The conference titled PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN SOCIAL CHANGES-REGIONAL EXPERIENCE was held on Friday, February 9, 2007, in the Vojvodina Hotel in Novi Sad. This was the third meeting dealing with gender issues organized by the Civic Dialogue. The participants had an opportunity to see eleven presentations delivered by experts and NGO activists who addressed different issues related to this subject. In cooperation with the Provincial Secretariat for Labour, Employment and Gender Equality and with several women’s NGOs from Prishtina and Novi Sad, we closely defined subjects and selected presenters. The dialogue between women’s organizations from Kosovo, Serbia, as well as representatives from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered a great number of participants and drew significant media attention. The following subjects were addressed:

Women in peace processes:
Peace activists and initiatives from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo
Women in transition
Legislative and institutional changes in Kosovo, Serbia and Croatia
Economic empowerment of women: Experiences of entrepreneurs in Vojvodina
Regional cooperation:
Kosovo women’s network, Women’s Peace Coalition
Participation of women in politics and their presence in the media in Vojvodina and in Kosovo.

Around 40 participants, representatives of different women’s organizations and relevant institutions from Kosovo, Serbia. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, participated in the conference. The conference was covered by numerous local and regional media, including Kosovo Radio and Television that prepared a report and a show on the event.

In Belgrade, 15-16 December 2006, conference Interreligious Dialogue - Youth and Religion was held. That was the second meeting dealing with issues of Interreligious communication organized by the Civic Dialogue. The participants had an opportunity to see seven presentations delivered by experts and NGO activists who addressed different issues related to this subject. In cooperation with Radovan Bigovic, professor of the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade and director of the Christian Cultural Centre we closely defined subjects and selected presenters. Interreligious dialogue between youth from Kosovo and Serbia gathered huge number of participants and drew significant media attention. The following subjects were addressed:

• Youth and Religion: An Overview of the Situation on Kosovo and Serbia;
• The Role of Religion in the Reconciliation Process from Perspectives of Kosovo and Serbia;
• Experiences of Multiethnic and Interreligious Dialogue in the Region;
• The Role of Internet in the Interreligious Dialogue – Forums for Exchange of Ideas (pathology of religion, tolerance of intolerant etc.)

The conference was covered by several national and local TV stations and several newspapers informed public about the event. Around fifty participants, representatives of different confessions and organizations from Kosovo and Serbia participated in the conference. Those were students of the Faculty of Theology and students of the University of Pristina, representatives of Christian Cultural Centre, organizations such are Philanthropy, Caritas, Mother Theresa Society and representatives of different NGOs.

On 26-27th of October 2006 Civic Dialogue Project hosted about 120 participants and students from Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Conference Student Participation and Higher Education Reform. The conference aimed to engage representatives of universities in the region in dialogue and active contribution of students in Higher Educational Reform, different models of student participation in Higher Education Institution and the role of students as change agent in society as large .The topics of the workshops and lectures were:

• Implementation of Bologna
• Mechanisms and models of student participation
• Best Practices in student participation/students as change agents
• Life long learning- A pro active approach of being student
The conference was highly evaluated by the participants, students, and donors.

This session represented one of the first attempts to bring together members of the various religious communities to discuss issues of common interest. That was the first meeting where representatives of Catholic, Orthodox and Islam communities both from Kosovo and Serbia, gathered together on one place. High representatives of religious communities had the opportunity to discuss key issues and common values of their communities, to identify common initiatives promoting peace, reconciliation, mutual respect and acceptance, co-existence and cooperation. A positive outcome of that meeting where that participants agreed about the necessity of interchurch and inter-religious cooperation.

Held in Novi Sad, this conference was opened by Tamas Korhec, Vojvodina Minister for Minority Affairs. Minister Korhec welcomed the participants, especially those that had traveled from Kosovo. The staff of the Center for Regionalism, with their partner organization the Mother Theresa Society gave a presentation about the Small Grants Program. The results of the first round grantees were given, and the request for proposal for the second round was announced. This conference was an excellent opportunity for the NGO representatives to meet and discuss joint projects. Rajko Bozic of the Citizen’s Pact gave a report to the conference about the successful participation of Civic Dialogue in this years exit festival.
Srdjan Vezmar of the European Law Students Association gave a report on the status of negotiations between the law faculties in Novi Sad and Pristina. He was joined by his fellow law students from Kosovo.
Following the lunch break, the youth representatives broke into groups to discuss themes important to organizations both in Serbia and Kosovo. These groups defined concrete action plans which were submitted to the media.

The conference entitled “Dialogue for the Future, Dialogue for Co-existence, and Youth Cooperation” was held on July 26 -28 at the Hotel Electrovodina in the Fruska Gora National Park. This session represents a sub-project focusing on youth involvement within Civic Dialogue.
It was an exciting and dynamic session, bringing together some of the best and the brightest of the generations to come. This was the first opportunity that these participants had a chance to meet, interact and work on joint issues together since 1999. Official support from the authorities within the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was very strong. On day two, the head of protocol of the Skupstina Vojvodina welcomed the guests and provided an extensive tour of the Banovina, the legislative and executive chambers of the government of Vojvodina. Participants received a presentation in the Great Hall of the Legislature and were even allowed a private viewing of the President’s Chambers.
Dr Dragoslav Petrovic, Provincial Secretary for Scientific and Technical Development officially welcomed the guests as a representative of the Executive Council. He took the opportunity to explain that not all people in Serbia we for the actions taken against Kosovo and Vojvodina was an excellent example of where those very people were in power and working for better relations. He continued, defining the common challenges in education that face both societies and encouraged those assembled to double their efforts in this field.
On day three, participants were given a presentation by Dinko Gruhonjic, President of the Independent League of Journalists of Vojvodina and a correspondent for Deutsche Weld and Beta. In his analysis, he pointed out the necessity of strong state structures, institutions and legislation in order to create a media that serves the best interests of the public, and not only those of the few. Mr. Gruhonjic pointed out that no matter where, either in Kosovo or in Serbia, this is one of the vital issues that must be tackled prior to any discussions about Euro-Atlantic integration. In the following discussions, participants put forth and discussed many concrete steps that could be taken in order to help rectify this situation.
Media coverage was extraordinary. 6 television stations were present at the reception held by Dr. Petrovic, along with numerous members of the print media. On the evening of July 27, a news segment covering the meeting was carried on almost all major television news programs. In addition, positive articles covering the event were also found in most major news dailies on July 28. Future coverage is anticipated with the distribution of the final report of the conference and its further presentation to the relevant state institutions.
In addition to the numerous hours of hard work put in by the participants, the Serbs and Kosovars had ample opportunities to enjoy the social life in Novi Sad. It was truly special having people from both sides of the border coming together in social settings and relaxing like old friends.
Next session scheduled for October 14, 2005 in Pristina where they assembled group already has accepted an invitation to be officially greeted by the law faculty of the University of Pristina This new youth component represents an exciting new branch of the Civic Dialogue program, bringing in independent youth intellectuals in order to offer there valuable input from their very unique perspectives. This was the second successful crossing of the administrative border for participants with UNMIK documents. Following the achievements of the EXIT festival, this procedure has become merely procedure for the staff of Civic Dialogue, and there are no foreseeable circumstances that would not allow more participants with UNMIK documents to participate in CD activities

In July, 2005 the Sixth Annual EXIT Music Festival was held at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad. This is the largest such event in the Balkans and one of the largest in Europe. With Freedom House and Mott support, dozens of youth from Kosovo participated in this event. Musicians, artists, and NGO representatives presented their activities and programs at the NGO Fair that was organized at EXIT by the Citizen's Pact. Civic Dialogue sponsored their room and board.
Civic Dialogue, through it intense lobbying efforts towards the authorities in Belgrade, was able to provide guarantees for the participants from Kosovo who only possessed UNMIK travel documents. As far as can be determined, this is the first such instance where travel to Serbia with only UNMIK documents was possible.

The conference ‘Media Dialogue, Belgrade – Pristina’ was held May 23 – 25 at the Hotel Park in Belgrade. Over 40 participants representing media outlets and the civil sector came together to provide an analysis of the current media scene in Serbia and Kosovo as well as to discuss further cooperation in the field. Participants included representatives from RTK, RTS, RTV Mitrovica, B92, and Deutsche Welle. Further, the conference brought together some of the most important people in the media sector together in a forum that allowed discussion of future concrete projects. A current picture of the media situation was provided by Mr. Rade Veljanovski Professor of Journalism, Faculty of Political Sciences, Belgrade and Jeta Xharra, Director of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Pristina. In his report on the state of the media, Mr. Veljanovski stated that during his analysis of 5 local dailies during the first 20 days in May, Kosovo was mention 228 times, mainly in short format reporting pieces. The dominant themes of these texts were ‘searching for compromise’ and ‘more than autonomy, but less than independence’ – however these terms were not adequately explained. Veljanovski was keen to point out that the news daily Danas was the only news daily that offered a perspective from the other side, and included letters from readers in Kosovo.
At the conclusion of the conference, the participants were in agreement that the level of cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo was at a very low level, and steps need to be taken to increase exchanges within this sector. In addition, it was recognized that very few articles and pieces were distributed about ordinary life from one area to the other, and when there are such stories, they are usually dark and paint a bad picture of the ‘other’.
In the afternoon, participants were treated to a guided tour of the facilities of B92 in Novi Beograd. This offered an opportunity for liberal media actors from Kosovo to discuss and exchange ideas with the management of B92. Mr. Veran Matic, director of the station, addressed the participants, welcoming them and encouraging them to further increase their collective cross border cooperation.
10 participants from Kosovo were not able to attend due to the fact that they only held UNMIK documents, and Civic Dialogue was not yet able to ensure there ability to cross the administrative border

At the Freedom House Serbia-hosted regular Board meeting, representatives of the OSCE Mission in Serbia and Montenegro and the OSCE Mission in Kosovo joined the CiD board in planning for the next session regarding media in Belgrade. The final report for the Small Grants Fund was presented to the board and the continuation of the program for 2005 was discussed.

The tenth session of CiD was held in Pristina to examine the impact of CiD on the implementation of standards and steps that can be taken to improve the processes of European integration. Johan te Velde, Director of Democratization, OMiK, opened the conference by praising CiD for its contribution to the standards process and added that CiD had a special role in aiding the citizens of Kosovo. Three working groups discussed: (1) women's NGOs promoting gender issues, (2) the role of youth NGOs in supporting the freedom of movement, and (3) the role of media in providing an accurate picture of the standard process.

The CiD Board held a strategic planning session in Skopje to review program development since its inception and to discuss future concrete projects. CiD board members used the occasion to survey results to date, define new sectors of interest and define priorities for 2005 and 2006.

Representatives of the European Movement in Belgrade, KIPRED from Pristina and Freedom House Budapest and Serbia held a strategy session to develop a tentative program of work for the future Kosovo-Serbia research project. The partners, working with the CiD Board, defined the objectives of the project and outlined a timetable for 2005.

The ninth session of CiD was held in Pristina to identify the mechanisms available for internally displaced persons (IDPs) to impact dialogue and protect human rights. The conference was opened by Jeremy Lidstone, OMiK and UNMIK ORC representative, and the CiD representatives, followed by presentations by the Director of Community Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Agron Berisha, PhD and Rifat Blaku, Director of the Centre for Investigating Migration and Refugee Assistance. In the afternoon session, the participants separated into three working groups exploring the role of (1) Media, (2) Youth, and (3) Women in the Process of Return and Integration of Displaced Persons.

The third meeting of youth organizations was held in Novi Sad, in which over 40 NGO representatives participated, including 22 organizations from Kosovo. The participants were divided into two working groups: (1) Utilizing existing networks for the promotion of regional cooperation of youth and (2) Facing the past by rebuilding trust and understanding.

The most pressing issue, identified by both working groups, was the freedom of movement between Kosovo and Serbia. The main problem being that the authorities in Serbia refuse to recognize UNMIK documents, leaving many people in Kosovo unable to travel to Serbia. A joint declaration was unanimously passed and directed to the Government of Serbia calling to recognize UNMIK travel documents.

The second conference entitled “Dialogue of Dialogues” again served the purpose of continuing the exchange of experiences among various NGOs that participate in creating and instigating different kinds of dialogue. The conference was opened by Mr. Bajram Rexhepi, Former Prime Minister of Kosovo and Johan te Velde, Director of the Department for Democratization at OMiK. An introductory speech was given by Bryan Hopkins, Director of the OMiK Office for Political Issues and the media coverage of the event was substantial.

As a follow-up, the conference "How to Support Democracy and Dialogue on the Ground" was held the following day, to explore the possibilities and requirements for supporting the development of democracy and dialogue, especially through the prism of the three pre-identified target groups: women, media and youth.

Two coordinators, from the “Mother Theresa” Society and the Center for Regionalism, presented the results of the Small Grants Fund competition.

On June 15, the CiD Board meeting was hosted by Freedom House Serbia, when a plan for the implementation of the small grants program was developed. Freedom House offered to train the two coordinators from the “Mother Theresa” Society and the Center for Regionalism in grant making process, including preparing the guidelines for competition, evaluation of proposals, monitoring supported activities and helping develop plans for follow up.

A motion was passed for the creation of an expert team to draft an assessment of common interests and in a separate document to draft an assessment of separate interests (one assessment for Kosovo -- including Serb and Albanian interests and a separate one for Serbia). A third assessment will also be created for Kosovo Albanians and for Kosovo Serbs in order to ensure a common understanding of interests. This motion would serve as the foundation of the Free Movement of People and Goods between Kosovo and Serbia project launched in 2005.

Civic Dialogue Board meeting was hosted by the “Mother Theresa” Society in Pristina. The events of 17-19 March posed a particular challenge to dialogue, given the escalation of violence and frustration. These events highlighted the importance of ensuring continuation of the dialogue focusing on trust building. The Chief of the OMiK, Pascal Fieschi opened the meeting with a statement that although the March riots pose a great setback, dialogue and tolerance building must continue.

The “Mother Theresa” Society’s reaction to the March violence received significant media coverage, in which they called for tolerance and peace “the outbreak of violence is contrary to the values of Kosovo citizens, official institutions and international administration . . . it is a set back in efforts to establish a rule of law and a stable peace in Kosovo . . . The ‘Mother Theresa’ Society, as a partner of Civic Dialogue, believes that NGOs should focus on tolerance-building regardless of religious and ethnic backgrounds.” In early April, the Center for Regionalism and the “Mother Theresa” Society visited Gracanica and other Serb populated areas in Kosovo in show of solidarity and to offer support.

“OMiK will continue to promote dialogue convinced that the majority of the population in Kosovo rejects violence and wants to live in a tolerant and democratic society. The public needs to understand that the legacy of the past will have to be overcome in order to build a better future for all,” said Ambassador Fieschi. The main conclusions of the Board meeting were: (1) Dialogue is key to improving the lives of all citizens of Kosovo; (2) Successful regional projects should be introduced to the participants of the CID events because positive examples from the region facilitate Kosovo-Serbia dialogue; (3) Under the CiD umbrella, religious leaders should be encouraged to participate in civil society projects to promote tolerance and respect for diversity; and (4) Reach out to the grass-roots initiatives through the Small Grants Fund.

On April 21, the first session entitled “Dialogue of Dialogues” was organized, allowing representatives from different sectors to discuss and share best practices in the area of dialogue building. Regional partner, Mr. Vehid Sehic of the Forum of Citizens from Tuzla, shared his experiences from Bosnia and Herzegovina, explaining that the main task of civil society is to fight hatred and intolerance. “The people of Kosovo should make the dialogue on their own and should not speak as Albanians or Serbs, but as human beings,” he remarked.

At this meeting, the NGO representatives requested that the Board broaden the CiD initiative, with a greater focus on including NGOs representing the Kosovo Serbs.

For one week, from April 24 to May 1, 2004 a distinguished group of civil society leaders from the Civic Dialogue and Igman Initiative visited Washington, DC and New York in an effort to raise the profile of the cross-border reconciliation efforts in Southeastern Europe. The delegation, composed of Zivorad Kovacevic, President of the European Movement in Serbia; Aleksandar Popov, Director of the Center for Regionalism; Zoran Pusic, President of the Civic Committee for Human Rights in Croatia; and Besnik Tahiri, Board Member of the Civic Dialogue, targeted U.S. policymakers, foundations and civil society organizations for outreach.

The visit was highly successful in promoting the achievements of the two regional cooperation initiatives and the delegation was well received throughout the tour. Highlights included meetings with the National Security Council, members of Congress and Dr. Henry Kissinger. Existing relationships with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the International Center for Transitional Justice were enhanced and new contacts were cultivated with the Ford Foundation and the World Bank, among many others. In addition to building networks, the group was able to provide an example of multi-ethnic and cross-border cooperation and a model of positive, tolerant and democratic regional progress to a U.S. audience accustomed to hearing of dissension, conflict and doubt in regard to the Balkans.

The next CiD Board meeting was held in Kosovo. The purpose of the meeting was to review achievements, to adopt the Action Plan for 2004, and to approve the launching of the Small Grants Fund, for which the CiD raised funding from the RBF. The OMiK and Freedom House reiterated their support to the strengthening of the CiD and its networking by providing logistical and other support. In a statement recognizing past accomplishments, the Board agreed that the CiD has managed to secure broad participation, overcome some crucial psychological barriers and build up initial communication capacity among a core group of NGOs. It was also recognized that the CiD has been important by planting seeds of tolerance through alternative channels of communication. A working group was established to review and finalize the documents for the Small Grants Fund. It was agreed that the program will be open to all eligible NGOs who are engaged in interethnic activities, development of trust and confidence.

The CiD Board regular meeting was held in Belgrade to review project development since the start of the year and to elaborate on the beginning of the official dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. The meeting was focused on summarizing and analyzing achieved results, outlining strategic directions and discussing priorities for 2004 and 2005. The discussion explored the interest and options for extending, widening and deepening CiD by widening its network of supporters in local communities through engagement of grass-roots initiatives on youth, women, and environmental issues.

The Civil Society Policy Impact: Conference on Building Partnerships and Networks in SEE took place in Pristina where eight distinct issue-based working groups were formed. More than 60 NGOs representatives participated, including organizations from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece, and Serbia and Montenegro. On behalf of the OMiK Head of Mission, Mr. Bryan Hopkinson, OMiK Director of Political Affairs opened the conference. All the key speakers emphasized the importance of CiD, especially the role of civil society organizations in normalizing relations and creating an atmosphere of inter-ethnic trust in the region.

The plenary session was entitled “The Role of Civil Society in Facilitating EU Enlargement in Southeastern Europe.” Key note speakers emphasized the importance of EU enlargement and the work that remains to be done in Kosovo. It was very clearly stated that Kosovo integration within the EU was preconditioned by achieving democratic principles, political stabilization, economic development and the respect of human rights and freedoms.

After the plenary session, six parallel sessions of workshops took place on different subjects. All the groups concluded that there is a need for more coordination within the civil society sector and that much remains to be done. The watchdog role of the civil society organizations designed for the institutions was specially emphasized in order to move forward with better and responsible central and local governance.

The second meeting of youth organizations from Kosovo and Serbia was held and 47 representatives-25 from Kosovo and 22 from Serbia participated. Participants were welcomed by Mr. Dusko Radosavljevic, Vice-president of the Executive Council of Vojvodina and Friedhelm Frischenschlager, Director of the Department of Democratization at the OMiK.

It was agreed that youth initiatives led by boundless energy, creative and innovative pro-reform thinking, free of burden from the recent past, present a solid basis for building cooperation and for contributing to the stabilization of conditions in the region.

The fourth meeting of the CiD brought together women’s organizations from the region to work on joint projects. The conference was attended by representatives of women’s organizations from Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pristina, Tirana, Sofia and Skopje. The participating organizations agreed to continue to meet under the umbrella of the CiD and to cooperate with NGOs in the region. The purpose of the conference was to introduce the participants to the goals and the mission of Civic Dialogue and to estimate the positive impact women’s groups might have in post-conflict situations.

Participants concluded that there are many initiatives in Kosovo, but there are also many problems. There are more then 30 Albanian women’s organizations and just as many Serbian, Roma and Bosnian organizations. However, they do not cooperate amongst themselves. Building coalitions on all levels was recommended. Coalitions could contribute to the post-conflict resolution.

It was recognized that the active role of women organizations is essential for resolving problems like reconciliation, domestic violence, and participation of women in politics, the struggle against poverty and for proper health care, and economic independence of women. In this spirit and under the CiD umbrella, a project “Women in Civic Dialogue,” was conceived. The first step in the realization of this project was to form a coordination body, consisting of representatives from women’s organizations from the region.

The first CiD Board meeting, which gathered representatives of the “Mother Theresa” Society, the Center for Regionalism, OMiK and Freedom House Serbia, was held in Brezovica, on January 24-25 to formalize the Board role in CiD. Mr. Adam Schmidt welcomed the participants, expressing the OMiK support for this initiative that – as he stated – will have a positive impact on inter-government and civil society cross-border relations.

The two CiD Board co-presidents, Don Ljush Gergij and Ambassador Zivorad Kovacevic, expressed satisfaction in how much the CiD had achieved in taking the first steps toward establishing a responsible and frank dialogue. Mr. Kovacevic expressed his regret and apologized for what Milosevic’s regime and some of his compatriots had done to Kosovo Albanians. Don Ljush noted that it is important to work together to overcome the wounds from the past and take on challenges in pioneering communication, bridges and relations between Serbia and Kosovo.

It was agreed that the volunteer Board will provide overall guidance, credibility and moral strength to the CiD initiative. The 2003 CiD Action Plan was adopted, which outlined methods for bringing together NGOs and other civic groups from Kosovo and Serbia in joint non-partisan activities, focusing on building gender, youth, environment and media links to further broaden discussion and build trust. To nourish open and frank dialogue, the Board unanimously agreed that the CiD framework will not include issues that dominate governmental discourse on each side, such as the final status of Kosovo – convinced that such topics could lead only to confrontations and misunderstandings.

It was agreed that four meetings of the Board will be held annually, driving the Civic Dialogue initiative forward. These meetings would be concurrent with some of the key events stipulated in the Action Plan.

In December, 2002 Freedom House Serbia hosted a working meeting where the “Mother Theresa” Society from Pristina and the Center for Regionalism from Novi Sad signed a cooperative agreement to implement CiD on a biannual basis.

This meeting was facilitated by representatives from the Department of Democratization of OMIK. The agreement mandates the establishment of a volunteer joint Board consisting of prominent intellectuals from both sides, holding four conferences annually in Kosovo and Serbia, focusing on youth, women and good local governance issues and support to specific community based small projects, as well as improved quality of media information dissemination. The model of cooperation is based on Igman Initiative’s work in the Dayton Triangle. The agreement was signed by two OMiK representatives and a Freedom House Serbia representative.

Speaking on the subject of dialogue and communication as factors of trust among ethnic groups, it was highlighted that NGOs and media should be leaders in mending consequences of wars and emolliating post war trauma suffered by the majority of the population. The indispensable role of media in Kosovo today for the creation of a climate favorable to positive advancements was underlined. It was concluded that the media represent one of the essential factors in building conditions for normalization of affairs and pursuing European integration. It was noted that all the efforts of the official dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina that had been announced will remain ineffective without a favorable atmosphere in the public arena, to be created through NGO and media engagement. 25 media representatives from Kosovo and 18 representatives from Serbia participated.

Results of the conference are: (1) Independent URBANS production from Novi Sad made an agreement with RTK representatives to broadcast the documentary “They are Traveling” covering a story about the corpses of people killed in Kosovo transported to Serbia in freezer trucks. This documentary became highly controversial in Serbia. (2) RTK expressed readiness to meet with key persons from major TV stations in Belgrade and Novi Sad to explore possibilities for cooperation and building links for direct broadcasting from the studio in Pristina. (3) BK TV made an agreement with RTK to produce a joint TV material on Kosovska Mitrovica. (4) Radio In from Novi Sad made an agreement with Urban Radio FM for a DJ exchange program. (5) Novi Sad weekly magazine Bulevar made an agreement with JAVA journalists on a series of articles related to urban, cultural, sociological and other phenomena in Kosovo. (6) Representatives of Radio Novi Sad, together with colleagues from other radio stations exchanged contacts and discussed possibilities for future cooperation.

As the second component in the project Civic Dialogue: The First Step, a meeting of youth organizations from Serbia and Kosovo met in Palic, Vojvodina, in which 25 organizations from Serbia and 25 from Kosovo participated. Two workshops covered the following topics: Inter-ethnic tolerance and peaceful conflict resolution; the NGO scene in Serbia and Kosovo: the current situation, perspectives for development, and fundraising.

The conclusion was that media outlets controlled by anti-reform forces are the primary promoters of inter-ethnic intolerance, frequently using hate speech when referring to “others,” and inciting violence. The group proposed joint promotion of cultural values from Kosovo and Serbia to counter xenophobia and eliminate or alleviate inter-ethnic tensions.

On the last day, the participants had the opportunity to hear Ms. Inga Aleksandraviciene from OMiK, who gave a lecture on gender awareness followed by a video presentation “Women and the Media.” In the closing session, the participants explored possibilities for cooperation in the following areas: democratization and human rights; regional cooperation; and multiculturalism and inter-ethnic relations. Recognizing and agreeing on the importance of the media in the process of reconciliation, participants proposed to focus on “The Role of Media in Improving Dialogue” at the next conference. The event was scheduled to be held in Brezovica, in the fall of 2002 and media was to become one of the core areas of focus of CiD activities.

The Center for Regionalism, the “Mother Theresa” Society and the OMiK organized the first CiD meeting of NGOs on July 5-6, 2002 in Novi Becej. Four working groups were formed: democratization and human rights, regional cooperation, multiculturalism and interethnic relations, and women’s organizations. Working group participants informed their counterparts about the activities of the NGOs they represented and presented potential topics for joint projects. This method of work – in small, issue-based groups – resulted in numerous agreements to join efforts and strengthen partnerships across ethnic divides.