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Helvetas Mosaic

Developing a Joint Vision for Southeast Europe

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Labeling the [Balkans]

Balkans, Western Balkans or Southeast Europe? Or maybe even European Western Balkan? We asked experts what name is best for the region.

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How Business Raises Smarter Job Seekers

Teams of development professionals in Albania & Kosovo engaged the private sector in career guidance for youth and discovered that business can do this job much better than any development project ever would.

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Women in the Balkans Between Family and Politics

There are several reasons why it is harder for women to enter politics - something that men have been doing for centuries. We asked female politicians and experts from Albania, Kosovo and Serbia to identify these barriers - and the solutions

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Get Used to Change – the Future Is Agile

Are you adapting to the changing nature of work? Dr. Vesselina Stefanova Ratcheva, a lead author of The Future of Jobs Report 2018, from the World Economic Forum, talks about her findings and their implications for development.

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Why Is The Space For Civil Society In The Balkans Shrinking?

6 common features that exacerbate the continuing decrease in space for civil society

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The 4ir Is Here. Do We Need to Design Development Initiatives Differently?

Arnaldo Pellini from the Overseas Development Institute and Vanesa Weyrauch from Politics & Ideas argue that we must keep up with the breathtaking pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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What Diaspora Has to Offer Beyond Just Sending Money Home

How can development projects engage diaspora as economic and social investors? 10+ examples from development projects.

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In Search of Decent Work and Better Livelihoods

Migrant workers face some of the most serious cases of abuse at the recruitment stage. What can we do about it?

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Migrating in the Digital, Post-COVID World

Marina Manke from the International Organization for Migration shares an optimistic message that COVID is only a short-term shock for migration. Learn why in her interview with Helvetas.

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Overcoming Mentality, Bureaucracy and Physical Barriers

Five members of the Western Balkan diaspora answer what motivates them to invest time and money in their countries of origin.

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FUTURE OF DEVELOPMENT

13 Permanent Impacts of COVID-19

The pandemic has turned our life upside down. What changes are here to stay? We asked experts from OECD, WEF, SDC, ETH and others.

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Gearing Up For The Future Of Employment

What skill sets do you need to stay relevant to retirement age? Are fears of displacement by machines grounded in evidence? Is it possible that the Western Balkans will be hit hard by automation? Stijn Broecke from OECD answers these and other questions.

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Knowledge Systems and Policy Innovation in the 4IR

Arnaldo Pellini from the Overseas Development Institute talks about the breathtaking changes happening to the world under the name of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and how they will disrupt the governance systems in place today.

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Shifting Focus From Qualifications To Skill Upgrades

Glenda Quintini, senior economist at OECD, talks about the future of skills and the strategies necessary to keep people competitive and in high demand.

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The Future Of Education: Smart Choices

The rapidly changing labor markets need well-thought-out changes in the education systems. Niklaus Waldvogel and Mitko Pestalov take a look at the future of education in North Macedonia and the Western Balkans.

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Get Used to Change – the Future Is Agile

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The 4ir Is Here. Do We Need to Design Development Initiatives Differently?

Arnaldo Pellini from the Overseas Development Institute and Vanesa Weyrauch from Politics & Ideas argue that we must keep up with the breathtaking pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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Is The Fourth Industrial Revolution A Paradigm Shift?

Dr. Shawn Cunningham from Mesopartner believes that our focus is misplaced - we are too concerned about the trajectories of physical technological change instead of the bigger issues at hand.

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How Public Services Are Changing and What We Should Do About It

Public services are going through a large-scale transformation. If you want to understand what's going on, then this article will give you a quick and easy-to-digest overview.

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Government 5.0: The Future of Public Services

Prof. Marek Kowalkiewicz and Dr Paula Dootson have worked with local, state and federal governments in Australia to reimagine their services. They share their know-how with you in this article.

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Can Development Cooperation Be Resilient to Major Crises?

There are four types of resilience, but only one of them allows development projects to create long-term impact that survives major crises.

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SOLUTIONS

Learning and Adaptation for Better Development Outcomes

Mere accumulation of knowledge doesn't generate much value – but how it's used matters. Kimon Schneider from ETH, Stefanie Krapp from University of Bern and Matthias Herr from Helvetas show how learning and adaptation render knowledge useful.

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Making Impact Count

Helvetas speaks with Violeta Jovanović, Executive director at NALED, the largest private-public business association in Serbia, about defining and assessing impact.

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The Changing Channels Of Vocational Training

Winfried Heusinger, Irene Jonda and Katharina Walker discuss the changing role of training and trainees, the growing importance of virtual programs and more.

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Going Beyond Numbers

Projects report their progress around quantitative indicators. But impact goes beyond numbers, and achieving it requires innovative approaches that sometimes fail. Katrin Ochsenbein from SDC Kosovo shares her thoughts on impact from a donor perspective.

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Taking Stock at the Right Time

Juliana Hoxha, Director at Partners Albania, takes us through an interesting journey of understanding impact and mitigating failure, keeping in sight the expectations of donors and that of the stakeholders.

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Measuring Impact, Managing Failure

Susanne Thiard-Laforet, an economist and anthropologist, from the Austrian Development Agency, outlines the donor’s perspective on impact and shares thoughts on learning from failure.

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6 Mistakes to Avoid When Working With the Private Sector

Coming from the private sector and working in development, Igor Mishevski and Elena Ivanova, founders Impact Ventures, talk not only about the common mistakes that development programs make but also give 6 tips on how to make things right.

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How Business Raises Smarter Job Seekers

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Data Driven Service Delivery

Many countries in South-Eastern Europe have established systems that measure municipal performance. Learn the What, Why and How's in this article.

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Incentivizing Municipal Performance for Better Service Delivery

Learn how Performance Based Grants Schemes improve good governance and service delivery.

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A More Inclusive Economic System is Possible. COVID-19 is a Testament

When everyone is talking budget cuts, is it really the time to bring inclusive economy to the agenda? Yes, and here's why.

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TRENDS

Why Is The Space For Civil Society In The Balkans Shrinking?

6 common features that exacerbate the continuing decrease in space for civil society

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How Much Do Governments and Societies Trust Each Other?

Here's What COVID-19 May Have Revealed.

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Freelancing – Leading To A More Adaptive Workforce In The Western Balkans

Niklaus Waldvogel and Drenusha Miftari from Helvetas believe that the Western Balkans are well positioned to use the gig economy trend in their favor.

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The Future they want

Do we really know what young people aspire for? Zenebe Uraguchi attempts to answer this question based on youth surveys from Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Albania.

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Data Driven Service Delivery

Many countries in South-Eastern Europe have established systems that measure municipal performance. Learn the What, Why and How's in this article.

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Public Services as a Universal Right

The agenda for improved public services is focused too much on state-of-the-art tools and not enough on making sure to benefit the disadvantaged. Let’s talk about equality.

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From ‘Command and Control’ to ‘Collective Governance’

Making public sector organizations work ‘better’ is one of the most stubborn challenges in development cooperation. If there is one “secret” solution to it, then it is moving to ‘Collective Governance’.

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How Public Services Are Changing and What We Should Do About It

Public services are going through a large-scale transformation. If you want to understand what's going on, then this article will give you a quick and easy-to-digest overview.

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VOICES

‘Sorry for Your Misfortune, but That’s How Things Are Here…’

Matthias Herr from Helvetas discusses why many development organizations are reluctant to engage with LGBTI issues and how we can do better.

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Women in the Balkans Between Family and Politics

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Measuring Impact, Managing Failure

Susanne Thiard-Laforet, an economist and anthropologist, from the Austrian Development Agency, outlines the donor’s perspective on impact and shares thoughts on learning from failure.

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The Future they want

Do we really know what young people aspire for? Zenebe Uraguchi attempts to answer this question based on youth surveys from Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Albania.

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Labeling the [Balkans]

Balkans, Western Balkans or Southeast Europe? Or maybe even European Western Balkan? We asked experts what name is best for the region.

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Helvetas Mosaic is a quarterly published by Helvetas Eastern European team for our email subscribers and website visitors. Our articles explore new trends and fresh ideas of international development work in Southeast Europe.

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Want to contribute to Helvetas Mosaic with an article or comment? Get in touch with us at mosaic@helvetas.org or write to one of us directly.

Coordinator International Communications

Masha Scholl

masha.scholl@helvetas.org

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Programme Manager, East Europe, South Caucuses, & Western Balkans; Senior Advisor, Sustainable & Inclusive Economies

Zenebe B. Uraguchi

zenebe.uraguchi@helvetas.org

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