Paraćin - Promotion and support of LEADER approach, Community Led Local Development, sustainable rural development and the role of CSOs

On November 11 2017 in Paraćin a workshop on the topic “Promotion and support of LEADER approach, Community Led Local Development, sustainable rural development and the role of CSOs” was held. The workshop was attended by representatives of the public, civil and business sectors. The workshop was organized within the framework of the project "ALTER - Active Local Territories for Economic Development of Rural Areas" funded by the European Union. The project is implemented at the national level by the Network for rural development of Serbia.

The workshop presented the history of LEADER approache in the EU, the principles of LEADER, public private partnership - LAG, local rural development strategy, as well as experiences and problems in implementing the LEADER approach. Participants were presented the status of LEADER approach in the Republic of Serbia (LIS project, institutional framework of the Ministry of Agriculture for implementation of LEADER approach (rulebook), support to LAG initiatives by Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture…). Also, attendees were introduced with CLLD as a model used by some EU Member States to improve the effects and better use of EU funds in rural development.

After that, there was presented the Grant Program for Civil Society capacity building and advocacy, which is being implemented through the ALTER project. The rules and deadlines for applying for CSOs that can exclusively participate in this call are presented. Participants had the opportunity to gain knowledge of the Program's goals and priorities, the terms of the competition, the application package, the required documentation and the selection and scoring process.