European Citizen Action Service jointly with the National Foundation for Civil Society Development and Impact - European Centre for Cross-Sector Partnership held an international conference in Zadar, Croatia, which focused on the development of civil society organisations in the Western Balkans (WB) and Eastern European countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

The conference gathered more then 100 civil society representatives from EU and neighbouring countries, donors active in the region as well as officials from national governments.

For the purpose of presenting the results of the monitoring and the analysis of the implementation of the Criteria for school names and signs, a Press conference was held on August 26, 2008, on the premises of Association Vesta in Tuzla.

According to Branko Todorović of the Helsinki Committee of Republika Srpska, it is highly important to critically assess the role of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the development of a democratic society, but also in the development of something that can be called the reintegration of the society in Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. reconciliation, facing the truth, tolerance. By monitoring the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was discovered that certain media often stimulate religious and ethnic hostility, and make inaccurate and incorrect reports, which negatively affects the process of coexistence and tolerance among people of different religions and ethnic origin in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the very process of reintegration and sustainable return.

On the project

On 1 January 2008 the Visa Facilitation Agreement (VFA) came into force for citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia with the aim to enable easier Schengen visa procedures for travelling to the EU.

"Tuzla is on the road to become a centre to which people come, rather than a province that people leave" 

With the Mayor of Tuzla, Jasmin Imamović, we talked about creating an atmosphere of coexistence and tolerance, about what it means for a city to endorse a policy of openness. In addition, the Mayor spoke of the previous results of the development and the future vision for the city of Tuzla.

Interviewer: Adis Jašarević

In the framework of the project "The media in the process of reintegration and sustainable return", a public advocacy campaign has been initiated for reducing xenophobic elements and discrimination in the areas of minority return. The public advocacy campaign, through which we wish to reduce xenophobic elements, will have a sensible approach and will acknowledge the political dimension of the problem.

In the framework of the project "Gender sensitive budgeting", a publication Suggestions and guidelines for gender sensitive budgeting in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been issued. After completing the analyses of the municipalities' budgets, the teams of analysts prepared a report consisting of the analysis of basic categories of the public expenditure on the local levels and delivered it to Association Vesta, which has, with the help of the gender mechanism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, prepared and printed the publication.