ENSURE project has just kicked off!

European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina is one of 14 partners of an international project called ENSURE, which stands for: European Network for the Cohesion and Solidarity in Rural Areas. The project has just started!

ENSURE project has successfully passed European Commission’s criteria in June 2017. This enabled partners to cooperate for the next two years as an international Network. The partners come from 13 countries – 12 of them come from the European Union, and 2 are its neighbors from Serbia and Montenegro. Thanks to this great mixture, the partners will be able to exchange experiences with regard to different EU policies, like EU structural funds, EU education programs, or the Common Agriculture Policy. Six of the partners are public bodies, five are federations and bodies representing local authorities, one is a regional authority, and 2 are NGOs. This is another asset, because it will bring together public authorities and civil society organizations.

ENSURE addresses day-to-day issues which are prevalent for rural citizens, such as: local development, cross-border mobility of agricultural workers, or food safety. By bringing up issues that acquire great interest among citizens, ENSURE can hit such questions as: the decline of support of the EU, Euroscepticism and the EU citizenship.

The first ever face-to-face project meeting was held from 18 to 20 October in Slovenska Bistrica (Slovenia). Its host – Development Information Center Slovenska Bistrica has provided networking sessions, study visits and project management workshops. During this event, the partners could confirm the project schedule and working methods, but first of all – they could get to know each other better. They have concluded the meeting by signing a Partnership Agreement. The next project Event will be held in April 2018 in Croatia.

Stay tuned for the latest updates at: https://www.facebook.com/ensurenetwork/ 

The project is co-financed by the European Union, Europe for Citizens Program.