Strengthening Civil Society to Develop Democracy

Funded by

United Nations Democracy Fund

Overview

In both Ukraine and Moldova the relationship between government and civil society is underdeveloped. There have been recent improvements in this relationship however progress is slow and though there have been numerous positive legislative measures in both countries, their implementation remains poor, particularly in Ukraine.

The project "Strengthening Civil Society to develop Democracy" aimed to increase the potential for democracy in Ukraine and Moldova by improving the relationship between civil society and government. In the long term, the project will result in stronger, more legitimate and credible CSOs with more effective democratic participation. The objectives of the project were:

1. To increase the capacity of CSOs to network and advocate government effectively
2. To improve the functioning of existing mechanisms for interaction between the state and civil society

The project focused on the whole of Moldova (including Transnistria and Gagauzia), and four Oblasts of Ukraine (Poltavska, Sumska, Luhanska and Khersonska). Stakeholders will be involved wherever possible to maximize potential synergies with related projects and initiatives. 

In the UN evaluation the project was rate ‘highly effective’ in the UN evaluation for increasing NGO representation in national policy making, ranging from promoting the participation of blind voters to making amendments to the new law on associations (Ukraine) and the human rights action plan (Moldova). You can find the full project evaluation here.

Main Achievements

• A set of recommendations for the government and another one for civil society organisations outlining ways for better cooperation
• The creation of new civic councils in Ukraine
• The participation of officials and civil society organisations from Transnistria and outside of the capital cities in Ukraine and Moldova

All outcomes and case studies can be found in the published handbook.

Partners

The project will be largely implemented by two partners in Ukraine and three partners in Moldova:

	CCC Creative Center (Ukraine)
	GURT Resource Centre (Ukraine)
	CONTACT - Assistance and Information Center for NGO's in Moldova (Moldova)
	Resource Center for Human Rights(CReDO)(Moldova)
	Informational Youth Center "World Window" (Moldova)

Key Activities
The project activities fall under three categories, ongoing activities, one-off activities, and supplementary activities.

The ongoing activities were led by project steering groups (PSGs), which will discuss, appraise and develop the details of the project strategy and activities, and act as champions for the project, and roundtables, gathering civil society leaders and relevant figures local and national government to develop joint solutions.

The one-off activities were a two-day masterclasses to train a total of 80 civil society practitioners how to network and advocate more effectively, a one-day conference gathering 100 stakeholders from the two countries to share the major learning of the project, and promote the examples of good practice collected, and a one-week study visit bringing 29 stakeholders from the region to Brussels and London.

Furthermore Euclid Network and the partners developed supplementary material which included a web portal and the handbook summarising the outcomes of the project.

Related Links

United Nations Democracy Fund

Cross-border leadership development

Contact

Lucas Fulling: lucas.fulling@eulidnetwork.eu