Nine organizations brought together a common task – to extend the concept of citizen counseling to the Western Balkans and Turkey by providing direct assistance to an individual in the form of information, advice or active help. These counseling centers are also an important source of knowledge about the real needs and problems of society, enabling them to influence state policies. The initial task is to identify where Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey are, regarding citizens’ counseling centers.
Research that began with a survey should be understood as helping the citizens, but also the organizations themselves, as it will form the basis of a “counseling center”. Based on the specific maps of opportunities and status, a study will be conducted on the implementation of existing successful counseling models in the Western Balkan countries. The Regional Partnership will announce a call for project funding for organizations seeking to add a dimension to consultancy in their work. These projects will be implemented through twinning partnerships: Romania – Croatia and Kosovo, the United Kingdom – Turkey and Serbia, Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The number of citizens’ addresses to civil society organizations will be processed by ten pilot organizations. This information should indicate the need for a counseling center. The citizens’ counseling centers that will be created under this project should be sustainable and permanently active, with full support from partner organizations like YUCOM, which has fifteen years of experience in providing legal advice.
The organizations implementing the Thriple A for Citizens project are: European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) – Belgium, National Foundation for Civil Society Development – Croatia, Association for Democratic Initiatives – BiH, Kosovo Civil Rights Program, Law Centers Federation (LCF) – United Kingdom, Human Rights Lawyers Committee Serbia (YUCOM), National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux – Romania, National Association of Citizens Information Services – Ireland, Association of Civil Society Development Center – Turkey.
