Civil society

Reform of the Dublin Regulation – Towards another wasted opportunity?

21/05/2018 -  Francesca Spinelli

Prolonged discussions and disagreements between governments threaten the necessary reform of European rules on the right of asylum

The numbers of the Eu enlargement

17/05/2018

The EU-Western Balkans summit, held on May 17 in Sofia, was conceived to restore momentum to the European perspective of the region. But what are the cultural, institutional and economic relations that already link the member countries and those of the Western Balkans? This video, realized within the EDJNet project, presents some figures on the flows to and from the countries of the region.

Demonstrating for David in Banja Luka

10/05/2018 -  Alfredo Sasso

The authorities of the Republika Srpska are not telling the whole truth on the suspicious death of 21-year-old David Dragičević. But there are now thousands of protesters who every day, for a month and a half, have been asking for clarity

The future of Europe passes through the Dublin system

08/05/2018 -  Lucia Bruni

“The crisis of today’s Europe is not a ‘Schengen crisis’ but a ‘Dublin crisis’”. An interview with Gianfranco Schiavone, Italian jurist and expert on migration issues

Armenia’s Space for Liberty

24/04/2018 -  Inna Mkhitaryan

The protests of these days in Armenia against the appointment of Serzh Sargsyan as prime minister - resulted in his resignation - have as their ideal and symbolic place the Freedom Square of Yerevan. The history and the present of this square

Turkey, the resilience of the Academics for Peace

05/05/2018 -  Fazıla Mat

Hundreds of university lecturers in Turkey are on trial, have been expelled or fired for signing a declaration in favour of peace. The pressures suffered have led them to develop new forms of resistance and solidarity

The Panorama Tbilisi project: a monster in town

04/04/2018 -  Marilisa Lorusso

Works are ongoing in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, for the construction of a pharaonic real estate project. Its impact on the landscape and environment risks being huge, and civil society has mobilized

Albania: the theatre of politics

10/04/2018 -  Tsai Mali

According to the umpteenth architectural project of the Rama government, the building housing the National Theatre risks demolition. Once again, the history and memory of the country are in danger. A comment

Armenia’s female councillors were abused for challenging the patriarchal political system

20/03/2018 -  Anna Nikoghosyan

On 13 February, female councillors from Armenia’s women-led opposition party Yerkir Tsirani were attacked, physically and sexually, during a Yerevan City Council session. The women were later blamed for the attack

Turkey, hunger strikes against power

14/03/2018 -  Dimitri Bettoni Istanbul

In Turkey, hunger strike is an instrument of political struggle often used against power up to tragic consequences. An OBCT interview with Aslı Kuzu, researcher at SOAS University in London

Turkey: the map of violence against women

08/03/2018 -  Fazıla Mat

An interview with Ceyda Ulukaya, journalist and creator of the first map of femicides in Turkey – an original and appreciated data journalism project

Welcome to ‘hell’: working on a Georgian railway construction site

06/03/2018 -  Luka Pertaia

Railway construction in central Georgia is a key part of ambitious plans to modernise Georgia’s infrastructure. Despite warnings from trade unions and official inspectors, life for the workers remains a ‘living hell’

Cycling in the city: Ljubljana takes inspiration from the Dutch model

26/02/2018 -  Lucia Bruni

Ljubljana is among the most accessible European capitals for cycling, and among the cities which have invested most in this mode of transport. An interview with Lea Ružič, president of the Ljubljana Cyclists Network

Rural Albania, the bet of those who stay

09/01/2018 -  Francesco Martino Mërtur

Wild, untamed mountains, poverty, and massive depopulation. In the villages of northern Albania, some resist the temptation to escape to the city and hope for a new beginning, made of sustainable rural development and alternative tourism. Our report

Who owns Armenia's mines?

27/12/2017 -  Hakob Safaryan

Mining is one of the most important sectors of the Armenian economy. Because of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the country now has to undertake a series of reforms for transparency and accountability

Romania: whistleblowers need more than just a law

01/12/2017 -  Stela Giurgeanu

Romania has a law protecting whistleblowers since 2004. But how many Romanian citizens have benefited from it? What is the real impact of a "law without society"? The analysis of Dilema Veche

The lack of protection for whistleblowers in Croatia

21/11/2017 -  Toni Gabrić Zagreb

In Croatia, as in other countries in the region, whistleblowers are not sufficiently protected and risk to be fired and socially marginalised. H-Alter's contribution to our dossier on whistleblowing

Wikipedia edit-a-thon in Sofia to support media freedom and democratic commons

14/11/2017 -  Rossella Vignola

The second edition of the Wiki4MediaFreedom edit-a-thon will take place in Sofia on November 27th. It will boost the availability of accurate knowledge on media freedom and pluralism in the largest open encyclopedia worldwide

Kosovo: the first ever Pride Parade

06/11/2017 -  Veton Kasapolli Pristina

In October, for the first time, a Pride Parade has been held in Pristina. Nevertheless the fight against sex discrimination in the country is still long

Whistleblowers: looking for European protection

25/10/2017 - 

The second of a series of three thematic itineraries to explore the Resource Centre on Media Freedom through a curated aggregation of contents

Armenia, a campaign to end violence against children

24/10/2017 -  Ani Chitemyan

NGOs in the country have launched a five-year campaign to counter violence against children, which is widespread

Solidarity is not a crime: the Observatory of the Milan Charter is born

19/10/2017

On 30 September 2017 around thirty activists, journalists, jurists, citizens acting in solidarity, members of NGOs and associations met in Milan to set up the Observatory which the 'Milan Charter: solidarity is not a crime' proposed

Turkey, the triangle of the three s's

20/10/2017 -  Francesco Brusa

"We call it the triangle of the three s's: sermaye, sendika, and siyaset – capital, unions, and politics". An interview with the journalist and activist Özgür Karaduman about consensus and dissent in Erdoĝan's Turkey

Living with a disability in Armenia

21/08/2017 -  Lilit Arakelyan

In Armenia there are women who despite the blows of fate, despite deprivation and despair, were able to withstand their difficulties and move forward. Below is Vardine Grigoryan’s story

Higher education is reinforcing Kosovo's ethnic divide

15/08/2017 -  Ervjola Selenica*

Despite years of international efforts aimed at integration, the system of higher education in Kosovo continues to reflect and replicate the country’s deep ethnic divisions

Rijeka and the memory of the Nineties

04/08/2017 -  Marco Abram

Remembering the Nineties through the direct testimonies of volunteers, in the Croatian city that will be the European Capital of Culture in 2020

True stability needs media freedom

19/07/2017 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

Abuse of public funds and tabloids used as means for stifling “dissent” undermine democracy and ultimately stability in the Western Balkans. The speech by Dragan Janjić at the Civil Society Forum held in Trieste on July 11, 2017

"Each time, it hurts more". Srebrenica, 22 years later

14/07/2017 -  Alfredo Sasso

A "war for truth" is being fought today in Bosnia and Herzegovina – a clash based on ethnic competition, with words and stories about the past as the main weapons

Political instability in the Balkans: the remedies are long-term

11/07/2017 -  Marzia BonaFrancesco Martino

Experts increasingly warn about the serious risks stemming from the consolidation of a vicious “stabilitocracy”. The focus of European and Western interests in the Balkans shifted from democratisation and human rights to security issues

Turkish labor unions under AKP rule

05/07/2017

The relations between state insititutions and unions in Turkey, discussed by Işıl Erdinç (Université Paris Dauphine), Andreas Guidi and Elif Becan