This program is designed to encourage active promotion and support of different initiatives oriented towards regionalization of Serbia as means of attainment of real decentralization of power.
The general public is not adequately informed about real reasons for emergence of different initiatives opposing still strongly centralized political system in Serbia. Firstly, democracy inter alia implies decision making to be as close to the citizens as possible, but, at the same time, real problems, needs and perspectives of the local community can not be adequately assessed from the position of central authority, being influenced by intensity of development and prosperity of political and economic headquarter of the state. Local and regional differences in Serbia are huge and their endurance only increases discrepancy between developed and undeveloped areas, which generates long-standing problems dangerous for the society as a whole: migrations towards big urban centers that can not adapt fast enough to rapid population growth in terms of infrastructure, provision of communal services, labor market and employment policy; growth of the urban poor; disappearance of the whole villages and smaller municipalities in eastern, southern and border areas of Serbia; political tensions between AP Vojvodina, Belgrade and the rest of Serbia based on accusations that AP Vojvodina requests more than it deserves in terms of autonomy and that Belgrade, in terms of development, is already ahead of other parts of Serbia, etc. All parts of Serbia has a right to sustainable and balanced development and precondition for this is regionalization of Serbia, long-term planning of sustainable development of each region and preparations for the future absorption of the EU funds addressing restriction of regional discrepancies.
Through this program CenTriR will seek to:
- continuously educate different target groups about the principles that the decentralization of power is based on, models and best practice examples, basic documents which regulate this field;
- adequately inform public about cooperation among EU regions and cities, EU funds aiming to reduce regional discrepancies, activities of the EU Committee of the Regions and the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities etc.;
- cooperate with NGO sector, educational institutions public sector and media in order to promote idea of equitable regional development of Serbia;
- organize promotional campaigns and help establishing participatory democracy on the local and regional level;
- encourage inter-sectoral, inter-regional and cross-border cooperation in the fields of common interests.
