A campaign for the respect of human rights of children and women in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the KRIK network
Results achieved:
Network of coordinators for the development and implementation of campaigns (KRIK) was founded, and for its members, besides VESTA Association, in the applicative process taken in the area of 20 municipalities four organizations from BH were chosen: Women organization "Lara", Bijeljina, NGO "Telecenter", Travnik, HO "Amica Prijateljice", Srebrenica and Association "Zemlja djece", Tuzla, within the project Youth center " Pinkland", Banovici. Each member organization acted within the network in partnership with radio stations from their local communities: Radio Pan, Bijeljina, Radio TNT, Travnik, Radio Tuzlanski Kanton - Srebrenica Studio and Radio Banovici. Within the project, VESTA Association coordinated the network work on the basis of the established mechanisms for its operative and strategic actions. The KRIK network members are, through the series of five training sessions, educated and enabled for their individual action in the area of public advocating, facilitation in the community, research through focus groups and cooperation with the media. They are also familiarized with the condition about the respect of human rights of children and women in BH.
On the basis of the research about problems and women and children needs in local communities network member organizations developed and carried out four campaigns of local advocating:
• Campaign for creation of conditions for undisturbed process of children with developmental disability integration into regular schools in Banovici municipality
• Campaign for initiation of mechanisms for protection of children from peer violence in Srebrenica
• Campaign for the increase of number of children included in preschool education in Bijeljina municipality with the accent on rural areas children.
• Campaign for providing conditions for work and actions of youth and children groups in Travnik municipality.
Campaigns resulted in policy changes at the local or regional level and contributed to the improvement of condition about respect of human rights of children and women in Travnik, Bijeljina, Srebrenica and Banovici municipalities. For 166 children with developmental disabilities from Banovici municipality the conditions for easier action of categorization and the achievement of their basic rights are provided. By removing architectonic barriers the conditions for an undisturbed approach to children with physical developmental disability in two primary schools in Banovici are provided.
After the establishment of the cooperation between non-governemtal organizations and local government over 100 children and young people from Travnik has the opportunity for a better quality free time organization.
By establishing appropriate mechanisms school-age children in Srebrenica have a way to be protected from peer violence in schools.
By creating conditions for the expansion of capacities preschool children, from Bijeljina municipality, have the opportunity to go to preschool education institutions, while secondary user groups are parents, primarily mothers.
VESTA Association through project "Campaign fro respect of human rights of children and women in BH through the KRIK network" established the platform for advocating the respect of human rights of sensitive groups of citizens and raising the awareness of the public about their needs. The skeleton of the platform is made of non-governmental organizations and local radio stations fro five municipalities in BH - KRIK whose first results are reflected in the improvement of children and women status from the view of the respect of their rights. The established capacities for efficient advocating of human rights of children and women in BH are engaged into the realization of other projects and activities of VESTA Association, too. Further process of the empowerment and spread of the KRIK network is one of the strategic directives of VESTA Association.
