This site is developed by the Applied Research and Communications Fund in Sofia (www.arc.online.bg) under a two-year project sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Southeast Europe Online is designed as a Balkan portal site focusing on creating a virtual network of NGOs in Southeast Europe. The project covers seven countries: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FR Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Romania .

The Balkans cannot be reconstructed on the basis of nation states alone. The only way to peace, stability and democracy in the region is to create an open society through strengthening the capacity of NGOs in Southeast Europe. SEE Online will support experience and information exchanges, facilitate partnerships among organizations in the region and integration with counterparts in Western Europe and the U.S., and assist linkages with international donor agencies.

The project suggests a pooling together of the information resources of NGOs in SEE into a single Internet platform. The Internet allows NGOs to access a wealth of information and increase the visibility and recognition of their contributions to a world wide audience.

We hope SEEOL to be a virtual meeting point for civil society, as well as a hub of information on the World Wide Web for countries in the region. Through this platform, NGOs will have the opportunity to publicize their initiatives and gain awareness of what is happening in other SEE countries in the spheres of democratic development, political and economic reform, media freedom and human rights.

All resources are maintained in database format in order to allow convenient navigation and searching by categories and key words.

The following information components are available:

SEE News & Media Index - news digests on developments in the region, presentation of national media by country.

NGO Forum - a searchable directory for civil society in SEE aimed at helping NGOs to locate appropriate partners for projects involving SEE countries

Social Investors Map - information about grants, funding opportunities and grantmakers covering regional needs

Country Info - basic country profiles, links to important resources on each country

Library - analytical reports, documents and publications produced by national and international organizations, institutions, think tanks and policy research institutes

Reconstruction & Development - post-conflict reconstruction information for regional businesses, links to business associations, a guide to national legislation

Integration & Enlargement - focuses on events, programs and documents related to the integration of the region into the Euro-Atlantic institutions

Events Calendar - information about conferences, training seminars and other events in the region