Measure 1.2: Cross-border initiatives for the exchange of people and ideas with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the public and professional civil society.
Project Title: “Co-operation erases the border”
Project Budget:
| Project Value | EU Contribution | |
| Republic of Serbia | € 27,790.00 | € 23,621.50 |
| Montenegro | € 27,870.00 | € 23,689.50 |
| TOTAL | € 55,660.00 | € 47,311.00 |
Beneficiary of funds in the Republic of Serbia: NGO “Argument”
Beneficiary of funds in Montenegro: NGO “Bonum”
Partners: NGO”Association of citizens Bukovica”, Montenegro
NGO”Pljevlja s women area”, Montenegro
Area of implementation:
• Montenegro: North Western Montenegro – Municipality of Pljevlja
• Serbia: South Western Serbia – Municipality of Prijepolje
The target groups of the project: People on both sides of the border, with special emphasis on young people.
Project duration: 16/11/2010 – 16/09/2011
Project objectives:
The overall objective:
To connect people, communities and economies, how they together contribute to development of mutual cooperation with the utilization of human, natural and economical resources.
The specific objectives of the project:
– Establishing of regular transport line between cities Pljevlja and Prijepolje,
– Presentation of cultural heritage of two cities, Pljevlja and Prijepolje,
– Connecting young people through the sports activities ,
– Strengthening of civil society in cross border area, through the -Youth educational camp on themes volunteering, ecology, substance abuse, democracy, strengthening of the youth entrepreneurial,
– Presentation and strengthening young volunteers, establishing volunteer educationally and work camp for active participation in improving status of young people in Pljevlja and Prijepolje.
– Forming Volunteers Centres in Pljevlja and Prijepolje, and forming the Informal Network ‘”VOLUNTERISM”.
Activities and results of the project
The “Co-operation erases the border” project re-established already good cooperation among towns Pljevlja and Prijepolje, that are both situated on the border of two neighbouring countries. Even though the distance between the towns is only 35 km there is no regular bus line, and all project efforts and initiatives did not manage to re-establish this line. The project initiated and established cooperation among youth from Primary schools “Salko Aljkovic” from Pljevlja and “Vladimir Perić Valter” from Prijepolje through organising youth volunteers camps, different sport activities, cultural presentations, joint web site and two informal networks of NGOs and volunteers’ network.
Youth educational camp was organised in Prijepolje with 30 participants from Prijepolje and Pljevlja who obtained new knowledge on democracy, ecology, addiction, and ethnology, while voluntary youth camp was organised in Pljevlja with presence of 30 youth attendees. Voluntary camp include cleaning activities in selected sites in Pljevlja municipality serving as tools for making friendship and good cross border relations. In order to secure sustainability of the project, Volunteer Centres were formed in two target municipalities with all needed legal documents for its work, and with 20 volunteer members per centre. The purpose of the centres is to promote volunteerism and its values. Followed by chronologic, next activity that both partners participated in, was an establishing non formal regional network of “Volunteerism” whose 12 members are NGOs from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Both Prijepolje and Pljevlja represented its cultural, tourism and naturals resources through organising cultural presentations, with presence over 80 persons totally, and coverage of the events both by local and regional media.
Cooperation among youth from schools “Salko Aljkovic” from Pljevlja and “Vladimir Perić was strengthened through joint organisation of two sports competitions in chess, basketball, football and volleyball. It was important to participate in the event, and over 300 participants after the event was not worried about results but were happy on making new friendships with peers from other country. Additional activity that contributed to the sustainability of the project was development of joint web site, which was visited by more than 3000 visitors, in the first 10 month of its existence (www.plljevlja-prijepolje.net ).
The project proved how small and grass rooted activities are important for establishing well cross border cooperation among local governments, youth, educational and cultural institutions, promoting in the same time intercultural, sport, educational, interethnic and traffic cooperation.
