Since its founding, "Lotos" has been working on developing regional and international cooperation.
This is particularly reflected in the cooperation with organizations of persons with disabilities in the countries of the former Yugoslavia and the Western Balkans. The aim of this cooperation is to develop partnerships on projects implemented in the region, exchange good practices and experiences in advocating for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. This cooperation has enabled us to learn and grow, to accept others and differences, and to build friendships and business relationships with the best in the field in which "Lotos" operates.
Many partnerships have been developed based on our commitment to cooperate with organizations from the region. "Lotos" has participated in the implementation of several large regional partnership projects:
Share see was a project implemented in partnership by Handicap International, CIL Serbia, the Association of Students with Disabilities from Belgrade, the Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro, and Polio Plus from Macedonia.
The development of leadership and advocacy capacities of persons with disabilities is a project jointly implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), CIL Serbia and "Lotos", and one of the key results of this project was the organization of the regional conference "Step towards Europe", which was held in Sarajevo in early 2005 with the participation of about 200 representatives of the government and non-governmental sectors from the countries of the region and the European Union, as well as the international movement of persons with disabilities.
In addition to the aforementioned conference, "Lotos" has organized several other large regional conferences, including the conference on universal design in 2004, the conference: "Step towards Europe Two" which was organized in Sarajevo in 2008, and as one of the partners, we were the organizers of the Conference (Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the Electoral Process and Political Life) which was organized in the fall of 2018 in Belgrade.
We are also proud of the fact that we are one of the initiators and founders of the regional Balkan Network of Disability Organizations (BIDF), which includes member organizations from six countries in the Western Balkans region.
"Lotos" is a regular member of ENIL (European Network for Independent Living), and a representative of "Lotos" is a member of the board of directors of the ENIL Foundation.
We have also been recognized by the European Disability Forum (EDF) as an organization with the necessary resources, which has enabled us to create opportunities for organizations of people with disabilities from Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in certain activities and receive information on issues of importance to people with disabilities that are currently being addressed at the European Union level.
Our commitment to cooperate, primarily with organizations of people with disabilities, has contributed to the increase in the visibility and valuation of "Lotos", and has opened up opportunities for the implementation of several partnership projects.
Our key partner organizations from the Western Balkans region are:
ADRF Albanian disability right forum from Tirana, UMHCG Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro from Podgorica, Hendikos from Kosovo Pristina, Polio Plus from North Macedonia Skopje, CIL Center for Independent Living of Serbia Belgrade, SOIH Association of Organizations of Disabled People of Croatia Zagreb, Croatia.
Our international, European partners are:
STIL Center for Independent Living from Stockholm Sweden, Threshold Center for Independent Living from Helsinki Finland, ENIL European Network for Independent Living from Brussels.
Here we have mentioned only our long-standing partner organizations, and the list of those with whom we cooperate and contact in the European region and around the world is much, much larger.