The founding assembly of the Rural Development Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina was held on April 25, 2014 in Sarajevo at the Radon Plaza Hotel. With the successful work and conclusions of the founding assembly, Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time received a formal network of civil society organizations dealing with rural development.
At the founding assembly, the founding decision was signed by 18 organizations from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among these organizations were five local action groups operating in BiH. In the working part of the Assembly, the Statute was adopted and the governing bodies of the Network were elected, taking care that the entire territory of BiH is covered and has its representative in the Management Board. The seat of the Network will be in Banja Luka, and Mr. Miodrag Matavulj was elected President of the Network, as a candidate on behalf of the Agency for Cooperation, Education and Development – ACED.
In the ceremonial part, the establishment of the Network was supported by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, the Harmonization Office, the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, the Directorate for European Integration, UNDP and others.
Natalia Dianiskova, Head of the Department for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, said that “the European Union attaches great importance and provides technical assistance for greater participation of civil society organizations in democratic processes and better cooperation between civil and public sector at all levels of government. ”
On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Mr. Pejo Janjić, Head of the Department for Rural Development, expressed his satisfaction and support for the establishment of the Network. In his address, Mr. Janjic especially emphasizes that: “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry recognizes this Network and LAGs as partners in the process of transmitting information on measures, in creating projects, writing applications, and informing the public.”
In addition to the representatives of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the establishment of the Network was welcomed and magnified by guests from the European Union: Radim Srsen, President of the European LEADER Association for Rural Development from Brussels (ELARD), and Goran Soster, President of PREPARE Network. The guests of the founding assembly were also representatives of networks from the region, Matija Zamlječanec on behalf of the Croatian Network for Rural Development, and Dragan Roganović, president of the Network for Support of Rural Development of Serbia, and Ratko Bataković, president of the Network for Rural Development of Montenegro. In his address, Mr. Roganović invited the Rural Development Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the Balkan Rural Development Network, which is in the process of being formed, and the invitation for membership was sent by ELARD and PREPARE network.
The initiative for networking of civil society in the field of rural development is supported by the ACoRD project (Alliance for Joint Rural Development), funded by the European Union and supported by the Swedish development organization We Effect. The ACoRD project is implemented by the Agency for Cooperation, Education and Development – ACED in partnership with four organizations: REDAH from Mostar, UG “Nešto Više”, LAG Una-Sana and EU partner European LEADER Association for Rural Development (ELARD) from Brussels. One of the main goals of the AcoRD project is to support the establishment of the Rural Development Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be a strategic partner to all relevant institutions in the country’s rural development.
