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POZEGA
Presentation
of our NGO outside the development network
One
of the initiatives FORCA is especially proud of is the CORE
group, a regional network of non-governmental organisations
founded in February 2002 with a view to strengthening and
supporting non-governmental organisations, that is, the
development of the civil society in the region. The CORE group
consists of 11 NGOs from 11 towns of West Serbia and Sandzak, and
is made up of organisations of different experiences and
orientation, but with a similar idea of the need to promote
democratic, European values in Serbia. One of the
organisations of CORE group which has managed to build a positive
image through its work, by improving conditions in the local
community and thus promoting civic activism as the basis of the
civil society is «MEA URBA» from Ivanjica. That gives us an
excellent reason to present their work on this occasion:
Civic
Initiative “MEA URBA” Ivanjica was founded as
non-party-oriented, non-governmental and non-profit association of
citizens and established by a group of young, educated and
ambicious people, residents of Ivanjica, unsatisfied with the
social events their town had to offer. As opposed to other young
people who were also unsatisfied but did nothing in order to
improve the situation, we decided to get organised ourselves and
found a non-governmental organisation as the best way to turn our
ideas into reality. That is how “ MEA URBA “ - my town developed.
Goals and mission of MEA URBA are:
-
developing
a concept of civil society in the local community
-
promotion
of dialogue, tolerance, civic freedoms and multiethnic
cooperation
-
integration
of socially vulnerable groups
-
support
to projects from culture
-
development
of creative abilities of the young
MEA
URBA acts through organising forums, creative and educational
workshops, film projections, exhibitions, presentations, concerts
and realisation of projects, promoting through their activities
values of urban culture, the importance of civic initiative,
active engagement and continuous
learning and improvement.
The
first action realised by MEA URBA in March 2001 was the concert of
JARBOLI, and that was one of the rare occasions for Ivanjica to
hear some urban rock & roll.
In
2001, in cooperation with the club PLATO, we started a regular
projection of films of urban orientation and higher artistic
quality, which were rarely shown in the Ivanjica cinema (films
directed by: Robert Altman, Cohen brothers, Jim Jarmush, Kevin
Smith…). Within this activity, in May 2001 we had the projection
of the film «Madjija» directed by Narcisa Darijevic, who herself
attended the event.
In
June Ivanjica hosted the International Film Festival on human
rights ”One world”, along with a forum of the same title. For
the activities performed during the entire manifestation, the
activists of MEA URBA, along with the president of the Municipal
Assembly, Milovan Markovic, as representative of the citizens of
Ivanjica Municipality, accepted the tolerance award “Jelena
Santic”.
In
July 2001 we realised an exceptionally successful forum in
Ivanjica, titled “Serbia at crucial crossroads”, whose guests
were Jovica Trkulja, Professor at Law School and journalist from
the newspaper «Danas» and the writer Ivan Ivanovic.
We
have organised a series of creative workshops for the young
(applied arts, painting) and several exhibitions open for sale,
and we have used the proceeds to buy books and give them to the
Town Library. In September 2001 we organised trips to Belgrade for
the purpose of visiting various manifestations within the BITEF
Festival for the participants of different MEA URBA workshops.
Towards
the end of 2001 we realised the project “Civil action”
in Ivanjica. The project holder was FORCA from Pozega, and the
goal was to clarify to the workshop and forum participants the
relationship between NGOs and other social institutions. Part of
this project was to identify one of the biggest problems in the
town and find the way to solve it. As the result and continuation
of this action the project “Ivanjica, town without barriers
for everybody” developed, which has now been implemented for
three months, and is financed by HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL. Apart
from the removal of architectural barriers (there will be ramps in
20 places in the town area in order to provide unrestricted
movement of people in wheelchairs), this project also included a
media campaign (posters, flyers, radio jingles, TV broadcasts
dealing with this problem area) and activities directed towards
informing the public, with a view to reducing the differences
between the handicapped and other
people (up to now, a forum has been held “Rights and position of
the disabled'', with the speakers Damjan Tatic – Association of
Disabled Students and Professor Jovica Trkulja – Centre for the
Improvement of Law Studies, and our activists who are themselves
disabled people, will take part in lessons of civic education and
religion).
As
member of the CORE group, during the summer 2002 we
realised several campaigns within which we presented and promoted
the new law on local self-management, privatisation, human rights
and general reform trends in Serbia through the media,
distribution of informative material and forums.
We
are also preparing the project “AGORA – square as place for
changes” approved and financed by the EUROPEAN
COMMISSION, and the goal is pointing to the need of non-violent
conflict resolution as well as promotion of dialogue.
TOPICAL
ISSUES – FORCA:
PROMOTION
OF PLURALISM BY STRENGTHENING NGOs AND THE CIVIL SOCIETY IN SERBIA
–
During October FORCA, as well as the other partner organisations
from the development network, realised the first TV (18 Oct. at
20.00 h, TV Pozega) and radio broadcasts (11 Oct. at 15.00h, radio
Pozega), as well the first awareness meeting (22 Oct. at 18.00h,
big Town Hall in Pozega). We used the media broadcasts to promote
the project and announce the upcoming activities in order to
inform and intrigue the public with regard to the activities to be
performed in the next 18 months, and the meeting was attended by
representatives from non-governmental organisations from Pozega
and the neighbouring municipalities: Arilje, Ivanjica, Kosjeric
and Lucani. The subject of the first meeting was «Review of
situation in NGOs, project activities and organisations’ needs»
- i.e. «scanning» the situation in the non-governmental sector
of our region. With a view to properly developing further
activities towards strengthening non-governmental organisations
and the civil society in the manner that would provide optimum
effects, we became familiar with current preoccupations, problems
and present needs of the organisations active in this territory.
CIVIL
ACTION IN THE VILLAGE –
The project aimed at promoting the principles of the civil society
and encouraging participation and education of the population
living in the rural area of Pozega Municipality is in the fourth
month of implementation. So far
two meetings have been realised with the residents in each
of the six villages of the municipality (out of fifteen planned)
in order to inform them, analyze the situation and possibly
improve it, as well as volunteer work in four villages. The
project is financed by the Delegation of European Commission in
Belgrade.
PUBLIC
WORKS PROGRAMME–
Within the work of community boards on CRDA programme (the
programme of “Community revitalization through democratic
action”), implemented in West Serbia by IRD with two partner
organisations (UMKOR and CDM), FORCA, in cooperation with the NGO
“Sretenje” as its partner, is implementing the «Public works
programme». In six CRDA communities in the territory of Pozega
and Arilje public works will be realised with a large number of
citizens participating in in the implementation.
|
Kragujevac | Smederevska Palanka |
Paracin | Kucevo |
Kraljevo | Uzice
| Pozega | Knjazevac |
Nis | Leskovac |
Pirot | |
