Networking Archives - Drug Policy Network SEE

Successful charity auction for the kids of HOPS

Posted on 20/04/2017 by Milutin

HOPS and “Move with your finger “ (Mrdni so prst), together with Macedonian well-known actor Sasko Kocev and a huge number of Macedonian artists have organised a successful charity auction for the kids that are visiting HOPS.

The charity auction was held on 11th April at 19 o’clock in “Public Room” for the kids whose parents are\were drug users and sex workers.

“As a lack of finances we had a great need to make a move with our fingers and to organize a charity auction in order, for the children whose parent are using our services, to continue visiting our daily center for rehabilitation and re-socialization, where they can visit their psychologist, pedagogue, social workers, where they can be creative and their creative mind will be developed, and at the same time we will give them the opportunity to participate in more social activities and visit more cultural events – said Irena Mila from HOPS, now we can organize many birthdays, workshops and events together.

Smiling faces, beautiful atmosphere, “Public Room” was full with beautiful people, Sasko Kocev in element and generous known and famous Macedonian artists, designers and writers were part of this auction. This was the picture on Tuesday evening when we all were moving with our fingers for kids that are visiting our daily center for rehabilitation and re-socialization. The goal is achieved!

We sold all the artworks and we gathered 295.692 Macedonian denars. – Irena Mila from HOPS.

“If we want to do something to the society and raise awareness about many things, we need to move just with one finger! Just imagine if we give so much effort for something and moving with our finger is just the beginning and I truly hope that we will “open” everyone eyes about a lot of marginalised groups! We have a lot of artworks that have been donated from our artists, designers, writers, also we have a jersey from our famous footballer Goran Pandev, get prepared to bid because kids from HOPS need our help!” – said Sasko Kovec in the crowded “ Public Room “ at the beginning of the auction.

The event was opened by DJ Cako, who is a proud Macedonian ambassador to the United Nation, representing people with Down syndrome, he heated up the atmosphere and made everyone to dance from the very beginning. After a short speech by Hristijan Jankulovski, CEO of HOPS, who thanked all present guests because they moved their finger and decided to help to solve the problem, which on the other hand would leave these kids without the necessary care. Besides the loud auction, there was a silent auction, where people bided on the sheet of paper for all the artworks that were donated.

After a successful auction, the evening continued with DJ Goce Saf, when literally everyone in “Public Room” was dancing. This charity auction, supported by famous Macedonian artists was meant for the children whose parents are drug users or sex workers.

How to coordinate complexity?

Posted on 26/10/2016 by Milutin

Delegation of the Drug Policy Network South East Europe with Saša Mijović, Board member, and Milutin Milošević, Executive Director, visited Bosnia Herzegovina from 3 to 6 October 2016. It was fourth in the serial of visits aimed to present DPNSEE to the society, build strong relationships with the authorities, institutions and services and explore opportunities for partnerships.

Tuzla Canton was the first stop where the delegation visited Psychiatric Clinic of the University Clinical Centre. Dr Izudin Hasanović and Dr Adnan Kuldija informed us about how suboxone was introduced and is used now. Visit to the Therapeutic Community CROPS nearby Smoluća was the opportunity to get to know their methods of work.

Our member organisation from Banja Luka “Viktorija” prepared a very intense program of visits to authorities and institutions in the Republic of Srpska. A committed team of the Methadone centre and Psychiatric Clinic of Banja Luka Clinic Centre offered a warm welcome and a lot of information about their work, including experiences they gained during the training in Israel. In Tunjice prison, just outside Banja Luka, “Viktorija” is involved in activities supporting drug users. The main message from the meeting with the prison management was that post-penalty treatment is missing to prevent recidivism.

Meeting with the representatives of the Commission for the Prevention

of Drug Abuse of the Republic of Srpska

The most interesting meeting was with the representatives of the Commission for the Prevention of Drug Abuse of the Republic of Srpska. The Committee works very efficient as a multi-sectorial team which not only meets, talks and decides but also organises activities and campaigns.

The day in Sarajevo was a good opportunity to meet with the new DPNSEE member organisation PROI. A friendly exchange generated some interesting ideas about the situation with drugs and emerging trends, especially in young population.

Friendly welcome in PROI

Meetings in the Ministry of Security and the Institute for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction in the Canton of Sarajevo provided valuable information about state respond to the issue of drugs. The Institute just recently moved to new premises which are ensuring good conditions for both customers and staff.

The Institute for the Prevention of addictions of the Zenica Doboj Canton may be taken as a role model of how work on supporting drug users (and other addicts) can be efficient and effective. They managed to both be an expert and comprehensive institution and to decentralise their work to cover large area and be available for those in need. They also support people in custody which was proved during the visit to the Zenica Prison.

Methadone centre in the Institute for the Prevention of addictions of the Zenica Doboj Canton

Welcome in Margina, the Network member organisation, ensured the delegation that their commitment is still strong and services are organised, even though the sustainability is jeopardised.

For the end of the visit, the delegation had a pleasure to participate in the meeting of the Country Coordinating Mechanism for Global Fund project. Some good news on additional funding and ideas for possible regional project were good result of this meeting.

CCM meeting in Teslić

The visit was really good opportunity to learn about a variety of issues related to drug policy in this complex and segmented country.

Meeting of the Drug Policy Network in SEE in Novi-Sad 6-8 July 2015

Posted on 16/07/2015 by Milutin

From 6 to 8 July, representatives of the organizations, that are members of the informal Drug Policy Network in South East Europe met in Novi Sad (Serbia) to discuss about establishing an umbrella organization with a legal status, building on the informally established Drug Policy Network.

The meeting started with a presentation by Ilina Nesik, representative of the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) informing the meeting about the experience of the BCSDN in its development since 2001. The Balkan Civil Society Development network is a regional sectoral network consisting of 15 member organizations, from 10 different countries of the Balkan region. It started, in the first phase, as a 3-year pilot programme (2001-2003) functioned in the second phase (2003-2008) as an informal Network and became a formalized network in the third phase (2008-2011). Ilina Nesik referred to the vision and mission of the organization, the strategic goals, the membership (eligibility criteria and the procedure to become a member) as well as the initiatives/activities of the organization. Special reference was made to the monitoring Matrix, a unique tool for monitoring the enabling environment for civil society development. During the discussion that followed the presentation, several questions have been raised about the membership especially concerning the distinction between consultative and member status, the governance, management and organization structure and the independent status of the organization.

This presentation has been followed by an introduction by Thanasis Apostolou, who outlined the development of Drug Policy Network in South East Europe and presented the project to create the umbrella organization with a legal status. Consequently, the meeting decided about the name of the new organization, which remained Drug Policy Network in South East Europe. The meeting decided to establish an independent organization, not linked to one of the existing Network’s organizations. The location of the umbrella organization will be the city of Skopje. The meeting decided to meet again on 31 of August to 3 September in Belgrade. Every organization of the Network will be represented in Belgrade by one person. The Belgrade meeting will be the constituent assembly of the new umbrella organization.