Brčko Socio-Economic Inclusion Project Presented in Bratunac

The highly successful Socio-Economic Inclusion Project, aimed at supporting the employment of marginalized groups and implemented with the support of the Government of the Czech Republic and the Czech Development Agency, in partnership with the Government of Brčko District and the Brčko District Development and Guarantee Fund, and implemented by CARE International, is nearing completion after almost three years. The positive experience from Brčko District could serve as a model for other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Bratunac Municipality is one of the local communities that expressed interest in implementing the Socio-Economic Inclusion Project in its own area by responding to the SEI-Brčko public call. The project has resulted in the employment of around fifty people from target groups, including women, young people, persons with developmental difficulties, and members of the Roma minority,” said SEI Entrepreneurship Expert Željko Novaković while presenting the project and highlighting positive practices from the Czech Republic, Montenegro and Serbia, which also contributed to the establishment of the first social enterprise in Brčko.

Novaković added that, during the presentation, he also spoke about Brčko’s first social enterprise, the “Optimus” printing company, which will employ members of the Roma minority, a person with developmental difficulties, and a person who has experienced violence.

“I tried not only to use the example of Brčko’s social enterprise, but also the one in Tuzla, to present the entire concept in terms of the realistic opportunities available to a local community such as Bratunac Municipality, so that the initiative could potentially be implemented here as easily as possible,” Novaković emphasized.

Speaking about the origins and development of the SEI Project, Ivana Pirić, representing the Brčko District Development and Guarantee Fund, emphasized the importance of strong coordination among all project stakeholders, from the local to the donor level. She also highlighted the crucial role of media coverage in presenting the project’s achievements, with the support of local and other media outlets whose correspondents are based in the District.

“Support from local media was extremely important to us because without it, the project would not have been nearly as visible. However, we paid particular attention to our own website, where all implemented activities were published not only in our local language but also translated into English. In this way, we opened the website directly to the donor as well, enabling them to follow the most important developments within the project on a daily basis,” Pirić emphasized.

The presentation was also followed closely by Nada Marković, President of the “Maja” Kravica Women’s Association, who did not hide her enthusiasm about what she had heard and seen.

“I have been following the Socio-Economic Inclusion Project and its implementation in Brčko from the very beginning, and I believe that some excellent things have been achieved. Wherever possible, these practices should certainly be replicated in Bratunac Municipality, and as soon as possible,” Marković stressed.

The presentation was attended by several heads of municipal departments and representatives of the Bratunac municipal authorities. The host, Vjekoslav Stevanović, Head of the Economic Development Sector, described the Brčko SEI Project as highly valuable and expressed an interest in applying its experience in the local community.

“In this regard, the contacts established today and the personal connections we have made are particularly important to us. They will certainly strengthen our cooperation, which I believe will become even more intensive after we officially brief the Mayor and all my colleagues about today’s meeting,” Stevanović emphasized.

Branislav Tanasijević, Project Manager at CARE International for the Balkans, based in Sarajevo, believes that Brčko’s positive SEI experience can also be replicated in Bratunac.

“It is more than clear to us that it is not enough to create a successful story only in Brčko District. It is essential to implement its positive elements in other parts of the country as well, so that the Socio-Economic Inclusion Project, with all its components, can bring as many benefits as possible to other local communities across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Why not Bratunac as well? I would say that the project has generated significant interest among representatives of the local authorities and the civil society sector operating in this community,” Tanasijević emphasized. He concluded by announcing that, by the end of the month, the Socio-Economic Inclusion Project will also be presented to officials in the municipalities of Travnik and Derventa.

Radio Brčko