October 9, 2003

Embassy of the United States of America
Belgrade

USAID Supports the Development of New Mechanisms for Public Financing of NGOs

On Thursday, October, 9, Bill Foerderer, Acting Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and David Moore, Program Director for ICNL are proud to open the conference on Innovative Mechanisms for Public Financing of NGOs: The Current Practice in the Republic of Serbia In Light of Regional Best Practices. USAID works actively in Serbia to support the development of civil society and the creation of an enabling legal and fiscal framework for NGOs. Key implementing partners in that pursuit has been the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), the Center for the Development of Non-Profit Organizations, Civic Initiatives, responsible for organizing the conference at the Hotel «Metropol» in Belgrade from 10:00am – 3:00pm on October 9, 2003.

The Republic of Serbia has not yet developed consistent criteria and transparent procedures for public financing of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Experience suggests that the lack of transparency may give rise to the government's unwarranted use of discretionary power in the distribution of otherwise limited public funding and does not facilitate a healthy competition among NGOs.

The goal of the conference is to galvanize public discussion in the Republic of Serbia on how to address this critical issue in a more comprehensive fashion, and in a way that will comply with regional best practices. To that end, the conference will expose participants to approaches adopted in neighboring CEE countries (Hungary and Croatia), which have each developed comprehensive innovative mechanisms for public financing of NGOs.

Participants in the conference will include government officials as well as representatives of domestic and foreign NGOs operating in Serbia. Some 70 participants from the public and NGO sector have confirmed participation. USAID and the organizers hope that this conference will be the first step toward a coordinated approach to improve the procedures for public financing of NGOs, which is both in the interests of NGOs and government.

For more information on USAID activities in Serbia, please visit http://www.usaid.org.yu

From Left to Right: Miljenko Dereta, NGO Civic Initiatives; Dragoljub Micunovic, SAM Parliament; Bill Foerderer, USAID

S leva na desno: Miljenko Dereta, NVO Građanska inicijativa; Dragoljub Mićunović; Skupština SiCG; Bil Foerderer, USAID

From Left to Right: David Moore, Regional Director, ICNL and Bill Foerderer, Acting Mission Director, USAID

S leva na desno: Dejvid Mur, regionalni direktor ICNL-a i Bil Foerderer, v.d. Direktora misije USAID-a

From Left to Right: Ellen Kelly, Rule of Law Advisor, USAID and Milan Bastovanovic, USAID

S leva na desno: Elen Keli, pravni savetnik, USAID i Milan Baštovanović, USAID

9. oktobar 2003.

Ambasada Sjedinjenih Američkih Država
Beograd

USAID podržava razvoj novih mehanizama za javno finansiranje nevladinih organizacija

U četvrtak, 9. oktobra, Bil Foerder, zamenik šefa Misije USAID-a za Srbiju i Crnu Goru i Dejvid Mur, direktor programa Međunarodnog centra za neprofitno pravo, svečano će otvoriti konferenciju "Kako unaprediti budžetsko finansiranje nevladinih organizacija: Stanje u republici Srbiji u svetlu dobre regionalne prakse". Agencija za međunarodni razvoj Vlade SAD (USAID) aktivno podržava razvoj građanskog društva u Srbiji i kreiranje pravnog i finansijskog okvira za razvoj nevladinog sektora. Ključni partneri za implementaciju takvih programa su Međunarodni centar za neprofitno pravo (ICNL), Centar za razvoj neprofitnog sektora i Građanske inicijative, koji su istovremeno i organizatori ovog skupa. Konferencija će se održati od 10 do 15 časova u konferencijskoj sali u beogradskom hotelu "Metropol".

U Republici Srbiji još uvek ne postoje jednoobrazni kriterijumi i transparentni mehanizmi javnog finansiranja nevladinih organizacija (NVO). Iskustvo drugih zemalja pokazuje da nedostatak transparentnosti omogućava vlastima da neracionalno koriste diskreciono pravo u raspodeli budžetskih sredstava i destimulativno deluje na zdravu konkurenciju između NVO.

Cilj konferencije je da pokrene javnu debatu o ovoj važnoj temi, kako bi se došlo do konkretnijih rešenja, a koja bi bila u skladu sa najboljim iskustvima iz regiona. U tom smislu, učesnicima konferencije će biti predstavljena rešenja iz susednih zemalja (Mađarske i Hrvatske), koje su već razvila specifične i originalne mehanizme za javno finansiranje nevladinog sektora.

U radu konferencije učestvovaće predstavnici vlasti, kao i aktivisti domaćih i stranih nevladinih organizacija koje rade u Srbiji. Preko 70 predstavnika javnog i nevladinog sektora potvrdilo je učešće. USAID i organizatori konferencije se nadaju da će ona otvoriti put ka stvaranju jedinstvenog i koordiniranog pristupa u poboljšanju procedura javnog finansiranja nevladinih organizacija, koji bi bio u interesu i vlastima, i nevladinom sektoru.

Za sve informacije o programima USAID-a u Srbiji i Crnoj Gori, posetite http://www.usaid.org.yu