CITIZEN PARTICIPATION FORUM ADOPTED ITS NEW STRATEGY FOR 2024-2027

On September 16th, 2023, as part of the festival “Mosaic of Democracy: Civil Society’ Stage”, we hosted the annual General Assembly of Citizen Participation Forum. The main highlights were the approval of CPF’s activity and financial report for 2022, the development plan for 2023, and the discussion and adoption of the Citizen Participation Forum’s Development Strategy for 2024-2027.

The attendees were presented with a synthesis of some of the activities of the association in 2022 and the results achieved for the year, including: 

1. Four new projects started:

• A project funded by the European Civil Action Service to counter misinformation about refugees from the war in Ukraine; 
• “Sofia Municipality in Dialogue with Citizens,” funded by the Programme Europe of Sofia Municipality; 
• A project funded by the Solidarity Fund of the Network of European Foundations to counter misinformation about civil society organizations;
• Project “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance,” implemented in partnership with Amalipe Association and Open Society Institute Sofia, funded by the State Department through the Embassy of the United States in Bulgaria.

2. Continued work on the project on expanding civic space in Bulgaria, funded by the Civitates Fund of the Network of European Foundations.

• Two new projects completed:

• One of the Network’s landmark projects, “Entrance for Citizens”, implemented in partnership with the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law and with the financial support of the EEA FM, was successfully finalized. 
• In 2022, Citizen Participation Forum, together with EU Space 21 – Ruse and the Bulgarian Association for the Promotion of Citizen Initiative – Burgas, worked on the project “Civic Monitoring for Transparent Governance”, supported by America for Bulgaria Foundation, within the framework of which special teams were established to monitor the work of local authorities. 
• An assessment of the Citizen Participation Index in Sofia Municipality was carried out as another tool for improving the environment.

The draft strategy of the Citizen Participation Forum for the period 2024-2027, which was prepared in advance and consulted with the members in recent months, was also presented.

The following mission, vision, and values were approved:

Vision:

CPF – a well-established and effective network for civic input and influence on decisions and policies at local, national, and European levels, for public control over institutions, and support of civic initiatives.

Mission:

We work committedly for a decisive voice and participation of people in decision-making and policies at local, national, and European levels, for responsive and open institutions, and for united and mutually supportive civil society organizations.

Values: 

• Accountability to achieve our mission and goals.
• Respect for democratic values and democratic principles of governance.
• Respect for differences (including differences of opinion).
• Activism in public and political life and in achieving desired results and commitment to the society in which we live.
• Equality – all people should have equal rights and opportunities regardless of their race, gender, age, sexual orientation, education, social and community status.
• Solidarity – with each other, with partners and supporters, with those in need of help and protection, with the democratic world.
• Support for the implementation of sustainable development principles.

General objective:

To promote and support civic participation in decisions and policies, to uphold and promote the principles of good governance, and to unite civil society organizations around common causes. 

The five specific objectives were also adopted:

Specific objective 1: Stimulate and facilitate citizen participation in governance decisions by advocating and promoting the principles of good democratic governance.

Specific objective 2: Implement citizen monitoring and oversight of institutional performance and inform the general public of the outcomes.

Specific objective 3: Apply and disseminate tools, approaches, and success stories of citizen participation at national and local levels.

Specific objective 4: Advocate for civil and human rights, democracy, and European values and oppose misinformation and fake news.

Specific objective 5: Achieve institutional sustainability and prosperity of CPF, solidarity, and interaction with other civil society organizations and networks on common causes.

The Action Plan for the implementation of the CPF’s strategy in the period 2024-2027 was discussed and adopted, and some edits to the preliminary draft were proposed.

Following a discussion of the work of the recently established Public Council under the Commission for Direct Citizen Participation and Interaction with Civil Society, the General Assembly of Citizen Participation Forum chose to designate Miroslav Tsekov of the National Youth Forum as Chairperson and Nadia Shabani from the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law as Vice-Chairperson.