Belgrade Open School (BOS) is, with the support of Sweden, implementing the project "Civil Society as a Force for a Change in the Serbia's EU Accession Process– CS4EU", which aims to support the more active participation of civil society organizations and the media in the process of accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union (EU). The project is being implemented from October 2016 to October 2019.

Within the CS4EU project, BOS is implementing the Civil Society and Media Support Program in the field of European Integration, which aims to contribute to Serbia’s European integration process and democratic development by strengthening the role of civil society and the media.

Civil society and the media are recognized as drivers of change and key actors of democratic development. Civil society organizations and media are actors who are able to bring the process of European integration closer to the citizens, explain the significance of the social change and contribute to the involvement of citizens in decision-making processes. The stability of democratic institutions, the rule of law and respect for human and minority rights are unimaginable without the active involvement of civil society in the creation of public policies or free media that inform citizens and encourage their critical thinking. Civil society and the media are recognized as drivers of change, key actors of democratic development and they are direct beneficiaries of this Program.

With this project, BOS aims to present Serbia's negotiations with the EU as a process concerning all citizens and to link it with the policy-making process. In this way, a framework for social change will be established, which will enable citizens to recognize the benefits of Serbia's accession to the EU. This project will provide support for the civil society organizations and the media in representing the interests of local communities in the EU accession process.

The overall objective of the Program is to contribute to European integration and democratic development in Serbia by strengthening the role of civil society and the media.

The specific objectives of the Support Program are:

• Strengthening the role of civil society as representatives of the interests of local communities in the process of Serbia's accession to the European Union (EU);
• Encouraging the democratic influence of civil society on public authorities, improving practices and the quality of public participation in the decision-making process;
• Improving the quality of public debate and citizens' awareness of the European integration process.

The Civil Society and Media Support Program in the field of European Integration consists of the following components:

Program Activity #1: Support for projects and partner organizations of civil society and the media;

Program Activity #2: Capacity Building and Networking Program.

This Program provides support for the greater participation of civil society organizations and the media in policy making within the process of EU accession, as well as the long-term partnership of program partners. Program partners will be those civil society organizations and media whose projects are accepted and supported under this Program.

Support for projects, partner civil society organizations, and the media involves the allocation of financial resources for the realization of activities that contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Program and achievement of the expected results. This is being realized through:

• Institutional support for the sustainability of civil society organizations that actively participate or have the potential to participate in the creation of public policies in the process of EU accession and media that improve the quality of information and encourage public debate on the process of European integration;
• Project support for civil society organizations engaged in public advocacy for greater involvement of local communities in the European integration process and for media in strengthening media freedom, media independence and improving the quality of reporting on democratic development issues and the process of Serbia's accession to the European Union.

Capacity building and networking program include the following components:

• Expert support for project implementation;
• Capacity building program for civil society organizations and the media;
• Study visits to EU institutions in Brussels;
• Exchange experience program;
• Networking workshop.

The project will include 45 civil society organizations and media from all over Serbia in the network of partners who will work for the next three years (2017-2019) in order to increase the role of civil society in representing the interests of local communities in the process of European integration, ensuring the democratic influence of civil society on public authorities, and improving the quality of public participation in the decision-making process and negotiations with the EU. Partners will, through their activities, strive to improve public debate and citizens' awareness of the European integration process.

The Program supported the implementation of 15 civil society organizations' and media projects during the first cycle of the three-year project, which lasted from April to September 2017. Partner organizations which implemented the projects sought to improve public debate and citizens' awareness on European integration process. The first cycle of the project directly contributed to the capacity building of 225 representatives and representatives of civil society organizations and media through four trainings, two study visits to the EU institutions in Brussels and an annual networking workshop. Also, the organizations that participated in the Program had the opportunity to apply for an Exchange of Experience and Expert Support, where 8 organizations went to visit civil society organizations from the region. The overall support within the CS4EU project has helped to sustain the work of civil society organizations and the media as well as to implementat planned activities in the areas of European integration, advocacy and improvement of participation in the decision-making process.

Organizations and media involved in the project will receive support for the realization of their activities which contribute to the European integration process, as well as support for strengthening the internal capacities of the organization in order to better achieve the goals they have set.

Through the aforementioned activities, civil society ensures that the voice of local communities is recognized in the negotiations on accession to the European Union. In this way, informed citizens stop being simply observers but become active participants in a comprehensive democratic reform of the community they are a part of. This project enhances the cooperation of public institutions, civil society, and the media and fosters partnerships in addressing the problems of local communities. This project builds the cooperation of civil society and public administration on the basis of knowledge, argumented debate, and respect for the principles of good governance.

At a given moment, the project is in the second year of implementation, where it has gathered 17 new projects from civil society organizations and the media that you can find out more about on the Transformer Internet Platform. The project is being implmented between October 2016 and October 2019.