A project named “Deca kažu” (Children Say), initiated by the Network of Organizations for Children of Serbia (MODS) in partnership with the Association for the Realization of Children’s Rights “Naša djeca” (Our Children), has begun implementation. This project is part of the Joint Regional Programme “Dialogue for the Future: Enhancing Dialogue and Social Cohesion in, and Between, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the Republic of Serbia,” which is implemented by UNDP, UNICEF, and UNESCO, and funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (UN PBF).
Project activities are carried out in cooperation with MODS members in Serbia and the “Stronger Voice for Children” network in Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically in: Belgrade (Friends of Children of Serbia and Center for Youth Integration), Niš (Open Club), Kraljevo (SOS Children’s Villages Foundation), Sarajevo (Naša djeca), Banja Luka (Zdravo da ste), Tuzla (Zemlja djece u BiH – Children’s Land in BiH), and Prijedor (Svjetionik – Lighthouse).
Prijatelji dece Srbije
The general objective of the project is to contribute to building trust among different social groups and peoples in BiH and Serbia through the enhancement of social cohesion.
Trust among different social groups and the improvement of social cohesion are possible if children and young people are given the opportunity to feel like a part of the community and to participate in a dialogue for the common good.
If a significant part of society, consisting of boys and girls up to the age of 18 (who are at high risk of poverty, marginalized, poorly educated, lacking a clear future and purpose) does not trust institutions and has a negative perception of fairness (connectedness); does not trust people and does not accept diversity (social relations); and does not participate in social and political life (common good), then we can expect that society to be vulnerable and susceptible to the outbreak of crises, conflicts, discrimination against others and the different, and the creation of instability that easily spills over into the entire region.
Otvoreni klub, Niš
Therefore, it is extremely important to provide an opportunity for boys and girls to participate in something that is significant for their entire social group, for participation in an open dialogue for the common good; to send them a message that they are equal and an important part of the community; that they belong to the community; that there are institutions and people who deserve a chance and trust.
In this way, the project will directly contribute to the enhancement of social cohesion which is based on the inclusion and respect of different social groups, between whom mutual trust is established and collaborative work for the common good is undertaken.
Naša djeca, Sarajevo
Direct Target Group: 160 boys and girls (80 boys and girls from Serbia and 80 boys and girls from BiH – from the two entities of the Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH, of Serbian, Bosniak, and Croatian nationalities) aged 15 to 18 (including boys and girls from the Roma national minority, internally displaced persons, refugees, those with developmental disabilities, without parental care, and at risk of poverty) from Serbia and BiH.
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