The world is changing faster than ever. Financial, political, military and cultural centers gaining and losing power overnight, while consequences of destructive tendencies are catastrophic and far-reaching. In such a world, one of a continuous and ruthless battle for domination and control, the citizen often comes last in the “big picture” of those who shape the global, regional and national policies.
The Civic Charter, which was launched in October 2016 at the Global Perspectives Conference, attempts to provide a response to these trends. CIVIL is among the first 50 signatory organizations in the world. Since then, CIVIL has been actively supporting and promoting this global document that reaffirms human rights and freedoms, giving voice to the demands for citizen participation in the decision-making processes at the local, national and global level.
“The Civic Charter – What’s in it for me?” is a pilot project through which CIVIL continues the promotion of the Civic Charter in an innovative and inclusive way. This includes exploration of possibilities for establishing cross-sectoral cooperation and partnerships for adoption and consistent implementation of the Civic Charter.
One of the project’s goals is to sensitize the civil society stakeholders, local and central governments, media, business communities and political parties about the Civic Charter, and discuss modules of adoption and use of this document, as well as possibilities for cooperation and partnerships.
The Civic Charter calls for true and consistent respect for freedom of expression and free association, effective citizen participation and creating conditions for a real influence on public policies, for the right to financial support for civic initiatives, participation in the domestic and international dialogue and cooperation.
Each government is demanded to provide conditions, legal, administrative and other measures for the respect, promotion and protection of human rights and freedoms, to investigate attacks on individuals and organizations in order for the suspected perpetrators to be held responsible in accordance with international standards of objectivity. The government, businesses and civil society are also demanded to be accountable and transparent before the public and the laws.
CIVIL organizes workshops with representatives of each target group in the capital city of Skopje and in Kumanovo. At the end of the pilot project, a conference will be held at which representatives of the Government and Parliament will be invited, as well as representatives of the media, civil society, business community and international organizations and foundations. The conference will be open to the wider public, while the team of CIVIL Media will be producing more media contents for further promotion of the Civic Charter.
The Civic Charter will be promoted also through info-stands for direct communication with citizens and for collecting signatures for the international petition for support. CIVIL has translated this document in most of the languages that are spoken in Republic of Macedonia, and has submitted these materials to the international organizations involved in this global initiative. Part of these multi-lingual materials of CIVIL have already been published on several websites around the world.
The project is supported by the International Civil Society Centre.
Xhabir Deralla
