Македонски центар за меѓународна соработка - МЦМС

From June 8 to 12, 2009, MCIC in partnership and financial support from OSCE has organized training and study visit to London, UK for a group of representatives from three civic coalitions on “Participation of Civil Society Organizations in the Policy Making.” The participants included seven members from the Civic Platform of Macedonia, Macedonia without Discrimination and coalition All for Fair Trial.

The purpose of the training was to provide the participants with general principles, guidelines, mechanisms and tools for participation of civil society organizations in the policy making. On the other hand, the study visit was aimed at sharing the experience with the system and practices of involvement of the CSOs in policy making in England and the lessons learned from this practice.

During the two-day workshop the participants had an opportunity to hear about the theoretical approach in advocacy and lobbying and the participation of the civil society organizations in the policy making. They also had a practical work through specific examples in order to learn the practical tools and mechanisms for: setting the agenda, problem analysis, types of partnerships, analysis of stakeholders, monitoring of activities, etc.

The next two days were used for sharing the experience with the relevant state institutions and organizations in the field of interest of the participants. The first meeting was with theThird Sector Cabinet Office, which is of great importance for the development of the civil sector in UK, the National Council of Voluntary Organizations (NCVO), which is partner in implementing the state approved Compact on cooperation between the state and the civil sector. The participants also met with the representatives from the British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND). At the end, they had discussion with the representatives from Liberty, an organization protecting the civil liberties and promoting the human rights.