Serbia

BETA News Agency
$49,800*
To increase the accessibility of high quality, objective information in Serbia and Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina. BETA will to continue to cover the subscription costs of its news services for eight struggling independent media outlets, mostly in Republika Srpska, and a news and photo service for 28 independent members of the Local Press Association of Serbia.

Center for Civil Society Development PROTECTA
$43,650*
To organize a national coalition of NGOs to promote decentralization in Serbia. In partnership with the Media Center Nis and the Committee for Human Rights, PROTECTA will work to increase public awareness about the need for local government reform, mobilize NGOs and citizens to focus on the issue of decentralization at the local and national level, and petition state-level institutions and the Parliament to address the issue.

Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe (CDRSEE)
$47,700*
To improve the teaching of history and highlight the importance of a multi-perspective history curriculum in Serbia. Using newly developed history teaching guides, CDRSEE and its local partners will train Serbian teachers in new methods of teaching which promote democratic principles in the classroom, including comparative approaches and participatory learning.

Center for Interethnic Reconciliation, School for Investigative Journalism
$33,000*
To increase the professionalism of independent news organizations and promote the development of a free and democratic media sector in Serbia. The School will train 200 young reporters, editors, and managers from print and electronic media in southeastern Serbia and the Sandzak in investigative journalism skills, media management, and media technology.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$84,000
To undertake an education, policy and advocacy campaign that will address the institutionalization of corruption in Serbia. Through a comprehensive survey, roundtable expert discussions, and an active media campaign, this project will highlight the negative effects of corruption, benchmark the government's progress in fighting it, and elaborate means for combating corruption in the short and long term.

Center for the Development of Parliamentary Debate
$43,530*
To foster dialogue between young politicians in Serbia. The Center will carry out ten mock parliamentary debates for young leaders from the youth wings of prodemocratic political parties; conduct ten advanced skills-building workshops on leadership, debate, and communication skills; and organize a four-day debate summer camp for 30 of the most active and gifted program participants.

Fund B92
$15,082*
To help organize FREE ZONE, an annual multimedia festival aimed at raising human rights awareness in Serbia. The series of events offers a framework for debates on sensitive human rights topics important for Serbia's democratization process. Endowment support will be used by Fund B92 to organize a monthly human rights documentary film screening at its REX Cultural Center and conduct associated promotional activities.

Humanitarian Law Center
$36,083*
To encourage public debate and awareness about the responsibility of the Serbian government for crimes committed during the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The Humanitarian Law Center will produce and distribute a documentary film investigating the Scorpions military unit and the crimes for which a number of its members are responsible. The documentary will feature interviews with former Scorpions members and the unit's own video recordings.

Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina
$24,610*
To build the capacity of independent and pluralistic media in minority communities and facilitate access to alternative views on the treatment of ethnic minorities in Serbia. The Association will create an online archive of articles from 18 minority publications published in 6 languages and train 20 minority journalists to expand and use the archive.

NIP Vranjske
$14,990*
To raise awareness about political, social, and economic issues affecting southern Serbia. The independent weekly newsmagazine Vranjske will investigate, produce, and publish a series of 20 in-depth articles addressing key issues relevant to both the Serbian and Albanian communities.

Novi Sad School of Journalism
$33,630*
To promote the development of youth departments within minority radio stations, thereby strengthening independent and pluralistic media in Vojvodina. The School will train 15 young journalists, who will establish youth departments at five local radio stations broadcasting in minority languages. Each department will produce ten radio shows on youth-related topics, which will be broadcast in both Serbian and the respective minority language.

Organization for Development and Democracy Bujanovac (ORDB)
$39,822*
To increase the transparency of local municipalities, promote citizen participation in local government, and assist in easing ethnic tensions in southern Serbia. ORDB will monitor local government assemblies, publish and distribute the assembly meetings minutes, and facilitate citizen outreach to their local assembly representatives. ORDB will also administer a small grants program to assist and strengthen local NGOs.

Student Union of Serbia (SUS)
$50,000*
To continue encouraging the involvement of young people in democratic student groups and civic organizations in Serbia. SUS will establish new chapters, conduct a national membership drive, organize a campaign for university reform, publish materials on student issues, and train student leaders in organizational and leadership skills.

Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative
$36,070*
To help create a climate for better understanding between ethnic communities living in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the second year, Vojvodjanka will organize the VIVISECTfest Festival on Human Rights in seven cities in the region. The festival's unique photographs and documentaries promote ethnic tolerance and understanding by raising awareness of the dangers of hate speech, nationalism, and xenophobia.

Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR)
$39,870*
To inform and educate young people about the recent past in the former Yugoslavia. YIHR's program will incorporate young people into the process of bringing war criminals to justice, strengthening and expanding its Justice Advocates Network and raising historical awareness by organizing workshops, regional trainings for advocates, and a national war crimes and transitional justice awareness campaign.

Zajecar Initiative
$30,800*
To build the capacity of the third sector in eastern Serbia and encourage greater youth activism. The Initiative will strengthen local youth organizations and student parliaments in eight towns through education and training. The Initiative will also provide a variety of other services to assist active young people and NGOs including information and documentation, legal counseling, consulting, and direct aid.