Our vision is that of a Europe-wide community of responsible civil society organisations which come together to voice people’s concerns and to provide solutions to the serious problems of intolerance and perceived democratic deficit in Europe. 

The Civil Society Forum from Central and Eastern Europe continues and renews traditions of cooperation and joint action of civil society organizations in Central and Eastern Europe and brings fresh ideas and energy from the region to the wider Europe, while mobilizing civil society in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) towards common advocacy objectives. The ambition of the Forum in to provide concrete solutions and recommendations for action to the European Governments and EU Institutions to strengthen  democracy and to protect essential values on which European peace and prosperity have been built: respect for human dignity, for diversity and inclusion.

2016: Democracy Matters!

The ambition of the 2016 edition of Central and Eastern Europe Civil Society Forum is to help strengthen democracy and to protect essential values on which European peace and prosperity have been built: respect for human dignity, for diversity and inclusion. In 2016 the Forum will focus on exploring the role of civil society in the new European political landscape dominated by the refugee crisis, rise of populism, spreading democratic backsliding and erosion of the liberal democracy and of the support for the European project.

We aim to discuss the most serious challenges and future trends and to explore how civil society can take greater responsibility and play a more significant role in the current context.

The main function of this year’s Forum is to consult with like-minded civil society organizations on the ideas of coordinated actions to support democracy in Europe. Several possible ideas which will be discussed include joint civic mobilization campaigns, multi-stakeholder dialogues on democracy at local and national level in countries across Europe, advocacy for coordinated response by political decision makers to democracy fragilisation and for an increased role for civil society in the existing institutional mechanisms on rule of law and democracy at EU level.

The Forum is part of NGO Fund in Romania and it is funded by EEA Grants, 2009 – 2014

           Date: November 25^th 2016

           Venue: Bucharest, Romania

Background

"Civil society activities are essential for a mature democracy, the respect for human rights and the rule of law. Such activities enhance political accountability, stimulate and expand the space for discourse on societal choices and strengthen the consensus for a pluralistic society. By contributing to a more open, participatory and dynamic democracy, a lively and vibrant civil society is also conducive to tolerance and reconciliation. The involvement of civil society organisations in the pre-accession process contributes to the quality of and public support for accession-related reforms.

A culture of acceptance and appreciation of the role played by civil society need to be in place to allow civil society organisations to engage in an effective policy dialogue. Public consultation on policy initiatives and draft laws should become the general principle. The access of civil society to government support is frequently hindered by a lack of transparency and poorly developed allocation criteria.”

(Comunication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council COM(2010) 660 final. Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2010-2011)

 

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