On 29–30 September 2026, the first module of the Academy for civil society organisations was held at the Civic Resource Center in Skopje, with 17 participants.
The Academy aims to help the participating civil society organisations strengthen their organisational capacities, resilience, and sustainability through a three-month program that combines organisational self-assessment, online training, in-person workshops, mentoring, and practical work.
The first module aimed to contribute to building a strong and well-governed organisation and covered the following four areas:
In the first area, dedicated to good governance and organisational structure, participants learned about the legal framework relevant to civil society organisations, the roles and responsibilities of governing and executive bodies, internal organisational structure, transparency, accountability, and the prevention of conflicts of interest.
In the second area, dedicated to internal policies and procedures, participants learned about organisational rulebooks on financial operations, procurement, human resources, ethics, data protection, and other relevant documentation.
The third area was dedicated to office and archival management, covering access to, protection of, and methods of storing documentation. The fourth area was dedicated to strategic planning, where participants learned about situation analysis using the IOM model for external and internal analysis of the organisation, and about linking the vision and mission with the organisation's strategic priorities, strategic goals, and programmatic work.
Module 1: Building a strong and well-governed organisation was implemented as a follow-up to the online trainings on the same topics, which were a prerequisite for participation in the Academy. The idea was that, after gaining basic knowledge from the online trainings, participants would use the in-person modules, and later, where needed, follow-up mentoring sessions, to discuss dilemmas and clarify specific questions, and through practical work acquire the skills and knowledge to apply what they had learned in their day-to-day work on the respective topics.
"The workshop was an excellent opportunity for us, activists from civil associations, to learn something new and expand our knowledge through conversation and discussion with one another, as well as with our trainers, whose theoretical lectures were enriched by their extensive experience in the topics covered", said Vesna Kirova from the Women's Organisation of the Municipality of Veles.
For Cveta Eftimova from the Association for Psychological Support "Center for Psychological Counseling and Personal Development – Cveta" from Štip, the experience was also positive: "The workshop was comprehensive; all the topics and problems faced by colleagues working in this sector were covered thoroughly. The lecturers were excellent, highly knowledgeable in the field, and open to communication and questions. I especially liked that we were actively involved in the process through questions, worksheets, and practical exercises", she said.
Civil society organisations expressed their interest in this activity by applying to a public Call for Expressions of Interest to participate in the Academy for civil society organisations.
As planned, the next two in-person modules will be held during October–November 2026.
The Academy for Civil Society Organisations was organised within the project "EU Support to the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2," funded by the European Union and implemented by the National Civil Society Development Foundation – Civic Resource Centre, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC), Media Plus from Štip, and the Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI) from Gostivar.
