NALAS reinforces Social Rights for vulnerable groups

The project (SoRi 3) is the continuation of the previous phases that started back in 2017 together with GIZ and the support from the German Ministry Economic Cooperation and Development. The 3rd phase officially started its implementation in December 2022 for 3-year period (until November 2025).

The Overall Objective of the project is to support the local governments and their associations in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania in strengthening the social and economic inclusion of vulnerable groups in line with the overarching principle of the 2030 Agenda «Leave no one behind».

The specific objectives are twofold: firstly, strengthening the institutional capacities of NALAS and its member associations from the project’s target economies related to the development and implementation of needs-based recommendations on social and economic inclusion of vulnerable groups; and secondly, enhancing the capacities of the local governments necessary to improve the living conditions of the disadvantaged groups through evidence-based decision making and social approaches.

On 1-2 February 2023, an orientation meeting with NALAS member LGAs from the target countries was held in Skopje. The aim consisted in preparing every focal point with regard to operational and financial management issues related to two activity packages composed of methodological steps and activities.

The main outcomes for the 3rd phase are:

• Setting up of NALAS Regional Working Group on Social Inclusion (WGSI)
• Develop a NALAS Position Paper on Social Inclusion appealing to relevant stakeholders and policy decision makers at national, municipal and regional level in SEE on improvement of the social inclusion at local level
• The development of roadmaps and recommendations on social inclusion for the member associations (action guides or plans, and other documents) that guide how to sustainably anchor the topic of social inclusion in the LGAs’ respective country contexts with focus on the 2030 Agenda’s overarching «Leave no one behind» principle.

(Picture by Nikola Aleksic on Unsplash)