SvetlanaFund

Inclusive security

The Human Security Programme at CENTAR focuses on the insecurity and vulnerability of individuals in the twenty first century. Building on the foundations laid by CENTAR’s tragically deceased co founder and long standing director, Svetlana Djurdjevic Lukic, CENTAR understands security as a human right and advocates for the creation of a society in which every individual has the opportunity to realise their full potential. Starting from its initial focus on small arms violence and domestic violence, CENTAR has gradually expanded its work to other areas of human security, including climate security and gender equality, energy security, as well as other security issues that have a direct impact on the lives of individuals and communities.

Support for young researchers in the field of human security, 2016-2023
Between 2016 and 2023, CENTAR ran an annual call for proposals within a fund that bears Svetlana’s name, with the aim of encouraging young researchers from different educational backgrounds to address contemporary threats that undermine the security of individuals in the community. This call has given rise to a series of studies that raise important questions about the position of vulnerable groups, the quality of institutions and the possibilities for embedding human security consistently in public policies in Serbia.

Projects

Year
2016
The Center for Public Policy Research conducts research on the development and changes of policies in the security sector toward the LGBT community as a vulnerable group. The aim of the project is to raise awareness of security sector reforms and policies toward vulnerable groups, with the goal of improving their safety.
Year
2016
The Center for Public Policy Research conducts monitoring of the election campaign from the perspective of the frequency with which security-related issues are raised, the solutions proposed, and the consistency within coalitions—that is, the alignment of current positions with existing party programs.
Year
2015
The project “Local Youth Security Issues and Democratic Oversight of the Security Sector” facilitated the development of knowledge about democratic oversight of the sector and enabled direct communication between young people, local authorities, and members of parliament.
Year
2015
The key goal of the project was to increase the representation of Roma women and men in the police in order to strengthen this community’s trust in the work of the Ministry of Interior, improve their security, and raise the employment rate of young Roma women and men.
Year
2015
In line with its programmatic commitment to actively contribute to improving the human security of citizens of Serbia, the Center for Public Policy Research became involved in monitoring Serbia’s OSCE Chairmanship with regard to the OSCE’s human dimension.
Year
2015
The CENTER conducted an analysis of data on incidents related to the misuse of weapons in Serbia, citizens’ attitudes toward the possession and carrying of weapons, as well as comments on weapons sighted that citizens submitted to the “Weapons Under Scrutiny” platform. This analysis was carried out for the Regional Centre for Small Arms and Light Weapons in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (SEESAC) within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which established this platform in 2012.
Year
2014
The Center for Public Policy Research, in cooperation with the Center for the Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking, conducted research in the municipalities of Sremska Mitrovica, Pirot, and Smederevo, where an increase in the number of victims of human trafficking had been recorded over the previous two years and where victims face community rejection and security risks. This research was part of a project aimed at proposing a model of high-quality protection for victims of human trafficking at the local community level.
Year
2012-2013
Discrimination against vulnerable groups (women, ethnic and religious minorities, members of the LGBT population) and attitudes toward them are almost entirely absent from the curricula of the Military Academy and the Military High School, according to research conducted by the Center for Public Policy Research. This is the first and, to date, the only study by a non-governmental organization in Serbia examining the presence of (anti-)discrimination topics in teaching within the military education system of the Republic of Serbia.
Year
2011
The project explored the perceptions of safety among members of the LGBT population and their relationship with security institutions, the police, and the military. The research was conducted through focus groups with LGBT individuals in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Niš, in cooperation with NGOs working on LGBT rights, and interviews were conducted with representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense.