EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM

The Education and Training Program was established with the aim of helping non-governmental organizations in gaining professional skills for successful and effective managing of their organizations through organizing: expert and professional meetings, round tables, seminars, public discussions and through publishing brochures and handbooks useful for improving the work in non-governmental organizations.

Public Discussions and Talks on the Topic “What are Non-Governmental Organizations and What They Do?”

The goal of this program is to educate the NGO representatives, journalists and broader public on the basic concepts of the non-profit sector and NGOs, in order to “lift the curse” from the concept of NGOs as something subversive and “anti-governmental”. This is the way of motivating citizens to participate in NGOs on a larger scale, as well as of directing a greater media attention to NGOs in their local communities.

Training of NGOs for Work with Volunteers

The workshops on “The Volunteer Management” sought to consider all aspects of the volunteer management, as well as to provide answers to practical and specific questions coming up in the work with volunteers (How to create a job for volunteers? How to envisage the description of the job? How to orient volunteers? How to recruit, stimulate and award volunteers? How to be successful in the process of supervision, monitoring and evaluation of a volunteer’s work? ).
Education for the establishment of local Volunteer Centers is intended for those who are willing to establish the volunteer programs in their local communities. This development program is intended to create a small group of participants, from different areas, who understand the need for introducing such programs. The Volunteer Center organizes seminars in two parts. The first part of this training is related to closer acquaintance with our Center and similar centers in the world, and with world experiences related to these topics. The participants obtain directions for writing project proposals for this kind of initiatives. The second part of this training is scheduled a month later, so that the participants have enough time for preparing their projects. There are discussions on projects, planned initiatives and exchange of ideas and experiences, as well as on fundraising and donors. All participants get useful addresses and data, the Volunteer Center’s material and modified and adjusted material from the world experience.

Training of NGOs for Public Relations

Publishing brochures in order to advance the NGO activities

The Center regularly publishes a series of practical handbooks and brochures that help the existing NGOs to reach their program goals in easier and more effective way.
The brochure How to Establish and Register an NGO in the FR Yugoslavia was published in 1997, and reprinted in 1999. It explains the legal status of NGOs in the domestic legislation, as well as the procedure for registering new organization, including all the necessary explanations.
In 1998, The Media Guidebook for NGOs was published. Its goal is to promote the work of NGOs with the media.
Five handbooks issued by the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (USA) and designed for advancing the work of non-profit organizations were translated and published: Money, Money Everywhere, Proposal Writing, Volunteers: A Valuable Resource, Marketing - A How to Guide and Strategic Planning.
The handbooks are distributed at the seminars and within the counseling services for NGOs at the Center.
During 2000, the brochure Legal Guide for NGOs was published. It contains all instructions and rules needed after the registration of an NGO, as well as other rules related to bookkeeping, accounting, employment and labor.