The Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, in cooperation with the Coordination Body of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the Municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa, held an Info Session on the Europe for Citizens Program at the Faculty of Economics in Bujanovac on February 20, 2019. This was the first time the Program was presented in Bujanovac.

In the introductory part, Žarko StepanovićActing Director of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society stated that over the course of many years of participation of the Republic of Serbia in this program, 39 projects were approved to applicants from Serbia worth a total of 2.5 million euros, while representatives of civil society and local self-government established more than 300 partnerships across Europe, which makes this program an important instrument for building the capacity of civil society in Serbia. Also Jelena Čolić Acting Deputy Director of the Coordination Body for the municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa presented their plans for financing civil society organizations in 2019.

In the first part of the presentation, Danilo Rodić from the Department for Planning and Creating an Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development, introduced to the attendees the role and work of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, as well as the forms of support that the Office provides to public administration bodies and civil society organizations towards improving their mutual cooperation. The importance of cross-sectoral cooperation, the advantages it brings, especially in the legislative process was presented. He also pointed out some important innovations in the legal framework that are the starting point for improving civic participation, and thus the participation of civil society organizations, in decision-making processes.

In the second part of the meeting, Jelena Todorovićfrom the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society presented the main features, objectives and priorities of the EU's Europe for Citizens Program, as well as project selection criteria, application deadlines and other useful information for potential participants.

The presentation was attended by more than 60 representatives of civil society organizations, local governments, educational and cultural institutions and sports associations from all three mentioned municipalities.