"Human rights and their respect require daily dedication"

Human rights and their respect require daily commitment, is the message of the fair where 15 non-governmental organizations from different cities were presented, which are focused on the protection of all vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, Roma and Egyptians, young people, women and LGBTIQ+ people and others.

Jovan Bojović, program director at Juventas, said that, as part of the project "At the right time - support for human rights defenders and CSOs in the field of human rights promotion and development of democratic political culture", today they are implementing a series of activities to draw attention to the importance promotion and preservation of human rights, and improvement of the state of democracy in Montenegro.

"Human rights and democracy represent the essential foundations of every society, enabling all citizens freedom, equality and justice. At a time when these values ​​are threatened, it is important that we advocate for their protection and improvement, in order to ensure a just and free society for all. Today, we organize various activities, including a panel discussion and a fair of non-governmental organizations dealing with the protection of human rights and democracy. We present the work of these organizations to the citizens of Podgorica and the way in which they can be informed about their activities," said Bojović on Independence Square, as reported by the PR Center.

He reminded that Juventas continuously promotes and works to improve human rights and greater participation of citizens in democratic processes.

"With this event, we are saying that every day should be dedicated to human rights and that it is important to talk about respecting them every day. 15 organizations from different Montenegrin cities that deal with the protection of human rights are participating in the fair of non-governmental organizations," said Bojović.

He said that organizations dealing with all vulnerable categories were presented at the fair, including those dealing with the rights of persons with disabilities, support for Roma and Egyptians, youth rights, and women's rights.

The executive director of the Network for European Policies (Master), Andrea Popović, said that the organization implements the project "I have the right" with the aim of ensuring that all citizens, especially young people, realize their rights in Montenegro.

"Our project is dedicated to informing and educating young people about human rights, so that they actively advocate for the realization of their rights in public," Popović pointed out.

Popović pointed out that the Master realizes numerous projects in the field of human rights.

"Citizens who visit our stand can see materials resulting from those projects, including guides, publications and other interesting things. We will continue to promote these materials through our activities, and all citizens are welcome to visit our social networks in order to be informed about our activities," said Popović.

The representative of the non-governmental organization Equivalent Anđela Miličić emphasized the importance of such events because they provide an opportunity to gain insight into the work of various organizations and their goals.

According to her, such events enable unity within the non-governmental sector and promote their specific messages and goals.

"The Equivalent organization primarily deals with the representation of the rights of people with disabilities, that is, marginalized groups. This event provides a unique opportunity for the promotion of activities related to the representation of the rights of persons with disabilities in areas such as employment, education, entrepreneurship, tourism, and accessible tourism for persons with disabilities," stated Miličić.

She pointed out that visitors to the NGO Equivalent stand can also get detailed information about the organization's activities in the field of tourism.

"The organization will work on the development of an application that will enable people with disabilities to access information about accessible locations in Montenegro, that is, tourist arrangements," said Miličić.

Given that Montenegro is being promoted as an important tourist destination, Miličić believes that the organization's further engagement will contribute to improving the position of people with disabilities.

After the fair, a number of other activities will be carried out as part of this project, including a workshop on LGBTIQ+ rights, a screening of the film "Where is home?" at KIC "Budo Tomović" at 18:45 p.m., and the performance "U pravo vrijeme" at Independence Square at 20 p.m., which will round off the day dedicated to respecting human rights.

The activities are financed by the Delegation of the European Union through the program European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights for Montenegro 2022 (EIDHR), and co-financed by the Ministry of Public Administration, which Juventas implements in cooperation with the organizations Help Montenegro, Center for Monitoring and Research, Kvir Montenegro and Bona Fide Open Center.