Study visit of Serbian CSOs to Hungary
Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organizations Programme in Serbia has organized study visit for Serbian civil society organizations (CSOs) representatives to Hungary in period of 24th to 27th of April of 2013. The representative of Belgrade Open School, Danijela Bozovic, was one of the study visit participant.
The Programme was organized as an exchange of experience with the associations from Hungary, as well as establishing contacts for future cooperation in order to strengthen CSOs capacities in Serbia for improving EU accession process. The experiences have shown that this is just one of the ways for CSOs to improve their role in Serbian EU accession process as one could be better and more rapid. During the study visit, the participants had a presentation of CSOs, institutions, good practice examples, local self-governments, as well as their EU accession process experience.
First meeting was held in Nonprofit Information and Training Centre Foundation. The host of the meeting was head of the Foundation, Gerencsér Balázs. This Foundation exists since year of 1994 with its main mission to strengthen civil society capacities in Hungary by giving services for building civil society capacities and by creating supporting environment for NGOs activities in the future.
On civil sector condition in Hungary from the state perspective, that is, the participants have talked with the state secretary of Ministry of Human Resources, Latorcai Csaba. The Law on Civil Society has been on force in Hungary since year of 2011 and it is valid for about 65500 registered CSOs which employ around 140000 people and make 3.2 million euro profit (960 million forints). The head of National Cooperation Fund, Csizmadia László, have introduced the study visit participants with CSO state financing and its structure.
The work of the Information Centre for CSOs acting on Budapest territory has been presented during the conversation with the Political School “Századvég” Foundation. The representatives of Association for Culture and Spare Time and Local Self-Government of Bordány Municipality have shared their experience on Youth Informative Point and Youth Local Self-Government in one rural community.
The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) representatives for Hungary, Serbia and Romania have presented this EU instrument in territorial cooperation of these three countries.