Politics out of my pocket

Through this project, the second generation of the TAG group (TAG 2.0.) empowers politicians in the Local Elections 2016 in the field of budgeting and influencing decision-making in the budget adoption process.

The participants of this group were women from 25 local communities in the municipalities of Tešanj, Prijedor, Ilijaš, Zenica, and Goražde.

During 2014, from the largest mentoring program for women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in the Western Balkans region, a group for support of women in politics (TAG) was formed, consisting of women trained to provide support in the field of communication, election campaigns, advocacy.

TAG 2.0. the second generation of this group specializes in the field of budgeting and budgeting of local governments, which provided support to women candidates in the 2016 local elections.

Involving citizens in the political process is an essential part of the democratic process and is a challenge for any country, especially for young democracies such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Communities need new energy and active citizens, which can only be achieved by networking all decision-makers and engaging them in dialogue.

Members of TAG 2.0. groups (trainers in the field of local government budgeting), politicians, and citizens (mostly women) discuss important issues related to budgeting, which serves as a platform for sharing ideas that would help the development of local communities and motivate women to get actively involved in politics by voting.

Since budgeting is a very specific area of ​​expertise and politicians come from various professions, budgeting education is necessary and useful for their work. It is even more important for women politicians to attend budgeting training so that they can promote gender-sensitive budgeting.

Women in rural areas are discriminated against for many reasons. They come from less developed areas, possess a lower rate of access to education, and have less power in the decision-making. By expanding and deepening women’s participation in the allocation of public resources, we encourage the process of building inclusive communities.

Project activities included training for women candidates in the 2016 Local Elections in five local communities and holding 25 sessions in local communities, holding 5 workshops at American Corners in Doboj, Trebinje, Brčko, Sarajevo, and Mostar, and holding public hearings in Tešanj, Ilijaš, Zenica, Goražde and Prijedor.

TAG supported 40 women candidates from 12 political parties in the 2014 General Elections and held free TAG workshops in 14 cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additional information about TAG can be found on the website:.