COMPONENT 1

1. Communication, coordination and cooperation between CSOs

Communication, coordination and cooperation between CSOs will be achieved by information exchange ensured by the CPM Secretariat, analysis of the local, regional and international experiences and best practice, specific capacity building and open debates on forums, regional fairs and on the national NGO fair.

MCIC will be responsible for coordination of these activities and will implement activities in cooperation with FOSIM, CIRa, CCI, UWOM, ADI, Polio plus and CSRD “Forum”.

1.1 Coordination of CPM and information exchange

The CPM Secretariat is established as regular body of CPM with the aim to contribute to better coordination and organisation of activities of the Platform. It is located in a host organisation, which is responsible for its management. The host organisation is elected by the CPM Council every second year.

The Secretariat is responsible for: enabling regular communication among members of CPM, members of regular and temporary bodies, as well as maintaining communication with other actors of the society; providing support to the Council, Committee, thematic committees and other bodies of CPM (through coordination, invitations, minutes, reports, preparation of meetings); provision and distribution of information of importance for CPM and facilitation of participation in activities important for CPM and civil society in the country and abroad.

The Secretariat of the Platform will inform its members about the implementation of activities, current events, relevant activities conducted by other actors in Macedonia and abroad, conference and training opportunities, planned meetings, as well as meetings that have taken place on regular basis in the framework of Platform’s structures. Information will be delivered via e-mail Bulletin that will be prepared and distributed each two weeks.

Broader information exchange will also be ensured through Platform’s website containing all the written documents from activities realized so far as well as all future activities. The website will be administered by the Secretariat. Available databases will be placed on the website, among which surveys and research studies conducted in the last 4-5 years in Republic of Macedonia covering the civil society and democracy issues. The on-line database on volunteers will be also placed on the CPM website (see 1.7.4.8).

1.2. Research on networks, coalitions and umbrella organisations

The presence of numerous formal and informal networks in Republic of Macedonia indicates the need for coordination of their activities, thus leading to more efficient and effective achievement of their goals. The absence of written documents on the past experiences, forms, relations within networks, and their impact over the societal trends imposes the need for in-depth research on this issue.

Terms of reference (ToR) for the research will be drafted by MCIC and working group consisting of CPM members. The research will contain information on positive examples and influence of networks, coalitions, and umbrella organizations, planned/realized activities, their effectiveness etc. The whole process will be divided into three phases: research focused on Republic of Macedonia, comparison with networks outside of Republic of Macedonia and recommendations on capacity-building and sustainability.

The research findings will be published in 1000 copies in Macedonian language and will be distributed to the CSOs.

1.3. Training on networking and partnership

CPM will strengthen its internal capacities for networking, cooperation and partnership through organization of training course, which will be developed based on recommendations from the research on networking, coalitions and umbrella organisations.

Some of the issues that will be covered with the training are: communication and information flow within the networks; network structures; development stages of the networks; cooperation and partnership relations; representation of the networks; resources, advantages, disadvantages, risks and opportunities in the networking.

A three day training course will include 20 participants/representatives of CPM member organisations. 

1.4 Policy Debates – Thematic Forums

The success of the annual NGO Fair – Forum and written comments by participants indicate that the CSOs and their members are ready for more frequent opportunities to meet and to discuss policy issues. On the other hand, CSOs in Macedonia have been seldom exposed to serious policy debates. They lack understanding of conceptual ideas that encourage thinking and debate. CSOs could play a positive role in public policy reforms but they are often narrow in their vision and are not taken seriously by elected and political decision-makers. The media also tends to dismiss CSOs as legitimate voice in the formulation of policy issues of concern to the country. The CSOs need to be exposed to broader issue-oriented discussions.

Therefore, policy debates on issues of priority concern, such as local community development, poverty reduction, corruption, etc. will be organised. Representatives of CSOs, elected and political officials, media and business leaders will be invited to participate.

The debates will serve to educate CSOs, increase the public awareness of policy issues and the CSO role in shaping them, as well as provide opportunities for the CSO leaders, officials, business and media to regularly interact. These policy debates will raise the credibility of CSOs in the formulation of policy reforms and increase public awareness of the important role civil society can and should play in democratic transition.

Eight policy debates will be organised with 100 participants expected at each debate.

1.5. Regional Fairs - Forums

Regional fairs – forums will be organised at local and regional level. The regional fairs – forums will cover CSOs from certain regions in Macedonia. Regional fairs will be organized in five (5) towns providing balanced coverage of the country. Regional fairs will open issues that are important for a certain region and enable discussion among local CSOs and other relevant actors. These forums will also serve as preparation and input for the national NGO Fair. Regional fairs will provide space for exhibition of CSOs activities and interaction with the public.

Resources of the NGO Support Centres will be used for organisation of these events.

Around 50 CSOs from the region are expected to present themselves at exhibition part and 2500 visitors are expected at each of the regional fairs.

1.6. NGO Fair – Forum of civil society in Macedonia

NGO Fair - Forum of Civil Society in Macedonia is a regular annual event since 2001. Unique by its contents and form, the NGO Fair has become one of the major events of the civil society in Macedonia. Nearly 37,000 people passed through the three-day event in period 2001-2005, including the President of Republic of Macedonia, Deputy Prime Minister, ministers, MPs, elected officials, ambassadors and NGO leaders from the region and Central Asia.  

The NGO Fair – Forum allows for exchange of experiences, greater exposure to the work of CSOs, increased communication, and greater public awareness of civil society. Additionally, regional and international participants offer new examples and opportunities for cooperation beyond Macedonia.

The target group of the NGO Fair are CSOs from Macedonia and the region, the public, media, government, local-self government, businesses and other actors in society.

The NGO Fair covers three components: forum activities, exhibition activities and socio-cultural events.

The forum activities are constituted of forum discussions, promotions, presentations and educative sessions. Beside the focus theme and country which mark the whole event, around three to four other issues are to be key (supporting) subjects to be discussed. The Program Board comprised of representatives of the CPM and other sector lead CSOs will recommend the subjects for debate.

The exhibition part will provide a space for presentation of activities of the CSOs. The exhibition part will involve booths, poster boards, and audio-video presentation of organizations, projects, and programs.

The presentation of other actors, thus motivating them to take part in the event, such as religious communities and religious groups, relevant government institutions, media and representatives of business sector, international organizations operating in the Republic of Macedonia and organizations from other countries in the region will be also encouraged.

Socio-cultural events will be organized to provide space for informal exchange and promotion of the social and cultural values. Promotional and media coverage strategy will be developed.

Subsidised transportation for visitors will be organised to provide possibility for people outside of Skopje to visit the Fair too.

NGO Fair will also provide space and possibility to sum-up and promote results and products of this Programme as it will be organised in the last month of its implementation.