NEWSLETTER No. 3

KRAGUJEVAC

Presentation of training programmes of our organisation:

The ongoing programme "PRactical workshop", which the NGO MillenniuM has been implementing with the support of the Netherlands Embassy since May 2002, represents a logical continuation of this organisation’s educational programmes so far, fitting within the previous and current training activities, as well as a direct and quick response to the needs identified in the local community. Throughout the previous, years-long work with one of strategic target groups - students, by means of interviews, surveys and direct discussions, we have come to a conclusion that the young are very interested in acquiring useful knowledge and skills from the fields of communications, public relations, public representation, information management, human resources and non-profit sector management, unavailable within programmes at their universities or dislocated to Belgrade and what is most important, inadequate in the sense of limited personal budget.

Through investments in the mentioned programme, as a strategic programme for the future, this organisation started the process of extending the training of its training staff and their first engagement in the period from 2000 - 2001, so that several trainings were realised for the needs of NGOs, political parties and public institutions in the country.

As of this year a permanent programme has been established, titled "PRactical workshop", as an association to one of the key domains of our interest, but also to educational methodology and implementation of acquired knowledge. Through two three-month modules (general and specialised) conducted through 24 combined lectures, workshops, case studies and exercises, the trainees - Kragujevac University students, as well as young leaders of NGOs, democratic political parties, trade unions and public institutions, and secondary school teachers and public management representatives, are given the opportunity to acquire and apply knowledge from communications management. Some of the fields studied are  - relations with the media, campaigns, advocacy & lobbying, communication with public and profit sectors, management in emergency situations, promotion and public performance, taught by experts and practitioners from local, national and international organisations and institutions (the agency PRagma, PRagencija, RTK, Nezavisna Svetlost, NIN, FDU, Integrated Marketing Communications, Human Resources Consulting, CRNPS, FCD...).

Owing to the ongoing programme "Promotion of pluralism by strengthening NGOs and the civil society" and the support from the European Commission and European Perspective, the anticipated target groups or, in PR terms, "opinion leaders" from Sumadija region will have the opportunity to get free, quality and exclusive training in public relations & fundraising.

According to the organisation’s strategic plan, the Management Board plans to have this educational programme open in 2003 for other interested citizens as well, who will be able to participate in the programme and self-finance it through participatory donations.

For more details on the possibilites for communications management training, contact us by e-mail address: ngo@eunet.yu filling the "subject" line appropriately - (For PR programme).

Activities of NGO Centre in the previous period:

The partnership programme “Promotion of pluralism by strengthening NGOs and the civil society in Serbia” was continued in September through our visit to friendly Greece, where the training commenced in Kragujevac continued. 

With all the inconsistencies as well as advantages of this training, the two representatives of the Centre for the Development of Democratic Society share various impressions referring to the entire sojourn in Athens. We wish to emphasize that our stay there was well planned and, ultimately, carried out. The training itself pretty much dealt with bringing the project’s participants closer during the culture week, through organising excursions. The training itself could not benefit those who were not well familiar with the NGO sector activities but those who had relevant experience from similar seminars. The very lectures were up to a measure edifying, as much as the people involved worked on getting some answers through digressions and questions. 

In addition to all the above listed and relevant to the training, European Perspective deserves credit for engaging Miss Jenny Clarke, who spoke of the European Union and NGOs. Jenny Clarke, in our view, and as we believe, in the view of others, brought greatest expertise and practical work into her lecture.

Having returned from Greece, the Centre for the Development of Democratic Society continued the implementation of the project “Promotion of pluralism by strengthening NGOs and the civil society in Serbia”, as of 10 October, according to the stipulated plan and programme, through a radio broadcast on the local radio station “Kvin” from 6.00 to 7.00 p.m. with the topic “Presenting the programme and partners“. The guests at the studio were Radmila Radovic, Project Manager for European Perspective in Kragujevac, whereas the representative of the Centre for the Development of Democratic Society was its president, Gordana Petkovic-Lazic. The broadcast was about European Perspective itself and the big ongoing project in the territory of Serbia, as well as of all respective partners. There was some general talk – on non-governmental organisations in general and financing and self-reliance of the same as well as of the significance of encouraging civic activism. The broadcast also announced further activities, some of which, such as a TV broadcast, have already been realised up to the moment of writing this report, but that  will be described in more detail some other time. The author of this article congratulates the partners on the successful continuation of the project.