OFFICE FOR MULTIETHNIC AND MULTICULTURAL INTEGRATION NIŠ, YUGOSLAVIA
The inaugural assembly of the Office MECI was held in 2000.
The mission of the Office MECI are as follows:
- activities of the Office MECI are based before all on the idea of stressing the dominant characteristic of City of Niš and the region in minorities', cultural and other social segments, with the tendency to present that environment as a new, integral and uncovered multiethnic and multicultural space;
- permanent inslusion, presence and monitoring of multiethnic and multicultural problems, as well as their solving by means dilogue;
- decentralization of Serbia - better conditions for development of multiethnic and multicultural communities, grater participation in the work of local independance (self-government).
The aims of the Office MECI are as follows:
- Meeting the culture of the Balkans nations
- Developing of tolerance and dilogue of different entities and on the local communities' level;
- Protecion and promoting of ethnic groups' and national minorities' and multicultural questions;
- Developing of the conscience about the contents and protection of minorities' and human rights;
- Stimulating of peaceful conflict resolution and non-violent solving of problems;
- Education of modern civil-oriented individual, capable to take care of minorities' and multicultural questions;
- Advancement of women's right and protection;
- Offering of humanitarian and other help to the citizens;
- Development and promotion of informing and education
- Building of civil society.
The programmes of the Office MECI is realized through follows:
- Educational programmes: seminars, sessions, trainings, round tables, public debates;
- Building of NGO web: work on connecting of NGOs, firstly on the local and the regional level, and then on the national;
- Programmes of representations and lobbing:
- Media programmes: training of personnel for dealing with minorities' and multicultural questions;
- Counseling offices for ethnic minorities' subjects: informative-documentary coulciling officces;
- Bringing out requirements, giving suggestions, offering information about our work, problems wnd need;
- Producing of the projects which regulate better social status and understanding for development of multiethnic communities;
- Creating the places for meeting different national, cultural and ethnic groups.
