Bosnia and Herzegovina: Social protection and inclusion
PIN has a long history of supporting people with disabilities and transforming social service provision in the Balkans and southern Europe where people with disabilities share common challenges and face similar obstacles. Many countries in this region share a legacy of Soviet-influenced social policies which focus on segregated, state-run institutionalised care. As such, PIN has been working to translate positive experience gained in the Czech Republic to other countries and contexts in south-east Europe, including BiH.
Our efforts in BiH focus on bringing about long-term change and the transformation of the system and services for people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. The present system of social welfare in BiH does not reflect modern approaches to welfare and human rights for citizens with disabilities. PIN’s social inclusion projects in BiH aim at reducing discrimination, promoting equal opportunities for people with disabilities, and ultimately replacing large-capacity residential institutions with Independent Living services that support people with disabilities to live, work and socialise freely in their society.
Ongoing aid
My Work – Economic Opportunities for People with Disabilities
My Work, a project based on the previous experience of People in Need in Bosnia and Herzegovina, focuses on local people with mental and psychosocial disabilities. PIN helps to promote social inclusion, improves job opportunities, and strengthens the position of people with mental disabilities and their rights in society. The partners of this project are the local non-profit organization Nešto Više and the ProReha association. The Czech expertise with integration of people with disabilities into the labor market is mediated by the non-governmental organization Rytmus, o.p.s. s, which has extensive experience in this field.
People in Need Addresses Energy Poverty in Bosnia with Green Homes
In May 2019, PIN Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with 16 expert partners, launched a two–year European Union-supported project called SMARTER Finance for Families. Under the auspices of Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation program, the project aims to make “Green Homes” and “Green Mortgages” more widely available to consumers in 12 European countries. PIN’s work is to make these accessible to lower income beneficiaries in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond.
After months of data-gathering, we supported the development of 12 country-specific guides explaining the financial, energy and health benefits of green buildings. Developers and investors will be able to read about good practices from their own countries in their local language.
Public authorities interested in solving the energy poverty issue in their communities will be able to benefit from a catalogue showcasing successful projects from all over Europe, as well as briefs explaining how SMARTER can help design and launch subsidized green mortgage products for low income families.
Equipped with credible data, PIN advocates for financially inclusive products and supports the development of new projects addressing energy poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond.
Interested in learning more? Explore some of our key documents or visit the project website.
- 2 pager for developers of pilot projects for low income families
- Catalogue of energy poverty projects
- Green Homes & Green Mortgages: A Toolkit for Residential Investors & Developers ENGLISH, CZECH, BSH
This project has received funding from the European Union‘s Horizon 2020 Coordination and support programme under grant agreement No 847141.
The cover photo is only illustrative.
Support of inclusion of persons with disabilities into the society
In the years 2015-2018, People in Need, together with three selected local NGOs (SUMERO in Sarajevo, Sunce in Mostar and Zajedno in Banja Luka), sought to change this system through deinstitutionalisation and to run an awareness campaign to help the public to overcome their prejudices. As part of their joint project, People in Need mainly provided transfer of the Czech Republic's know-how and examples of good practice in this area. One of the main outcomes was the support to its clients to move from residential institutions to independent (community) housing that can provide them more dignified social conditions and that increases their chances of self-realisation. Some of the clients used opportunity to upgrade their professional skills, gained new work experience and applied it on the labour market.
The activities of PIN continue in 2019. Students of law, psychology and social works from the Universities in Sarajevo and Banja Luka will be better educated in the field of self-advocacy of PwD. They will also establish a direct cooperation with PwD who are fighting for their rights. Together, the students and self-advocacy groups will create the educative materials and, through media, work on raising awareness within the Bosnian society. Next activity planned is to establish a negotiation process about self-advocacy legislation with the politicians on the entity level.