The second expert workshop within the Socially Just City Initiative was held on 21 March 2024 on the premises of the Assembly of the City of Pirot. The Socially Just City Initiative has been implemented in accordance with the goals and measures of the Strategy for Sustainable Urban Development of the Republic of Serbia until 2030 adopted by the Government in 2019 (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 47/2019). The Socially Just City Initiative is also in accordance with the New Leipzig Charter adopted by the European Union in 2020 as a common framework for urban development policy in the Member States, and it is a reference for neighbouring and candidate countries such as the Republic of Serbia.
The Socially Just City Initiative has been implemented within the framework of German-Serbian development cooperation (administered by GIZ), with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) which supports the implementation of the Study and Expert Fund measures. The Initiative aims to improve an integral approach to urban development based on the participation of citizens in the planning and governance of urban areas and is intended to focus on socially vulnerable groups in urban areas. The cities in Serbia where the implementation of the Socially Just City Initiative began in 2023 and continues into 2024 are Pirot and Užice.
The workshop held in Pirot was focused on the location of the ZIP Centre for youth in the city of Pirot and the possibility of implementing the concept of a socially just city in this local self-government unit. The participants of the Expert workshop were the members of the Socially Just City Initiative working group, the representatives of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure as well as the representatives of the Agency for Spatial and Urban Planning of the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of European Integration, the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, the partner cities of Užice and Pirot, and also the representatives of civil society organizations involved in the implementation of the Socially Just City Initiative.
In the introductory part, the representative of the Agency for Spatial and Urban Planning of the Republic of Serbia informed the attendees about the Agency’s launch and greeted them on behalf of the newly-formed Agency, talked about the upcoming National Urban Forum where The Socially Just City Initiative would be presented within an appropriate session, and also took an active part in discussions and group work during the workshop.