The EUSAIR macro-regional strategy has approved a project for the construction of a bike route that will cross all the countries bordering the Adriatic-Ionian basin. It will be called Adrioncycletour and will integrate the bike paths of nine European countries into a single network
Reusing recycled materials in early childhood education: the Creative Recycling Center of Reggio Emilia has recently proposed some workshops to educators from Kosovo. We talked about it with organisational coordinator Laura Pedroni
Georgia looks to Italy for cultural development programmes – an almost thirty-year collaboration that this year finds a new, promising impulse. And from now on, when you visit Tbilisi, you will come across Dante
Not all municipalities in Kosovo have their own infant-toddler centre, and the public resources invested in the sector are minimal. Yet, at the Faculty of Education in Prishtina, efforts are being made to train teachers who put the needs of children first. An interview
Cooperation or interference? Russia's military presence in Lombardy has been the subject of doubts, clashes, and conflicting narratives in the Italian media
Are the histories of the former Yugoslavia and Albania finally entering Europe’s space of memory? A constantly increasing number of Italian school trips to the region gives us reason to hope so
Maria lives in northern Albania. She has not had an easy life, far from it. But to help her support her family and to accompany her on her journey she found thousands of small insects: bees
Ethical finance is no longer a niche phenomenon, and neither is microcredit. The characteristics of the latter, however, vary widely between eastern and western Europe
A group of Albanian farmers explored the Reggio Apennines in search of useful solutions for the north of Albania. We tagged along in this "study-trip" organised by a local NGO
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
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
Only 92 kilometres separate Gaziantep and Aleppo – two cities close to each other in terms of geography and history, now divided by war. A report from the south of Turkey, on the border with Syria
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 Maria Bamieh revelations on corruption inside the European rule of law mission in Kosovo, although not promptly investigated, appear to lack any real basis. Clearing the mission on a circumscribed scandal, however, will likely reduce the urgency for a much needed audition of its record overall
Keeping a toothless Eulex in Kosovo for two more years is not only a waste of money. It is also providing legitimacy to the decisions of vulnerable judges
About a thousand Bosnian citizens remain housed in temporary shelters in the aftermath of the floods that devastated the country last May. Neither they nor the institutions have any certainty about what to expect in the coming months
The Italian association „Luciano Lama“ gave hospitality to Bosnian war orphans for summer vacations in Sicily during the Nineties. Ties started 20 years ago are still strong
Bosnian journalist Dženana Karup Druško is one among many human rights activists who sent a letter to UN Secretary General asking that an investigation be opened after the recent ICTY controversial judgments
Marching to Sarajevo to contribute to peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and promote popular diplomacy and non-violent interposition. This was the goal of over two thousand Italian and foreign pacifists who took part in "Mir Sada - Peace Now" in August 1993. One of our journalists participated
Elva is a platform developed in Georgia that allows to easily receive feedback from local communities via SMS. Successfully used to map local needs along the ABL with South Ossetia, it could soon be used elsewhere
In April 2013 the first census of the population since the war years will take place in Bosnia Herzegovina. Official data say that over a million refugees and displaced persons have returned home after the ethnic cleansing of the '90s. The real picture of the country, however, seems a lot different. Our report
Bosnia and Herzegovina's major cultural institutions, including the National Museum, the Art Gallery and the National Film Archive, are in a state of neglect. The State does not support them, because doing so would imply acknowledging the existence of a common cultural and historical heritage. Some, in the capital's artistic milieu, have suggested privatization
Haki Doku is the first Albanian athlete in the history of the Paralympics. He competed in London on his hand-bike, a special, three-wheeled bike driven by force of arms. The road to get there was an uphill struggle, but thanks to the Integra Foundation and many others, Haki's dream was fulfilled
Donors hardly ever support projects if they are not partially co-financed by the applicant. In principle, this makes total sense, but in practice the rule often sets off creative accounting and limits NGO capacities
In Sarajevo, a new space dedicated to the memory of Srebrenica lives on Turkish funds, with little support from local institutions. Art, memory, and cooperation in an interview with Ivica Pandžić, spokesperson for the association that manages the memorial gallery
The section on sustainability is a fundamental part of development project proposals. But why is it so important for the donor? And is it always necessary? A comment
EU aid to Balkan civil society seems to be increasingly directed at large NGOs. Small community-based organisations tend to be marginalised mainly as a result of turnover thresholds and excessive red tape set by the donors. An opinion by Risto Karajkov, OBC's correspondent and free-lance civil society consultant
