Project "European houses"

Europe on the south of Serbia

Center for development of civil society "Protecta" from Niš worked up the idea in cooperation with "Media & Reform center" from the same city and "Patriotism" organization from Bulgaria. The "European houses" equipped their offices with in colours of the EU. Each of them has an info corner and a library. This project does not promote the EU, it only supplies people with information so they could see that the EU is a reality, not something abstract


By MILENA STOŠIĆ
from Niš, SERBIA


Within the project of creating tools for better access to information and understanding the EU integration process better, a "European house" was officially opened in Pirot, on March 27th. It is the third house in south and southeastern Serbia (after Niš and Vranje). Serbian Deputy Prime minister Božidar Đelić and Chief of the EU delegation in Serbia Josep Lloveras proceeded this opening by symbolically revealing a sign at the entrance and taking a joint photo on which the Serbian and the EU flag stand together.

According to Jelena Stevanov from the European integrations Office of the Government of Serbia, the project, which is given by Center for development of civil society "Protecta" from Niš and financed by the EU, gives the opportunity to more citizens from southeastern Serbia, especially young people, to participate in the debate on the EU and European integrations. All of this is brought through information exchange and examples of good practice in this area, which is in connection with the goals that this Office wants to achieve in cooperation with the civil sector. The acting of "Protecta" is recognized as an important factor in spreading the European ideas and values throughout Serbia, especially in south.

Six debates have been held so far, and there are plans to conduct a series of educational and interactive actions, all with the goal to provide better understanding of EU and the process of integration of Serbia in the EU. Project manager Dragan Petković speaks for "WAVE" magazine about the necessity of this idea and about the "European houses":

- I have worked this job for ten years and I am familiar with the people as weel as various institutions from this area. I know that, unfortunately, things happen rarely or never for the past ten years here. There are more than a 100 embassies, cultural centers and a million different institutions in Belgrade, and people can hear different stories and get the right information. It all arrives to us, down south, with a big delay. Usually people from this area go to the capital in order to inform about a scholarship, for example. We want to bring that to this region, show that the south of Serbia has a lot of potential."

When it comes to the level of information about the EU integration, Petković judges that the level is low or even doesn't exist:

- Our journey towards the EU is usually connected only to Kosovo status or the Hague Tribunal. This is doubtlessly a part of the process, but I think that other parts of the story should also be mentioned, such as experiences of other countries surrounding us. Those are stories of people and countries that were in a similar situation as we are in now, with similar problems, and today after all that, they live well and are valuable members of the EU. I think that people here need a window to the world, so they could see that they are not alone, that there are more similar destinies and that there is a better tomorrow very close to us.

What exactly are the "European houses" and what to they look like?

- The "European houses" are becoming some sort of institution and physically have their space, so far only in Niš, Pirot and Vranje. However, the main component is a team of ten young, hardworking, fantastic people who believe in their own work. The idea was born in cooperation with "Media & Reform center" from Niš and "Patriotism" organization from Bulgaria. They are equipped with furniture in colours of the EU and each of them has an info corner and a library where you can find various materials from different domains regarding all the EU countries. Of course, most of the publications are about the process of integration itself. This is not a project that promotes the EU, it only gives the people information about what this means for them in concrete. People will be able to see that the EU is a reality, not something abstract. They will get to know that it is a part of their lives and everyday living!

Our primary target group are young people between the ages of 18 and 30, but everyone is welcome. So far, the debates were organized for students, high schools and institutions.

What are the impressions so far? How do people react to this topic?

- Fantastic! When you hear young people at the age of 15 in Vranje or Pirot asking very mature questions and handling extraordinary discussions, you realize that there is hope. All this country needs are people who use their own heads, not make decisions based on pre-election campaign commercials, no matter what party it is about. Young people in this part of Serbia are in shortage of many things, including information about what the process of European integration brings. If we managed to transfer these sort of information to hundreds of young people, it is a big deal, and I am sure that the results are much bigger than that.

From the coordinator of the "European house" in Niš Jelena Stajković we received the information that besides organizing debates and lectures regarding the topics that the youth shows the most interest for (starting from the prejudices about losing national identity, information about studying possibilities, all the way to explaining the terms and the process of integration), there are also plans for marking out the "European Day" on May the 9th. What are the next activities?

- This project will have an educational campaign with examples and stories from everyday life and other countries that are already members of the EU. There will be various movies, cultural evenings, exhibitions, meetings, activities on the streets, educational shows... lots of things indeed, and people who are interested in participating in our activities and wish to give their contribution in some way, will be able to do that anytime.

Why is the question about the national identity brought up so often when it comes about the European integrations?

National identity is not something given to you by someone. For this reason, I believe that no one can take it from you or destroy it. The best way to lose it is to become poor and helpless and in those moments, the category of identity is the last thing you will be thinking about. If you take a closer look, you will see that the better the country is, the stronger national identity it has. Therefore, I am convinced that with the advancing of country, the national identity will also rise, not fall, because when someone asks where you are from, will you be proud to say that you come from Serbia that is poor and lonesome, or a Serbia that is rich and advanced country.

In the end, the crucial question and the message sent by this project: what does Serbia gain by becoming a member of the EU, and what can the EU get from accepting Serbia?

By becoming a member, Serbia gains a lot. As many people say, it is a rich society, so the fact that we are moving towards the EU path shows that our society is evolving, becoming better, richer, not only in a financial way, but culturally as well. Membership in the EU means, above all, standards and a quality of life for common people. Serbia gains stability, safety, economical prosperity and almost 30 friends. There is no better way to protect your country and your interests than having around you 27 more countries ready to defend mutual interests in every moment. By receiving Serbia, the EU in the first place gains stability and a unified economical market. Many times throughout history it was shown that stable Balkans is very important for stability of the whole Europe. The European idea itself was based on stability, mutual respect and interests, opposite to war and fights between European nations. The EU will also get another country that has a very old tradition and culture".

The "European houses" project, does not have an expiration date and according to the words of interlocutor, when Serbia becomes a member of the EU, it will still have the part of providing information to citizens about their possibilities in frames of the EU - which will be much larger at that time.


(Published: 10.04.2009.)