In October 2014, the EU launched its Macro-Regional Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian area, EUSAIR. One year later, OBC and CeSPI analysed its first steps, challenges and opportunities, in the frame of the project “The Adriatic-Ionian macro-region: a hurdle process. The start of the Adriatic-Ionian Regional Strategy in the perspective of Italian foreign policy and the European integration of the Western Balkans”, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
The project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) aims to protect press freedom and to promote transnational public debate on violations registered in the European Union, the Enlargement and the Eastern Partnership countries. In 2018, the project enters its fourth year of activity thanks to the renewed support by the European Commission.
A research and dissemination project on the places of memory of the Second World War in former Yugoslavia. The role, meaning and transformation of memorials are examined through contributions and interviews with the designers of the most significant memorials of the former Yugoslavia, scholars and European intellectuals who have dealt with the theme of memory and of the wars of the '90s. The project culminated with the the international conference "Bad Memories " and the presentation of the documentary "The circle of remembrance". Implemented in 2007, the action was supported by the DG Education and Culture of the European Commission and the Autonomous Province of Trento.
The research project "Italy and the Balkans between national and European leadership interests: the Italian role in the EU enlargement process to the Balkans" is promoted by OBC Transeuropa and the Fondazione Circolo Fratelli Rosselli with the financial support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). Within the framework of this project, OBC carried out the analysis "Unavoidable Enlargement? Bosnia Herzergovina and Kosovo towards EU integration".
Press freedom and freedom of expression have a crucial role for the functioning of democratic societies. Despite this, in Europe journalists are threatened, censured or intimidated and this affects the citizens' right to information. OBC, together with SEEMO , Ossigeno Informazione , Professor Eugenia Siapera (Dublin City University) and a broad network of media partners in 11 European countries, devoted a year to studying the challenges to press freedom and the needs of journalists in Italy, South East Europe and Turkey. The project "Safety Net for European Journalists. A Transnational Network Support for Media Freedom in Italy and South-east Europe" is co-financed by the European Union.
In a European Union hit by an economic crisis as never before in its history, the Parliament is the only institution directly elected by the European citizens. For this reason, the European elections in May 2014 have been a unique moment for strengthening – through participation – the European political project. Through BeEu, OBC and 7 other media partners in 6 European countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Slovenia) contributed, with in-depth news, multimedia and online debates, to stimulate the debate on the activities and decisions of the Parliament on the most crucial themes for Europe's future. The project was co-financed by the European Union within the framework of the European Parliament's communication programs.
During the Balkan conflicts in the Nineties, tens of thousands Italian citizens took part in humanitarian intervention, volunteering in support of war-affected populations. OBC investigated this mobilization, its implications for the Italian civil society and transnational activism, producing journalistic in depth coverage and academic analyses. The research project “We were striving for peace”, carried out in 2014 with the support of the Caritro Foundation and the Autonomous Province of Trento, focused on this important chapter in the European social and political history.
In 2013, OBC concluded the three-year decentralised cooperation programme “SeeNet II - a transnational network for cooperation between Italy and South-East Europe”, co-funded by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 6 Italian regions and the Autonomous Province of Trento.
During the action, OBC regularly carried out in-depth analyses and spread information on the socio-political contexts in South-Eastern Europe and on the thematic areas covered by the programme, working with the main actors of the Italian decentralised cooperation and 47 local authorities in the Western Balkans.
Led by OBC and supported by the European Commission/DG Enlargement, in 2013 "Tell Europe to Europe" brought together 11 media partners in Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Bulgaria committed to animating and widening the public debate on today’s Europe, the Enlargement process and the Europe of the future. The project fostered the creation of a transnational area for analysis and debate about European Enlargement through a wide array of formats on the web, in cinemas, on the radio, in schools, universities and public events.
The project "Tells Europe to Europe" was co-financed by the European Union in 2013.
A research project focusing on the impact of migration on children's rights in South East Europe, with field work conducted by anthropologist Cristina Bezzi in the area of Romanian Moldavia, a region heavily interested by the phenomenon of migration.
Implemented in 2011 within the European research project "Children rights in action" led by the association The Tree of Life, this post-doctoral research was supported by the Caritro Foundation.
