CIVICUS Media Track Project

Dear CSI Partners,

Do you sometimes think that your civil society organisation would have been able to shed some light on the latest news story – if only you’d been asked? Do you want to make the expertise of your organisation more accessible to the media? If yes, you’ll want to take part in this initiative.

CIVICUS, in collaboration with the Inter Press Service (IPS), is developing a database to facilitate the relationship between civil society and the media. This database will contain the names and contact details for civil society organisations as well as their fields of expertise and the regions in which they work. The database will allow the media to quickly and easily find sources for their stories within civil society on a wide variety of themes.

If you would like to be part of this database, please complete the form. If you have any questions, please email us at communication@civicus.org.

Regards,
CIVICUS

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Estimado Socio ISC,

¿Algunas veces piensa que su organización de la sociedad civil podría haber echado luz sobre las últimas historias de las noticias, si sólo le hubiesen preguntado? ¿Quiere hacer que la expertise de su organización sea más accesible a los medios de comunicación? Si es así, querrá tomar parte en esta iniciativa.

CIVICUS, en colaboración con el Inter Press Service (IPS), está desarrollando una base de datos para facilitar la relación entre la sociedad civil y los medios. Esta base de datos contendrá los nombres y datos de contacto de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil así como sus campos de expertise y las regiones en las que trabajan. La base de datos le permitirá a los medios de comunicación encontrar, rápido y fácilmente, fuentes para sus historias dentro de la sociedad civil sobre una amplia variedad de temas.

Si quiere ser parte de esta base de datos, por favor complete el formulario (en ingles). Si tiene alguna pregunta, envíenos un email a communication@civicus.org.

Saludos,
CIVICUS

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Cher Partenaire ISC,

Vous arrive-t-il de vous dire que votre organisation aurait pu apporter un complément d’information intéressant sur telle ou telle actualité – si seulement on vous l’avait demandé ? Souhaitez-vous que le savoir et l’expérience de votre organisation soit plus accessible aux médias ? Si oui, cette nouvelle initiative va vous intéresser.

CIVICUS, en collaboration avec Inter Press Service (IPS) est entrain de constituer une banque de données pour faciliter les relations entre la société civile et les médias. Elle contiendra les noms et les coordonnées des organisations de la société civile, ainsi que leurs domaines de compétences et les régions dans lesquelles elles opèrent. Elle permettra aux médias de trouver facilement et rapidement les bonnes sources.

Si vous souhaitez figurer dans cette banque de données, il suffit de remplir le formulaire. Pour toute question, n’hésitez-pas à nous envoyer un e-mail à communication@civicus.org.

Merci,
CIVICUS

CSI-Chile obtains Bicentenary Commission’s sponsorship

The CIVICUS Civil Society Index Project in Chile, coordinated by the Fundación Soles, obtained the sponsorship of the Bicentenary Commission on 13th October 2009. With this recognition, information about the events and activities of the CSI-Chile will also be shared through the communication channels of this governmental committee.

The Bicentenary Commission is the consultant entity that advises the Presidency of the Republic about initiatives which allow the country to achieve the objectives of the commemoration of the 200 years of republican history. The Bicentenary Commission also supports organisations oriented to improving and deepening democracy in Chile.

With this award, the CSI in Chile has therefore been acknowledged as a relevant initiative that strongly supports democratic conditions, citizens’ liberties and social dialogue, in order to advance to a more integrated and just country.

Sponsored by: 

National Workshop convened in Uruguay

On Thursday 29 October, the Instituto de Comunicación y Desarrollo (ICD) held their CSI National Workshop in Montevideo, Uruguay. The meeting brought together over 60 actors from civil society, government institutions, the media, the donor community and academia to discuss the findings of the CSI and to identify initiatives for strengthening civil society.

Some of the most relevant results so far include the finding that the level of participation in Uruguay is growing, although the levels of individual activism on political questions is at the same time very low. The results also highlighted an environment and socio-political context which is highly conducive for civil society, with over 80% of civil society organisations claiming not to have encountered restrictions from government, and with 50% believing that current legislation is enabling.

Uruguay is only the second country to hold its National Workshop, following Turkey earlier this year. The Civil Society Index in Uruguay is being developed within the framework of a project called “Strengthening of Civil Society in Uruguay”, which is a joint programme between the government and the United Nations.

To read more about the implementation of the CSI National Workshop in Uruguay (Spanish only), click here.

First Advisory Committee meeting in Macedonia

After a delayed start due to funding constraints, the Macedonian CSI Advisory Committee held its first meeting at November 4, 2009. Please see below for some pictures of the event. And to follow the CSI implementation in the country, please click here or visit the link to MCICs CSI implementation pages in the right-hand sidebar of this blog.

At the AC meeting, the members of the Committee had the opportunity to acquire information about this action-research project which assesses the state of civil society in different countries around the world. The thorough discussion allowed them to determine the main social and political issues in Macedonia, the topics for case studies as well as the key persons that will be interviewed during the later phases of the research.

Part of the discussion was dedicated to the definition of civil society that will be used for the purposes of the research and to the categories of civil organizations.

The members of the Advisory Committee made the preliminary assessment of the civil society by evaluating the sub-dimensions: civil engagement, level of organization, practicing values, perceived impact and the external environment.

The CSI project was successfully implemented in Macedonia for the first time during the period 2003-2006 phase of implementation. The result of the project was the most comprehensive research of the civil society in Macedonia that has ever been conducted. The use of standard methodology allowed comparing civil societies around the world which apply the Index.

The Macedonian Center for International Cooperation is the national coordinating organisation of the project for Macedonia. It is expected that the new research will be completed by July next year.

Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC)
PO Box 55, 1060 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: + 389 (0)2 3065-381 ext. 138/139
Fax: + 389 (0)2 3065-298
www.mcms.org.mk

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AC members identifying the key thematic issues in Macedonia

Discussion of the civil society definition in Macedonia

Identifying case study topics

 

Saying goodbye to a CSI staff member

The CSI team would like to share a sincere thank you and good luck to Dr. Federico Silva, who officially finished working with CIVICUS on November 1, 2009.

Dr. Silva started his career with CIVICUS and the CSI programme in September 2007, and in his two years with the organization, he made invaluable contributions to the CSI programme.  We would like to wish him best of luck in his new position and thank him for his consistent professional and personal dedication to the programme during his time at the CSI Secretariat in Johannesburg.

Sharing the CSI paper and photos from the ISTR conference in Taipei

Below are some more pictures from Tracy and Jacob from the CSI research team, who recently presented at the Regional ISTR Conference in Taipei, Taiwan.

We would also welcome interested parties to download the paper that the CSI team presented about CSO accountability with findings from the ten Asia Pacific countries that implemented in the 2003-2006 phase.  You can get a copy of The State of Civil Society Accountability in the Asia Pacific Region: Insights from the CIVICUS Civil Society Index here.

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Group shot: seated are Tracy Anderson, Jacob Mati, Abalika Kutty, Naoto Yamauchi; standing are Midori Matsushima and Naoko Okuyama

Jacob presenting at the event

Midori talking about the prelimiary findings of the CSI surveys in Japan

Ambalika and Tracy relaxing in Taipei

 

Help CIVICUS Plan for 2010

Is there a theme close to your heart?

A special day that represents the change you want to see in the world?

An international meeting that you think has the potential to affect our lives and the lives of people around the world?

Do you think CIVICUS needs to make it a priority for 2010?

Help us plan for the year ahead by identifying the TOP 5 events and TOP 5 Global meetings that you think we will need to focus on in 2010. Please complete this short survey by 12 November and make sure your voice is heard in our planning process!

Report from CSI participation in Regional ISTR Conference in Taipei

Two members of the CSI research team were joined by partners at the 6th ISTR Asia and Pacific Regional Conference from November 1-4, 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan. Papers by Jacob Mati and Tracy Anderson of CSI, Ambalika Kutty (formerly from FCOSS in Fiji), and Naoto Yamauchi, Midori Matsushima, and Naoko Okuyama of OSIPP in Japan were presented in a panel session on the Civil Society Index.

The CSI and Fiji papers presented findings based on the 2003-2006 CSI phase, while Japan offered an intriguing teaser of the data they have compiled so far for the current 2008-2010 phase of CSI implementation. The presentations were a great success and provoked thoughtful questions from the audience regarding changes in the methodology, comparisons with the John Hopkins civil society methodology and Japan’s media review study.

Other panels and presentations at this conference covered a wide range of civil society topics related to the theme of the conference: Changes, Challenges, and New Opportunities for the Third Sector. For example, panels were held on the environmental crises and the Third Sector, the economic recession and the Third Sector, globalization, poverty alleviation, transparency and accountability, and fund raising.

The Conference was organized by the Center for the Third Sector, National Chengchi University and they have put on a professional and exciting event,  right down to the little details. The location of the conference, at the Howard International House, Taipei is a spectacular venue replete with comfortable conference facilities.

CSI would like to thank the ISTR for the opportunity to present at their regional conference, and would also like to thank Ambalika Kutty, Naoto Yamauchi, Midori Matsushima, and Naoko Okuyama for joining us on this panel.

 

Tell us what you think of the CSI blog!

The CSI team is reviewing the way we communicate with our audiences and partners ahead of 2010. As part of this process, we are keen to hear from you what you think about the CSI blog, including how you think it could be better and what changes we could and should make.

We’d therefore be extremely grateful if you could take 5 minutes to complete an online survey by clicking here.

We hope that in 2010 we can continue to improve the way we engage with you!  

Thanks

The CSI Team

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PS: This is the 100th post on the CSI blog! Thank you to all partners and stakeholders who have contributed to this blog, and keep those links, profiles, signs of impact, photos and articles coming…

CSI Essay Contest – DEADLINE EXTENDED

Our thanks go out to all those who’ve submitted an entry for the Civil Society Index Essay Contest.

However we’ve received a number of requests for the deadline to be extended, given that it initially only allowed a small window for prospective entrants. So, in the interests of encouraging as many entries as possible, the CSI team has decided to extend the deadline for entries until December 15th 2009.

Please click here to see the requirements and guidelines for the contest.

We look forward to receiving your entry and announcing the winner, who will be awarded $500 USD!!