Representatives of the cities and municipalities with the highest number of migrants in Serbia met last week in Skopje with colleagues from Macedonia. On this occasion, coordinators of networks in Sid, Subotica, Sremska Mitrovica, Belgrade, Vranje, Presevo, and colleagues from Gevgelija, Kumanovo, and Skopje exchanged their experiences on the implementation of the project “Building together”.

Published on 27th February 2018

INTRODUCTION

Projects to support advocacy initiatives of the Local Networks for Advocacy and Monitoring in Serbia and Macedonia

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, ATINA – Citizens’ Association for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and all Forms of Gender-based Violence (Serbia) and Macedonian Lawyers Association (Macedonia) launch a call for proposals within the project “Building Together – Community Monitoring and Advocacy” funded by The European Union.

The call will be open until 16 March 2018, at 24:00 CET.

Recent research of "Konrad Adenauer" Foundation, Association "Atina" and Macedonian Lawyers Association has shown that the refugee crisis is not over, that it simply changed form, and it implies new needs of migrants, given that they are now staying in our country for longer periods of time. Director of the Asylum Protection Center, Rados Djurovic, believes that the integration of migrants in our society is “much needed”, and that the system, plan and state must have the main role in the process of integration of migrants.

Within the project “Building Together – Community Monitoring and Advocacy“ recommendations on the position of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Serbia were presented on Monday, December 11, 2017, at the Cultural Center “Parobrod”. The event was opened by Norbert Beckmann-Dierkes, director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for Serbia and Montenegro, who spoke about Germany’s experiences in the integration of migrants, as well as the role of Germany in the development of tolerance and democracy in Serbian society.

Representatives of state institutions, local government, and civil society organizations completed the training on monitoring that was held in Presevo on the last day on November and the first day of December. These 12 colleagues are members of the informal network for monitoring and advocacy that has been created for a mutual goal - to improve the position of refugees and migrants in Presevo, and the quality of coexistence in this town.

Members of the Local network in Vranje completed the training on monitoring at the end of November. During the two days of work, 24 participants were introduced to the monitoring matrix, as well as each of the segments of the monitoring system dealing with refugees and migrants in Vranje.

The Local network in Vranje is made up of representatives of the health, education, social system, as well as civil society, Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, Red Cross, National Employment Agency, and municipal administration.

Despite the fact that Sremska Mitrovica does not have a center for the accommodation of migrants and refugees, this city has been facing challenges and consequences of migratory flows, and is thus a part of the project “Building Together”.

“Building Together” in Macedonia: four local networks have been formed in three cities

Within the project “Building Together – Community Monitoring and Advocacy” four local networks have been formed in Macedonia so far - in Gevgelija, Kumanovo, and two in Skopje. The aim of these networks is to help improve the quality of coexistence of migrants and local population, with a special focus on the issues women and children are facing. 

A film about Mursal and Marija - our story about the coexistence of refugees and citizens of Serbia

Mursal and Marija, two girls with similar interests, close in age, one from Afghanistan, the other from Serbia, are the main protagonists of a short documentary film which is, within our project, being prepared by the production company Osmougao.