Active Youth for Active Minority Councils

Partners: Urban-In and Belgrade Centre for Human Rights

The overall objective of this project is to contribute increasing youth participation and influence in the decision making process and work of National Minority Councils to ensure better fulfilment of minority rights. The common problem for all the Minority Councils is low level of youth participation in work and promotion of Councils importance for integration in Serbian society.Project is aimed towards several goals:

• to increase contribution of youth to the effectiveness of the ongoing process of the changes in the Law on National Councils of National Minorities in Serbia;
• to provide better informing for national minorities on the roles and responsibilities of National Minority Councils (NMC) through youth participation;
• to improve communication and cooperation between National Minority Councils;
• to increase transparency of the election process for the National Minority Councils including youth in observing process;
• to engage public officials and community stakeholders in debate about minority rights and the role of national minority councils;
• to raise awareness amongst public officials (elected and un-elected) and citizens of the importance of institutionalised forms of minority rights protection, particularly the national minority councils;
• to encourage citizens, civil society organizations, media, public institutions and the business community to use the NMC mechanisms by demonstrating their tangible benefits

Increased participation of public, especially in decision making processes of National Minority Councils, will have directly impact on improvement of minority situation. During the project implementation we plane to initiate and to establish Minority Council Forum as a permanent mechanism for closer communication between Minority Councils. This Forum will help better common acting regarding national issues and institutional impact. Increased number of independent, non-partisan lists, in election process for the National Minority Councils as project outcome will guarantee better environment for future generation of young people interesting to improve living and working conditions in every local community. Implementing the project Urban IN and partners will increase involvement of CSO’s and the youth in election process for the National Minority Councils, by observing it what has to become practice for every next elections for NMC.

Activities undertaken to produce planned results are grouped in four working packages (WP):

WP1 – Monitoring the process of the adoption of the Minority Act changes – an expert working group following the developments on the amendment and harmonisation of the Minority Act; monitoring of and consultations with the responsible institutions in the process; regular informing the interested public.

This WP will result in a more transparent process of Minority Act amendment and harmonisation, better informed public and increased awareness about the mechanisms of ensuring minority rights in Serbia and the initiative for creating a CSO coalition for the monitoring of the implementation of the Minority Act. This WP includes the following activities:

1.1 Press conferences for the announcement of the process and for dissemination of the project results

1.2 Consultative thematic meetings with the stakeholders/CSO coalition

1.3 Gathering additional information, analyses of the gathered data and preparation of the report

1.4 Report printing and publishing

1.5 TV Broadcasts

WP2 – Promote work and accountability of Minority Councils to citizens of the respective minorities (Hungarian, Bosniak, Albanian, Roma and Croat) by organizing public informative activities in selected municipalities; promotion of non‑partisan minority lists with qualified and competent for the forthcoming National Council elections; publishing a monthly pilot minority language supplement in daily Danas. This WP will result in an increased awareness of the public on the roles and responsibilities of Minority Councils and the launching of the initiative for the need for non‑partisan lists pursuing their place in Minority Councils. This WP includes the following activities:

2.1 Public consultations in 5 cities/municipalities

2.2 Publishing a monthly minority language supplement in newspapers’ daily

2.3 Promotion of non‑partisan minority lists – through promotion material

2.4 Promotion of non‑partisan minority lists – media campaign

2.5 Promotion of non‑partisan minority lists – local street actions

WP3 – Enhance the level of communication and cooperation of the five Minority Councils by organizing joint meetings of the representatives of Minority Councils in Subotica and Nis with public events and interaction with key stakeholders; organisation of the initial Minority Council Forum meeting in Novi Pazar to further develop innovative approaches in protection of minority rights and exchanges of experiences and skills. The key result of this WP is the initiated process of closer communication between Minority Councils and launching of the establishment of a permanent Minority Council Forum. This WP includes the following activities:

3.1 Visits to National Minority Councils

3.2 Organisation of the initial Minority Council Forum

WP4 – Monitoring the process of the campaign and elections for the Minority Councils in 2014 will initially entail education activities for young representatives of the selected minorities for the monitoring of the campaigning and elections for Minority Councils, followed by the monitoring itself and the work on informing the public during the process. The main result of this WP is the independent and transparent monitoring of the process by the representatives of the minority youth. This WP includes the following activities:

4.1 Training for young representatives of the selected minorities for the monitoring of the campaigning and elections for Minority Councils

4.2 Monitoring of the campaigning and elections for Minority Councils by trained youth