Final conference on the project “REINTEGRATION II – further support for the sustainable (re)integration of returnees in Serbia”
Reintegration and social inclusion – Challenges and opportunities for the development of new and existing social services
February 26, 2025
Belgrade, February 26, 2025 – In the organization of ASB and IDC, the final conference of the project “Reintegration II – further support for sustainable (re)integration of returnees in Serbia” was successfully held in Belgrade, dedicated to reintegration and social inclusion, as well as challenges and opportunities for the development of new and existing social services.
The “Reintegration II” project was implemented over four years in the Raski, Rasinski and Pirot districts, with the aim of supporting returnees and vulnerable local populations in central and southern Serbia.
Key results of the project were presented at the conference:
- Starting 102 small businesses through the awarding of grants in the form of equipment, machines and materials.
- Employment of 120 beneficiaries at 51 employers, with subsidies for the creation of new jobs.
- Support for 90 beneficiaries through retraining in order to improve competencies on the labor market.
- Organization of more than 1,160 inclusive workshops within the Good Neighbor Clubs, in which over 2,350 children and young people participated.
- Implementation of five social initiatives aimed at strengthening social services at the local level.
- Conducting training for more than 60 representatives of the public, civil and private sectors in order to strengthen the capacity of inclusive mechanisms.
- Reaching an audience of 6,790,000 unique views of information related to the project.
The conference was attended by Mrs. Hannah Elten, head of the political department of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Serbia, representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, the National Employment Service, as well as the mayors of the cities of Novi Pazar, Pirot, Kruševac and the president of the municipality of Dimitrovgrad. In addition, the project partners, representatives of associations, civil society organizations and project beneficiaries were present at the conference.
During the conference, participants discussed the improvement of the social service system, the development of multisectoral partnerships, models of employment support and the importance of institutional and psychosocial support. Within the panel, examples of good practice were presented and opportunities for further development of social services and inclusive policies were discussed.
The ASB and IDC organizations thank all participants of the conference for their active contribution and invite all relevant actors to continue joint work on the support and integration of returnees and vulnerable groups in Serbia.