ISC’s Civil Society Advocacy Initiative’s (CSAI) overall goal is for the citizens of Serbia to take responsibility for defining their future while building a more democratic and prosperous Serbia moving towards European integration. By providing grants, training, and technical assistance, CSAI works to:

• Support civil society organizations (CSOs) to advocate effectively about political, economic, and social issues that consolidate Serbia’s democratic transition
• Pursue the adoption of new laws and strategies, amendments to current laws, and monitor the implementation of key legislation critical to improving the lives of Serbia’s citizens
• Create conditions for citizen activism at the local level
• Provide high quality technical skills in advocacy, networking and consensus building
• Encourage cross-sector partnerships and involvement of key stakeholders in advocacy initiatives.

Major Achievements

To date CSAI has provided grants totalling $5.2 million. CSAI partners and grantees are geographically spread throughout Serbia, with 11% working on the national level and 89% on the local level. Over 100 advocacy campaigns have been implemented, including 244 public events. CSAI and partners have appeared more than 1000 times on TV, print, radio and internet outlets, and distributed over 130,000 pieces of informational material such as brochures, posters etc. Major CSAI achievements to date include:

• Expediting legal and policy reforms (national and local) on election legislation, government transparency and accountability, environmental protection, youth, vulnerable populations and other issues
• Launching the first ever Business Leaders Forum with members from 14 leading Serbian companies to encourage increased corporate social responsibility
• Supporting the establishment of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and more than 70 Youth offices around the country, as well as adoption of a National Youth Strategy
• Establishing the Virtus Award recognizing outstanding companies in the area of corporate philanthropy while forging sustainable partnerships between CSOs and businesses
• Training over 530 CSO representatives and activists in topics such as effective advocacy techniques, grants and financial management, and the use of new internet and communication technologies.

In addition, CSAI grantees succeeded in pushing forward policy discussions on decentralization, social inclusion of vulnerable populations, local action plans for children, raising public awareness regarding economic and social rights of workers, workplace harassment and domestic violence, and building coalitions around issues such as free access to information and protecting the rights of the elderly. CSAI also supported 74 local grassroots advocacy campaigns through the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund. These initiatives build a culture of democracy by engaging citizens to get involved in the participatory process and advocate for, among other things, revitalization of local school yards and playgrounds, cleaning up rivers and illegal dumps, employment for people with disabilities, recycling, and greater visibility and human rights for all communities.