How to achieve more – The question with the answer?
2008-07-03
On June 20th, World Refugee Day, in Belgrade Media Centre, Group 484 organised conference How to accomplish more: Refugees and IDPs in poverty reduction processes, in the attempt to empower efforts to resolve main problems of refugees and IDPs in Serbia.
Conference gathered 137 participants from most of relevant sectors, and opening speeches and introduction on refugee and IDP situation were given by Rasim Ljajić, Minister of labour and social politics in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Lennart Kotsalainen, Chief of UNCHR Mission to Serbia in Belgrade, Hans Ola Urstad, Chief of OSCE Mission in Serbia, Dragiša Dabetić, Republic of Serbia Commissioner for refugees, Žarko Šunderić, Manager of Republic of Serbia Government Team for implementation of Poverty Reduction Strategy and Danilo Vuković from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
24 reporters from various TV and radio stations and newspapers and magazines followed the conference during two days (4 news agencies, 4 radio agencies and 6 TV stations)
Considering important opportunity for the most of Republican ministries to represent and clearly define objectives and mainstreams of their politics towards refugees and IDPs in Serbia, Group 484 created an Open Forum, which was the central part of the conference. During Open Forum 9 Ministries, 5 other governmental bodies and state institutions and one international organisation (UNHCR) talked directly to representatives from refugee and IDP associations and NGOs engaged in the support for forced migrants, so they could hear first hand about their general and personal problems, to discuss and suggest possible solutions to resolve them and also to hear recommendations and propositions from the “other side” – generally, they jointly entered a quest for good resolutions and recognition of the mandate of each particular ministry or institution which could be altered to reach faster good solutions.
Out of 137 registered participants of the Conference, 49 came from civil society (including 19 refugee and IDP associations and NGOs), 30 came from Ministries and other governmental and state bodies and institutions, 41 from international organisations and embassies and 15 from autonomous and regional and local institutions, public sector and local self-governments.
Representatives at the Open Forum were from the Republic of Serbia Team for implementation of PRS, Republican Commissariat for Refugees, National Employment Service, Republic of Serbia Health Insurance Fund, Republic of Serbia Pension Insurance Fund, 9 Ministries of Serbian government and UNCHR office in Serbia.
After the Open Forum, at the second part of the conference, based on many raised questions from the first part of the conference participants worked in three separate thematic workgroups.
Rapporteurs (at the second panel) presented conclusions of workgroups in a draft Policy paper which was modified and amended in accordance to the content of questions or themes defined. In that way altered – final version of Policy paper will be distributed to all participants of the conference, especially from the government and state sector, so they could have excellent opportunity to take a stand towards its contents and define their activities according to recommendations in Policy paper.
Holding this national conference helped PRS Implementation Team of the Serbian Government Vice President, Republic of Serbia Commissariat for Refugees, OSCE Mission to Serbia, UNDP and UNHCR Office in Serbia.
Conference is the closing activity of Group 484 project in the Programme “Civil Society Contact Organisation for Poverty Reduction Strategy Implementation”, financed by the resources provided by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom for the Government of Serbia to oversee and coordinate the Poverty Reduction Strategy implementation.
Download Conference Agenda
