This policy brief provides specific examples from Serbia, showcasing the power of individual actions and initiatives to bring about positive change. It discusses how citizen education plays a vital role in mobilising support for grassroots movements, as demonstrated by the successful campaign against lithium mining. Furthermore, it presents cases where individuals have used bottom-up democratic approaches to influence legislation, such as the “Marija’s Law” and “Tijana’s Law” initiatives. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of citizen assemblies and the role of civil society organisations in empowering marginalised groups.
Overall, this Policy Brief emphasises the significance of citizen participation, education, and civil society engagement in promoting democracy and achieving social change.
Bearing all this in mind, within the framework of the WB2EU project, the Policy Brief “Civil society: a driver for democratisation from below in Serbia” was created. The authors of policy brief are Radomir Aleksić, Luka Milovanović and Mirjana Đorđević.
The Policy Brief was published as part of the WB2EU project. The project aims to establish a network of renowned think-tanks, universities, higher education institutes and policy centers from the Western Balkans, neighboring countries and EU member states that will be the most determined for the process of enlargement and Europeanization of the region in the coming years. The BFPE Foundation for Responsible Society is part of this network. The WB2EU project is co-financed by the European Commission within the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet program.
