Green initiative Member organizations are
- Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) is a local foundation aiming to promote active citizen participation in social changes and development of sustainable local communities in Serbia. Through Grant programs BCIF encourages civil societies and informal groups in Serbia for creative and efficient problem solving using local resources and potentials. Development programs include strengthening capacities of local organizations with the networking component, connecting of similar organizations, the exchange of their experiences and mutual action planning, with a goal to help local problems and voices be heard on the national level. BCIF’s developmental programs are The Green List of Serbia and Decentralization. Through „Get Planet wise!“ campaign, Green list of Serbia actively includes citizens into promotion of a healthier environment. In the past two years campaign was joined by more than 12000 citizens in different activities on removal and separation of waste and increasing awareness of significance of environmental protection. Since 2004 BCIF initiated the Philanthropy program that encourages cooperation between nonprofit organizations and companies and citizens. So far, BCIF has supported 700 initiatives with the total amount over 3 million € in almost 350 communities in Serbia. – www.bcif.org
- The Center of Modern Skills (CMS) is an organization with a multi-year experience in political and citizenship education, advocacy and implementation of researches on socially significant subjects. While working on a two-year advocacy project focused on environmental protection, CMS have initiated the formation of an informal environmental MP group in the National Parliament and the Vojvodina Parliament, researched citizen’s attitudes and their representatives on environmental topics in Serbia and made cooperation with the Ministry of environment, mining and spatial planning. Center of Modern skills has a long term experience in working with the local self government units, which will contribute that the activities of Green initiative on a local level will have success. Also, CMS organizes a annual educational programme „Environmental policies“ for young activists and political leaders. For more information, please visit www.cmv.org.rs.
- Young Researchers of Serbia (YRS) is non-profit, non-governmental, non-political organization that gathers young people around common interests, ideas and goals. THINK BIG – do little: start an avalanche! is our motto. Driven by science and education, our mission is to contribute: to environmental protection and nature conservation; to development of voluntarism and its values; to scientific creativity and active participation of the youth. In cooperation with the Green List of Serbia, YRS has organized numerous activities involving institutions and organizations in promoting sustainable waste management practices and recycling. YRS is member of the National Council for Sustainable Development of Republic of Serbia. – www.mis.org.rs
- The European Movement in Serbia (EMinS) is an independent and voluntary organization of civil society that advocates for the democratic European integration of Serbia. One of EMinS’ key successes in respect to environmental issues includes organizing of the National Convention on European Union in Serbia (NCEU). NCEU presents institutionalized, thematically structured debate between different stakeholders about the preparations for Serbian accession to the European Union. Environment has been dealt with from different aspect since 2008, since when 5 sessions of the Working group Environment have been organized covering different topics in this field through monitoring the adoption and implementation of proposed environmental regulations. Result of the debates and analysis have been recommendations (containing analytical part) widely disseminated to relevant stakeholders, decisions and policy makers as well as promoted in the media. Additionally, EMinS has supported the implementation of numerous environmental local youth activities within the project “I can do it!” aimed to increase social activism amongst young people. – www.emins.org
- Group 484 is a non-governmental organization founded in 1995 to support a group of 484 refugee families that fled Krajina, Croatia. From a group of enthusiasts, who mainly provided humanitarian, psychological, legal and help in providing information to the refugees form Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and later on from Kosovo, Group 484 has become an organization with a structure and systematic approach in problem of forced migrations and migrations in general. Among other, Group 484 also works actively in the field of social entrepreneurship, both in terms of advocating the concept and through providing direct support to social enterprises in the field. Group 484 is one of the first who initiated the debate on social entrepreneurship in Serbia in an effort to bring about legislative reforms in the field, develop network of existing social entrepreneurs and provide support for social enterprises. Group 484 created the first network of Social Enterprises in Serbia (SENS), which currently consists of 26 members, and also is a founder of two social enterprises: Green and Clean and Bakino Kazance. – www.grupa484.org.rs
- Center for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship – CDSE, is a USAID-supported ISC grantee, established to provide comprehensive support for the development of social enterprises and social entrepreneurship. CDSE specializes in providing human resources and expert opinion to various project consortiums. This support includes the following: assistance in the process of creating a favourable legal framework for the development of social entrepreneurship; provision of consultative service to social enterprises (i.e. research and technical assistance in the establishment of cooperatives); provision of social entrepreneurs tailored technical trainings; mediation services in employment issues of social enterprises; and works in partnerships with other organizations to establish clusters of small social cooperatives, primarily in the field of recycling, and to network recycling cooperatives with one another. - www.crsp.rs
- Initiative for Development and Cooperation (IDC) Serbia – IDC Serbia was founded as a result of a spin off process from a Spanish-based NGO Movement for Peace (MPDL). In 2008, MPDL local staff founded the IDC Serbia. The organization has been working on integrating vulnerable groups into the labor market through a project called “Improving the Economic and Social Capacity and Strengthening of the Productive Network,“ founded by MPDL, with support from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID). IDC founded the first eco–social enterprise in Serbia named Eco Bag. In the last year, Eco Bag has actively worked on promoting environmental protection and recycling trough production of ecologically responsible and fashionable products made from recycled waste materials. In addition, IDC Serbia is one of the founders of the Coalition for the Promotion of Social Entrepreneurship. Besides that IDs works on informal education through long term professional education, but also provides free legal aid for refugees and other socially vulnerable groups. – www.idcserbia.org
- YUROM Center was founded in 1998 at the initiative of numerous Roma organizations and the International Organization of Roma. The main activities of YUROM Center include the collection, processing and dissemination of information about the Roma population, as well as promotion of civic activism of Roma. YUROM Center is a network of organization comprised of 21 Roma organizations and 4 non-Roma NGOs. YUROM is a USDAID-funded ISC grantee implementing the “Empowerment of Individual Collectors of Secondary Raw Materials” project aimed at assisting scrap collectors in the decision making process on waste management and recycling, and empowering vulnerable groups. The project resulted in the establishment of a Roma-run trade union called “The Republic Trade Union of Collectors of Waste Material – „Nezavisnost“ in January 2011. – www.yuromcentar.org.rs
- The Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence (BFPE) is a non-profit organization devoted to the education and capacity building of political and other community leaders engaged in public affairs, with the objective to develop a democratic Serbia based on European values and standards. Among other things, the BFPE has experience working on topics ranging from energy efficiency and renewable energy sources to climate change and waste management. The organization has worked on multi-year capacity building projects targeting decision-makers at various levels, including MPs, representatives of local self-governments, and public administration officials. In 2011, one of the results of these initiatives included the signing of MoUs focused on inter-municipal cooperation on the development of wind energy in eight municipalities in the South Banat region. – www.bfpe.org
- The Green List of Serbia is a network of 12 organizations whose activities are oriented towards protection of environment. Member organizations have join together with a goal to contribute solving problem of communal waste, and to help implementation of waste management mechanisms. Promoting recycling and healthier environment Green List of Serbia, has throughout the Campaign „Get Planet wise!“, activly included over 12000 citizens, and at the same time succefully cooperated with the competent insitutions on local and national level. Green list of Serbia is comprised of the following organizations: Center for Sustainable Future “Green zone,” Knjazevac; Citizens Association Porecje, Vucje; Engineers for Environmental Protection, Novi Sad; Eco Club – Green Road Sign, Raska; Ecological Movement “Moravski orasak,” Trstenik; Ecological Movement “White Birch tree,” Krusevac; GM Optimist, Gornji Milanovac; Green Circle, Backi Petrovac; Society for Environmental Protection – Stara Planina, Pirot; Society of Young Researchers, Bor; Squad of Scouts “Josip Pancic,” Nis; Squad of Scouts “Zavicaj 1093,” Vranje; Young Researches of Serbia (YRS), Belgrade. – www.oplanetise.com