Tuesday, 11.06.2013.
Royal Norwegian Embassy allocates additional EUR 1,200,000 to civil society organisations in Serbia
On June 11, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade, on the day celebrating 100 years after Norwegian women got the right to vote, signed 30 new contracts with civil society organisations in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. On behalf of Group 484, the ceremony was attended by Mr. Vladimir Petronijevic, Executive Director of Group 484 and by Ms Tanja Pavlov, PhD, Director of Group 484 Centre for Migration.
The gathered representatives of the civil society in Serbia were addressed by H.E. Ambassador Nils Ragnar Kamsvåg, as well as by three prominent women, whose work demonstrates the importance of women’s participation in public life of Serbia: Ms. Natalija Micunovic, Director of Directorate for Gender Equality in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy; Ms Ivana Cirkovic, Director of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society of the Serbian Government; and Ms Milica Delevic, the outgoing Chairperson of the National Assembly’s European Integration Committee and member of the Advisory Board of the Norwegian Embassy.
Out of the 30 new projects, 5 are funded from the Program Strengthening Civil Society in Serbia. These are projects which started in 2012, and by signing new contracts, the organizations are enabled to continue their work within programs of protection of minority communities, strengthening NGO capacities in Serbia, transposing European practices in the area of environmental protection, and protection of asylum seekers. Among these 5 projects, the Project of Group 484 and its partners was selected and supported again, and the aim of this Project is building up the asylum system and improvement of policies referring to asylum seekers in the Republic of Serbia. The short description of the Group 484’s Project and the list of other supported projects can be found at: http://grupa484.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Handout%20SCS%20JUNE%202013.pdf
The remaining 24 projects are funded through the Embassy Fund, the Embassy’s grant scheme that covers Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and that is open throughout the year. The projects cover a vast number of important issues, ranging from the rights of the LGBT community in Serbia (Pride 2013), to the fight against corruption, the improvement of the observance of rights of young people, women and children rights, violence prevention and entrepreneurship in education curricula, environmental issues, etc. The list of projects supported by the Embassy Fund can be found at: http://grupa484.org.rs/http://grupa484.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2015/09//file /EF%20projects%20description.pdf
