Think Globally,
Act Locally

Projects of 2005

In 2005, the activities of the previous years were continued and the forms of action were expanded and supplemented by expansion into new sectors that the organization had not been able to deal with before. This year, in addition to the activities in which the organization followed the course of previous years, it also worked with local authorities in the field of completing the legislation. In order to increase transparency and influence the improvement of accountability, Syri i Zozoni gathered all the actors in working groups and drafted municipal regulations for access to official documents. These documents were approved in the municipal assemblies of Klina and Istog. Within the framework of the KIP, several projects were carried out in the field and in partnerships with other member organizations. Together with activities designed a year ago and now being implemented, we worked on partnerships for the basis of action and development for the following year.

Projects in the information sector: the Oneworld portal and the civil society advocacy newspaper “Kasneci” continued successfully during the year, developing and becoming even more popular among a wide public. During this period, the partnership with important donors of the organization such as CARE International, FID, European Perspective, etc. was established and well maintained, continuing the cooperation with the previous partners DRC, OSCE and OneWorld.

Within the framework of the RrRP, the “Youth Initiative for Reconciliation” continued, this year with a focus on building the capacities of young people in the region, such as in Klina, Istog and Deçan. 62 training sessions were held with high school students and youth from NGOs. In Ohrid, a multi-ethnic camp for all the communities living in the region of Peja was realized. The RrRP also carried out the project “Raising the capacities of local youth networks in the region of Peja” lasted until 2006 and was divided into three phases: The first phase was aimed at increasing the capacities of local networks in the region of Peja through trainings; The second phase consisted of advocacy campaigns in each municipality that were carried out with the youth networks of Klina, Deçan, Istog and Gjakova; The third phase of the project contained advocacy campaigns carried out with high school youth.

During this year, the Propeace Platform was established in Kosovo with the idea that the Kosovar NGOs, through cooperation and interaction, contribute to the building of peace in Kosovo, becoming an important factor in this process. Propeace consists of 13 Kosovar NGOs. Syri i Vizioni is part of the G3 supervisory board, the group of 3 NGOs that founded Propeace. ProPeace aims to strengthen the role of citizens in this process and promote lasting peace by encouraging the participation of all actors in this process. The conflict prevention project was financed by the Liaison Office of the European Commission and implemented by Care International, while the project in 2007-2008 was financed by Caritas Lukesmburg.

Publication of the magazine "Kronika"
Project Title: Publication of the magazine "Kronika"

Duration: 4 months (January - April 2005)

Place: Municipality of Peja

Implementing organization(s): "Syri i Vizioni" in partnership with "ZOOM" Youth Center in Peja

Budget: €8,340 Donor: "Trentino con il Kossovo"

The purpose of the project: This project is the continuation of the project for the School of Journalism that was held in the past two years and had the purpose of enabling the participants of this course to develop journalism skills through the preparation and publication of a magazine.

Beneficiaries: Direct beneficiaries are 25 young people who have written and published articles in this magazine; in a broader sense, journalism and informing young people in the region of Peja benefits.

Realization of the project: The young people who graduated from the School of Journalism, led by Eye of Vision, produced four issues of the youth magazine "Kronika". The magazine has been completely prepared with their works and has created the opportunity for them to transfer the theoretical experiences they have received during the training with concrete work in the magazine. In dozens of articles, various topics of life in Peja, problems that need to be solved and other current issues are discussed in the relevant sections of the magazine.

Activities and Results:

• Preparation and publication of dozens of articles on different topics from Peja and beyond

• Publication and distribution of four issues of the magazine

• Creating the opportunity to develop journalistic skills for young journalists

• Informing the public and raising various topics in dozens of articles

Coordination of the OWPEJL network for Kosovo
Project Title: Coordination of the OWPEJL network for Kosovo

Duration: 12 months (January - December 2005)

Country: Kosovo

Implementing organization(s): Eye of Vision

Budget: €11,700

Donor: Unimondo/Hivos

The purpose of the project: Support and promotion of OWPEJL's program areas (projects and initiatives) with a focus on creating the content of materials for publication in the Albanian language as well as network management/representation for Kosovo of OWPEJL. Coordination of activities will be done through the OneWorld network in the Southeast Europe region.

Beneficiaries: Beneficiaries of this undertaking are all those countries that access the OWPEJL through the Internet and are thus notified quickly of developments occurring in the region covered by OWPEJL as well as in the particular languages ​​of the readers of these countries.

Project implementation: This project is based on the provision of support through the exchange of information and online and printed materials related to the areas of direct cooperation and public information. In addition, OWPEJL enables readers to obtain information about various social, economic and political developments in the countries it covers. Communication between network members is based on partnership, where each organization exchanges information and materials for coordinated distribution.

Activities and Results:

• Maintenance and coverage of the Albanian language portal of OWPEJL

• Publication of more than 100 topics/issues and publication in the Albanian language. This information is further translated into the languages ​​of the countries where OneWorld is located;

• Regular engagement of a person (network manager) and editor;

• Increasing the diversity of information provided for the countries covered by the OWPEJL platform.

Public participation in the Municipality of Klina and Istog
Project Title: Public Participation in the Municipality of Klina and Istog

Duration: 5 months (January - May 2005)

Country: Klin and Istog Implementing organization(s): "Syri i Vizioni" leading organization in cooperation with NGOs Eurovision, Klin and "Kosovo Initiative for Respect and Education", Istog

Budget: €7,460 (3,730 + 3,730) Donor: Foundation for Democratic Initiatives (FID)

The purpose of the project: This project was aimed at raising citizen awareness and informing them about the right to participate in decision-making processes within the municipality where they live, with special emphasis on the municipality of Klina and Istog. From this, a draft regulation on access to official documents for the Municipality was drawn up and lobbying was done for its approval, as well as monitoring of its implementation afterwards.

Beneficiaries: Direct beneficiaries of this project are all residents living in the region of Peja (Klinë and Istog municipalities). Another important part of the beneficiaries are journalists who have easier access to official documents.

Realization of the project: The regulations for access to official documents were drawn up after a large number of meetings and debates in which people and different interest groups were involved, based on age, gender and minority groups, part of the communities living in Klinë municipalities. and Istog. Reaching out to the population is done through print and electronic media, flyers, posters, and radio and TV broadcasts in local media. In order to discuss the participation of citizens in the drafting of this regulation, public debates were also held with citizens. After drafting, it was also analyzed with the group of journalists, NGOs and municipal officials. in its final form, the regulation has been submitted to the Municipal Assembly in Klina and Istog for approval.

Activities and Results:

• Drafting and approval of the regulation in the Municipal Assembly of Klina and Istog.

• Organization of dozens of meetings and debates with citizens, journalists, NGOs, etc. for the creation of the final version of the regulation

• Design, printing and distribution of 4,000 flyers (1,000 in Bosnian-Serbian and 3,000 in Albanian) in the most visible places in Klina and Istog and 1/3 of them were distributed through daily newspapers across Kosovo;

• Design and distribution of 2 types of posters (during the preliminary phase and after the approval of the regulation);

• Realization of a research with 500 respondents covering Klina and Istog;

• Organization of 4 radio shows on local radio stations in these two municipalities

Creation of projects for the third phase and clarification of projects for the second phase
Project Title: Creation of projects for the third phase and clarification of projects for the second phase

Duration: 2 months (August - September 2005)

Country: Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia

Implementing organization(s): "Syri i Vizioni" leading organization in partnership with "Helping People in Need" Rozhaje, Montenegro

Budget: €18,783

Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark through the Kosovo Initiative Program (KIP)

The purpose of the project: The project in question was made to ensure an appropriate continuity of the strategic plans drawn up by the NGOs part of the KIP network on the occasion of the first phase of the KIP meeting. Concretely, the meeting of the KIP network is organized with the aim of drawing up four comprehensive project proposals to be implemented during the third phase within the Youth Development Component with the help of professional trainers/consultants.

Beneficiaries: Direct beneficiaries are 17 members of the KIP network, as their representatives participated in the meeting - 2 representatives from each organization, in particular the staff working on strengthening partnerships between communities and within organizations.

Project realization: This cross-border meeting was the occasion to design and complete 4 projects in detail in the main areas of interest defined by the Network, within the Youth Development Component of KIP. 1. Networking with organizations/groups outside the KIP Network: 2. Youth participation – organizing debates in primary schools with an emphasis on return and re-integration and 3. Within youth empowerment and mobilization – creating a small Fund Open to primary school students with the aim of increasing their involvement in the return process and meeting the standards in Kosovo.

Activities and Results:

• Preparation of training materials and organization of the event;

• Organization of the Network meeting, which lasted 3 days with the participation of 17 NGOs of the KIP Network;

• Submission of 4 project proposals to the donor;

• Compilation of the work during the training in a Bulletin and publication in three languages, including plans for the future of the Youth Component.

Action Plan for Re-integration in the neighborhood "7 September" (phase I)
Project Title: Action Plan for Re-integration in the neighborhood "7 September" (phase I)

Duration: 6 months (May – October 2005)

Place: Municipality of Peja

Implementing organization(s): "Syri i Vizioni" leading organization in partnership with "Vision 02", Istog and Helping People in Need- Rozhaj, Montenegro

Budget: €34,408 Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark through the Kosovo Initiative Program (KIP)

The purpose of the project: This project was the first phase of engagement with the aim of creating conditions for the return and sustainable re-integration of 25 families of the Roma and Egyptian community in their country of origin in Kosovo, in the neighborhood "7 Shtatori" in the municipality of Peja.

Beneficiaries: Activities in this project are concentrated in the neighborhood "7 Shtatori" in Peja, where it was expected to return 110 people from Montenegro to Kosovo, namely from the camp where they were then living as displaced persons (Konik 1 and Konik 2 in Mal Black).

Realization of the project: The project in question mainly contained dialogue activities through focus group meetings and some other awareness-raising activities in the local media. Also, the project provided training in various fields for the host community and the displaced people living in 7 September. In addition, a research was organized, some trainings were organized, focus groups were created, an action plan was drawn up and a number of radio broadcasts were carried out in Kosovo and Montenegro.

Activities and Results:

• Research with 200 members of the host community and 110 members of the displaced community;

• Realization of four (4) local radio shows on Radio Peja, Radio Dukagjini, and Radio Rozhaja and an article on the One World Southeastern Europe web portal about this project

• The organization and management of three trainings as well as the organization of two joint meetings with the communities in order to select the main group of 36 citizens among the displaced and the host community and their direct involvement in the preparations for return within this the project;

• Organization of 20 meetings with focus groups, with the host community and with the displaced in Montenegro, separate and joint meetings;

• Organization of a series of 6 cross-border exchange visits (6 men, 6 women and 6 young people) to pay a one-day visit to displaced people from the Roma and Egyptian community in Montenegro;

• Organizing and facilitating three focus groups for the displaced community to visit their homes in the form of "Go and See" in coordination with the DRC and other relevant institutions of Kosovo;

• Organization of three training sessions with focus groups from both communities on the topics: Communication Skills, Mediation, Conflict Management, and Human Rights; a training for the drafting of the action plan for the youth in the neighborhood "7 Shtatori"; a training to carry out community service projects upon return; a training in Podgorica with a focus group of the displaced community

Raising the capacity for action in the village of Bellopojë
Project Title: Raising the capacity for action in the village of Bellopojë

Duration: 4 months (June - September 2005)

Country: Peja region

Implementing organization(s): Eye of Vision

Budget: €9,408

Donor: European perspective

The purpose of the project: This project aimed to increase the capacities of the residents of the village of Bellopojë, in order to help them to initiate concerns and thus improve coordination and self-empowerment for the needs of the village in general and for the residents in particular. Also, this project has helped to facilitate the freedom of movement of this community and establish contacts with local institutions and society in general. Specifically, during this project, a representative body of this village was formed and a series of trainings were organized to raise their capacities. At the end, a list of the concerns of these residents was drawn up and submitted to the municipal institutions in Peja.

Beneficiaries: The inhabitants of the village of Bellopojë have been the primary direct beneficiaries of this project. While, the rest of the village have benefited in one way or another from the promotion that this body has done by representing the achievements and benefits that have been received by local institutions in fulfilling their demands.

Implementation of the project: This includes the creation of a village body consisting of 6-7 people, who have been offered a series of trainings in Conflict Management, Human and Minority Rights, Strategic Planning and Value-Based Leadership. Furthermore, meetings were organized with local institutions to discuss the needs of this community.

Activities and Results:

• Creation of the village body consisting of seven members elected by the community and a coordinator;

• Organization and holding of trainings for 5 days on the above-mentioned topics;

• Drawing up a joint list of eight priorities to address to the Municipality;

• Organization of eight meetings with the relevant institutions to discuss the priority needs determined by the community;

Advocacy newsletter - Kasneci/Glasnik
Project Title: Advocacy newsletter - Kasneci/Glasnik

Duration: 6 months (April 2005 – September 2005)

Country: Region of Peja (municipalities: Peja, Klinë, Deçan and Istog)

Implementing organization(s): Eye of Vision

Budget: €14,800

Donor: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

The purpose of the project: Through the publication of a series of newsletters, this project aims to raise the awareness of the public and the local government in the region of Peja. Also, it measures the improvement of the quality of life and the efficiency of civic actions, as a result, the accountability and performance of municipal structures.

Beneficiaries: The direct beneficiaries of this undertaking are all those who express their concerns, whose voice is heard (from all communities), and which, as a result, can result in the improvement of both infrastructural and living conditions. Also, all those targeted as young people and the elderly benefit from the information provided. More broadly, the citizens of the Peja region (including Peja, Deçan, Istog and Klina) benefit from information provided from a different perspective (of civil society) than what they are used to receiving from official sources in this region. Moreover, young and talented individuals have the opportunity to participate in this publication by providing their writings.

Realization of the project: The publication of "Kasnec" is made possible by the collection of information and the drafting of articles by the team of journalists, and after editing and designing, the newspaper is distributed free of charge to citizens in more than 100 frequented points in cities and villages. The newspaper was published in the Albanian and Bosnian-Serbian languages. Kasneci has helped to create bridges between citizens and municipal structures through support, monitoring, advocacy activities and the creation of formal or non-formal networks in the municipality of Peja. With two pages for minority communities and bilingual publication, "Kasneci" has helped inter-ethnic dialogue and mutual contact between communities. At this stage, the newspaper has engaged professional journalists. The editorial policy was based on three lines: the functioning of the institutions, the activities of the civil society and the reflection of the life of the citizens.

Activities and Results:

• Publication of 6 issues of Kasnec of 12 pages each in the Albanian and Bosnian-Serbian languages ​​(4000 per issue in Albanian and 400 in Bosnian-Serbian);

• In each issue, the publication of about 30 articles that deal with problems of citizens' lives, the functioning of institutions and the activities of civil society

• Two-page coverage with 3-4 articles for each municipality of Pejë, Deçan, Klinë and Istog and two pages for minority communities

• Employment of eight journalists

• Raising issues and advocating for various community issues. There have been many cases where articles in the newspaper have prompted action by the authorities

• Raising volunteerism among youth groups and writing articles

• Publication of a page with citizens' letters

Awareness and capacity building among communities in Gorazhdec and surrounding villages
Project Title: Awareness and capacity building among communities in Gorazhdec and surrounding villages

Duration: 4 months (May-July 2005)

Place: Municipality of Peja

Implementing organization(s): Eye of Vision

Budget: €5,000 Donor: CARE International

The purpose of the project: This project was composed of several activities with the main purpose of raising the awareness of multi-ethnic groups in the villages of Gorazhdec, Poçestë, Vragoc and Kërstovc, so that together they can address their needs and demands to local institutions. This has been achieved through the support and organization of joint meetings as well as capacity building through training on the organization of work in the community. Focus groups (women, men and youth) of all communities worked together to draw up a list of priorities to improve their living conditions.

Beneficiaries: The project has engaged the target groups with which "CARE" has worked in the past. Multi-ethnic men's group consisting of 11 board members in which the four villages participate; the multi-ethnic group of women and youth are also from the same villages and the whole group is approximately 35 people.

Implementation of the project: The project was implemented in three different phases and included the villages of Gorazhdevc, Poqestë, Vragoc, and Kërstovc. The international organization that had previously worked to increase inter-ethnic dialogue in the four above-mentioned villages had created multi-ethnic groups of women, men and youth. This project has engaged these groups to work directly on capacity building through trainings, raising awareness and organizing meetings/forums for joint discussions. This has been achieved through joint community meetings in groups.

Activities and Results:

• Organization of five inter-ethnic dialogue sessions with Serbian and Albanian women's groups in Gorazhdec and other surrounding villages;

• Organization of an inter-ethnic visit of the group of women from the villages of Gorazhdec, Počeste and Kërstovc;

• Organization of four joint meetings with groups of men from the Albanian and Serbian communities and a multi-ethnic meeting of men with institutions, namely with the Administrator of UNMIK;

• Organization of seven meetings with multi-ethnic groups of youth groups of Gorazhdec and surrounding villages;

• Organizing and simultaneously holding five trainings with youth groups with 50 participants from the Albanian and Serbian communities on the following topics: Conflict Management, Human Rights, NGO Management, Strategic Planning and Leadership based on value;

• Conducting 30 interviews with the Albanian and Serbian communities of the villages of Gorazhdec, Poçestë, Vragoc and Milovanc to measure the attitudes and level of cooperation between the communities;

• Assistance in drafting the Statute and registration procedures of an NGO for the youth of Gorazhdec;

• Assistance in creating direct contacts between communities as a contribution to reducing prejudices.

Notification of municipal institutions on the projects developed by KIP in Peja and Istog
Project Title: Notification of municipal institutions on the projects developed by KIP in Peja and Istog

Duration: 2 months (June - July 2005)

Country: Peja region

Implementing organization(s): "Syri i Vizioni" leading organization in partnership with "Vision 02"- Istog and Helping People in Need, Rozhaje, Montenegro

Budget: €2,890 (1,350 + 1,540)

Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark through the Kosovo Initiative Program (KIP)

The purpose of the project: The project consists of the organization of two meetings with the officials of the municipalities of Peja and Istog during a period of 2 months (June and July 2005), in order to raise the visibility at the local level of the KIP projects called "Preparation of the conditions for the return of 25 families of the Roma and Egyptian community in the '7 Shtatori' neighborhood in Peja and of some Serbian families in Kosh and Berkovë in Istog". During these meetings, a presentation was made regarding the above-mentioned projects as well as the debate/discussion with the participants on the long-term sustainability of the project.

Beneficiaries: The total number of 60 participants including municipal officials and heads of departments at the local level who participated. Representatives of NGOs at the municipal level that are involved in the process of return, re-integration and inter-ethnic dialogue have also been invited and participated in these meetings.

Realization of the project: The project was developed with the close cooperation between KIP's partner organizations such as "Helping People in Need" and "Vision 02" in order to present to the local authorities and other civil society actors the purpose of the project of the KIP, the connection with the efforts of the DRC in terms of organized return in urban areas as well as the links between the Municipal Strategies for Return in Pejë and Istog. Also, in these meetings, the results of two researches carried out in May and June were presented with 200+200 people (400 in general). In the first research, the host community in the neighborhood of 7 September and 25 families of the Roma and Egyptian community of this neighborhood, who were relocated to Montenegro, were included, while the second research was done with the host community of the villages of Kosh and Berkovë and some Serbian families resettled in Serbia.

Activities and Results:

• Organization of meetings with 120 participants (exceeds the anticipated 60) from various institutions, local NGOs, members of the host community and returnees, the general public;

• Informing the participants with the goals, objectives and activities of the program for return and re-integration;

• Presentation of the results of two researches;

• Publication in the media related to this activity.

Development of the Youth Strategy in support of the return of Serbs to Kosh, Istog and Berkovë, Klinë
Project Title: Development of the Youth Strategy in support of the return of Serbs to Kosh, Istog and Berkovë, Klinë

Duration: 6 months (June - November 2005)

Place: Municipality of Peja

Implementing organization(s): Syri i Vizioni, leading organization in partnership with the NGOs "Visioni 02" - Istog and "Jug" - Kraljevo, Serbia

Budget: €46,110 (29,110 + 17,000)

Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark through the Kosovo Initiative Program (KIP)

The goal of the project: To ensure return and sustainable re-integration for 38 Serbian families in the village of Kosh in the municipality of Istog and another 30 Serbian families in the village of Berkovë in the municipality of Klina. This project is incorporated into a wider initiative to return to the above-mentioned villages.

Beneficiaries: The direct beneficiaries of this project were the young people from Kosh, Berkovë and Zllakuqan, part of the targeted group. The young people involved are those who live in these villages as well as the displaced young people in Kraljeve and Smederevska Palanka. The groups involved in this process were four with 15 members each. Also, within the group they themselves have chosen 4 representatives within each group and together they have drawn up the comprehensive youth strategy for the villages of Kosh, Berkovë and Zllakuqan.

Realization of the project: The project mainly consists of activities for dialogue with young people using participatory methods as well as contains activities related to raising awareness in the local media. In addition, trainings were provided in various fields such as Conflict Management, Human Rights, Strategic Planning and Value-Based Leadership. These trainings have been organized for young people, participants coming from the displaced community and the host community from the villages of Kosh and Berkovë, in order to jointly develop a youth plan for this part.

Activities and Results:

• Identification of young people who wish to participate in action groups;

• Drawing up a list of priority needs and concerns of displaced youth;

• Synchronization of the needs of young people from both groups of participating communities;

• Organization of 4 preliminary trainings, 8 meetings between young people and cross-border workshops;

• Preparation of the action plan for the young people of Kos, Berkova and Zllakuqan;

• Preparation of the representatives of the 4 groups for action for further coordination;

• Making radio shows in local media and publishing articles in print and electronic media.

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