.”

Digital Transition – Opportunity for SMEs and Citizens

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OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, Serbia Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, and Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia H.E. Emanuele Giaufret opened the Western Balkans Competitiveness Outlook 2024: Digital Transition in Serbia meeting in Belgrade. The event was hosted by the OECD South East Europe Regional Programme.  
This meeting was part of the Programme’s broader series of fact-finding missions in the region in support of the upcoming fourth iteration of the Competitiveness Outlook for Western Balkans, which will be launched in summer 2024. By assessing macroeconomic policies and structural reforms in the Western Balkans, the publication offers policymakers a comprehensive view of reform progress and offers recommendations on further alignment with OECD standards and best practices favouring further integration with the EU. The fifteen policy areas covered by the Competitiveness Outlook are structured around five clusters: business environment, connectivity and infrastructure, skills system, greening, and digitalisation and technology.  
This event centred around the fifth cluster, “digitalisation and technology.” Its objective was to evaluate Serbia’s policy achievements, challenges, and future policy options to accelerate its digital transformation. Mr. Andreas Schaal, Director of OECD Global Relations, and Ms. Verica Ignajtović, Assistant Minister of the International Cooperation and European Integrations Department, Ministry of Finance of Serbia, set the stage for a panel session, during which government and non-government representatives discussed Serbia’s digital policy landscape. The conversation covered recent and upcoming initiatives driving digital transformation and innovation in Serbia’s public and private sectors as well as how Serbia can benefit from learning from OECD good practice examples.  
The event brought together diverse local and international stakeholders involved in the Competitiveness Outlook publication. Participants included government representatives from the Serbian ministries who contributed to the self-assessment, selected non-government stakeholders, and representatives from OECD member state embassies and the European Commission.

Western Balkan start-up competition

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Eighteen start-ups from the region presented their ideas today at the ICT Hub in Belgrade. The pitch was a part of the Star Venture program of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union. The participants were greeted by Emanuele Giaufret, Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia and Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Director, Regional Head of Western Balkans. The startup support program Star Venture was successfully launched in 2019 with funds provided by Luxembourg, and then in 2021 it was supported by the European Union (through the WBIF/EDIF program).

 

The European Union has recognized a growing business need in the region of Western Balkans and provided the essential boost in supporting high-potential enterprises that are at the early stage of their lifecycle, Ambassador Giaufret said. „The European Union has so far invested in Serbia more than EUR 90 million in projects for the development of innovation, acceleration and R&D.  We provided capacity building of start-up support organisations, like the Innovation Fund or the Science and Technology Park Belgrade. This event is just another proof that Serbia is part of the European R&D and innovation community, and today we are here to promote the Star Venture Programme for which the EU allocated 4 million euro. Start-ups are important since they are the engine of economic growth. They are the source of new jobs, new products, and new services – not only for Serbia but the whole Western Balkan region “, he concluded.

 

The program offers technical expertise, mentoring, local advice and strategic programs for business development. The program is a combination of advisory, consulting services and mentoring for young companies, in order to prepare them to interest investors or other sources of financing. In the future, it also includes practical workshops and meetings with international mentors and local consultants, as well as potential investors.

Successful Women for a Successful Region

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On 23 October in Belgrade, the launch of the regional initiative Women on Boards Adria (WOBA) was officially marked, as part of the conference “Successful women for a successful region“, organised by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Sustineri Partners. The conference brought together over 100 representatives of governments, companies, and international organisations and institutions, companies, and leaders of business communities in the region and Europe, with the aim of further encouraging gender equality and greater representation of women in management boards and in executive positions in companies in the Adria region.

 

The most productive spirit of creation and work is when women and men work together and when there is no difference between us. Our differences are in nothing else but in a natural biology of how to maintain humanity, said today Marko Čadež, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and member of the Advisory Board of the WOBA Association, at the opening of the conference “Women on Boards Adria – Successful women for a successful region” organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, on the initiative and in cooperation with the consulting company Sustineri Partners.

 

As part of the “Successful Women for a Successful Region” conference, a panel discussion was held on how women on boards of directors can be the key to the business success of those leaders in challenging times, at which Nicolas Marquier, regional manager for the Western Balkans of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) spoke, together with Zeynep Yalim Uzun, member of the executive board of European Women on Boards, Maja Grubor, member of the executive board of AIK Bank, while the moderator of the panel was Vesna Bengin, co-founder of the BioSense Institute.

Joint action is the only way to remove waste and improve life in Montenegro

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“Whoever you are, you are welcome to contribute to the clean-up… The situation on the riverbanks is just the tip of the iceberg. Apart from the climate crisis, we are also facing the threat of mass waste,” French Ambassador, Anne-Marie Maskay, noted during a press conference regarding the presentation of the waste collected during the “CleanUp Montenegro network” campaign.

The Ambassador highlighted the value of waste cleaning actions as they unite all the residents of Montenegro.“International cooperation is crucial. We plan to announce an agenda that will hopefully become legally binding and will influence the reduction of waste worldwide,” Maskay added, stating that joint action is the only way to eliminate waste and improve life in Montenegro.

The Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Janina Hrebičkova, said that the cleaning campaign is of great socio-political and social importance. “We must increase the amount of waste we recycle. Our goal is to share examples of good and bad practices and support each other,” said Hrebičkova.

Vanja Cicmil, Programme Manager of the NGO Zero Waste Montenegro, explained that International Coastal Cleanup Day is organised to draw attention to the pollution of river streams and seas. “This year, with the help of 325 volunteers, we collected two and a half tons of waste,” Cicmil explained, and pointed out that more than 50% of the analysed waste in 2022 consisted of plastic bottles. She also stated that one of the goals of the NGO Zero Waste Montenegro is to redesign packaging to make it reusable because, as Cicmil notes, there are no recycling facilities that can eliminate the vast amount of single-use packaging.”

Introducing the 112 emergency number across Bosnia and Herzegovina is important for better coordinated emergency response

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At a meeting in the EU Delegation today, representatives of the EU and BiH state level, entity and Brcko District authorities met for a presentation of the results of a study into the feasibility of introducing the emergency number ‘112’ across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The number ‘112’ was introduced as a single European number to call in emergencies, and is used in all EU member states, as well as almost all the candidate countries for EU membership.   
The meeting was hosted by the Head of the EU Delegation/EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Johann Sattler, and attended by the Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina Edin Forto, the Minister of Security of BiH Nenad Nesic, the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH Nermin Niksic, The Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Radovan Viskovic and the Mayor of Brcko District Zijad Nisic.    
Following the presentation of the feasibility study, participants expressed consensus that Bosnia and Herzegovina should speed up the process of introducing the 112 emergency number.  
The introduction of 112 across Europe, as a toll-free emergency number available to people in distress 24 hours per day, 7 days per week has had numerous benefits. It means that business and leisure visitors to any country know immediately which number to contact in the case of an emergency. For a country such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is attracting increasing numbers of visitors, using 112 would be an advantage.   
Moreover, the use of 112 unites all existing emergency numbers, making the transmission of information easier and quicker and enabling emergency services to react more promptly and efficiently, at the same time as enabling better coordination among emergency service providers and better transparency of emergency operations.  
The feasibility study was financed by the EU and carried out by consultants from the company International Consulting Expertise – ICE. The Terms of Reference for the feasibility study were drafted with input from relevant BiH authorities. EU funds are available to support countries adopting the 112 emergency number. Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to access this support once an Action document on the introduction of the 112 emergency number is adopted in the Council of Ministers.