15 YEARS OF TRANSITION – A COUNTRY MOVING TOWARDS CITIZEN PARTICIPATION CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for the Republic of Macedonia Macedonian Center for International Cooperation Skopje 2005 An international action-research project coordinated by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation 2 The CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for the Republic of Macedonia is prepared by the members of the National Index Team. Sašo Klekovski, editor Authors of the Analysis of Civil Society in Macedonia: STRUCTURE Fatmir Bytyqi, co-author Goran Buldioski, co-author ENVIRONMENT Emina Nuredinoska, co-author Nataša Gaber-Damjanovska, co-author VALUES Sun čica Sazdovska, co-author Kelmend Zajazi, co-author IMPACT Biljana Gerasimovska-Kitanovska, co-author Sašo Klekovski, co-author Author of: Executive Summary, Civil Society in Macedonia, Strengths and Weaknesses of Macedonian Civil Society, Recommendations for the Future of Civil Society and Conclusions: Sašo Klekovski Project and research coordination: Daniela Stojanova External Consultant: John Beauclerk, INTRAC Translation: Elizabeta Bakovska The CSI project in Macedonia was financially supported by funds of: CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for Macedonia 3 FOREWORD The Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) has been one of the leading civil society organisations (CSOs) in Macedonia and the Balkans since its establishment in 1993. Civil society development, as well as participatory democracy, has been the foundation of the MCIC mission. In order to fulfil these goals, MCIC is focused on CSOs strengthening and the most direct level of power – local self-government. In the first years, most of the activities were directed towards organisational development. The first institutional development activates for civil society as a whole was undertaken in 1995, with the activities for adoption of a Law on Citizen Associations and Foundations (adopted in 1998). The institutional development became particularly important after 2001, when the biggest clash in the country, challenging the entire civic sector took place. This was the year of the large scale confrontation with the government and significant criticism of the results and autonomy of the complete civic sector. 2001 as the beginning of the Forum of Civil Society in Macedonia – NGO Fair, which was the catalyst for the activities based on common interests of the civic sector in Macedonia. MCIC and other CSOs needed informed debate on the results and influence of the civic sector. The initial contact between CIVICUS and MCIC was a result of a search for a solution for this and we were glad to see that the concept of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) fit perfectly with the need to assess the impact of the civic sector in Macedonia. Therefore, MCIC and the civic sector conducted the CSI with great dedication and there is now an excellent opportunity for informed debate. The CSI also added value beyond the research, since it generated dialogue among the key actors of the civic sector. This dialogue provided the first approximation of the understanding (definition) of civil society. This understanding is now much broader and more inclusive than before and implies a move from the previously used term ‘NGO’ towards ‘CSOs’ and ‘civil society actors’. The CSI also contributed to the establishment of new networks and new activities. The CSI helped MCIC strengthen its relations with CIVICUS (and its involvement in other activities) and with organisations, namely CSI partners in other countries. The research can be considered a joint work of the civic sector in Macedonia. It is an investment in a common strategy for civic sector development in Macedonia, in which the government will be a partner in the strengthening of civil society. Sašo Klekovski MCIC Executive Director CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for Macedonia 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MCIC cooperated with many organisations and individuals in the preparation of civil society Index. The methodology of the project was developed by CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation. Since the very beginning, MCIC has successfully cooperated with the National Advisory Group (NAG). We thank all of the NAG members who contributed their time, knowledge and energy in the creation of CSI: Abdurauf Prusi, Violeta Eftimova, Vladimir Mil čin, Doj čin Cvetanovski, Dragi Zmijanac, Gjuner Ismail, Zvonko Šavrevski, Zoran Kostov, Zoran Stojkovski, Igor Taseski, Savka Todorovska, Samet Skenderi, Slagjana Taseva, Shpend Ymeri, Gordana Duvnjak, Liljana Popovska, Nataša Gaber-Damjanovska, Nafi Saraçini, Ratko Lazarevski and Sonja Stefanovska-Trajanoska. We also thank the organisations: Association for Campaign for Cancer “Nov zivot” from Štip; Humanitarian and Charity Roma Organisation “Mese čina” from Gostivar; Centre for Support of NGOs from Veles; Center for Roma Community “Drom” from Kumanovo; Center for Civic Initiative from Prilep; and Union of Women’s Organisations in Macedonia, who helped organise the regional stakeholder consultations. Of course, the project could not be realised without the support and help of all MCIC employees and we thank them. Special thanks to Aleksandar Kržalovski, Adis Rahi ć, Danilo Mitov and Krenar Kuka. The participants in the on-job training of MCIC also helped us in part of the research. The Community Sample was implemented by our long term partner Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research (ISPJR) and generated data on the opinion and activities of citizens of the Republic of Macedonia. Also we would like to express our gratitude to Zoran Ja čev, Slagjana Dimiškova, Slavko Lazovski. The CSI project in Macedonia was financially supported by funds of the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation, DanChurchAid (DCA), Inter-church organisation for development co-operation (ICCO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). We would also like to thank to the CIVICUS CSI project team, Mahi Khallaf and Volkhart Finn Heinrich, for their constant support and guidance on the implementation of CSI in Macedonia. National Index Team CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for Macedonia 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................................................... 4 TABLES , FIGURES , AND FRAMES ....................................................................................................................... 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................10 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................14 I. CIVIL SOCIETY INDEX AND ITS APPROACH ......................................................................................16 I.1. PROJECT BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................................................16 I.2. PROJECT METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH ....................................................................................................17 II. CIVIL SOCIETY IN MACEDONIA ..........................................................................................................22 II.1. FEATURES (D EVELOPMENT ) OF THE MACEDONIAN CIVIL SOCIETY .............................................................22 II.2. CONCEPT OF MACEDONIAN CIVIL SOCIETY .................................................................................................24 II.3. MAPPING MACEDONIAN CIVIL SOCIETY ......................................................................................................27 III. ANALYSIS OF CIVIL SOCIETY...............................................................................................................30 III.1. STRUCTURE ..............................................................................................................................................30 III.1.1. Breadth of Citizen Participation .......................................................................................................30 III.1.2. Depth of Citizen Participation ..........................................................................................................35 III.1.3. Diversity of Civil Society Participants .............................................................................................39 III.1.4. Level of Organisation .......................................................................................................................43 III.1.5. Inter-Relations..................................................................................................................................49 III.1.6. Resources..........................................................................................................................................51 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................................54 III.2. ENVIRONMENT .........................................................................................................................................55 III.2.1. Political Context ..............................................................................................................................55