The consortium won the UNOPS/PROGRES programme tender, published in August.
Recognizing the need to develop participatory, accountable and transparent governance and respect for human rights, BIRN and Executive Group have designed a campaign to promote and raise awareness of the core principles of good governance, motivate civic participation in decision-making, increase understanding of the roles and competences of local government and advocate utilization of good governance mechanisms that are applicable in the targeted municipalities.
The concept of good governance is one of the crucial crosscutting elements contributing to the PROGRES Programme overall’s goal of enhancing stability and socio-economic development in south and southwest Serbia.
PROGRES, a municipal partnership programme, is a joint action of the EU and the Swiss and Serbian governments. It is designed to enhance the stability and socio-economic development in south and southwest Serbia. The programme is implemented by UN Office for Project Services, UNOPS.
The key principles of good governance – accountability, transparency, participation, efficiency, non-discrimination – should be introduced in the work of local self-government supported by other stakeholders such as businesses, media and civil society and be recognized by general population.
The campaign will promote five principles of good governance and their importance for local socio-economic development through a custom-made set of tools.
These include wide dissemination of promotional materials such as leaflets and brochures, a media campaign (using traditional and online media), and public events along with advocacy efforts and support for citizens’ participation drives.
The campaign will also appreciate the multi-ethnic setting of south and southwest Serbia.
BIRN Serbia and Executive group decided to combine their expertise – Executive in the field of strategic communication and BIRN in media development and civic activism – to jointly contribute to programme’s success.