Public Should Be Informed about CSO Achievements

How can one improve the information of the CSOs to the public so that the latter sees their contribution to the changes in the society? How can one change the reporting about activities to reporting about achievements? How can one show the citizens a picture that is broader than everyday activities? These were the main questions discussed by 20 representatives of Civica Mobilitas grantees at the workshop “Informing about Achievements” which took place on 2 June 2021.

The short survey that was conducted in the beginning of the workshop with the participation of everybody showed that the organizations more frequently use the social media rather than web pages top share information on their work. The majority of the participants confirmed that the information that they share mostly concern the implemented activities.

The participants had the chance to recognize the differences between activities, products, achievements, impact, via presentations, work in groups and discussions. They worked on already published information from their organizations, they analyzed it and improved it. They discussed that informing about achievements does not mean that one should not inform about activities, but they should provide the citizens with the perspective, i.e. what their goals are and what the final effects will be.

They also discussed with the trainers the process of preparation adn distribution of information, the way of writing and the distribution plan. The workshop was a great possibility to obtain feed-back, not only from the trainers, but to also hear thoughts and experience of the other colleagues from the civil sector. This made the workshop quite interactive and intensive, which was especially important if one takes into consideration that it took place on line.

The participants highly valued this learning approach. They were unanimous that these workshops are very useful and needed and they expressed their preparedness to practice the obtained knowledge and skills.

The workshop was led by Marina Tuneva, the Executive Director of the Council for Media Ethics in Macedonia and Gonce Jakovlevska, the National Coordinator for Information and Communication of Civica Mobilitas.

Civica Mobilitas supports initiatives for mutual learning and sharing among the grantees, and this workshop is one of those examples, i.e. the Council of Media Ethics in Macedonia is an institutional grantee in the program.

This is the first of the several planned workshops in the learning program of Civica Mobilitas, which is intended for the program grantees. In the coming period, there will be workshops and trainings with similar content, but also other thematic trainings.