Once again in 2011 we will award the three best pieces which tackle some of the negative stereotypes about BiH often seen in the media!

Think Tank Populari started the DEconstruction  project  in order to use fact-based  arguments to break negative stereotypes of BIH. DEconstruction also serves as a platform for anyone who wants to respond to some of the most common biased media claims about Bosnia.

Read More

As far back as 2003, the EU pledged to begin discussions with the governments of the Western Balkans on the reforms necessary to lift the visa requirement for entering the Schengen area. This obligation was imposed on the region in the 1990s when war ravaged former Yugoslavia and when Albania was mired in chaos.

It took five long years for the promised discussions to begin. In the meantime, Macedonia became an official candidate for EU membership, while Albania`s, Bosnia and Herzegovina`s, Montenegro`s and Serbia`s "potential candidate" status was repeatedly underlined. Their citizens, however, continued having to obtain a visa to visit the EU.

In cooperation with ESI, Populari has been actively doing research in the Region of Central Bosnia. The results have been broken up and presented using various means of communication, in particular a short film. The film was part of the scheme of Deutsche Welle TV that dealt with international justice, war crimes and people on the ground living every day with those memories, and will ensure greater dissemination of the information gathered from the research. During the research, particular attention was paid to the fact that war crimes in Bosnia still play a significant role in daily life.

The Business Bus was a three-month pilot project designed to explore whether a mobile team of business professionals could be a feasible means of providing business support to small firms throughout BiH. The project drew on best practices from the UK’s Business Link model. Specifically, the project focused on relatively isolated and economically depressed areas in BiH.

PRE TV, one of leading Austrian independent film production companies is producing a series of documentaries about current developments in southeast Europe. Scheme and the content for the film series have been developed in cooperation with ESI (European Stability Initiative), a leading research institute, think tank situated in Berlin and Istanbul, and in cooperation with ORF and 3sat. In joint cooperation, series will be broadcasted as a part of their 2008 program scheme.

Ten episodes present different features of South-eastern European countries and regions, including: Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. The series explores social, cultural and political aspects of these countries.