Focus on: central and eastern Europe

"ERSTE Foundation will soon be one of Europes biggest, in terms of wealth and pay-outs. Our staff doubled last year and will triple in the next three years."
new perspective resulted from the contribution by the European Stability Initiative (ESI), which ERSTE Foundation has supported for many years. We commissioned economic and social development studies in CEE, on which scripts for the ten documentaries were based. Effect: What do you hope to achieve in the region in the next 5-10 years? BM: For ourselves, we want to build up expertise as one of the most active foundations in the region. In ten years, our budget for pay-outs will probably be ten times higher than today. And we want to make the region a better place to live in. For further information see: www.erstestiftung.org

Photo ERSTE Foundation

Building democracy in Bosnia country recovering from a devastating from the ground up A civil war; a state split into two mutually
By Nyegosh Dube, EFC
Zoran Pulji, Executive Director, Mozaik Foundation. Photo Mozaik Foundation

suspicious parts; a nation racked by continuing divisions between its three main communities, a cold war in parliament owing to these divisions, and lack of faith in democracy and politicians. This is Bosnia-Hercegovina today and this is the environment the Mozaik Foundation is working in and trying to change.
Founded in 2002, Mozaik is a community development foundation that works across this divided country, transcending ethnic barriers. Its strategy is to mobilise local resources and get people involved in democracy at local level to address issues that a ect their daily lives. Focusing on villages and small towns, Mozaik brings people together to formulate priorities for their community. Given the post-war nature of Bosnia, most of their priorities concern infrastructure repair and development. The foundation then co-funds projects based on these priorities, mobilising additional resources from individuals, governments, and businesses.

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European Foundation Centre | www.efc.be

Where is central and eastern Europe?

Revitalising civil society in a disappearing region
By Rayna Gavrilova, Executive Director, Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe

I must give credit for this articles title to the organisers of a conference on cultural identity, held in Switzerland in 2004 and, of course, to the well-known article by Timothy Garton Ash, Where is central Europe Now?. The question recurred with renewed urgency during conversations in the margins of EFCs AGA and Conference in Istanbul this year. The question is emphatically not geographical, so it is important to answer it from the perspective of a grant-maker with a mission to support civil society in the region.
Democracy without citizens
First of all, central and eastern Europe is by no means a homogeneous area. The concept was resurrected from the geopolitical past to dene the post-communist countries with a clear democratisation agenda and a strong pro-European drive (unlike Russia, for instance). Most are already members of the European Union or on the way to joining (Croatia). Their descent from the top of the political agenda and public attention was

Director, Rayna Gavrilova, Executive tral and Trust for Civil society in Cen t for Civil Eastern Euro pe. Photo Trus Euro pe Society in Central and Eastern

only to be expected. The societies of the new Member States were ushered into the mainstream of established functional democracies that possess developed patterns and mechanisms of representation, participation and checks and balances. The trouble with the new democracies, it turned out, is that the framework is more or less in place but representation, participation and checks and balances leave much to be desired. One of the visionary but nave assumptions at the start of the

This is a great platform that enables participation of all sides which are pretty much still divided, because the accent is not on reconciliation or peace-building but on concrete things that matter to them very much, says Zoran Pulji, Executive Director of Mozaik. Democracy starts at the community level and people at the community level need to see that participating in the democratic process actually leads to positive change. So Mozaik educates people in democratic participation, so they can see their voice matters. The focus is on tangible outcomes. While Mozaik is the only real indigenous foundation in Bosnia, it is primarily a re-granting organisation with most of its funds coming from abroad, from public donors and private foundations. Recently it has received major funding from local governments in Bosnia: an encouraging sign. Mozaik has also been encouraging business to contribute to its activities. It is also launching two businesses of its own, separate legal entities whose pro ts will be channelled into the foundation. The goal, of course, is to become less dependent on foreign donors. Pulji believes that in the next 4-5 years, at least half Mozaik's funding will be domestically generated, which for Bosnia would be a unique achievement.

Unsurprisingly, philanthropy is scarcely developed in Bosnia, given that business itself is just starting to develop. Things look positive, but everything is still at the beginning stage, so it is very di cult for foundations to have any asset accumulation, says Pulji. On top of that, individual donations are low because of the large continuing presence of international charities. People feel there's no need to donate their own money. But there is good news: Austria's Rai eisen Bank has just opened its own foundation in Bosnia and other corporate foundations are being set up. Mozaik itself is encouraging corporate philanthropy: last year it launched an annual CSR contest. As Pulji puts it, the idea is to talk to businesses in their own language, which is being competitive. While things are still tough in Bosnia because of a war where everybody lost and the resulting divisions which create difculties for business and NGOs, Pulji is optimistic: All in all, things have moved forward tremendously in the last couple of years[the country is] much more integrated. For further information see: www.mozaik.ba/eng/index.php

39 | E ect summer 2008

European Foundation Centre | www.efc.be

Focus on: central and eastern Europe