1. The first meeting “Third sector development – a step into future” has been held in Prokuplje on 6th of December 2006. in the ceremony hall of Prokuplje Municipality, with the support of associate organization Centre for human rights and democracy of Toplica district.
After introducing the aims of the project and the short film about the third sector, representatives of the third sector, local self-government and media participated in the discussion. Also, a self-critical attention was paid to the activities of the third sector in the local community. Conclusions and suggestions adopted in the meeting are related to the request to pass the Law on Citizens’ Association as soon as possible, which would, among other things, give basis for better cooperation of NGO and local self-government, better acceptance of third sector’s exertion in the community, and even better communication with business sector which need additional motivation for giving grants to the third sector.

A representative of the local self-government gave one interesting suggestions in the meeting – the donors should put, as a condition for a grant, an obligatory cooperation with the local self-government.

2. In the Media Center hall in Zajecar, on 8th of December the second meeting “Third sector development – a step into future” has been held, attended by a larger number of NGO representatives from Zajecar and near-by towns. In the longer debate which started after the short film about the third sector was played, many problems which NGOs meet during their work, starting with unsolved legal status, taxing, insufficient space for work and inadequate equipment, going away of educated stuff, even to unsatisfactory relationship with local government representatives and non-existence of funds and procedures for distribution of budget planned for NGO sector.

After bringing out the positive attitude towards efforts to actualize the question of passing the Law on NGO, some suggestions and conclusions were brought. Material form these meetings should be conveyed to competent republic bodies and everybody should advocate for the benefit of the whole sector, while differences and occasional disagreements in the sector should be neglected.
This meeting was held with the support of the associate organization “Children’s happiness” from Zajecar.

3. “In Serbia a law on NGO must be passed as soon as possible, so that the position of the civil sector can be finally regulated”. This was concluded on the round table “Third sector development – a step into future” which was held in Subotica on 20th of December 2006. On this round table has also been pointed out that Serbia, as a member of Council of Europe, has the obligation to maintain clear legal surrounding for the activities of NGO, according to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It was also said that NGO have big weaknesses which are evinced by insufficient mutual cooperation, as well as impossibility to transform into self-sustainable organizations which would lees rely on grants and budget funds, and more to providing services. However, even this kind of development of the organizations is closely connected to passing the new Law on Citizens’ Associations.

The need for decentralization of Serbia was also pointed out, which would make the activities of NGO easier and lead to working in local communities, and networking and action cooperation with partner NGO. It has also been said that NGO should be involved in the local government and participate in decision making, as well as to be equally involved in the educational system in Serbia. The representatives of around 10 NGO from Subotica and Novi Sad have said that the civil sector must improve the cooperation with media so that numerous prejudices, which the citizens of Serbia have towards NGO, can be broken. It was also concluded that the public media services, province and republic, should open their doors widely for the NGO sector. This calls out for the need of more SPOT, campaigns and “visualization’ on media, as well as for more information about the activities of different non-governmental organizations.

4. With fourth meeting in Sombor, held on 05.03.2007., supported by the local NGO “Ravangrad” it is continued with the disputes and discussions about the legal and financial position of NGOs in Serbia. Around twenty representatives of the third sector in Sombor, two representatives of the municipal management, two representatives of local communities, one MP, a representative of the institutions and an entrepreneur, as well as four media representatives were present in the meeting. After the introduction word of the moderator Dinko Gruhonjic and the project coordinator for Vojvodina Danica Stefanovic, all present took part in the discussion, especially pointing out problem that arose in Novi Becej, where certain people boycott the work of NGOs calling them “Satanists, sect, drug addicts...” and other abusive names. This and similar occurrences confirm the fact that prejudice about NGOs in our country are still very visible and they also contribute to the unfavorable surrounding for sustainable development of the civil sector.

As one of the reasons for improvement of legal and financial position of NGOs, it is stated the insufficient cooperation with business sector in existent fiscal conditions which are not stimulating for entrepreneurs to invest into the development of civil sector. The entrepreneur who was present at the meeting has pointed out the need to issue such tax benefits, which would enable both parts to have benefit from the investment. He pointed out that an entrepreneur is hard to “make money” since he/she “has to produce goods, then to offer and sell it”, and if there are no specific legal benefits, the private sector is not motivated to help the work of NGO sector.

5. A meeting with MPs, local government representatives, NGOs, business sector and media was held in Kragujevac on 14th if march 2007. in the Red Cross hall, with the support of NGO “Milenijum” from Kragujevac. In the presence of around twenty representatives of Kragujevac NGO scene, MPs from the State Assembly, municipal government and media, it was discussed about the position of the third sector and problems with which they are faced in their every-day work. The short film, as the introduction to the problem, and the discussion led by Professor Slavisa Kovacevic reminded everybody on the previous years of work on the development of civil society, on former relationships with local government and better mutual cooperation of the NGOs themselves. It was stated that the change of local government and undefined status of this sector has negative influence on its sustainability, so it is necessary as soon as possible to systematically solve this question. The openness of the MPs for cooperation and a promise that she will help in parliament procedures during issuing the law improved the atmosphere at the end of the meeting.

One of the conclusions from this meeting was necessary networking of NGOs on local level, intra-regional networking and organization of mutual campaigns, more intensive mutual work for lobbing with local self-government and inclusion of the public with the help of media. Thanks to great interest that media showed, citizens of Kragujevac were well informed about the themes of the meeting by news and half-hour show broadcasted on the local TV.

6. In Leskovac, the meeting was held on 16.03.2007. in the Municipality Hall, in the presence of about 20 participants, most of which were NGO and media representatives. The meeting was held in the shadow of the current events in this town, where, due to non-constitution of the Parliament, the work of municipal bodies and public enterprises was blocked. The third sector has reacted to such condition, and asked for urgent introduction of the temporary measures and normalization of the relations in the municipality, thus showing the great consciousness and concern for the citizens and the interests of the local community.
At the meeting it was concluded that the third sector has an important task to indicate the irregularities, problems and solutions to these problems, animate the public and operate via media, and in order to achieve this role completely, better legal and financial framework for the work of NGOs is necessary, both on local and republic level.

7. On 23rd of March 2007. in Zrenjanin, on the premises of “Zeleno Zvono”, the third meeting was held within the project “Third sector development – step into future”.
The representatives of NGOs, local self-government and media attended the meeting.
Even though MPs were invited on time to participate in the meeting, none of them came.
There were no representatives of business sector either.
The thing that all present unanimously agreed on is the necessity for legislation of the law by which the position of NGOs will be regulated. Due to the non-existence of the law it is not clearly defined who belongs to NGO sector, so it not a rare case that a sign of equality is placed between sport organizations, cultural and ethno organizations, etc. and NGOs. It was concluded that clear boundaries should be placed for the activities done by the citizens’ associations.

In Zrenjanin it was said that there is a good communication between local self-government and NGOs. The municipality has provided the space where a number of NGOs are placed. Concerning the expenses, the only obligation is to pay the phone, and everything else is covered by the municipality. In addition, there is a fund for financing NGOs, and the application is placed on the web site of the local self-government. It is important to develop the cooperation furthermore between local self-government and NGOs, since their mutual aim is to improve local environment where they live. But, in order to fortify and improve the cooperation, a necessary condition is the legislation of the new, modern law on the third sector.

8. In Krusevac the meeting was held on 28th of March 2007, supported by local NGO “Odbor za ljudska prava”. A large number of NGOs representatives, local government and two MPs have, after the short presentation of the project and the short film, discussed about the legal and financial status of the third sector in Serbia. Thanks to the discussion of the MPs Srdjan Milivojevic and Nenad Krstic, the greatest attention was paid to the Bill on citizens’ alliances and future procedure of the parliament groups concerning the resolution of the legal status of NGOs. Everybody present got the information about the intentions of democratically oriented members of parliament concerning the making of the Bill, and great contribution was given by MP Srdjan Milivojevic, who proclaimed public disputes in connection to future draft of the law, which would be done by his party.

In the meeting, it was also pointed out the need to firmly network NGOs on both regional and republic level, for the improvement of the influence upon decision makers, not only in relation to issuing the law, but also in relation to development the cooperation with local self-government, business sector and media. The meeting lasted for two hours, but the discussion about this subject was continued in the studio of the local TV which informed the citizens of Krusevac about the problems and perspectives of the development of civil sector in Serbia.

9. The meeting in Aleksinac was held on 30th of March 2007. on the premises of Municipality, with the presence of about twenty representatives of the third sector in Aleksinac, president of the municipal parliament, chief of municipal head offices, representative of the business sector and public institutions. After the presentation of the project, short film and introduction of Professor Slavisa Kovacevic, a dynamic discussion of the participants developed about the law, but also about the condition of the third sector in the municipality. The president of the assembly introduced all present persons with the steps which are taken to improve the relationship between local self-government and NGOs, beginning with the contents of the municipal strategic plan to supporting NGOs which are writing applications to international donors, concluding that this is not enough, and that it still doesn’t give the basis for proper development of this sector in the municipality. The representatives of the civil sector have, from their part, pointed out different experiences in the field of their work, looking back on the difficulties in the cooperation with entrepreneurs, due to non-stimulating tax policy.

Special critic was referred to the work of local media which, while reporting about the work of the civil sector in Aleksinac doesn’t have objective approach and ignores activities of those organizations and their leaders which are not suitable for the norms of their radical policy. In this way, the citizens of Aleksinac are deprived of the information about the work of the civil sector in the town, which creates the basis for the development and strengthening of prejudice towards NGOs, and in the same time unfavorable climate for sustainable development of this sector.

10. The meeting in Pirot has been held on 19th of April 2007 in the District hall, in the presence of civil sector representatives from Pirot, local self-government representatives and media. City reading-room “Pirgos”, from Pirot, the associate organization, helped in organizing the meeting.
The meeting participants have actively participated in the discussion after the film and the introduction, with the observation that it is necessary to bring the law about civil sector urgently, which would, among other things, regulate the cooperation of this sector with the local authorities.

Even though the local self-government  is singling out funds for civil sector programs, the most organization’s representatives believed that the distribution of these funds is not transparent enough, and that this problem should be institutionally solved. A few participants believed that the access to the local budget is difficult, since there is no timely information, and that “older and bigger” organizations get them more easily. In the discussion, the self-critical relation towards the sector has also been shown, since it puts insufficient effort to reach the information and cooperate more.
The meeting was followed by three media form Pirot, two local TV stations and one radio station. Within the report, an interview with the meeting organizers was broadcasted about the aims and results of the started initiative from the Project “Third sector development – a step into future”.

11. In Nis, on 26th of April 2007, a meeting was held with the presence of Members of Parliament, local self-government head officers and councillors, civil sector, business and media  representatives. The meeting was organized on the premises of local municipality Medijana, with the unreserved help of the employed and great interest of 32 participants, especially the present MPs and councillors. After the film and introduction word by Mr. Slavisa Kovacevic, Mr. Dragan Corbic, Faculty of Law vice-dean, Mr. Nebojsa Randjelovic, MP from Liberal Democratic Party, Mr. Milos Simonovic, MP from Democratic Party, Mr. Veroljub Petrovic, businessman and councillor from New Serbia, as well as many civil sector representative from Nis, took part in the discussion. During the discussion about the new Law Bill about the citizens’ associations, different opinions about its rightness were heard, but all agreed that it is necessary to urgently bring in an adequate Law which would enable civil sector development and greater democratization of the society.

Later in the discussion about the condition of the sector on general and local level, the participants have brought out the need for networking of the organizations and better mutual cooperation, but also the need for greater support by the local authorities, business sector and media. An initiative has arisen from the meeting, addressed to local authorities, to ensure the regular media space on city NTV which would be dedicated solely to reporting about the civil sector work and better spread of information to the citizens in this field.
The meeting was followed by 4 local media: TV5, TV “Belle amie” and daily papers “Narodne novine” and “Nase”, and in the following days the reports have been broadcasted on both TV stations, which included the word of the organizer and interviews with the present MPs concerning the new Law legislation by the Republic of Serbia.

12. In Tutin the meeting was held on 26.04.2007 in the premises of associate organization “Impuls”, in the presence of 21 participants, most of which were NGO representatives, following the local authorities representatives and business sector, as well as media representatives. The self-critical relation towards the third sector was prevailing in the meeting, but there were also criticism for the local authorities, who have no understanding for the third sector.      

As the conclusion, a few mutual attitudes were adopted in the meeting: the networking of all NGOs in the region and on the local level is necessary; the initiative to the authorized  entities for legislating the new law for NGOs needs to be urgently launched; starting the initiative for forming an entity on local and regional level which would be in charge of developing the work of the third sector, etc.

13. In Novi Pazar the meeting was held on 12.05.2007. in the “Tadz” hotel hall. The meeting was co organized by the Association for persons with mental disabilities. There were 15 persons present at the meeting, NGO and local media representatives, while there were no local authorities representatives. A few problems that NGOs in Novi Pazar encounter were pointed out at the meeting: insufficient cooperation among the NGOs themselves, media blockade towards the NGOs, inadequate financing of the organization from the local budget, non-existence of the indicators of success in the local community and evident prejudice in the citizens regarding the third sector.

The following conclusions were brought at the meeting: urgent adoption of the Law for NGOs, as well as the set of fiscal laws which would help the reinforcement of the third sector’s status, starting the special show about NGOs on local TV stations, forming a coordinating entity of NGOs and signing the Memorandum for cooperation, defining the mutual position of NGOs towards the donors, local self-governance and authorities on national level, etc.

14. In Kraljevo, the meeting was held on 16.05.2007. on the premises of the associate NGO “Lingva” in the presence of 17 participants, NGOs, political parties and media representatives. During the discussion, the current problems of the third sector were brought out, such as: non-existence of the Law, non-transparent division of the budget funds and problems in the cooperation with the local authorities.

Urgent legislation of the Law for NGOs, followed by the fiscal laws, working on establishing partnership relations with local self-government, exchange of information among the NGOs, mutual help and support, adequate and more often presentation of the results of the third sector activities in media in regular informative broadcasts, as well as the initiation of the special media space for NGOs, are just some of the conclusions which were adopted at the meeting in Kraljevo.

15. Novi Sad was the place of the meeting held on 22.05.2007. when 18 participants, mostly NGO sector, media and business representatives met on the premises of the associate organization” Regional Women’s Initiative of Vojvodina”. Beside pointing out a countless number of problems that NGOs in Vojvodina encounter, it has been also pointed out that there are the examples of good cooperation with regional authorities and school institutions. The role and support of the Fund for the Development of Non-Profit Sector in Novi Sad was especially pointed out, as the unique example of institutionalized relationship of the third sector and authorities in Vojvodina.  Even though the funds of this Fund are limited, the transparency of its work and division of the funds are the positive examples of successfully set model of the financing the third sector programs by the regional budget.
With the aim of reinforcement of the position of the third sector and its further development, it has been concluded that the adequate Law for NGOs must be brought, which would be harmonized with the real needs of the organizations and superposed with the fiscal laws according to which the organizations themselves, but the private sector also, would have perks, and also it would have the motive to donate local programs of the civil sector. What was also pointed out was the need to form the strong network of the third sector on regional and national level and reinforcement of the relations among the civil society organizations themselves. After the meeting a request was sent to local self-governments to enable the financing of the NGO projects according to public competitions and clear procedures.

16. In Uzice, the meeting was held on 25.05.2007. on the premises of Uzice Center for Human Rights which, together with Uzice Center for Children Rights, helped in the organization of the meeting. The meeting was attended by only 8 NGO representatives, while MPs, representatives of local authorities and media haven’t answered the call. Such non-attendance has clearly shown the relationship of these structures towards the third sector and thus gave background for the discussion in which the problems regarding the financial position of NGOs, relation of the media towards this sector, divisions in the sector itself, insufficient influence of the sector in the local community, etc. were all brought out.

The following conclusion from the meeting were singled out: the request for new Law legislation, suggestion to work more with the professionals in local self-governments in stead of with the politicians who are currently in the authorities, who are bound to be changed, since the professionals stay on their posts, no matter which political party is in charge, and show greater knowledge of the sector and more understanding for the problems. The local authorities should be asked to clearly distinguish between budget lines for authentic NGOs and different associations which have been the part of budget for many years. It has also been pointed out that the state should introduce benefits and facilities for employing the personnel in NGOs, since it is its benefit as well, i.e. with the aim to lower the unemployment on general level.