Developing capacities for members of the Community Forums for Public Interest on community organization and advocacy

Prishtina, June 27, 2023: Around 30 members of the Community Forums for Public Interests from six municipalities participated in a one-day training on Community Organization and Advocacy for Public Interest. Participants from municipalities of Lipjan, Viti, Strpca, Gracanica, Mitrovica South, and Kamenica, were a diverse group and included municipal officials, civil society representatives, and community leaders.

The training had three main objectives: Enhance Community Engagement (how to effectively organize and mobilize community members around issues of public interest?); Develop Advocacy Skills (how we can effectively use advocacy techniques to promote public interest?) and Legal and Policy Framework for Advocacy (how can we utilize existing legal and policy rules to promote public interest in decision making processes?). The training also aimed to facilitate cooperation and networking among participants and with other organizations or individuals, as well as between multiethnic municipalities in Kosovo.

The training was organized in the framework of the project, FIERC-Fostering Interethnic Relations and Cooperation, supported by the German government and implemented by Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) in cooperation with New Social Initiative (NSI).

Community Forums for Public Interest have been established in six municipalities to facilitate dialogue and cooperation for public interest and community initiatives in multi-ethnic sites in Kosovo.