Belgrade declaration on social entrepreneurship signed

BELGRADE - The representatives of non-governmental organizations from the region of the Western Balkans and Turkey signed on Friday the Belgrade Declaration on Development of Social Entrepreneurship, with an aim to draw attention of the decision-makers in the EU and other countries to the steps that need to be taken for further development of social economy.

The Declaration, which is based on the principles of the Strasbourg Declaration, was signed by representatives of the civil society sectors in Albania, BiH, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey at the first regional Social Innovations Forum, held on Friday in Belgrade.

The forum was organized by Smart kolektiv and the Coalition for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship, in a partnership with the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Serbian government, the British Council, the Business Leaders Forum Serbia, and the international student organization AIESEC, with the support of the EU Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organizations (TACSO) office in Serbia, the USAID, and the Institute for Sustainable Communities.

The participants underlined that the official launch of the Belgrade Declaration was preceded by the process of obtaining support in all countries of the region, and noted that the initiative has already met with the approval of more than 40 organizations and relevant institutions in the EU.

Zarko Sunderic, manager of the Serbian government's Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit, said that the signing of the Belgrade Declaration is a response to the Strasbourg Declaration and a call to civil society organizations, the European Commission, and the EU member states to boost the development of social...