Balkan Institute for Regional Cooperation
Fostering Online Public Debate among Albanian Youth
$53,000
To foster public debate on political, economic, and social topics among Albanian youth. The independent, Albanian-language media outlet will provide a nonpartisan online forum for prominent policy professionals, activists, and intellectuals to discuss pressing issues facing the country. It will contribute to ongoing debates on key issues and produce analyses, columns, and expert interviews on topics related to democratic reforms, rule of law, accountability, transparency, and anticorruption initiatives. It will also provide a fellowship for young journalists.
Center for Intercultural Dialogue
Promoting Youth Activism in Multiethnic Communities
$115,000
To promote youth civic engagement and dialogue in multiethnic communities. The center will train high school students in advocacy, digital campaigning, leadership, and participation skills. It will continue to mentor the participants as they implement advocacy campaigns on human rights and conflict resolution. The activities will focus on enabling youth participants to serve as agents of social change and dialogue in communities plagued by interethnic strife.
CIVIL – Center for Freedom Skopje
Promoting Transparent and Accountable Political Processes
$33,623
To promote transparent and accountable political processes in advance of the census and local elections. The nonpartisan project will encourage the investigation of electoral violations and discrimination based on political affiliation, the misuse of public and administrative resources, as well as political propaganda and hate speech. The group will foster public demand for free elections, human rights, and freedom of expression mobilizing citizens to oversee electoral and political processes, as well as facilitate cooperation between civil society, journalists, and voters.
EUROTHINK – Center for European Strategies
Fostering Public Debate on Accountability
$54,000
To facilitate broader public understanding regarding the accountability of law enforcement agencies and promote better policy responses to the current lack of oversight and dialogue. Drawing on its data-driven research, the organization will continue its dialogue building forum for state officials, civil society experts, and media to identify short- and long-term opportunities for improving police accountability. It will put forth recommendations to advance oversight and dialogue building efforts and publicize the nonpartisan project’s findings via public debates featuring policymakers.
Institute for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’ Skopje
Fostering Public Debate on Accountability
$115,000
To facilitate broader public understanding of institutional accountability and promote better policy responses to corruption. The organization will continue its forum for parliamentary committees, state officials, and experts to identify short- and long-term opportunities for improving government accountability and propose recommendations to advance anticorruption efforts. The organization will share the nonpartisan project’s findings via an online database and publicize them through a multifaceted media outreach strategy.
International Republican Institute (IRI)
Advancing Political Party Financial Transparency
$600,000
Despite amending the Law on Free Access to Public Information to obligate political parties to share financial information with the public, parties have failed to properly do so. To improve parties’ capacity in complying with the Law, the Institute will provide trainings, coach public information officers and develop standard operating procedures on financial disclosure.
Metamorphosis Foundation
Promoting the Accountability and Transparency of Public Reforms
$65,000
To promote accountability and transparency on public reforms. The organization’s online platform will provide nonpartisan information on the veracity, consistency, and degree of implementation of public officials’ statements regarding ongoing reforms. Updated regularly by a team of professional journalists, political analysts, legal experts, and civic activists, the site will inform citizens about politicians’ and officials’ performance related to reforms in the judiciary, public administration, human rights, and freedom of expression.
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
Strengthening Oversight of Public Funds through Leadership Transitions
$150,000
To contribute to the institutional independent capacity of the State Audit Office (SAO) of North Macedonia, the Institute will assist the SAO to strengthen its institutional relations with parliament and with anti-corruption bodies; improve its outreach and communication to the public; and create protocols to oversee the disposition of public funds and assets during periods of government transition. The Institute will draw on legislative strengthening programming in North Macedonia, its executive transitions work and global transitions community of practice, and contemporary government audit practices in the United States, to furnish technical assistance, training, peer experience sharing, in such areas as parliamentary review of audit findings and recommendations, executive transition preparations, and post-facto auditing of government transition processes. As a result of this program, SAO will gain contextual understanding based on practiced methods for post-transition scrutiny in other systems, to strengthen accountability and oversight in future transitions of executive power.
Ohrid Institute
Encouraging Youth Political Dialogue
$60,000
To promote dialogue between young political leaders and strengthen their ability to participate in decision-making processes. The organization’s unique dialogue program will continue to develop the teamwork, leadership, and communication skills of young political leaders from 26 parties across the political spectrum through trainings, workshops, events, and a policy writing program. The nonpartisan program will promote constructive debate between members of political party youth wings on key policies affecting youth.
Democratic Governance
Promoting Accountability through Investigative Reporting
$100,000
To expand the quality, reach, and impact of reporting on transparency and accountability, with an emphasis on local governance and the current government’s reform plans. The independent media organization will continue to foster public debate by further developing its digital newsroom and expanding its network of local reporters, which provide high quality analytical and investigative coverage of political events and their implications for local communities.
Youth Educational Forum
Fostering Youth Activism through Online Media
$140,000
To promote civic activism, encourage public debate, and foster better ethnic relations among youth. The organization will produce news content, investigative video reports, and live blogs for its online multimedia platform covering current political events, the country’s political transition, and interethnic relations. Additionally, the organization will build the media and civic skills of youth activists across the country and organize its annual conference on new media and youth activism.
