NINETEENTH COORDINATIVE MEETING OF NGOs AND GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES AT THE ROYAL PALACE

Belgrade, 22 July 2003 – Organized by HRH Crown Princess Katherine at The Royal Palace today, there was the nineteenth coordinative meeting of the Government representatives, Commissariat for Refugees, international NGOs, UN agencies and organizations, local and international Red Cross.

Today’s meeting was dedicated to the problems that NGOs are facing in their work, due to lack of good management strategy, which is the consequence of the transition period our country is going through.

The participants were addressed by the Deputy Head of OSCE mission in Serbia and Montenegro Mr. Mark Davidson and the advisor of the European Center for Peace and Development Prof. Dr. Predrag Misovic. Short and long term solutions were proposed as well as the ways in which NGOs can assist our institutions.

Special attention was paid to creating efficient management that would be oriented to assisting NGOs which have played an important role in our region for the last ten years. During last few months NGOs have been closing their offices and moved to other, mostly war-torn places. Many of our institutions are going to be partly left without funds that enabled their efficient work. Implementing the strategy of good management the difficulties are going to be overcome, and the activities are going to be continued.

The next meeting was scheduled for 17 September 2003, when the second anniversary of the Foundation of HRH Crown Princess Katherine is going to be marked