CDRSEE :: Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe

News

16-18 December, 2011 – History Education Meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. The Joint History Project's History Education Committee finalised its push to expand this highly successful history book series to cover more recent times. During a two-day meeting in Belgrade, the editors and contributors discussed the publication within a larger circle of participants and received input from a renowned international expert in the field of Southeast European History. The fruitful meeting was the last in a series of three meetings made possible by the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Institute for Sustainable Communities.

2 – 4 December, Dynamic Teaching Tools Concept Meeting in Thessaloniki – Some of the most accomplished educators and researchers from the region and from the United States gathered in Thessaloniki to create the framework for a new dynamic teaching methodology tool. This talented, multi-faceted group will ultimately publish a manual that will provide teachers with the latest research on teaching methods and ideas on how these methods can be used in their classrooms. While this project builds upon CDRSEE's highly successful Joint History Project, the information and ideas within will not be limited to history classes, but rather will be focused on the art of teaching in a rapidly changing society. The manual will be translated into six different languages. This was the first meeting, with the next scheduled for spring 2012 in Tirana. The project is funded by the European Union, under the IPA Programme.

1 December, 2011 – CDRSEE and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) will kick off a new project in December, organising a series of lively debates about controversial regional issues and broadcasting these debates via major local TV stations throughout the region. The idea of “Similarities Between Differences” is to foster an exchange of ideas and a real debate about the issues that are plaguing these countries, impeding EU accession and reconciliation. This is not your everyday talk show. This series will bring together untainted, well-respected and unbiased individuals from a wide field of social sciences, including anthropology, ethnology, cultural studies, applied ethics and many others. The topics will not be easy or comfortable, but the wider debates that spring from this series can lead to real solutions and a mutual understanding. More information on the EFB is available at www.balkanfund.org.

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Projects - Employed, Empowered

http://www.employed-empowered.net/

Vision: Employed, Empowered is an innovative idea that combines labour market research with a practical project to tackle the issues of unemployment among the most vulnerable members of society in Serbia. ‘Employed, Empowered’ will work towards integration of more people into the labour force, based on their own abilities and ideas, but equipped with a set of the most common transferable skills needed for modern societies.

The aim of “Employed, Empowered” is to develop innovative ideas and highlight possible potentials in Serbia, rather than listing weaknesses.

Objectives:

Overall objectives are:

to develop solutions for refugees, IDPs, returnees and especially vulnerable groups in Serbia, facilitating their reintegration into society with a sustainable legal existence;
to build up a network of local and international actors to support feasible reintegration models and advocacy for past or future migrants;
to provide information and consultation to refugees, IDPs, returnees and especially vulnerable groups and to support local communities with expert advice and training activities.

Specific objective: The specific objective of the project is to support the durable reintegration of refugees, IDPs and returnees into society by researching solutions enabling them to build up sustainable livelihoods for themselves

Target Group:

224,000 IDPs from Kosovo, 150,000 refugees, and an approximate number of 23,000 asylum seekers in EU countries per year as well as especially vulnerable persons in Serbia. (source: UNHCR)

Methodology:

to frame a very clear picture of the factors in Serbia determining access to sustainable income
to obtain an exact profile of the target group, their professional skills, future expectations and fears;
and combine both into a gap analysis, giving a concrete idea of useful training and support measures, which will also be of use to the whole donor community

Activities:

Survey of the target group and research on the economic factors and the labour market in Serbia
Organisation of 3 high profile round tables to develop model solutions, based on the research results;
Help-desks in seven cities providing active field support; (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Sid, Vrsac, Subotica, Nis, Kraljevo, Kragujevac, Valjevo)
Development of training materials, translating all the acquired knowledge into a practical tool
Capacity building activities with the training materials, workshops and active support.

Estimated results:

a source of pertinent information for the target group concerning their options for the future, including legal advice, training materials and capacity building;
a set of model solutions to build up sustainable economic livelihoods and the creation of a social network to support reintegration;
a strategy paper containing all research results.

Partners:

Partner 1: the Center for Peace and Democracy Development in Belgrade was founded in July 1991 and formed the nucleus of the peace movement. Now, the long-term goals of the CPDD are amongst others the development of democratic institutions, a legal state and a civil society, as well as the study of human rights and humanitarian law. The CPDD will be responsible for the socioeconomic research on Serbia and for facilitating the round tables.

Partner 2: the Novi Sad Humanitarian Center was founded in 1998. NSHC's mission is to provide emergency aid in times of crisis to people in need, and to promote the development of local communities and the region of Vojvodina. NSHC's focuses on the most vulnerable and marginalised groups of the population: refugees, IDPs, the elderly, Roma, the homeless, those deprived of their rights and the poor. The NSHC will be responsible for the “Target Group Survey” and for running the help desks.

Finance:

The EC award under the Aeneas Programme for the project amounts to 80% of the total required for the full roll-out of ‘Employed, Empowered’. The EC Grant amounts to 559.867 EUR. For the Full budget of 699.834 EUR match funding of 139.967 EUR is needed.