Mrrak Project – "Network for development of regional capacities"

GONG Regional office Rijeka is, in partnership with civil society organizations SMART-Association for Civil Society Development (Rijeka), Centre for Civic Initiatives (Porec) and Pokretac (Korenica), implementing three year program "Network for Development of Regional Capacities – MRAKK". The program is being implemented since the January 2007 and is financed by the National Foundation for the Civil Society Development. The goal of the project is to strengthen capacity of civil society organizations in the Counties of Primorje-Gorski kotar, Istria and Lika-Senj.

MRRAK program – Network for development of regional capacities of civil society organizations is a part of the Program of Regional Development and Strengthening Capacities of Civil Society Organizations, implemented by the National Foundation for the Civil Society Development. GONG Regional office Rijeka is the carrier of the program in the above mentioned counties, working in partnership with SMART, Centre for Civic Initiatives and Pokretac. Purpose of the Program is free of charge use of services, informing, advising and educating all interested local civil society organizations.

The MRRAK Network is working on achieving this purpose through implementing 3 groups of activities:

1. education, consultations and technical assistance for civil society organizations;
2. cooperation between local self-government and civil society organizations;
3. cooperation among civil society organizations.

During 2008, the special attention in MRRAK program will be given to development of documents that present framework for cooperation between public and non-governmental sector in a bigger number of towns and municipalities in the region, to strengthening the cooperation between civil society organizations through forums and co ordinations, and to organizations and implementation of educative workshops for civil society organizations' activists, in accordance with the prior developed needs assessment in the three counties.

It is also expected that in 2008, MRRAK program will become even more visible in the region where it is being implemented, and that partnership among organizations which implement it, will be additionally strengthened.

This article was published in Politeia Newsletter 48 - February 2008