CIVICA MOBILUTAS GRANTEES DISCUSSED THE BENEFITS OF SELF-REGULATION

The first draft of the “Code od CSOs in Macedonia” was presented yesterday, on 21 June 2021, at the on-line workshop where there were 36 representatives of the Civica Mobilitas grantees.

This tool aims to strengthen the self-regulation system and contribute to bigger professionalism and accountability of the CSOs, which should in turn increase the trust of the citizens and donors in the sector.

Aleksandra Savevska, Project Manager at the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC), informed about the need, preparation and contents of the Code for CSOs.

“This is a good start to build the awareness for internal improvements, what we want to follow and what we want to achieve with our work for better development in the society. We think that such a tool should be implemented in each organization, of course, gradually, with small steps, in the part that can be improved”, stressed Savevska.

The Code covers seven basic values that describe the work of the CSOs and eight pledges, translated into 45 standards, i.e. work principles.

The short survey that was conducted in the beginning of the workshop, where everybody participated, showed the perception of the people present that the public (citizens, private sector, etc.) have partial trust in the CSOs.

The majority of the participants think that the donors largely know the work of the CSOs, unlike the Government and the state institutions which partially understand and know the work of the civil sector.

The participants discussed in groups about such a self-regulation system and they also covered the issues related to legitimacy, current structure and the institutionalization of the code inside the CSOs. 

All the participants agreed that the Code provides the basic guidelines and rules for work of the CSOs which are simple to interpret and apply. The Code will improve the organizations, it will contribute to increasing the trust of the citizens and donors in CSOs, it will influence the creation of a better image of the sector, and with its transparency it will enable the public to have an insight into the activities and achievements of the society.

In the next phase, the CSO representatives will review the draft version of the Code in detail and they will send their suggestions to improve it.

This workshop is part of the activities that are implemented by MCIC via the program “Sustainable Civil Society – State Funding for CSOs”, which is funded by the European Union.