Southern Tier Regional

ARHITEL Production

$27,790
To encourage public debate on extreme nationalist movements in Serbia. ARHITEL will produce and distribute a documentary film analyzing the legal, social, and political aspects of extreme nationalism. The documentary will feature interviews and archival materials profiling the leading extreme right organizations in Serbia. The film will be broadcast on regional and national television stations and promoted in over a dozen cities throughout the Balkans.

Association School of Politics

$49,774
To develop the leadership skills of and promote dialogue among young politicians and NGO activists in Southeastern Europe. The Bulgaria-based School will organize a series of courses for 31 young politicians, NGO activists and media practitioners from the region. Topics for the courses will include crossborder cooperation, conflict analysis and management, nationalism and populism in the Balkans, and human rights and minority integration.

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) Regional

$39,990
To improve the skills and professionalism of journalists in Albania and Macedonia. BIRN will conduct on-the-job training and provide editorial mentorship to raise the professional skills of up to 20 journalists who will produce investigative reports on key issues and increase objective coverage of political, economic, and social issues of importance to the reform processes in these two countries.

BETA News Agency

$49,800
To strengthen key local independent media in Serbia and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. BETA will provide its news and photo services to 28 independent newspapers of the Association of Local Independent Media “Local Press” in Serbia, and its audio services to nine local radio stations of the Drina Radio Network in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Citizens’ Association “Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative”

$35,440*
To encourage public debate on human rights issues and raise human rights awareness in the former Yugoslav countries. For the fourth year, the Serbia-based Vojvodjanka will organize the VIVISECTfest Festival on Human Rights in seven cities in the region. The festival’s bold use of graphic photographs and documentaries provides a unique framework for stimulating debate on topics important for the democratization of Serbia and its neighbors.

Humanitarian Law Center (HLC)

$50,227*
To advance the process of ethnic and historic reconciliation by building public support for the establishment of a regional truth-telling body on war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. In cooperation with partners from Sarajevo and Zagreb, the Belgrade-based HLC will coordinate national and regional consultations with various interest groups, prepare policy recommendations for decision-makers, and present the recommendations to the broader public throughout the former Yugoslavia.

International Republican Institute (IRI)

$1,250,000
To strengthen training capacity and campaign infrastructure as well as build consensus for democracy promotion activities further afield. IRI’s regional office in Bratislava will conduct targeted trainings and technical assistance for parties and party youth organizations to improve know-how for political and campaign management, organize a series of seminars and activities to advance the democracy promotion agenda in Europe, and provide resources on developments in campaigns and elections across the region.

Medienhilfe

$147,115*
To strengthen sources of independent and objective information in the Western Balkans. The Switzerland-based Medienhilfe will provide technical assistance to and partially cover the basic operating costs of seven independent local radio stations in Serbia, two in Kosovo, and one each in Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of which are committed to promoting professional standards of free speech and objectivity in their respective countries and the region.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

$530,000
To promote Roma participation in the political process. NDI will conduct a series of trainings on political skills for Romani activists in the Western Balkans and Romania, prepare Romani candidates for Romania’s local elections, provide governance training to Romani local councilors throughout the region, and enhance the leadership skills of program graduates through a regional political leadership academy.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

$90,000
To help Romani activists develop strategies to overcome persistent barriers to political participation. NDI will assess the obstacles to Roma serving in elected office, engaging in civic advocacy, and enhancing citizen participation through qualitative and quantitative research, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and an expert assessment mission. The assessment will focus on Romania due to the Roma community’s size and diversity there.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

$310,000
To assist Western Balkan parliaments in strengthening their legislative, representative, and oversight capacities. NDI will assist MPs and parliamentary staff to establish research units, efficient staff structures, and independent operating budgets by fostering cooperation and information sharing among Western Balkan legislatures and their Central and West European counterparts through three regional workshops. NDI will anchor the workshops with comparative research and in-country consultations.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

$350,000
To assist parties in the Balkans with challenges to reform from within. NDI will augment in-country assistance focused on individual party development by linking parties with ideological brethren throughout the region and Europe. Having developed strong connections between regional and European parties, NDI will advance regional cooperation through five seminars that will bring like-minded parties together to discuss policy issues, best practices of policymaking, and greater inclusiveness, with an emphasis on women and youth.

Transitions Online (TOL)

$42,344
To improve reporting on judicial issues, foster judicial reform, and enhance public access to information about judicial systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The Prague-based TOL will oversee a crossborder program that will include an online distance learning course, two workshops on covering the judiciary for 30 journalists, a Prague seminar at the CEELI Institute on judicial reform and media communications for 10 judges, and 16 commissioned articles on judicial reform.

Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR)

$79,880
To strengthen the capacity of local youth NGOs in the region to develop and implement initiatives aimed at improving interethnic relations and promoting reconciliation. The Belgrade-based YIHR will award approximately 12 small grants to support civil society initiatives strengthening relations and cooperation between Bosnian, Kosovar, and Serbian youth. It will also provide participating youth organizations with training and technical assistance.