SeConS, in collaboration with the Centre for Records and Implementation (Australia), has successfully completed the evaluation of UNICEF’s five models: Family Associate, Occasional Foster Care, School Drop Prevention, Diversionary Measures for Youth in Justice and Social Welfare, and Early Childhood Intervention.The evaluation is based on a comprehensive analysis of programme and planning documentation, joint work with UNICEF teams, qualitative interviews with more than 50 national and local stakeholders (representatives of ministries and government authorities, partner non-governmental organizations, research groups and local partners), and a survey in local communities has also been done.

Women in rural areas of Serbia - (in)visible success - is the topic of the second Forum for Gender Policies, which is jointly organized by the Women’s Platform for the Development of Serbia and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, on 15 July from 12h to 18h.The keynote speakers at the forum will be Prof. Dr. Marija Babović (Women’s Platform for the Development of Serbia/SECONS), Ljiljana Gusić (Breathe Life), Jasmina Kostić (Association of Rural Women of Čajetina), Marija Luković Sredić (ethno village Gostoljublje), Marija Blagojević (Women’s Cooperative Kosjerka). The forum will be moderated by Svetlana Stefanović (Women’s Platform for the Development of Serbia/ BFPE).

Within the project “Evaluation as a basis for making informed public policies in Serbia”, funded by Eval Partners, the Informal Network of Evaluators of Serbia (INES) and SeConS Development Initiative Group organized a training webinar “Towards effective evaluation of sustainable development goals in Serbia”. The central topic of discussion was the invaluable role of evaluation in achieving the goals of sustainable development, and concrete actions to be taken to improve the capacity to effectively assess the achievement of the goals of sustainable development in Serbia.

As part of the realization of the project “Evaluation as a basis for making informed public policies in Serbia”, funded by Eval Partners, the Informal Network of Evaluators of Serbia (INES) and SeConS Development Initiative Group organized a round table on 17 June entitled “Making informed public policies in Serbia - current situation and perspectives“.

Within the ERASMUS + K2 project “Public Policy Making and Analysis” (PPMA), an edition was created whose content covers interdisciplinary knowledge in broad areas - from economic, political, sociological and psychological theory, through the law applied to public administration problems, to management in public administration.

On the occasion of the International Day of Roma and Roma Culture, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia published a thematic publication “Do not leave anyone out of development! Progress in achieving the goals of sustainable development among the population of Roma settlements in Serbia“.The publication is dedicated to the presentation of the situation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in relation to one of the most vulnerable and most marginalized groups of the population in Serbia - the population living in Roma settlements.The publication was created in cooperation with the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.

SeConS, in cooperation with the Centre for Records and Implementation (Australia), is currently evaluating UNICEF’s five models in Serbia: Family Associate, Occasional Foster Care, School Drop Prevention, Diversionary Measures for Youth in Justice and Social Welfare, and Early Childhood Intervention. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide recommendations for future activities that will assist UNICEF and other actors in implementing the selected models in the next programme cycle, as well as in the overall UNICEF approach to programme models in Serbia.

Of the total number of real estate in Serbia, only 25.6 percent are exclusively owned by women, according to data from the Republic Geodetic Authority.These data were obtained in February 2021 as part of the process of preparing the Independent Report on the Implementation of the Priority Recommendations of the CEDAW Committee addressed to Serbia.Data and information were collected by the SeConS Development Initiative Group, within the preparation of the Independent Report of the SOS Vojvodina Network on the implementation of priority recommendations submitted to Serbia by the CEDAW Committee, for the period 2019-2021.

The research “Assessment of the Effectiveness of the Institutional Response to the Covid 19 Pandemic in Multiethnic Communities in Sandžak/South-western Serbia and Southern Serbia” was presented at a press conference on 24 February.This research was conducted from October 2020 to January 2021 by “Forum 10” and SeConS - development initiative group in eight cities and municipalities in these multiethnic parts of the country.

Short training programmes in public policy analysis will be organized from 15 March 2021 in Novi Sad, Belgrade and Niš. The programme is intended for everyone who works in public policy or wants to learn more about the preparation of strategies and plans, as well as influence regulations in the most important areas such as - employment, health, education, environment, science, economic and technological development, agriculture etc.

The Embassy of Sweden in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Nations Population Fund are organizing the presentation “Analysis of the situation of the population in B&H” and “Population projection for the period 2020-2070 in B&H “which will be held on Tuesday, 8 December 2020, starting at 13h. The SeConS team in charge of conducting this analysis will present the methodology and key findings of the study at the conference.

The panel discussion on “Fathers and Parental Leave - Value for Employees and the Company”, organized on 27 November within the initiative “Caring for Children Together” was attended by 15 representatives of socially responsible companies in Serbia, which support the use of parental leave by father.During the discussion, legal possibilities in Serbia were presented, and policies were proposed for companies that want to get involved in this way in promoting gender equality. Participants confirmed that companies that encourage the use of parental leave for fathers are more desirable as an employer, but also as a delusion for customers, especially when it comes to millennials or the latest generation of employees - Generation Z or popular “zoomers”.

Join the debate “How to remove barriers to women’s scientific development”As part of the Women’s Association United for Knowledge (UdruŽene za znanje) Initiative, four online debates on “How to remove barriers to women’s scientific development” are being organized.The first will cover the specifics of the University of Novi Sad, the second at the University of Niš, the third at the University of Belgrade, and the last - the final will be a summary of the previous ones, and it should define some concrete steps to improve the position of women in universities and in Serbia in general.We invite all those interested to follow the events through the Zoom platform, and below are details with links for joining, as well as agendas for each individual debate.

In Serbia, about 200,000 people or 8% of those who were employed (including the informally employed and self-employed) in February 2020, before the pandemic, have lost their jobs during the pandemic and state of emergency, according to a survey conducted by the SeConS team in mid-April, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Editors of MONS (Monitoring social situation in Serbia), Professor Marija Babović, Professor Danilo Vuković, Professor Gorana Krstić, Professor Jelena Žarković Rakić and Professor Mihail Arandarenko will participate at the Symposium on “Inequality in Serbia” on December 10, which is organized by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in cooperation with the Faculty of Economics in the Hall of the SASA Audiovisual Archives and Digitalization Center.

Currently is in progress Kick-off meeting of Erasmus+ project Interdisciplinary short cycle programs in public policy making and analysis (PPMA), in which participates Olivera Vuković, executive director of SeConS. The meeting is organized at the University of Novi Sad from 29-30 November 2018 and it is the first project meeting that brought together 12 partner institutions from Serbia, United Kingdom, France and Netherland.

Representative of SeConS, Jovana Obradović, participated in the roundtable “Protection of Children from Violence. Conclusions and Recommendations of the Study on Prevalence of Violence against Children in the Republic of Belarus” on 25th April 2018 in Minsk.

The results of "Social Inclusion of the Elderly (65+) in Serbia" research , conducted by the SeConS Development Initiative Group within the project coordinated by the Red Cross of Serbia, were presented in Media Center in Belgrade.

The announcement of Open Parliament Initiative about reasons for suspensions of publishing information about MPs' activities and the interruption of the cooperation with the National Assembly

SeConS gets involved in the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign

Regional School of Public Administration organized Regional conference entitled „Measuring Gender Equality in the Western Balkans“ in Danilovgrad.

SeConS and association „Women at the turning point“ maintained a panel discussion within Serbian Visions 2017 multi congress

SeConS Development Initiative Group and Roma Education Fund took part in a second day of multi congress Serbian Visions, which was held on November 25-26 in Radisson Blu Old Mill hotel.

In the Media Centre, on November 22nd, publication "Labor market in Serbia – The position of women over 45 / Denial of rights to dignified work", was presented. The publication was developed by the “Women at the turning point” association, based on the analyses performed by SeConS development initiative group experts.

The 16th "People experiencing Poverty" conference, organized by the European Anti-Poverty Network, was held in Brussels on November 9 -10 and brought together delegations from more than thirty European countries. 

From 19 to 22 October, the Annual Assembly of the European Anti-Poverty Network was held in Dublin, as well as the meeting of the Group for European Integration Strategies, which represents the EAPN body for policy analysis and planning of policy-oriented actions.

What is the role of civil society organizations in development cooperation and what is the future of development policy, international development cooperation and global development was the topic of the Conference "The future of development cooperation in Serbia: from the recipient to the development aid provider - global development cooperation and the creation of an incentive environment for creating a dialogue between the state and CSOs" which was held on 16th October in Belgrade.

This year's measurement of the Gender Equality Index in the European Union shows that progress in achieving gender equality is extremely slow. The EU score of Gender Equality Index is 66.2, which is in line with new methodology increase of only 4 points in past ten years.

The transition from school to work in Serbia is slow, and the quality of young people's work is not adequate. In addition, a bad situation on the labor market negatively influences the development of the society as a whole, as the young people later become independent and postpone the decision to start a family, was said at the panel discussion "Youth in Serbia: Journey from School to Work", organized to present new issue and theme on the internet platform for monitoring the social situation in Serbia MONS (www.mons.rs)

The fourth and final meeting of the European Anty-Poverty Network Task Force on migration was held in Brussels on September 11th. At the meeting, a document that expresses the position...

Children and young people from the lower social classes in Serbia do not have equal chances to successfully educate themselves, realize their potentials and give full contribution to society, was said at panel discussion dedicated to inequalities in education. The discussion was organized to present a new issue of the internet platform for monitoring the social situation in Serbia MONS (www.mons.rs).

SeConS researchers presented results of the pilot survey on online and offline activism in Serbia in CC Grad, which showed that the Internet was the main means of communication and source of information on protests Against Dictatorship: nine out of ten respondents got their information online, a third joined the protest after receiving an invitation through social networks, and 5 percent after receiving an invitation from an unknown person on the Internet.

SeConS development initiative group is conducting a survey on activism in Serbia, focusing on protests which started after the presidential elections earlier this year.

SeConS Development Initiative Group and Foundation for the Advancement of Economics FREN presented the new online platform for Monitoring social situation in Serbia MONS (www.mons.rs), which will deal with the most important socio-economic issues in the country and the world, both those in the public eye, and those topics that are currently ignored.

The functionality of multi-sectoral cooperation in the protection of children from abuse and neglect is analyzed on the basis of official documents - Protocol relating to this area.

The majority of citizens in the Balkan countries and Turkey do not trust national governments, while they trust most security institutions - army and police. 

The conference, which was held in Brussels on 23 January at the initiative of the European Commission, is considered as important step towards the establishment of a European pillar of social rights. 

The European Semester must become a strong, democratic instrument that can build a better Social Europe. It was concluded at the seminar held in the European Parliament, which was led by the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN).

The research findings on the determinants and factors of violence against children in Serbia, conducted by UNICEF in Serbia in cooperation with SeConS, mentored by an expert team from the University of Teacher Education in Zurich, will be presented in the week between December 12th and 16th in Belgrade, Kragujevac, Nis and Novi Sad. 

The study "Gender inequalities in the Republic of Srpska from the perspective of life courses," which is based of the SeConS’ research for Gender Centre of the Government of the Republic of Srpska, supported of UN Women, was published in Banja Luka. 

At the ceremony dedicated to the celebration of 41 years since its establishment, the Faculty of Security Studies of the University of Belgrade handed a plaque to SeConS group for development initiative, as an organization which contributed to the work of the Faculty during this year.

Within the campaign "16 Days of Activism", the director of a programme at SeConS, Marija Babovic, presented in Banja Luka methodology for monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Results of the gender inequality study in Republika Srpska will be presented on November 30th in Banja Luka. 

Slobodan Cvejić, director of research of SeConS, presented findings of the study „Informal Practices of Capturing Economic Resources by Political Elites: Exploring Party Patronage in Kosovo and Serbia”, conducted within the Regional Research Promotion Programme in the Western Balkans (RRPP) in 2015.

Youth with Disabilities Forum and SeConS Development Initiative Group presented the findings of the research “Position of the youth with disabilities on the job market in the city of Belgrade”.

Within the Week of Parliamentarism, SeConS Development Initiative Group organised a discussion on the topic of „the United Nations Agenda for sustainable development until 2030“, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia and the Global Compact in Serbia, with the aim to point to the role of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Third International Academic Conference on Human Security 2016 was held in Belgrade, and it gathered more than 130 eminent experts and lecturers from 19 world countries. The conference was organised by the Human Security Research Centre of the Faculty of Security Studies of the University of Belgrade, in cooperation with the Citizen’s Network for Peace, Reconciliation and Human Security, supported by European Commission.

UNICEF in Serbia and the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit (SIPRU) of the Government of the Republic of Serbia are launching the process of revising social inclusion and poverty reduction indicators.

Presentation of the Young People in Serbia 2015 research findings, conducted within an international project supported by the Friedrich Ebert fondation and Shell youth studies, is continued.

Online course on human security enables users to develop their skills and competencies in the field of human security. The course will be presented on October 26th at the Faculty of Security Studies at 5 pm (50 Gospodara Vucica st.).

On September 26th the first meeting of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Task Force, dedicated to issues of migration, refugees, and asylum seekers was held in Brussels. At this meeting the newest trends and policies in controlling migration flows implemented by EU members and candidate countries were discussed.

Olivera Vukovic, the executive director of SeSonS, and Marija Babovic, the director of programme, presented findings from the most recent studies conducted by SeConS at an international round table „Human security and trust in institutions“, which was held on September 23rd in Podgorica.

Which gender inequalities are manifested in specific phases of life? How are they reflected in later life phases, thereby creating unequal chances for women and men? Are there any intergenerational changes with regard to gender inequality?

DevInfo database contains numerous statistics data which are necessary for planning, reporting, and monitoring the development of local communities.

Coalition for Social Entrepreneurship Development (KorSP) will continue to strive for the improvement of the institutional framework for the development of social entrepreneurship in Serbia, it was agreed at the meeting of the Coalition, which was held on 7 September

Parents and guardians of Roma children and children with disabilities showed, by their participation in focus group discussions, a great interest on the issue of inclusion of their children in the preschool education system. They pointed out the availability and quality of existing preschool programs in the territory of their municipalities, and then the reasons for not including their children in preschool program and circumstances that would motivate them to enrol their children in preschool program.

Results of the survey on statelessness in Serbia, conducted to obtain reliable and representative data on various dimensions of the statelessness of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians (RAE) in Serbia, were presented at a press conference at the Media Center. The Survey, carried out by SeConS in September and October 2015, shows that the number of “legally invisible” Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians has dropped by a half over the past four years.

The joint message from the opening of the conference “Towards Sustainable Development in Serbia: UN 2030 Agenda”, organized by SeConS development initiative group in cooperation with the Open Society Foundation in Serbia was that Serbia is set to harmonize national policies with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The UN 2030 Agenda represents the framework for formulating a new Sustainable Development Strategy, and other sector policies which are more directly aimed at specific sustainable development goals contained in the Agenda.

At the round table discussion “Young people in Serbia: how do they live, what do they believe in and what do they hope for?”, organized by SeConS development initiative group and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, results of the survey “Young People in Serbia 2015” were presented, with the intention of prompting their use in formulating public policies in Serbia.