Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Croatia Office
This project is financed
by the EU.
Technical Assistance Service Contract for the implementation of the project
“Capacity Building of Civil Society in the IPA countries and Territories”
(Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo*,
Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey)
EuropeAid/127427/C/SER/Multi – additional services
Open Call for Participants
Background information
The general objective of the project Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations (TACSO) is to
strengthen the civil society within a participative democracy, to stimulate a civil society-friendly
environment and culture, as well as to strengthen the overall capacities and accountability of Civil
Society Organisations (CSOs) within the IPA beneficiaries (Western Balkans and Turkey - WBT), to
guarantee the quality of service of CSOs and a sustainable role of CSOs in the democratic process.
An important cross-cutting component of the project is to contribute to strengthening the civil society of
the WBT within the EU accession process and on this occasion TACSO Croatia, in cooperation with other
TACSO offices, is organising an international conference:
Civil Society Transformations on the Way to the European Union
Looking at the past, present and future of civil society in Western Balkans and Turkey
Zagreb, Croatia, 17-19 April 2013
Objectives and focus
The EU enlargement processes considerably influenced the development of CSOs in the Western
Balkans and Turkey. The aim of this conference is to identify the key challenges faced by the CSOs in the
framework of the EU enlargement process and to present the changes that CSOs and other actors in the
field went through during that process.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo
declaration of independence.
The main objective is to articulate the lessons learned in the course of the accession process, especially
during the four years of TACSO’s presence in the region, and to assist CSOs in the Western Balkans and
Turkey to cope with the challenges ahead.
Since Croatia has often been regarded as a model to be followed by other IPA countries when it comes
to an enabling environment for civil society development, the conference will give slightly more
emphasis on the experience of Croatian CSOs. In doing so, however, an attempt will be made to take a
critical stance towards the “Croatian model” in the sense of its sustainability upon Croatian accession to
the EU and its applicability in other IPA countries.
In addition, experiences of EU-based CSOs, primarily of those involved in partnerships and networking
with CSOs from the Western Balkans and Turkey, will provide more light on opportunities and risks
awaiting CSOs upon the completion of the accession process.
The conference will bring together civil society entrepreneurs, activists and researchers to discuss, learn
and reflect on the following issues:

What is the impact of the EU accession process on civil society in the WBT?

Is there an impact, and what it is, of civil society on the EU accession process?

What to expect from the process and what are the lessons learnt from the accession to the EU?

What is the future for the civil society from the WBT?
Tentative conference agenda is attached to this call.
Who can apply?
Representatives of CSOs and CSO networks, including independent civil society experts and researchers,
based in IPA countries and involved with the EU enlargement issues. The applicants need to be fluent
in English to the extent that they can actively participate in the conference.
Each country will be represented by 5 participants (4 CSO representatives, including 1 representative of
the TACSO Local Advisory Group, and 1 media representative), except for Croatia. Since the concept of
the conference puts Croatia in the focus, it is expected that participation of Croatian CSOs will be
greater than of CSOs from other IPA countries.
Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations • Croatia Office • Amruševa 10/1• 10000 Zagreb • Croatia
SIPU International AB Sweden • Civil Society Promotion Centre Bosnia and Herzegovina • Human Resource Development Foundation Turkey
Foundation in Support of Local Democracy Poland • Partners Foundation for Local Development Romania
Application procedure
Interested applicants are requested to submit:

Short bio note

Motivation letter in which they describe their expectations from the conference, what specific
knowledge and experience they will share with other participants, how will their organisation
and the civil society sector at large benefit from their participation in the conference. The letter
should also clearly state how is the applicant’s organisation involved in EU enlargement issues.

Application form (attached to this document)
The completed application needs to be sent to the e-mail address of your national TACSO office
(contact details for all TACSO countries listed below) by 21 January 2013 with the subject heading:
CONFERENCE - Civil Society Transformations. The selection process should be completed by 31 January
2013. Please note that only selected applicants will be contacted.
For selected participants, the organiser will provide travel costs (including cost of visa, if applicable),
accommodation, meals and refreshments during the conference. Further information can be obtained
from the TACSO Web site (www.tacso.org). If you have any additional questions on the conference
please contact the local TACSO offices.
TACSO contacts:
Albania
info.al@tacso.org | info.albania@tacso.org
Bosnia and Herzegovina
info.ba@tacso.org
Croatia
info.hr@tacso.org
Kosovo
info.ko@tacso.org
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
info.mk@tacso.org
Montenegro
info.me@tacso.org
Serbia
info.rs@tacso.org
Turkey
info.tr@tacso.org
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo
declaration of independence.
Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations • Croatia Office • Amruševa 10/1• 10000 Zagreb • Croatia
SIPU International AB Sweden • Civil Society Promotion Centre Bosnia and Herzegovina • Human Resource Development Foundation Turkey
Foundation in Support of Local Democracy Poland • Partners Foundation for Local Development Romania