Position of Foreign Workers in Serbia – Debate
“Labour Rights are Our Rights” project On 30 November 2021, the Center for Democracy Foundation organised a debate on the topic: Position of Workers in Serbia, as part of the Labour Rights Are Our Rights project. Keynote speakers during the debate included: Nebojša Miletić, Union of Employers; Saša Torlaković, Construction Workers’ Trade Union; Ivana Gordić-Perc, Journalist, VOICE, Andrijana Radoičić-Nedeljković, ATINA; Olga Vučković-Kićanović, Consulting in Labour Rights and HR Fides; Branislav Markuš, Zrenjanin Social Forum; Nataša Vučković, Center for Democracy Foundation. The debate was moderated by (journalist) Ljubica Gojgić. The issue of the position of foreign workers in Serbia and the…
Vučković: The Government Has Trouble Uttering Two Words – Poverty and Democracy
Interview (“Iza Vesti”, N1 TV) During an interview she gave for Iza Vesti [Behind the News] on N1 TV, Executive Director of the Center for Democracy Foundation, Nataša Vučković said she doesn’t believe the quality of life of the citizenry will improve, while commenting on the adoption of the 2022 Budget. “I would be sceptical. We see that all indicators show improvement regarding poverty, but this positivity is moving at a snail’s pace. A million and a half people are at risk of poverty, and half a million are living on the brink. There are two words the Government has…
Institutional Weakness and the Path to Europe
Nataša Vučković, author of the text, for NIN weekly newsmagazine The annual report of the European Commission is a serious read. Anyone wanting to describe the factual situation in Serbia and gain insight into the way people live and work here, the obstacles we face, the types of problems we have resolved, and those we cannot unresolve years later, can find plenty of information, assessments and recommendations on what needs to be done in this Report. It is not, however, realistic to expect many to read the Report in detail, which is something the authorities are counting on, knowing that…
Lecture by Nataša Vučković at the Invitation of the Academy for European Integration and Accession
The Executive Director, Center for Democracy Foundation, Nataša Vučković held a lecture at the invitation of the Academy for European Integration and Accession, organised by AIEN (Albania), within the framework of the Jean Monnet Programme under the European Commission. Representatives of local self-government, the Government of Albania, NGOs and independent institutions participate in the Academy. The subject of the lecture held by Nataša Vučković included the experiences of civil society organisations in collaborating with the Government of Serbia’s negotiation team and the National Assembly in preparations for opening Negotiation Chapters 2 and 19, as well as monitoring reforms implementation in…
Speech Made by Nataša Vučković at the 9th Plenary Session of the National Convention on the EU (VIDEO)
5 November 2021 Speech made by the Executive Director of the Center for Democracy Foundation, Nataša Vučković, Coordinator of the Working Group for the National Convention on the European Union for Chapters 2 (Freedom of Movement for Workers) and 19 (Social Policy and Employment), at the 9th Plenary Session of the National Convention on the European Union held 5 November 2021 at the House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.
Public Debate: 2030 Agenda and the Law on Gender Equality – How to Achieve Successful Implementation
Sustainable Development for All Platform On 29 October 2021, the Center for Democracy Foundation and the Ana and Vlade Devac Foundation organised the following public debate: 2030 Agenda and the Law on Gender Equality – How to Achieve Successful Implementation. We organised the public debate as an activity of the advisory Thematic Group – Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls held via the Sustainable Development for All Platform, supported by the governments of Switzerland and Germany and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GiZ) GmbH via the Public Finance Reform – 2030 Agenda project. This…
Presentation of the Publication: Social Impact of Public Policies
Reforms Beneficial to All project: Public Participation Toward Better Public Policies and Sustainable Socio-economic Development On 27 October 2021, the Center for Democracy Foundation presented the following publication: Social Impact of Public Policies. The publication was prepared within the framework of the Reforms Beneficial to All project: Public Participation Toward Better Public Policies and Sustainable Socio-economic Development, and implemented by the Center for Democracy Foundation, with the support of the Open Society Foundation Serbia. Keynote speakers: Nataša Vučković, Executive Director, Center for Democracy Foundation Srđan Đurović, Open Society Foundation Serbia Tara Petrović, Civic Initiatives Session I: Presentation: Analysis of Civil…
Debate: Social Rights and the Media
CENTER DIALOGUE – SOCIAL DIALOGUE On 25 October, 2021, the Center for Democracy Foundation organised the debate: Social Rights and the Media in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The debate was initiated by Nataša Vučković, Executive Director at the Center for Democracy Foundation, and the opening statements were given by: Danijela Ilić-Krasić, N1; Svetozar Raković, Nezavisnost; Aleksandar Milošević, Danas; Katarina Baletić, Nova ekonomija. The debate was moderated by journalist Ljubica Gojgić. Topics of vital importance to the citizenry are social rights and economic development, and it is questionable as to how these topics are reported on in our country…
Public reading of the European Commission 2021 Report on Serbia
On 25 October 2021, the Center for Democracy Foundation and the Centre for Contemporary Politics organised the Public reading of the European Commission 2021 Report on Serbia, with the support of the Olof Palme International Center. The Report of the European Commission on Serbia for 2021 was published on 19 October in Strasbourg. The Commissioner for Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, called for the opening of two new clusters in the negotiation process with Serbia, while the authorities in Belgrade rated the report as one of the best in the last few years. Is this really the case? What evaluations may be…
Interview with Prof. Dr. Dragica Vujadinović – LAWGEM project
New Quality in Education for Gender Equality – Strategic Partnership for the Development of Master’s Study Program Law and Gender (LAWGEM) Interview with Prof. Dr. Dragica Vujadinović (Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade) The Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade is conducting a project entitled “New Quality in Education for Gender Equality – Strategic Partnership for the Development of Master’s Study Program Law and Gender (LAWGEM)”. Prof. Dr. Dragica Vujadinović is heading this European project, and we spoke to her about its importance, aims, and anticipated results. How did the idea about initiating project LAWGEM come about? Project…
Announcement Ahead of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
As the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty approaches, the Center for Democracy Foundation calls attention to the predominant existential uncertainty and alarming poverty present in Serbia, and calls for the adoption of strategies the primary aim of which are to reduce, that is, to eradicate poverty. Remember, approximately half a million people in our country live below the so-called absolute poverty line, and a quarter of the population lives below the so-called relative poverty line. Serbia has alarmingly high risk of poverty rates and informal employment rates; the number of beneficiaries of financial state aid decreases from year…
CDF Executive Director with the President of the UN General Assembly
On 12 October, Nataša Vučković, Executive Director of the Center for Democracy Foundation met with the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Abdulla Shahid, who is currently visiting Belgrade. Topics of discussion included the Sustainable Development Goals, gender equality, participation of women in politics, status of women with disabilities as well as concrete suggestions for the promotion of gender equality in Serbia. Other participants in the conversation included Biljana Meletin of the Women's Platform for Development of Serbia, Ljupka Mihajlovska, Director of the Centre for Students with Disabilities and representatives of the UN team in Serbia. The meeting…
