Online Panel Discussion Held: “Challenges for Civil Society and Civic Participation in the Western Balkans”
The Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) successfully organized the online panel discussion “Challenges for Civil Society and Civic Participation in the Western Balkans”, held on June 22, 2026, within the framework of the EU project Regional Ownership of Our Future: Citizens and Civil Society Developing European Values in the Western Balkans (ROOT WB).
CEDEM is implementing this project as one of the partners in a consortium comprising: LDA Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), NALAS (France), CEDEM (Montenegro), ACT-Center (Albania), BCSP (Serbia), LDA Sisak (Croatia), EMMK (North Macedonia), and ALDA (France). The project is funded by the European Union under the CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) programme.
The event was organized within Work Package 2, dedicated to mapping the situation and assessing needs in the field of civic participation, and represents one of seven national promotional events organized in the partner countries to present the results of the comparative research and encourage dialogue on improving civic participation.
The central part of the event was the presentation of the results of the comparative research “Civic Participation Assessment Reports: Trends and Barriers”, covering Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, and France. The research provides an overview of the key challenges and trends in the field of civic participation, with a particular focus on the obstacles limiting the more active involvement of citizens and civil society organizations in decision-making processes.
The research results were presented by Nevenka Vuksanović (CEDEM), while the panel discussion was moderated by Milena Ranitović (CEDEM).
Participants in the panel discussion included:
- Mirsada Bošnjak, State Secretary in the Ministry of Regional Investment Development and Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations of Montenegro;
- Dejana Dizdar, Secretary of the Secretariat for Education, Sport and Youth of the Royal Capital Cetinje;
- Đorđe Otašević, Acting Assistant Director of the Sector for Contracting and Financing of EU Support Funds at the Employment Agency of Montenegro;
- Ivan Vukčević, Coordinator of the Human Rights Programme at the Centre for Civic Education (CGO);
- Marica Vlahović, Senior Advisor I in the Department for LGBTIQ Persons within the Secretariat for Social Welfare.
The panel brought together representatives of institutions, civil society organizations, international organizations, local self-governments, the academic community, and interested citizens, creating a space for open dialogue on the current state of civic participation in Montenegro and the region. Through the exchange of experiences and different perspectives, participants discussed opportunities for advancing participatory democracy, strengthening cooperation between institutions and civil society, and creating more effective mechanisms for involving citizens in public policy-making processes.
A key segment of the panel discussion was the recognition of the need to advance civic participation in Montenegro from formally established mechanisms toward genuine, substantive, and functional involvement of citizens and civil society organizations in decision-making processes. While representatives of institutions expressed readiness to improve the legislative framework and strengthen cooperation, civil society representatives pointed to the existing gap between declarative openness and actual practice. A particularly important conclusion highlighted was the need to build mutual trust, apply existing participation mechanisms more consistently, and create conditions in which citizens can recognize concrete results of their engagement, especially at the local level.
The discussion confirmed that, despite the existence of formal mechanisms for civic participation, their actual effectiveness largely depends on consistent implementation, political will, and mutual trust between institutions and civil society. The event also contributed to presenting the research results to the wider professional public, exchanging experiences among key stakeholders, and encouraging further dialogue on concrete steps to advance civic participation in Montenegro and the Western Balkans region.
