Study Visit - The Netherlands

During the week of 10-14 May, a group of 14 civil society activists from Kosovo visited community-based organizations in three cities across the Netherlands, on a study tour organized by Community Building Mitrovica (CBM) in partnership with Center for Resources, Youth and Media (CRYM), hosted by Dutch peace organization PAX for Peace. 

A delegation of 14 women and men, representing civil society in the northern Kosovo region of Mitrovicë / Mitrovica,(NGO Mundesia (Mitrovica south); Me dore me zemer (Mitrovica south);  Prehja (Srbica/Skenderaj); Kult studio (Vucitrn/Vushtri); ACDC (Mitrovica north); AKTIV (Mitrovica north); Santa Marija (Zvecan); Media Puls (Leposavic); NGO Center for Woman Development (Mitrovica North) were engaged in meetings with Dutch organizations in Amsterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. The delegation also met with the Ministryof Foreign Affairs and the City of Utrecht.

Topics of study included tactics for community organizing in the Schilderswijk district of The Hague, how Dutch activists use creativity and social media to connect with youth, and urban renewal in Amsterdam’s area. 

At Amsterdam’s cutting-edge Butterfly Works organization, delegates explored a unique approach to social innovation, called “co-creation,” with which Dutch specialists have generated projects with NGOs, governments, and private firms around the world.

In a session with Lars Schotel, Utrecht’s Senior Organizational Advisor, delegates learned about the pioneering "city conversation" that enabled Utrecht to successfully engage citizens in developing a new energy plan. The city conversation is a model for bringing the public into policymaking, and was much admired by visitors from Kosovo.

The study tour was organized as a way for expanding the activist repertoire of CBM’s diverse allies in Mitrovicë / Mitrovica. Visitors were also introduced to several of PAX’s ongoing initiatives, such as the Stop Explosive Investments campaign and the Honest Banks Monitoring Tool, from which they drew inspiration and practical ideas for action back home.