“The choice of the Civic Resource Centre (CRC) to organise workshops on the topics of good governance and transparency and accountability is to be welcomed and indicates that the CRC has a clear vision of the areas that need to be worked on in the long term. I believe that these topics are essential for CSOs to build public trust and to ensure their sustainability, so it is necessary to address these issues continuously.” – said the trainer Suncica Sazdovska about the two workshops organised on 12-13 December in CRC, Skopje. Thirteen CSOs’ representatives acquired knowledge and skills on these two topics through theory and practical exercises.
During the workshop on good governance, held on 12th December, the participants learned the key principles and elements of good governance and how to practically apply the tools for dividing functions in organisations, organising decision-making processes and establishing mechanisms to deal with challenges in the management of organisations.
At the workshop on transparency and accountability, on 13th December, the participants got to know the role of the various actors and measures for transparency and accountability in each phase of the cycle of operations in CSOs, and acquired knowledge and skills for the practical application of various mechanisms and tools for establishing systems and procedures that support transparency and accountability.
“The conceptualization of the topics at the workshop was a complete hit, especially for us, the newly founded and less experienced associations, for acting in the civil society sector. The workshop content met my expectations and it is especially significant that the covered topics will help our practical and daily work in the associations.” – said Zlatko Kuzmanov from the association Centre for Integrated Security from Skopje. According to him, the practice of giving short, concise and useful videos before trainings is very useful, which will prepare the participants for the main topics and contents of the workshop. Zlatko Kuzmanov especially thanked that the CRC helps newly founded, inexperienced and serious associations to stand on their own feet in the first year or two and to be able to establish themselves in civil society.
The workshops were also useful for Tome Krstevski from the Global Association from Bitola: “Thank you for the excellently organized trainings where we learned a lot and you helped us more easily to overcome the problems and challenges in terms of good governance and transparency in our association” he said.
The participants’ discussions during the workshops led to the conclusion that it is of particular importance to provide organisations with support related to making clear division between governing and executive functions, as well as the arrangement of internal policies and procedures, especially in the area of financial operations. Taking into account the limited human capacities available to organisations, and in order to ensure the legality of their operation, advisory support is also needed for the interpretation of legal regulations, especially when there are changes in the laws that affect CSOs.
The workshop was organised within the project “EU support of the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2”, financed by the European Union, and implemented by the National Civil Society Development Foundation – Civic Resource Centre, the Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation, Media Plus, Shtip and Association for Democratic Initiatives – ADI, Gostivar.
