General information
Project title: Fostering Minority Civic Engagement and Participation
Duration: 24 months
Implementation period: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027
Supported by: National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
Status: Ongoing
Project objectives:
The project “Fostering Minority Civic Engagement and Participation” is an initiative implemented by the Center for Affirmative Social Actions (CASA), Mitrovica, with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The project aims to foster constructive engagement of Kosovo’s Serb minority in civic and political processes through the “Awakening Initiative” , a grassroots civic mobilization model developed by CASA.
Building on the pilot phase supported by the European Endowment for Democracy, this project scales the Awakening Initiative across four key regions of Kosovo: the north (Leposavić, North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Zvečan), center (Gračanica, Lipljan, Novo Brdo), south (Gorazdevac, Osojane, Štrpce), and east (Gnjilane, Parteš, Ranilug).
The initiative pursues two main objectives:
- Mobilizing civic participation: engaging Kosovo Serb citizens, especially youth, women, and underrepresented groups, in identifying community needs and participating in advocacy campaigns addressing local priorities;
- Building advocacy capacity: strengthening the ability of young civic activists to design and lead effective advocacy campaigns, engage with local and central authorities, and build cross-ethnic alliances.
Activities:
- Eight public forums across four regions to present the Awakening Initiative and gather community feedback on local needs and priorities
- Four fishbowl discussions with young people on pressing youth challenges
- Installation of citizen alert postboxes in public areas to collect community input on local problems and unmet needs
- Four one-day workshops to develop comprehensive advocacy strategies with expert support
- Implementation of four advocacy campaigns addressing community-prioritized issues (e.g. youth-inclusive policies, environmental accountability, community safety)
- Eight consultative meetings with local authorities and four with central authorities to present findings and advocate for targeted changes
- Speechcraft and social media campaign workshops for Initiative members
- Annual team-building workshops for Initiative leaders
- Public outreach campaign “We Have a Say, Too” combining media outreach with direct citizen engagement
- Peer networking initiative bringing together at least 40 Serbian and Albanian youth advocates for joint campaigns and policy monitoring
