On Thursday, the Tuzla Community Foundation signed contracts with representatives of the civil society organizations for the implementation of local initiatives in the Ismet Mujezinović Atelier. Almost 50,000 BAM from the I Love My City Fund and the Youth Fund were distributed for 25 civic initiatives.
The support is realized within the project “Our community is our responsibility” which the Tuzla Community Foundation is implementing in the Tuzla Canton, with the support of the USAID within the program “Snaga lokalnog/LocalWorks”. In order to create conditions for sustainable growth and development of BiH, especially civil society, support for civic initiatives will have a positive impact on increasing civic engagement and mobilization of available local resources.
The Executive Director of the Tuzla Community Foundation, Jasna Jašarević, pointed out that the grant awarding commissions of the previously mentioned funds reviewed 60 applications for co-financing projects of CSOs, youth organizations, public institutions and informal groups in Tuzla Canton. Projects that meet the needs of the community were awarded the funds: “We have given priority to projects related to environmental protection, health and climate, quality education, reduction of inequalities and protection and promotion of human rights. We believe that with these initial funds we will initiate changes in communities and strengthen the leadership skills of individuals and organizations. It is important for us to support citizens who are implementing their own initiatives, in order to strengthen cross-sectoral cooperation and work on strengthening and developing their communities, which will improve the quality of life in the long run.”
A large number of applications received for public calls from two funds proves that active citizenship in Tuzla Canton exists, and that citizens appreciate and use all provided opportunities. One of such initiatives is “Safe children in an insecure society” which will be implemented by the Association “Nonviolent Communications Network”, whose staff will, within the project, deal with the consequences of the pandemic on children’s lives. Marica Lazić explains that:
“Through our work, we discovered that the impact of the pandemic on children was immense. This whole situation meant that we somehow had to deal with the stress and all the ambiguity and uncertainty. The way in which families dealt with it within their environment, how we dealt with it as a society, through the reorganization of school classes, all this affected the quality of life of the entire community, and communication is actually the most important in all this. What we want to achieve with this project is to develop resilience in children, to make it easier for them to cope with all the stresses that surround them. Also, we want to strengthen their communication skills, provide some information on how to deal with their emotions and how to stand up for their needs. Then they will learn that each of them in their community will become the initiator of certain changes and know how to support their peers.
Small initiatives initiated by citizens in their communities are often the beginning of solving bigger problems. Special attention is paid to initiatives that improve the position of marginalized groups. The project “We create and learn together” which is implemented in partnership by teachers of the public institution Institute for Education of Persons with Mental and Physical Disabilities Tuzla and the Public Institution Mixed Secondary School Živinice, will work on strengthening inclusion of people with disabilities and their active participation in local communities.
“Together with our partners, we will enable the students of the Institute to participate equally in development in this project, so they will be part of the team that will make didactic toys. Additionally, we want to simultaneously promote the deficit profession – carpenter and contribute to the professional training of students of Mixed Secondary School Živinice. We will simply do good for each other, and at the same time for the local community”, says Almedina Šećić, representative of the Institute and coordinator of this informal group.
The implementation of these projects will contribute to the establishment of cooperation between the civil, business and public sectors, and improve living conditions in communities in Tuzla Canton.
On the same day, the Tuzla Community Foundation signed grant contracts with representatives of active communities, members of the “Network of Active Communities”. 7 projects will work on improvement of the cooperation of all actors in the community. The projects will be funded from the Active Community Fund with more than 20,000 BAM. These funds were provided with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
I love my city Fund:
https://www.fondacijatz.org/page/41/18851
Summaries of supported projects: https://admin.fondacijatz.org//FileRepository/4555917_rezimeipodranihprojekataFVSG.pdf
The Youth Fund:
https://www.fondacijatz.org/page/41/18850
Summaries of supported projects:
https://admin.fondacijatz.org//FileRepository/4452234_rezimeipodranihprojekataFondzamlade.pdf
The Active Community Fund:
