Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Regional conference of reflections and elaborations of IPA CSF future perspectives and of TACSO2 planning
24th 26th October, 2011 Prishtina, Kosovo
Where does civil society in the Balkans stand and what can the Commission do to support it
Tanja Hafner Ademi, BCSDN
8 Balkan countries covered of which 5 implemented by BCSDN members or staff (IDM, KCSF, MCIC, TUSEV, CNVOS*); BiH, Montenegro and Romania not covered, while Serbia only quantitative results available; Global report published beginning of September
Global findings
Changing definition of civil society incl. non-formal movements, new forms of participation and online activism; Statecivil society relations are limited and mostly unsatisfactory; The sector is at a historical moment facing either decline or renewal; Financial and human resource challenges continuing and in some cases worsening due to the global economic crisis and as a result of sector projectization;
Balkan findings
Average development compared to the global civil society, except in perception of lower impact; Civil society is in a developed/matured phase - transition from focus led by donors to that led by citizens; Situation of creating a balance between imported and indigenous; Only difference noticed between Slovenia & Croatia vs. rest of the Balkans (esp. in terms
legal framework development or lack thereof)
Yet, it is not necessarily a matter of the extent to which these aspects are regulated by the existing legislation. Accountability and transparency in the third sector must be perceived and applied by civil society as values and principles that form integral part of the relationship with their members, citizens, social or interest groups, donors, and the state. (Albanian CSI)