From 2003 to 2006, the Civil Society Index was implemented in Macedonia by the Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation, with the international coordination of CIVICUS. This implementation led to the publication of an analytical country report, presenting the results of the CSI initiative in the country.
Fifteen Years of Transition—A Country Moving Towards Citizen Participation
Over that period, the CSI assessment found Macedonian civil society to be moderately well developed and currently nearing the end of the transition period. Built around strong values, civil society is rooted within some social groups performing and playing important roles, even if based on limited citizen’s support. Civil society should build on this success and seek to expand citizen’s participation in its initiatives. Here, civil society will have to respond to two crucial social concerns – combating poverty and corruption. This report provides detailed information and recommendations for civil society Macedonia. It also highlights the changes that have taken place since the end of Communism and the challenges facing civil society today.
The CSI introduced and popularized the concept of civil society in Macedonia and contributed towards the establishment of new networks and joint activities. It laid the foundation for a common strategy for the development of civil society in Macedonia, in which all stakeholders, civil society actors, government, donors and the public will hopefully play their part.
From 2008 to 2010, the Civil Society Index is being implemented by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC).
Civic Engagement- Long Road To Go
The highest impacts of civil society are seen as empowering citizens and promoting policies for human rights and equality, with external stakeholders rating civil society's impact as slightly higher than internal self-assessment. Members of civil society are, however, not setting strong examples in terms of tolerance, trust and public spiritedness. Only a small minority of citizens are engaged in CSOS, and no significant changes have been seen here in the last five years. Participation of citizens in informal activities to advance common interests is higher. As most groups of citizens are present in civil society, diversity is highly rated. The external environment for civil society is reasonable, but hindered by a state that is only partially effective, corruption in the public sector and a deep lack of public trust. As part of this, trust in civil society is low. More encouragingly, CSOs feel that the legal environment has improved in the last five years and that organisations are somewhat freer to do their work.
Main strengths of Macedonian civil society identified by the study included its good influence over policies related to the protection of human rights and equality, decentralisation and the Ohrid Framework Agreement (which guarantees rights for Macedonia's Albanian minority). Other strengths identified include capacity to empower citizens and meet societal needs, strong networking, communication and cooperation, and low levels of corruption, compared to the high levels of corruption in the public sector. CSOs also show they have capacity to raise funds from diverse sources, suggesting there may be a solid base for ensuring financial sustainability of civil society in future.
CSI Country Reports in Macedonia
- Macedonia CSI Report 2010: Full Report
- Macedonia Policy Action Brief 2010: Full Brief
- IGO RezimE i preporaki- MCMS 2011
- Macedonia CSI Report (2003-2006): Executive Summary
- Macedonia CSI Report (2003-2006): Full Report
- Project Evaluation for Macedonia (2003-2006): Executive Summary
