General information
Project title: Local Awakening Initiative
Duration: 18 months
Starting date: 01/09/2022 – 28/02/2024
Supported by: European Endowment for Democracy
Status: Completed
Project objectives:
The project objective is to build organization’s capacities and resources required to actively and independently work toward the increased engagement of authentic representatives of K-Serb community) in civic initiatives. These interests are at the moment misrepresented by local political leaders, ignored by central level authorities and passivized by intimidated local communities afraid of scrutiny and pressure of their own political leaders. The initiative aspires to establish and promote a whole new approach of practices of engagement of citizens in civic initiatives safeguarding their genuine interests. The new approach entails development of pioneering model of civic activism, i.e CASA Council an internal mechanism of organization consisted of 12 young and emerging leaders of K-Serb communities. Their task is to actively engage in social dynamics of local communities, identify its genuine needs and work with organization in development of project addressing these needs. The operational functionally of this model of citizens participation will contribute to increasing liberation of citizens in K-Serb communities to actively pursue their genuine interests. The main activities pertain to structural support to CASA (operational costs, salaries etc.) required to fully develop these mechanisms, development of capacity of Council members to act as civic agents, and finally the support to grass-root initiatives identified through the community engagement of Council members.
Expected results:
The main result of the initiative will be increased potency of Kosovo Serb community to stood up autocratic governing practices of their political leaders, to build a social pressure for initiatives addressing their genuine needs (as opposed to those enforced upon them by corrupted politicians) an mobilize increasing number of citizens in pursue of desired changes.
The long road to such a change starts with small step, that is development and activation of citizens mobilization model developed by CASA, called CASA Council. Such mechanism is pioneering model of CSO operation since it recruits and actively involves the local authentic community representatives. These young people are not seeking for a job, since they are already accomplished professional in respective fields. They are driven solely by desire for genuine change. The CASA is a medium (umbrella) that directs this new energy into a concrete initiative.
