An empowered Civil Society is an necessary for any democratic society. Civil Society Organisations embody the citizen’s demands for transparency and accountability; promote participation, pluralism and inclusivity and play an important role in conflict resolution. Moreover, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are crucially important actors in driving democratic reform and promoting Human Rights.
Hence, Civil Society has been recognised as a fundamental actor in development, and strengthening its capacities to ensure its active participation is key to the post-2015 development agenda. The main challenges to enhance participation of Civil Society include:
- Increasing Civil Society capacities, so that they can play a role as relevant and sustainable actors, especially local CSOs in partner countries;
- Promoting an enabling environment for the creation, development, and participation of CSOs;
- Building bridges and exploring synergies between states and CSOs, so that the latter contribute to policy making, enhance governance and contribute to development;
- Contributing, through a number of projects carried out in the field as well as supporting the policymakers, B&S has contributed to the strengthening of civil society actors, as well as facilitating dialogue and networking between national authorities, CSOs and donors.