Partner country: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Norrköping and Bihac – Bosnia Herzegovina

NORBIH – Partnership with focus on the waste management area.

The initiative for the partnership arose in summer 2021 by Bosnian diaspora in Norrköping after discussions with Bosnian cities on connecting to Swedish cities for partnership and exchange of knowledge. The City of Bihac sent a formal request to Norrköping on working together in a partnership.

In order to land on a common ground and find a specific topic to start the partnership, the two local communities prepared a joint application for the Inception Phase for which they decided to initiate discussions and exchanges on the topic of improvements in environmental protection, specifically in waste management.

The application regarding Inception phase was approved in the beginning of 2022 and so far the two communities held several online meetings and organised two exchange visits which were very instrumental for identifying problems both partners would like to address through this project. The inception project has led to a decision to apply for a partnership project with a focus on waste management. As the Municipality of Norrköping is very advanced in integrated waste management and one of the top municipalities in Sweden regarding this area, the City of Bihac got a lot of useful inputs and inspiration for the design of its part of the project.

The city of Bihac has around 56,000 inhabitants and does not have an adequate integrated solid waste management system. Although all citizens have access to the waste collection service, solid waste is disposed of in the unsanitary landfill.

Over the last 10 years the city introduced waste separation at source by erecting several ”eco islands” throughout the city. In one pilot part of the city free bins were distributed to individual households for paper and plastic. Although some citizens embraced the introduction of waste separation the amount of collected separated waste is still negligible and only 1.5% of the total of 20,000 t. The reason for such a low level of waste separation is that waste is not seen as a priority within the organisation. The citizens also have low awareness about waste separation and its impact on the nature.

The municipality of Norrköping adopted a new waste management plan in 2020 with ambitious goals in minimizing the amount of waste. Unfortunately the plan is not fully implemented in the municipal organization and the project will therefore focus on implementation of the waste management plan goals. In Norrköping we will involve at least three different municipal units to be pilot units.

Overall objectives:

1. Contribute to environmental protection through better waste management practice

2. Contribute to higher environmental awareness

3. Contribute to reducing quantity of mixed municipal waste

Project Area
Environment/Climate changeTechnical Services and Infrastructure
Sustainable Development Goals
13 - Climate action
Swedish partner
Norrköpings kommun
International partner
Bihac Municipality

Human Rights Based Approach

The overall goal of the training is to strengthen the municipalities’ capacity and contribute to the ongoing and new change management processes designed to achieve socioeconomic development. The goal is also to strengthen the institutional capacity and the integration of a rights based thinking at local level and in the municipal service.

The following countries are eligible for the programme: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine.

The programme period: 2022-2023.

Participants should be politicians, officials from municipal or regional councils/administrations and representatives from civil society organizations that cooperate with the local or regional administration in the field of local democracy, decentralization, human rights and good governance.

Political presence and involvement in regional development – exchange of experiences between Sarajevo and Östergötland

The project consists of two main events, i.e. two seminars that will be organized as an arena for exchange of experiences, one seminar in Sarajevo and one in Östergötland. The seminar will give the politicians in both countries a chance to exchange experiences about the political role in regional development, regional challenges, political development strategies, and best practice and regional showcases on regional/local cooperation. 

The main aim of the project is to contribute to increased awareness and knowledge about the political role and involvement in regional development processes, and increased knowledge on how regions can use regional strategies as tools for facing future challenges.

In a long term, the project will contribute to sustainable growth in the Sarajevo and Östergötland region. 

 Expected results: The project will result in recommendations on changes concerning working methods and organization, a report on identified key issues for increased political influence in the work with development policies, and an action plan for the future work in each organization.

Project Area
Inclusive leadership and governance
Swedish partner
Regionförbundet Östsam
International partner
SERDA - Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency

Enterprise Democracy

The overall objective of the project is to create conditions towards the insight that a new democratic governance structure must be implemented to achieve societal change in all spheres and sectors.

The preparatory phase, between the municipality of Lidköping and Novi Grad Sarajevo, ended up in a cooperation project called Enterprise Democracy. The project has two main perspectives focused on civic participation. One is social entrepreneurship and the second one is the importance of social capital.

The project has focused on decision makers (politicians and municipal officials staff and administration) and NGOs working with youth. The project´s purpose and content have been well received both in the local administration, NGOs, the local business and high schools.

Project Area
Inclusive leadership and governance
Swedish partner
Lidköpings kommun
International partner
Novi Grad

Waste management – as means to increase local democracy and citizen’s influence

The overall objective of the project is to increase the level of local democracy and citizen’s possibilities to influence a sustainable development in Sarajevo Canton by providing a coherent waste management system.

The project objective is to contribute to the development of a sustainable waste management system in Sarajevo Canton, where the Canton provides necessary services for the citizens in terms of waste management. The project will in the long run create an improved infrastructure in the Sarajevo Canton in terms of waste management, which is a prerequisite for collection of household waste.

Project Area
Environment/Climate change
Swedish partner
Regionförbundet Östsam
International partner
SERDA - Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency