05 October 2022/
On behalf of the Peace Nexus Foundation, as one of the earliest and most reliable partners of the Western Balkans Fund, Ms Catriona Gourlay, Executive Director, delivered her remarks through a congratulatory video during the 5th Anniversary Reception.
Transcript
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Hello.
This is Catriona Gourlay from Peace Nexus Foundation.
I am the Executive Director, and I am very sorry I cannot be with you in person today, but I would like to share the message from Foundation and all the staff that work here to congratulate you on your Fifth Anniversary today.
When we first started our journey together, when we met you back in 2017, you were already a great idea, and you had the backing of the Foreign Ministers from the Region, which was exceptional, so we were absolutely convinced we would like to help you succeed.
Five years later, we have seen that idea turn into a reality beyond our expectations. And I would like to say that is largely due to your team, to your diverse and your very dedicated team, but also the Council of Senior Officials, that support you and of course the fact that you have achieved impact as you have is because of the Civil Society you support being resilient and vibrant in the Region, and they just needed your support to accelerate their impact.
So, over the last five years, what was an idea has now become a real organization with clear grant-making structures and strategy and a number of internal procedures that had to be set up.
We know this wasn’t easy, and we have accompanied you through a number of dilemmas and decisions you had to take that were difficult, but we see you now as a strong and resilient organization, and we really look forward to following you in the next five years and seeing you grow from strength to strength and already want you to congratulate you on coming so far and on your fifth anniversary.
Happy birthday
