01Jun2016
Public Policy Research CENTRE's Newsletter
The Public Policy Research Centre has prepared three policy briefs, conducted the election monitoring focusing on the security issues, and it has started a new project on the human security of the LGBT community.
CENTRE is now receiving applications for the position of a researcher/project officer.
Thank you for following our work. Please find below an overview of the most important activities of the Public Policy Research Center in the previous period.
MECHANISMS OF SUPPORT TO EMPLOYEES OF THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
The CENTRE organized a discussion on the mechanisms of support to the employees of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Internal Affairs on May 26.
The motivation was twofold. Firstly, current finalization of a new National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN SC Resolution 1325 has not included the assessment on mechanisms for fighting gender discrimination which were established by the previous NAP. Second motive was setting up the Department for Psychological Prevention and Selection in the Ministry of Home Affairs which should improve psychological and overall support to the police officers. Experts from governmental and non-governmental sectors took part in the discussion, focusing on informal mechanisms ‘’persons of trust’’ and ‘’colleague for support.’’
This is the topic of the third policy brief which we will publish under the auspices of the institutional grant for organizational development from the Think Tank Fund of the Open Society Foundations.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
The Election Monitoring: Political parties on security issues is the latest CENTRE’s analysis which disclosed that political parties have not taken a clear position on a wide range of security issues. It also found that political programs do not contain clear remarks; therefore the representatives are likely to improvise and offer ad hoc solutions. The results were firstly represented at the election night, on April 24, in the Media Center in Belgrade and than at an exclusive presentation on April 27. This analysis represents the final product of the project Security issues within Serbian 2016 electoral campaign supported by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).
What is the Security Policy of the Republic of Serbia? by Jelena Radoman examined how the policy of military neutrality was a former resort of decision makers to avoid giving clear answers and offering consistent ideas related to the security policy of Serbia. She added that the ongoing process of drafting a new Strategy, about which is little known in the public, should be transparent and allow a wide participation of different actors from the field of security.
Child Safety on the Internet in Serbia: Exposure without coordinated care by Jelena Sapic underlined that children are especially vulnerable group in the digital realm and that they are exposed to various online risks. By the Law on Information Security enforcement and by the creation of a governmental body for coordination of information security affairs conditions to unanimously address children's exposure to online risks have been created have been created.
Please note that all these publications are fully available in Serbian.
NEW PROJECT
CENTRE has started a project concerning the human security of the LGBT community. It is an opportunity to evaluate progress and identify new challenges in this field after five years since the first research of that kind LGBT and Security Sector Reform in the Republic of Serbia which was conducted in 2011.
The project is supported by the Democratization Department, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Serbia.
NATIONAL HDR: HOW TO ADVANCE RESILIENCE OF VULNERABLE MUNICIPALITIES IN SERBIA?
Despite the increasing attention given to the notion of resilience and its link to human development in the global, regional and national disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy frameworks, the important role of the social capital manifestations, which foster community resilience, remains neglected. Public Policy Research Centre explores the value of the communication, cooperation, partnerships, volunteerism, and social inclusion in building resilient communities for the UNDP National Human Development Report. The aim of the Report is to improve understanding and raise awareness of national and local stakeholders about the vital force of social capital in increasing the resilience to natural disaster of municipalities and towns in Serbia.
DRAFTING THE NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF UN SC RESOLUTION 1325
Government's working group on preparing the National Action Plan for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 - Women, Peace and Security for the 2016-2020 period, whose member is Centre’s director, Svetlana Djurdjevic-Lukic, prepared a draft of the document. There is the ongoing public discussion on the draft of NAP at the moment. The final meeting is scheduled for June 10 in Belgrade.
Centre’s short analysis on the impact of the earlier NAP adopted in 2010 is available here (published in October 2013).
EU ACCESSION: CHAPTER 24
CENTRE has been active in the working group on the Chapter 24 within the National Convention on EU. It contributed to the draft of negotiating position of Serbia on topics concerned with the security.
Additionally, it submitted comments on the Draft of National Strategy for Counterterrorism and Prevention of Terrorism and accompanying National Action Plan, in cooperation with dr Milos Popovic.
CENTRE IN THE MEDIA
U sredistu paznje (In the Centre of Attention), show of the Radio Belgrade 1, Svetlana Djurdjevic-Lukic together with Slobodan Spasic, psychological adviser at the Police Union in Serbia spoke about mechanisms the members of the military and police have on disposal to deal with the stress and pressure which they face at their daily work.
As a part of Sira slika (Broader Picture) broadcasted on the regional TV N1, CENTRE’s approach to policies related to human security, particularly of vulnerable groups, was comprehensively represented on May 20.
Daily newspaper "Danas" (issued April 16, 2016) published CENTRE’s analysis on the representation of security issues in its special section called "Electoral Fever." Also, Danas published the CENTRE’s finding that NATO was the most common topic within the electoral campaign. On security issues coverage within the electoral campaign we spoke on TV Kopernikus. On the occasion of NATO’s setting up of missile shield base in Romania, FoNET and Balkan magazine published CENTRE’s take on the lack of coherent security policy on Serbia.
Media reports dedicated to the policy brief Child Safety on the Internet in Serbia: Exposure without coordinated care are available under the following links: Tanjug, B 92, Alo.rs, Studio B, Radio Televizija Vovodine, HappyTV, Vesti.rs, Naslovi.net, Ogledalo.rs, Novostidana.rs, Reporter.rs, Burina.net.
Results of the UNDP-SEESAC’s research Targeting Weapons, which was commissioned to CENTRE, were reported by Tanjug, N1, and B92 during the Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence 2016 (May 1-8, 2016).
Tanja Jakobi spoke about the precariat in Serbia in a show Parametri Radio Kragujevac on May 23.
WE ARE HIRING
CENTRE is hiring a researcher/project officer. Candidates can send their application due to June 3, 2016 at 5.00 pm at office@publicpolicy.rs, subject: APPLICATION FOR RESEARCHER.
FROM JOURNALISTS TO LABORERS, PRECARIOUS WORK AND LIFE
Centre’s member Tanja Jakobi gave presentations on key findings of the research From journalists to laborers, precarious work and life (2015) at two international seminars organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung: “The Importance of Social Dialogue and Precariat”, co-organized with journalists’ union Sinos in Prolom banja, Serbia, and ‘’Work conditions in Private Media”, co-organizer: the Media’s Union of Montenegro, in Podgorica, Montenegro.
Tanja Jakobi conducted courses on labor rights of journalists working at local media organized by NUNS in April and May.
Jakobi also was a guest lecturer at a master’s course at the Faculty of Political Sciences, speaking about the relationship between the media and democracy. She presented the results of two CENTRE’s researches conducted within the 2014 and 2016 electoral campaigns, as well as findings of researches on the precarious status of journalists, censorship and auto-censorship in the media (as a member of research team formed by the Centre for the development of trade unionism), and about the soft censorship in the media (as an editor of the BIRN publication).
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