Reaching out to the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro
The "face-to-face" approach
While the Mission's departments are continually working to encourage the country's process of democratization in the areas of policing, human rights, law enforcement, media and security-building, the outreach campaign provides a complementary "face to face" promotion of OSCE values and commitments throughout Serbia and Montenegro.
The campaign focuses on raising people's awareness of civic rights and responsibilities, regional co-habitation, fighting trafficking in human beings, prison reform, ecological issues, community policing, gender equality and the rights of minorities.
Teams led by the Head of Mission Maurizio Massari have visited several towns and cities in various regions. The outreach activities provide excellent opportunities to engage representatives of local civil society, political parties, NGOs, media, educational institutions and religious communities in discussions about how the OSCE can assist in the democratization process.
Advertisements on local TV and in local newspapers explain how citizens of Serbia and Montenegro and the OSCE Mission can "get to know each other better". The campaign also uses local print, TV and radio interviews to get its message across, and distributes relevant OSCE material to regions according to their socio-political environment.
Throughout the campaign, the team has visited refugee centers, orphanages, Roma groups, and small-medium enterprises in economically deprived areas of the country, distributing books, gifts and OSCE material. Team members have also played five football games with minority representatives in Vojvodina and have hiked high into the mountains of eastern Serbia.
Raising young people's awareness
During a recent presentation to a high school audience in Zajecar in eastern Serbia, students had many questions for Ambassador Massari. They were particularly concerned with the concept of democratic reform and the role of international organizations in the State union. They were also interested in local co-operation with the OSCE Mission.
Questions were raised about the future of Kosovo and Metohija, the rights of minorities, the OSCE's decision-making process and the role the OSCE can play at the local level. Students also asked for help with forming a Students' Parliament and developing student exchange programmes.
"The idea of forming a Students' Parliament was to make it possible for Zajecar students to connect with students from other European countries," said Nevena Djokovic, a senior at the Zajecar high school. "We would like to learn how other parliaments function."
"In Zajecar, there is no consciousness developed about the importance of democracy and the rule of law," said Ana Antic, a junior at the Zajecar high school. "Perhaps people like Ambassador Massari should talk to more students and visit more towns to help people develop an understanding of democracy and the time it takes to develop it."
The future of the programme
Given the success of the outreach initiative so far, the OSCE Mission will expand the campaign in 2004 to further promote youth programmes, tolerance and respect for human rights. The campaign's co-ordinator, Rory Keane, explained to Belgrade journalists the rationale behind the outreach initiative and the Mission's plan to continue with it.
"As the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro learn more about the OSCE Mission, and as the OSCE Mission learns more about the concerns of citizens, together we can build a 'bottom up' approach to further support the reform process in Serbia and Montenegro."
So far, outreach teams have visited the towns and cities of Subotica, Novi Sad, Novi Pazar, Nis, Budva, Bor, Zajecar and Uzice. More visits are planned before the end of this year to Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Vrsac and Cetinje.
While the Mission's departments are continually working to encourage the country's process of democratization in the areas of policing, human rights, law enforcement, media and security-building, the outreach campaign provides a complementary "face to face" promotion of OSCE values and commitments throughout Serbia and Montenegro.
The campaign focuses on raising people's awareness of civic rights and responsibilities, regional co-habitation, fighting trafficking in human beings, prison reform, ecological issues, community policing, gender equality and the rights of minorities.
Teams led by the Head of Mission Maurizio Massari have visited several towns and cities in various regions. The outreach activities provide excellent opportunities to engage representatives of local civil society, political parties, NGOs, media, educational institutions and religious communities in discussions about how the OSCE can assist in the democratization process.
Advertisements on local TV and in local newspapers explain how citizens of Serbia and Montenegro and the OSCE Mission can "get to know each other better". The campaign also uses local print, TV and radio interviews to get its message across, and distributes relevant OSCE material to regions according to their socio-political environment.
Throughout the campaign, the team has visited refugee centers, orphanages, Roma groups, and small-medium enterprises in economically deprived areas of the country, distributing books, gifts and OSCE material. Team members have also played five football games with minority representatives in Vojvodina and have hiked high into the mountains of eastern Serbia.
Raising young people's awareness
During a recent presentation to a high school audience in Zajecar in eastern Serbia, students had many questions for Ambassador Massari. They were particularly concerned with the concept of democratic reform and the role of international organizations in the State union. They were also interested in local co-operation with the OSCE Mission.
Questions were raised about the future of Kosovo and Metohija, the rights of minorities, the OSCE's decision-making process and the role the OSCE can play at the local level. Students also asked for help with forming a Students' Parliament and developing student exchange programmes.
"The idea of forming a Students' Parliament was to make it possible for Zajecar students to connect with students from other European countries," said Nevena Djokovic, a senior at the Zajecar high school. "We would like to learn how other parliaments function."
"In Zajecar, there is no consciousness developed about the importance of democracy and the rule of law," said Ana Antic, a junior at the Zajecar high school. "Perhaps people like Ambassador Massari should talk to more students and visit more towns to help people develop an understanding of democracy and the time it takes to develop it."
The future of the programme
Given the success of the outreach initiative so far, the OSCE Mission will expand the campaign in 2004 to further promote youth programmes, tolerance and respect for human rights. The campaign's co-ordinator, Rory Keane, explained to Belgrade journalists the rationale behind the outreach initiative and the Mission's plan to continue with it.
"As the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro learn more about the OSCE Mission, and as the OSCE Mission learns more about the concerns of citizens, together we can build a 'bottom up' approach to further support the reform process in Serbia and Montenegro."
So far, outreach teams have visited the towns and cities of Subotica, Novi Sad, Novi Pazar, Nis, Budva, Bor, Zajecar and Uzice. More visits are planned before the end of this year to Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Vrsac and Cetinje.