On 15th October, the occasion of their 18th Anniversary, Civic Initiatives organized a debate entitled “Civil Society: New mobilization” at the Sava Center in Belgrade. The discussion about the future of civil society was an opportunity to present and hear different opinions on the many challenges faced by civil society in Serbia, the region and at the global level. At the debate many questions were raised about the new position of civil society, notably those concerning the new activism, re-mobilization and citizen support. Special attention was paid to issues of sustainability of civil society organizations, changes in communication, representation and visibility, and it was agreed that the new circumstances in which civil society has found itself are quite demanding, requiring deep changes in the functioning of the whole civil sector.
The opening speeches at the debate were by Zarko Puhovski, member of the Board of Civic Initiatives, as well as Milan Podunavac and Miljenko Dereta, founders of the Civic UWC, while participants to the discussions were longtime and prominent civil society activists. “It is important that we need to listen to each other, turn to each other and to use the resources that we have created, not just on our own, but also the ones created by other organizations. Civil society is now at a turning point and only shared activism and common goals can lead to the necessary transformation” said Maja Stojanovic, executive director of Civic Initiatives.
Civic initiatives has been established in 1996 with the mission of strengthening civil society through education, promotion of democracy and democratic values, as well as support of active citizenship. Through the programs, projects and activities, CI will continue working on their vision which is a society of equal and active citizens who decide by themselves about their lives in a democratic country with existing rule of law, and with full respect for human rights.
Read the full conclusions of CI’s debate (in local language) here.