What has been the role of the non-profit sector in mitigating the negative effects of the coronavirus and what activities have non-profit organizations carried out in Serbia throughout the pandemic?
Civic Initiatives has carried out a study where they gathered information on the needs and challenges of non-profit organizations and their beneficiaries during the COVID-19 crisis. The analysis that included 145 organizations, largely from Belgrade but also from other parts of Serbia, has shown that the most frequent activities of the civil society included providing humanitarian aid, monitoring activities of institutions, psycho-social support, providing information and advocating urgent amendments to the crisis-relevant regulations.
A large number of activities that non-profit organizations carried out in Serbia during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, such as providing legal aid, psycho-social support and training, were realized online.
Another conclusion Citizen Initiatives drew from their analysis was that civil society organizations took over the role of the state during the pandemic in providing necessary support to the most vulnerable social groups.
You can learn more about this study by watching a video where Bojana Selaković, Program Director of Civic Initiatives, talks about the activities and achievements of non-profit organizations in Serbia during the pandemic, as well as about the challenges they faced on a daily basis.
One part of the study refers to donations and giving for mitigating the negative effects of the coronavirus in Serbia. Citizens, companies and non-profit organizations demonstrated solidarity and supported the community in the fight against COVID-19 with various donations. According to our research, almost a half of all donations were intended for the purchase of medical equipment, with the corporate sector as the largest donor.
You can learn more about this and other topics regarding the functioning and activities of the non-profit sector in Serbia by watching two videos from the series ‘Serbia at the time of Corona – Facts and Achievements’, where Bojana Selaković, Program Director of Civic Initiatives, talks about the role of the non-profit sector during the pandemic.
‘Serbia at the time of Corona – Facts and Achievements’ is a project implemented by the European Movement in Serbia, in partnership with Beta News Agency and with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office.
