Within the project SOCIETIES a study visit was organized from 11 to 13 March, aiming to exchange experiences and examples of good practice in the field of social inclusion between civil society organizations (CSOs)participating in the project. Representatives of 15 CSOs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo, together with representatives of national offices of Caritas and experts from Italy and Bulgaria, had the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of the organizations participating in the project in Serbia, as well as the problems these organizations face.

A field visit was organized to the associations Naša kuća from Belgrade (partner organization), and sub-grantees Evo ruka from Zemun, Plava ptica from Kula and ZaJedno from Subotica. In addition, the director of Caritas Subotica welcomed the participants and shortly presented all their social programmes as well as the social enterprise, bicycle repair service, run by this diocesan office. On the last study visit day in Belgrade, the participants got acquainted with the work of two more Serbian sub-grantees, the association Čep za hendikep from Zrenjanin and Lužnicke rukotvorine from Babušnica that presented their initiatives. The organizer, Caritas Serbia, invited also the organization Herc from Belgrade to share its experiences in running an association for the support of people with neurosis and managing, at the same time, the network for promotion of mental health called NaUM that gathers 12 users’ associations.

The SOCIETIES project, funded by the European Union, seeks to help civil society associations strengthen their capacities and provide them with financial support for the implementation of local initiatives that will contribute to better social inclusion of people with disabilities and mental disorders in Southeast Europe. Within the framework of the subgranting activities 25 organizations from the region were awarded grants for launching innovative social protection services or social enterprises that would enable better social inclusion of these target groups. On the other hand, the key element of the planned capacity building program are study visits to EU Member States.With that idea study visits to Bulgaria in 2016 and Italy in 2018 were organized. 

Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina and Caritas Serbia recently received recognition for their exceptional work in disaster risk reduction. On March 1^stthey were awarded by the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina for supporting disaster risk reduction in their respective countries and co-operating across borders. Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina’s main contribution was a Memorandum of understanding with local authorities, whereas Caritas Serbia produced a creative set of colouring books to educate children on disaster risk reduction.

Caritas Serbia’s Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) work started in 2014 as a response to catastrophic floods that hit Serbia and the region. Throughout these 5 years, the multidirectional approach included both grassroots actions and national institutional work. Thanks to the invested efforts, Caritas in Serbia was able to contribute to improvement of DRR in Serbia in general and to help entire communities to build, or increase, their resilience.

While the target group is the entire society, special focus is given to education of children about natural disasters and environment protection. Caritas Serbia applied its practical knowledge and experience gained from field work to create unique education material for children up to the age of 10.

The material was developed through a comprehensive process which included continuous and extensive cooperation with the Sector for Emergency Management of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia and the Public Investment Management Office, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.

The set of materials consists of coloring books about storms, fires, floods and earthquakes. In addition, materials on floods and fires have special editions adapted to children with disabilities.

Unique work done by Caritas Serbia, its quality, didactic value, and the potential impact on children’s education and protection, has been recognized not only in Serbia, but also regionally, which led of neighbouring countries.

The Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Directorate for Emergency Management of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Montenegro will use the educative set developed by Caritas Serbia in their future activities of prevention and education of children.

Celebration of March 1st – World Civil Protection Day – was an opportunity for the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina to officially thank Caritas Serbia for cooperation and assignment of the copyrights of the educational set. On behalf of Caritas Serbia, Jovana Loncarevic, project coordinator of the Disaster Risk Reduction project, was awarded during a ceremony that took place on March 4^th in Sarajevo.

Institutions of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia have also shown interest for educational materials, which confirms that Caritas Serbia has been recognised as an important partner to the national institutions in Serbia, as well as those in the region, in the process of education, with the goal of disaster risk reduction.

Considering that interest for video materials that Caritas Serbia is developing has also been expressed by neighbouring countries, Caritas Serbia’s DRR work will continue to contribute to better prevention and preparedness of children and adults in Serbia and in the region.