Promoting national equality at the local level

As part of project activities aimed at promoting national equality at the local level, and in support of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, two cycles of regional training sessions were organized across four regions in Serbia. These training sessions focused on strengthening the capacities of local councils for interethnic relations, with the goal of improving management and providing support for the preservation and development of interethnic relations within local communities.

The aim of the first cycle of the training, "Rights of National Minorities and Achieving National Equality at the Local Level" was to point out the possibilities for improving national equality at the local level through the systematic inclusion of perspectives and needs of minority groups in the implementation and evaluation of local policy through the analysis of good practices and challenges. Special emphasis is placed on the role of the Council for Interethnic Relations in these processes, as well as on recommendations for effective administrative management in the context of the work of these councils. The training included an analysis of strategic planning functions from the aspect of minority rights and the role of local communities in the exercise of minority rights at the local level, an overview of the roles and competencies of the Council for Interethnic Relations in achieving national equality, a practical part on the roles, potentials and obligations of local self-government units in the exercise of minority rights.

The aim of the second cycle of the training,  "Achieving National Equality and Developing Interculturality at the Local Level - The Role of the National Councils of National Minorities and the Council for Interethnic Relations" for representatives of the National Councils of National Minorities and the Council for Interethnic Relations is to point out the possibilities for improving national equality at the local level through the analysis of good practices and challenges, including examples of good practice and recommendations for establishing and strengthening intercultural dialogue. The focus of the training is on the competencies, as well as the potentials and obstacles in the work of the National Councils of National Minorities and the Council for Interethnic Relations in these areas.

The organization of the trainings conducted by ECMI (European Centre for Minority Issues in Flensburg) was supported by the project "Strengthening Rule of Law in the Republic of Serbia", funded by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ).