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At the core of the GI-TOC’s activities in the Western Balkans is its engagement with NGOs, media and academia. These are key partners when it comes to gathering information and researching risk, in raising awareness of the impact of organized crime on local communities and in strengthening resilience. Over the past three years, we have worked with many courageous people who are at the forefront of resilience initiatives in the Western Balkans, and who are role models for their communities and beyond.
Find out more about civil society dealing with organized crime in the Western Balkans and GI-TOC’s work to strengthen resilience below.
What is community resilience and why is it needed?
Organized crime is a significant concern for many communities across the Western Balkans, who are exposed to a plethora of threats, including corruption, extortion, drug trafficking, smuggling of migrants, environmental crime, money laundering and cyber attacks.
We define ‘resilience’ as the capacity of a community to positively respond to the impact of these and other types of organized crime, and the ability of communities to transform.
The specific activities that form part of these initiatives are as varied as the underlying concerns and include victim support, prevention campaigns, at-risk youth support, community workshops, capacity building, network building, advocacy, influencing public policy and interrupting violence through dialogue.
Timeline of our engagement to strengthen resilience across the region
2018:
Launch of SEE-Obs and first activities in the Western Balkans.
June 2019:
Civil society roundtable events on local hotspots and regional trends in the six capitals of the region.
2020
The Resilience Funds supports 16 new projects implemented by local civil society organizations in the Western Balkans.
November 2020:
National resilience dialogues are organized in the six capitals of the Western Balkans for the first time. In these hybrid events, representatives from NGOs, media and academia exchanged experience and expertise on current trends of organized crime, and discussed the challenges faced by civil society organizations in addressing vulnerabilities to organized crime.
December 2020:
Cross-regional resilience dialogue organized online to strengthen links among civil society organizations dealing with organized crime and corruption across the region, and to enable them to learn from best practice and expertise seen in other parts of the world.
2021:
The Resilience Funds supports 14 new projects implemented by local civil society organizations in the Western Balkans.
March 2021:
Launch of report Stronger together: Bolstering resilience among civil society in the Western Balkans; Dunja Mijatovic, Commissioner for Human Rights from the Council of Europe, joins the launch event.
September – December 2021:
Six in-person national resilience dialogues are organized, with a focus on building bridges with the government.
December 2021:
Regional dialogue on coalition building: series of online events to support civil society’s effort to find suitable partners in civil society, government and the private sector.
2022:
Launch of Resilient Balkans series: three policy briefs on the topic of gender and organized crime; the confiscation and social reuse of assets; and strengthening the resilience of youth to organized crime.
What are resilience dialogues?
Resilience dialogues are a series of community events, where knowledge and experience are shared among civil society actors with the aim of enhancing their resilience to organized crime. They offer a safe space for the exchange and common learning of all participants, and the opportunity to identify common areas of work and to create networks for exchange and community support.
In its first iteration, in November 2020, the events brought together key civil society representatives from across the region to promote networking, cooperation and collective action; to provide opportunities for sharing experiences; to discuss common challenges; and to strengthen mutual support and assistance. Over 110 representatives from the media, academia and NGOs attended the six hybrid events.
In 2021, the focus was on building bridges with the government and finding common entry points in the fight against organized crime. All discussions were held according to Chatham House rules.
Stronger Together report
This publication is an outcome of the resilience dialogues held in 2020 and looks at organized crime in the Western Balkans from a civil society perspective. It gives an overview of how civil society organizations in the Western Balkans deal with issues related to organized crime and highlights their main activities and concerns.
Key findings of the report:
- Less than 1% of more than 100 000 civil society organizations registered in the Western Balkans deal directly with organized crime or corruption issues.
- Each community has a different approach to countering the types of organized crime and corruption that affect them. But in each case, successful activities are those that are creatively tailored to the local community and involve the community at all levels of the process.
- Civil society implements a wide range of activities to counter organized crime and corruption across the region. Youth organizations, social enterprises, service-providing CSOs and media and research organizations have proven to be particularly successful entry points.
- There is little cooperation and a fundamental lack of trust between civil society and government in all countries of the Western Balkans. Civil society needs to find a balance between constructively criticizing governments in order to hold them accountable while simultaneously being open to engagement with governments to affect change.
The Resilient Balkans series
These publications look at topics of common interest to civil society in the Western Balkans dealing with issues related to organized crime. It was designed as a follow-up to the Stronger Together report and its recommendations.
‘Gender and organized crime’ looks at how civil society organizations consider gender-aspects in their work. The brief will also provide examples and case studies from the region.
‘Youth and organized crime’examines the risks and vulnerabilities that draw young people to organized crime and analyzes how civil society organizations working with youth, or led by youth, attempt to counter the phenomenon.
‘Social reuse of assets’ evaluates the legal framework for the confiscation of assets and social reuse in the Western Balkans and highlights good practices. It explains why taking the profit out of crime is crucial and how redistributing confiscated assets to society helps the community to address organized crime.
Our grantees
Our donors:
Our resilience work in the Western Balkans is generously supported by the governments of Germany, the Netherlands and Norway.