Crisis Unit “Citizens United for Serbia” Founded by Civic Initiatives

In response to the heavy floods in Serbia, Civic Initiatives opened a Crisis Unit “Citizens United for Serbia” (#Udruzeni) in their headquarters in Belgrade. The Unit is now coordinating the activities of more than 150 civil society organizations that are engaged in helping endangered citizens. Furthermore, The Unit has started developing plans for activities that will be implemented after the water from flooded areas retreat. The Crises Unit is gathering the information about any kind of help that CSOs are able to offer, in order to plan and implement support measures for the government and the affected population in the period after the withdrawal of the water. Also, Civic Initiatives alarmed international civil society networks, international organizations and donors and requested help for Serbian citizens. The Unit will continue with its work as long as the situation requires our active engagement.

#Udruzeni in numbers
#Udruzeni hassuccessfully coordinated more than 95 activities, by sending volunteers to the locations where they were needed most, arranging transport of goods, as well as locating the mentioned goods, and sending it to the places which had the most urgent need of the goods at the given moment.

Establishing a base for the days after - Strategic approach 
Based on the experience acquired from the operation of the crisis committee #Udruzeni, cooperates with domestic and international experts in the area of emergency situations (with a special focus on floods), as well as international organizations, Civic Initiatives established a ''Help to Help" strategy including: Helping citizens to help - Helping civil society to help – Helping institutions to help.

For more information please visit the website: www.udruzeni.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/Udruzeni and Twitter: https://twitter.com/Udruzeni; hashtags: #Udruzeni #DaniPosle #poplave

Youth in Action Participants Promoted a Flood-Movies
A group of 20 young people from eight European countries, participants of the project ‘’Initiatives Agenda’’ supported by the EU program Youth in Action, are promoting the short videos with which they wish to raise consciousness in their countries about the catastrophe which happened in the Balkans and the need to collect aid for victims of the floods.

Links to the films: film 1, film 2 and film 3.

Photo: Youth in Action promoting flood movies.

Information provided by Višnja Filipović, Civic Initiatives.