“Acting in partnership with as many civil society organisations (CSOs) and other relevant stakeholders as possible, as well as maintaining regular consultations and building good relationships with decision-makers, are key factors for effective advocacy and participation in local policy-making,” was highlighted during the online debate: “The Participation of Civil Society Organisations in Local Policy-Making,” organised by the project team of “EU Support to the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2” on 17th December 2024, via the Zoom platform.
The goal of the event was to encourage a discussion about the role of CSOs as catalysts for positive change in communities and how they can influence local policies to improve the quality of life in the community.
Zlatko Talevski, regional expert for the Pelagonija region under the “EU Support for the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2” project, discussed various forms and mechanisms for consultations and civic participation in policy-making, decision-making, communication with local authorities, and community mobilization. He also touched upon the demotivation for activism and civic participation. “There are cases where the outcomes are completely opposite to what was agreed upon between citizens and decision-makers, and such an outcome, in most cases, demotivates people from becoming active and initiating changes” he said.
In the debate, the speakers discussed the role of the CSOs in decision-making processes and their capacities for effective advocacy at the local level, sharing practical examples and lessons learned.
Meri Nashoku from the Youth Cultural Center Bitola spoke about the participatory process in the development of the Strategy on Developing Volunteering for Municipality of Bitola for the period 2023-2026, particularly emphasizing that the key prerequisite for the success of this initiative was the political will of local authorities to support civic participation.
Samet Skenderi from the Institute for Social Change InSoK, Gostivar, shared his experience with advocating for the rights of undocumented individuals (those not registered in the civil records of the Republic of North Macedonia). “The greatest challenges we faced were the complexity of administrative procedures, insufficient public awareness of the issue, limited access to legal resources and finances, and resistance from the community due to cultural reasons,” he noted.
The event also served as an opportunity to present the new online tool developed by the Civic Resource Centre (CRC) for promoting, supporting, and monitoring advocacy initiatives of CSOs. The tool was introduced by Valentina Velichkovska from the CRC, highlighting that it serves as a database with relevant information on advocacy initiatives. She emphasised that it would contribute to increasing the visibility and dissemination of these efforts while encouraging collaboration with other groups and organisations that share the same goals.
In the second part of the event, attendees had the opportunity to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by CSOs in their efforts to participate in local policy-making processes. These challenges were primarily related to legal provisions and guidance on obtaining responses from local authorities to submitted initiatives, particularly in cases where local authorities ignore initiatives and fail to respond within legally prescribed timeframes and issues concerning access to public information, even when the information requested is of public interest.
The debate is part of the project “EU Support for the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2”, funded by the European Union. It is implemented by the National Civil Society Development Foundation – Civil Resource Centre, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation, the Association for Democratic Initiatives – ADI, Gostivar, and Media Plus, Shtip.
