Inclusion and Economic Empowerment in the Western Balkans

The goal

The overall goal is to improve the living conditions of marginalised, vulnerable population groups in the Western Balkans countries through economic empowerment and inclusion (job creation) and cross-border cooperation and exchange.

Description

Economic empowerment, Resocialisation, and Local initiatives make up the three main pillars of this programme aimed at inclusion and economic empowerment.

Economic empowerment

By focusing on vulnerable, marginalised population groups in the countries of the Western Balkan, the programme encourages the creation of new jobs with grants in equipment for the development of entrepreneurship, focusing on sustainable “green” businesses and providing tailor-made business and vocational training.

Resocialisation

Returning to society after serving a sentence requires comprehensive support from within the prison to the post-penal period. Based on the principle of “assistance towards self-reliance”, the forms of support entail equipping prisons with workshops, customised business and vocational training sessions and specialised training for prison professionals.

In the post-penal period, the support envisaged is in-kind grants for former prisoners for self-employment and employment and cooperation with relevant local organisations.

Local initiatives

In supporting the local community initiatives to enhance the inclusion of vulnerable population groups, the programme will mobilise public and civil resources in joint actions to ensure no one is left behind.

The programme relies on regional cooperation to facilitate sustainable development growth, maintaining existing and building new partnerships, and engaging local communities in a range of innovative and environmentally friendly activities to enable inclusion and economic empowerment of the Western Balkans people ensuring no one is left behind.