Introduction[edit | edit source]
The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) is a nonprofit organization that helps communities grow stronger through sustainable living projects..[1] The organization defines a sustainable community as one that “one that is economically, environmentally, and socially healthy and resilient.”[2]
“We never come to a country or community and say, ‘This is how you do it.’ We always take great pains to engage the local people and to work with local nonprofits. While we can't provide all the answers, we can offer some hope, some technical assistance and education that can help people solve their own problems.” — Madeleine M. Kunin, Board Member and Founder, ISC
ISC works in 21 countries around the world, including Russia, China, the United States, Serbia and Poland. It was founded in 1991 by Madeleine Kunin. The Vermont-based company has offices worldwide, in China, Serbia, Washington D.C., and Kosovo.[3]
Involvement in Serbia[edit | edit source]
ISC is currently working with Serbian nonprofit organizations in order to better serve the people and to help them gain heightened recognition among influential entities in the country.[4]
The Green List[edit | edit source]
The Green List, an alliance of 12 nonprofit groups in Serbia organized volunteers to take part in helping to collect trash throughout the country. To date, over 525 cubic yards have been collected.[5] One such project, Oplaneti Se!, which roughly translates to “Planetize Yourself”, is a campaign created by The Green List that mobilizes community members to taking part in environmental activities, such as trash removal, tree planting and environmental education.[6]
Visibly Better[edit | edit source]
Visibly Better is a campaign that uses different forms of media in order to bring attention to a variety of organizations throughout Serbia that work to make the country a better place.[7]
"Society, much like an individual, changes, grows and evolves. Just as an individual can not go through important changes alone, neither can a society without citizens gathered around shared ideas and interests." — Visibly Better
ISC Partners[edit | edit source]
The ISC is reliant upon its partner organizations in order to be successful.[8] These organizations include the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund, Civic Initiatives, the European Center for Non-Profit Law and SMart Kolektiv.
Balkan Community Initiatives Fund[edit | edit source]
The Balkan Community Initiatives Fund is an organization that motivates Serbian citizens to actively participate in changes within their country. It was founded in 1999 by Jenny Hyatt in response to the bombing of Serbia by NATO.[9]
Civic Initiatives[edit | edit source]
The Civic Initiatives is an organization with the goal to “strengthen civil society through education, promotion of democracy and support of active citizenship.” It was founded in 1996 by a group of activists.[10]
European Center for Non-Profit Law (ECNL)[edit | edit source]
The European Center for Non-Profit Law seeks to create a “legal environment enables people and their organizations to shape their society through voluntary action.”[11]
SMart Kolektiv[edit | edit source]
The SMart (Social Marketing Artisans) Kolektiv is an organization that uses various forms of social media in order to promote change within Serbia. It was founded by Neven Marinovic.[12]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20140716050302/http://www.iscvt.org:80/what_we_do/
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20140716050302/http://www.iscvt.org:80/what_we_do/sustainable_community/
- ↑ http://www.iscvt.org/who_we_are/history/
- ↑ http://www.iscvt.org/where_we_work/serbia/
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20140720074734/http://www.iscvt.org:80/how_weve_helped/green_list/
- ↑ http://www.oplanetise.com/
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20130711203014/http://www.iscvt.org:80/where_we_work/serbia/article/visibly_better.php
- ↑ http://www.iscvt.org/who_we_are/partners/
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20130630012341/http://www.bcif.org:80/en/About_Us.htm
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20140314080209/http://www.gradjanske.org:80/page/about/en.html
- ↑ http://www.ecnl.org.hu/index.php?part=01aboutecnl
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20120625050110/http://www.smartkolektiv.org:80/cms/item/communications/en.html
