Round table “Development of shelter for children in Novi Pazar”

In the Regional Innovation Start-up Center in Novi Pazar, a round table took place on the “Development of a shelter for children in Novi Pazar”, within the project “Reintegration II – further support for the sustainable (re)integration of returnees in Serbia”.

The event was attended by representatives of local governments, social protection institutions and citizens’ associations from Kruševac, Pirot, Dimitrovgrad, Tutin, Sjenica, Ivanjica, Raška, Kragujevac, Belgrade and Novi Pazar. The needs for social protection, challenges and plans for the improvement of social services were discussed and experiences and results in this field were exchanged.

The focus of the conversation was on planning, financing, legal regulations as well as existing experiences in the work of the shelter in order to support the initiative of the city administration of Novi Pazar to establish a shelter for vulnerable children and youth in their city.

During the round table, representatives of the regional network of associations of social service providers IRIS (founded by the organizations ASB and IDC) presented the social services of their members and the activities of the network in this field. The IRIS network, at the moment, connects more than 200 organizations in Southeast Europe that provide various types of social services to vulnerable groups: people with disabilities, children and young people at risk, women victims of domestic violence, refugees, asylum seekers, etc.

After the round table, the guests visited the Day Care Center for children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities – Novi Pazar, where they learned more about the activities and plans for the development of this social service, as well as opportunities for cooperation.

The total value of the project for the City of Novi Pazar is EUR 310,000.00. Information about project activities, open tenders and more is available on the project’s website – www.reintegracija.net, as well as that of the City of Novi Pazar, partner organizations and the Merhamet Sandžak association, as well as the Regional Development Agency SEDA.

The project holder is ASB (Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund), the implementation partner of the Initiative for Development and Cooperation (IDC), and the beneficiary districts of the project are Pirotski, Rasinski and Raški districts. The project is financed by the funds of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ and lasts until April 2025