The CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) is pleased to announce the publication of the CSI report from Rwanda. The project was implemented in Rwanda by the Conseil de Concertation des Organisations d’Appui aux Initiatives de Base (CCOAIB), with financial support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
As far as civil society structure is concerned, the study looked at a number of indicators pointing to the breadth of citizen participation, charitable giving, volunteering, collective community action, civil society activities, civil society membership and civil society geographical distribution. Generally, weaknesses prevail within this area, with only charitable giving and collective community action appearing to be strong.
Against this, on the whole, Rwandan civil society is felt to adhere strongly to positive values, such as anti-corruption, gender equity, poverty eradication, tolerance and democracy promotion. However, the study also reveals that Rwandan civil society has weak spots around encouraging governmental transparency and environmental protection.
Some of the recommendations that the report makes include improving partnership between the state, private sector and civil society, strengthening CSO voices in lobbying and advocacy, find ways of minimising dependence on and influence by external donors by strengthening and diversifying domestic fundraising techniques, and concentrating on ways of boosting the capacity of civil society to hold the government accountable for its decisions.
To read the full report, click here
CIVICUS Civil Society Index 