Serbia

Association of Local Independent Media “Local Press”

$39,682
To continue a debate about the challenges facing youth in Serbia. Members of the Association will produce, exchange, and publish a series of 20 articles to help fill a void in information regarding the civic apathy and radical political tendencies among youth in local communities. The article exchange and five public discussions on the topic will extend the project’s reach to communities across the country.

Center for Civil Resources Development

$38,905*
To continue promoting freedom of expression and respect for diversity and human rights in southern Serbia. The organization’s Alternative Cultural Center will host a series of activities fostering freedom of expression and limiting extreme nationalism, including more than a dozen discussion panels, roundtables, exhibits, and workshops. The Center’s space will also be available for the activities of other NGOs working on these issues.

Center for Civil Society Development PROTECTA

$45,000 *
To continue advancing the process of decentralization in Serbia by building public support for local government reform among citizens, NGOs, government representatives and the media. PROTECTA and its partners will facilitate direct communication between citizens and their elected representatives, organize a creative campaign to involve citizens in advocacy efforts, and produce a television program and advertisements promoting citizen participation in decision-making processes.

Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)

$116,188
To strengthen the voice of the small business community in advocating for reform in Serbia. CIPE will assist the Belgrade-based Serbian Association of Managers to organize four roundtables on priority issue affecting the business environment, produce four policy papers with recommendations for a reform agenda, develop a series of action plans which will serve as advocacy tools, conduct media outreach and launch a webpage, and produce a final report.

Citizens’ Association “Millennium”

$29,100*
To encourage public debate on the most important social, political and economic topics affecting Serbia’s citizens, with a particular focus on central Serbia. Millennium will produce a series of 18 televised public debates titled “Stage Talks,” which will provide a forum for an open discussion by prominent policy makers, civic and political leaders, journalists, and experts before a live studio audience.

Civic Association kuda.org

$25,000*
To conduct a civic education program within the Youth Social Center CK13 that fosters freedom of expression and respect for diversity and human rights in Vojvodina. In cooperation with two partner organizations, Kuda.org will organize a series of activities promoting freedom of expression and opposing extreme nationalism, including discussion panels, roundtables, and workshops. CK13 will also operate a youth community radio and publish a youth journal.

Civil Association LiNet

$39,990
To enhance the skills of youth activists and enable them to play a more prominent role in promoting youth-related policies in Serbia’s southwestern region of Sandzak. LiNet will conduct a series of trainings for 30 youth activists and assist them in their advocacy efforts to gain the adoption and implementation of youth-related policies by local governments in their respective communities.

EXIT Association

$30,120
To organize a youth activism campaign within its annual EXIT Festival, the largest music festival in Europe. NED funding will cover partial costs of two programs within the campaign – the NGO Fairground, presenting the work of over 80 NGOs from Serbia and the region, and the AGORA stage, featuring a series of televised discussions and performances on key social and political topics facing Serbia and the region.

Fund B92

$35,500
To promote a greater awareness of human rights among Serbia’s citizens. Fund B92 will organize the fourth edition of Free Zone, a series of public events including film screenings, discussions, lectures, and exhibitions aimed at raising human rights awareness. Endowment funding will be used to partially cover promotional and organizing costs associated with Free Zone’s six-day film festival in Belgrade.

Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS)

$36,150
To foster investigative reporting in Serbia. NUNS will promote the concept of investigative reporting, create a network of investigative journalists, and increase the skills of young journalists to produce quality investigative articles. NUNS will organize in-house visits to local media outlets, three conferences on investigative journalism, and three investigative reporting workshops.

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM)

$44,135*
To build public support for establishing institutional procedures to limit hate crime and hate speech in Serbia. YUCOM-coordinated teams will monitor media and government responses to instances of hate crime and hate speech, develop and promote legislation on hate crime and hate speech, highlight the issues and related activities through the media, and organize three public debates raising awareness of these issues.

NIP Vranjske

$27,508*
To encourage public debate about crucial issues facing Serb and Albanian ethnic communities in the Preshevo Valley in the aftermath of Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Vranjske will organize four roundtable discussions, bringing together stakeholders from both ethnic groups to discuss the implications that the final status will have on ethnic relations and stability in southern Serbia. Vranjske will also publish supplements and produce television reports summarizing the conclusions of the roundtables.

Resource Center Leskovac

$35,000*
To build the skills of youth activists in southern Serbia and enable them to play a more significant role in advocating for youth related issues. The project will be implemented in the south Serbian districts of Jablanica and Pcinja, and will include a series of 19 trainings and 10 public debates for 40 youth activists. Participants will then implement the skills learned while carrying out ten civic actions.

Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR)

$47,164
To actively involve youth in Serbia’s political processes. The YIHR will conduct a nonpartisan voter education program, including holding civic actions, launching an informational website, and distributing informational leaflets, ahead of the May 2008 parliamentary and local elections. It will also conduct a nationwide nonpartisan media campaign encouraging greater youth participation in the elections.

Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR)

$43,120 *
To involve youth in the process of Serbia’s democratic transition. The YIHR will expand “My Initiative,” a nationwide movement of young activists committed to supporting democratic values, protecting human rights, and dealing with the recent past. It will conduct workshops in 13 cities, providing over 200 youth activists with the skills to initiate, organize, and coordinate at least 13 local and national advocacy and awareness campaigns.

Zajecar Initiative

$43,630*
To promote youth activism, strengthen youth NGOs, and enable them to play a more significant role in advocating for youth related issues in eastern Serbia. The Initiative will organize three workshops and one seminar to assist young people in becoming more engaged in their communities, facilitate local youth advocacy campaigns, and award small grants to five or more youth organizations active in the region.