How much money does Bosnia and Herzegovina lose due to youth emigration? Bosnia and Herzegovina is losing up to €21,000 per person that leaves the country, according to new research from WFD’s Western Balkans Democracy Initiative. The latest figures from 2018 show that 44,700 people left the country and according to OECD data, the favourite [...]
By Chris Levick, WFD Regional Director, Europe & Central Asia Governments around the world have introduced emergency measures to fight the coronavirus, often alongside significant financial support packages designed to cushion the economic impacts of the virus and ensure livelihoods. Within Europe we have seen some extreme examples: The Hungarian parliament – with its hefty [...]
In April 2020 almost 200 students in North Macedonia logged in to online sessions empowering them be active members of the academic community and society. Due to the measures to protect against COVID-19 in the country, students were among the first groups to change their lives with the closing down of schools and universities mid-March. [...]
Civil society organisations (CSOs) are a channel through which citizens can engage constructively with government to make sure that adequate services are provided, helping to build more inclusive and accountable democracies. Their role is especially important during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as people’s freedoms are curtailed and usual channels of engagement with government are [...]
In North Macedonia, WFD is working with persons with disabilities (PWDs), a marginalised and underrepresented group in society, to ensure their needs are at the top of the policy agenda. This work is being done as part of WFD's Western Balkans Democracy Initiative. Through the initiative, WFD has built partnerships with PWD advocacy groups to [...]
Young people in Albania show little interest in engaging with the political life in the country, a new WFD study shows: Two thirds of the youth surveyed by WFD in Albania claim that they are not satisfied at all with the current political situation in the country. Similarly, they have low trust in the democratic [...]
With the highest emigration rates in Europe, the Western Balkans face a range of economic and social consequences because of people leaving to find a better life abroad. What is more, young people are the most represented group among emigrants, so the future development of these countries will see more and more challenges. Westminster Foundation [...]
Voters examine the voter lists, Tirana. Source: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly / Flickr In September 2019, Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Albanian Enterprise Institute published a study which outlined and analysed the costs that at present are incurred by party candidates. The study reveals how much the political landscape in Albania is open to [...]
WFD works in North Macedonia to set up new ways to make state institutions more transparent, through increasing the level of scrutiny over public spending - which we believe will lead to a higher level of trust among citizens in key state institutions' capabilities. One way which the Assembly is doing this is by setting [...]
