The importance of the role of non-governmental organizations in pursuing anticorruption measures and of the exchange of experiences gained through the project “Supporting NGOs in the fight against corruption” funded by the EU were the main topics discussed at a one-day workshop Sharing best practices in the implementation of IPA 2008 and 2009 anti-corruption projects held in Sarajevo.
The workshop is one of the latest activities of the project through which the EU provides assistance in raising the level and strengthening the capacities of non-governmental organizations in BiH in the fight against corruption.
Speaking to participants of the workshop, Severin Strohal, Head of the Operations Section for Justice and Home Affairs and Public Administration Reform of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “We would like to see BiH’s accession to the European Union in the coming years, and the implementation of different laws. Of course fighting corruption is one of the essential pre conditions to move ahead with the EU agenda”.
Mr. Strohal emphasised that it is impossible that just one sector of society, whether it is the government or the private sector or civil society, fights corruption alone, but that it is necessary to combine efforts, and that this practice has shown that every successful anti-corruption measure must include NGOs.
Participants of the workshop were representatives of eight NGOs that have implemented their own anti-corruption projects in different parts of the country, and on this occasion they were awarded with certificates for successful completion of trainings within the project.
“The interest in our project was really great and I think we’ve successfully completed all of the activities. Today’s event was a great opportunity for representatives of NGOs from all around the country to highlight what proved to be a good practice and what they recommend to other organizations in their anticorruption activities” said Zoran Jachev, Project Team Leader.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the project has been implemented for a year and eight months and a conference on this topic will be the final activity of the project.
