Interim Activity Report

IPF 2006/2007

During the preparation phase in the summer of 2006, I began to familiarize myself with the main issues of and the literature on local governance and decentralization. Lawrence Pratchett, a professor at De Montfort University, UK, advised me about the relevant literature, consulted me concerning my project and helped me to prepare my interview questions.

In July I participated at the conference Local and Regional Self-Government By European Standards – Experiences, Problems and Perspectives of the Cooperation in Southeast Europe organized in Podgorica by the Association of Multiethnic Cities of Southeast Europe. The conference provided me a good opportunity to establish contacts with mayors, representatives of NGOs and EU officials dealing with the situation of local governments in the region. 

In August I took my first research trip to Sandzak, Serbia. During my one-week visit, I managed to conduct interviews in Sjenica, Prijepolje and Novi Pazar with mayors, representatives of political parties and civil society organizations. In the middle of September I organized my second field trip, which lasted for two weeks. I started my interviews in Skopje, Macedonia, where I could gather information from people working for various think-thanks about the still ongoing decentralization process in Macedonia. I took short trips from Skopje to Presevo and Bujanovac, where I interviewed representatives of the Albanian community. In the second half of the week I was moving around Vojvodina, doing interviews at the Hungarian National Council, at the Provincial Secretariat for Regulations, Administration and National Minorities and with the mayor of Zenta. For the second week I moved to Belgrade, where I was talking to researchers and professionals working for NGOs (ICG, CeSID, SCTM and others) dealing with local government reform or minority rights. I also attended the conference on Globalization, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflicts in the Balkans organized by Forum for Ethnic Relations. During my stay in Belgrade, I managed to gain a better understanding of the general political situation of Serbia, especially of the debate about the adoption of the new constitution. Based upon my work done so far, I wrote the first draft of my research paper and sent it to my group advisor.

I am planning to take another field trip to Vojvodina in order to interview more mayors, politicians and journalists from the Hungarian community. During most of my field trips, I was accompanied by a journalist working for the Hungarian TV in Novi Sad, Viktoria Toma, who helped me with translation, but also with her professional input. During my interviews in Presevo Valley she made a short film about the implementation of minority rights in Southern Serbia. The film was shown on the Hungarian TV in Novi Sad and hopefully will be soon accessible on my website. We hope to make more films, which could illustrate why decentralization would be essential for minority communities. These films could also be used while disseminating my research findings.

 
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