Think Tank Populari is a non profit, public policy organization based in Sarajevo, working throughout BiH.
Read here what we are focused on at this moment and about our other activities. Also read some of our reports.
In the cacophony of stories about what is to be resolved in Bosnia first, high up on the agenda among the constitutional changes, census and new political deals is also the question of exporting products of animal origin to the EU. Unfortunately, such important discussion about export was fuelled up, only once it was clear that Croatia is getting into the EU in mid-2013. To date, it still revolves around simple questions, rather than straightforward answers.
Yes, Croatia is getting into the EU.
Yes, Bosnia will have Schengen borders in the neighbourhood soon.
Yes, unless we comply with all the EU criteria not a single chicken will pass through the border starting from next year.
In the past few weeks media reported on the adoption of “Hygiene package”, but what does that mean? Is this the end of all troubles for BiH meat exporters? To explore this and many other issues interlinked with matters such is the food we eat, the meat we produce and the basic economy of it, Populari undertook research in the last couple of months that was mostly dealing with (farm) animal welfare as a central concept that relates to all the aspects mentioned. We strongly believe it is wrong to stir discussion of this scale only when borders are threatened to be closed, but we are also convinced that it is vital to provide evidence-based research on these questions as it can be one way of ensuring that decision-makers’ and public understand its importance. Feedback we have received from both decision makers, but also business sector that depends on this was a good reason for Populari to expand the research. The report addresses the food safety in terms of origin and treatment of farm animals and economy of it written within the Populari project “EU Case Studies” supported by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Download the Report
Within the 2012 Think Tanks Providing Research and Advice through Interaction and Networking Programme (TRAIN), sponsored by the German Foreign Office (Stability Pact for South East Europe) and run by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Populari undertook a study of Bosnia’s veterinary sector through a rather unique lens: animal welfare at slaughter. One of the project goals was to open a debate about the almost completely neglected animal welfare at slaughter component necessary to export to the European Union, as all attention so far has been on unmet hygiene, laboratory and disease control standards when it comes to meat export.
 |
Download the Report Additional documents 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |
As part of the project funded by the British embassy in BiH, "EU Stories", Populari has published a report titled "BiH-A Chronic Special Case?"– Bosnia's Approach to Packaging Waste Management. The paper is a study of contemporary Bosnia, its proximity to the EU standards, standard of living and economic outlook through the story of packaging waste management.
Download the Report
This policy brief examines problems inherent in post-war Bosnia, by looking at the rubbish that we all produce, toss, and forget about. By describing the current approaches to waste management in BiH, the paper explains Bosnia today. It presents two very different case studies - Bosnia's capital city of Sarajevo, and Bijeljina, town in the heart of Semberija – and makes recommendations as to how the situation may be improved.
Even in the works of the ancient Roman writers, the area of present day Bosnia and Herzegovina was mentioned in the context of production and processing of milk, in which cheese was one of the main products. However, if judging by the current strategic documents on all government levels in BiH, this tradition, alongside any potential benefits it might have in today’s economy, seems to be forgotten. While dairy as an industry is considered to be one of the country`s most important agricultural sectors with good growth potential, cheese as a final product is given little attention in these documents. Autochthonous cheese production has been preserved in rural Bosnia, but the core of BiH’s dairy industry today is milk.
Even though Croatia was not plagued by the numerous internal difficulties that BiH continues to face, its path to Europe proved neither quick nor simple, as the timeline below shows. Looking at the Croatian case, it becomes clear that accession is a complex, time-consuming process that only becomes more difficult as the acquis continues to grow. Bosnia is merely at the beginning of this process. Recognising the opportunity to learn from Croatian experience, Populari has launched the Good Neighbours project, made possible with support from the UK government.
Using concrete stories from Croatia, Good Neighbours project will examine useful segments of Croatia’s negotiation and accession processes, with a specific focus on the Food Safety and Environment acquis chapters. As Croatian experience showed, the implementation of EU standards has a direct impact on citizens’ lives in both of these sectors. Both important and very immediate for Bosnia, the two mentioned areas set a greater picture of what needs to be done in Bosnia, but also, where we stand at the moment.
For more information please visit www.good-neighbours.org
Heraldry is a worldwide thing, although in some societies it matters more than in others. Official symbols represent nations, people, governments and many other groups, even if not everyone always affiliates with them. This is a subject of political dynamics and it changes over time. To explore this issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and very locally at the municipal level, Populari gathered coats of arms from all the Bosnian municipalities. This country-wide perspective provided us with the opportunity to visually analyze the messages they transmit, and see if certain trends emerged. How relevant are the municipal coats of arms in BiH? What do they symbolize, and whom do they represent? Do they have any other purpose besides hanging in the offices, being stamped on documents, or decorating local souvenirs?
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
In 2010, the debate on international power in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still ongoing. No clear policies that would make the issue less complicated are in place. To investigate what this means outside of BiH and among 27 members of the European Union, with the support of Open Society Institute Think Tank Fund, and CEPS, under the supervision of Michael Emerson, Populari’s researcher Goran Tirak, undertook a challenge by investigating the effectiveness of the OHR when it comes to Bosnian aim towards full integration into the European Union.
download the full report
