At its 23rd session, held on 24 September at the Club of Administration Bodies, the Council for Cooperation with and Development of the Civil Society nominated civil society representatives to joint working groups for IPA III Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes (2021-2027) and adopted several important conclusions.

Nominees selected from the list of candidates that have applied on the open call are:

  • Svetlana Petkovska from the Organization of Women in the Municipality of Bitola – Bitola is nominated for the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme between Republic of North Macedonia and Republic of Albania;
  • Sanja Ristikj from SmartUP Social Innovation Lab – Skopje is nominated for the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme between Republic of North Macedonia and Republic of Kosovo;
  • Ivana Petrovska from the Local Office of the European Association for Local Democracy ALDA – Skopje is nominated as member and Arsenija Dejanoska–Saraginova from the Association on the Importance of Environmental Education for Modernization of the Education Process ZEOOOP – Skopje is nominated as deputy member for the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme between Republic of North Macedonia and Republic of Serbia;
  • Igor Georgiev from the Centre for Sustainable Development ELIPSA – Kumanovo is nominated as member and Ivana Balabanova from the Citizens’ Association for Education and Training in the Field of Dance and Cultural and Artistic Activities BEATRIX CREW – Skopje is nominated as deputy member for the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme between Republic of North Macedonia and Republic of Bulgaria;
  • Aco Ristovski from the Apollonia Foundation – Gevgelija is nominated as member and Goran Sazdov from the Association for Sustainable Development of the Mariovo Region vil. Vitolishte – Prilep is nominated as deputy member for the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme between Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece.

Moreover, Council Members discussed the effects from the open call for civil society to make contributions for development of the 2021 Annual Work Program of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia. Some members established an increased interest for participation in the open call among the civil society and it was assessed that civil society organizations should be given opportunity to present their proposals for advancement of government programs and policies through this type of initiative. For that purpose, the Council recommended the Department for Cooperation with NGOs to extend the deadline for submission of initiatives and to publish the extended deadline on its website.

The Council tasked the Department for Cooperation with NGOs at the General Secretariat to present the Government with the Analysis of Financial Support to Associations and Foundations from the Budget of the Republic of North Macedonia (for the period 2017 – first half of 2019), including comparative analysis of state funding models in other countries and proposed model for the Fund for Institutional Support to Civil Society Organizations and Co-Funding for EU Projects in RNM.

At the 23rd session, Council Members opened the issue related to the need for changes to the Decision on Establishment of the Council for Cooperation with and Development of the Civil Society in regard to advancing the work of this council during its next mandate. It was agreed that amendments to the Decision on Establishment of the Council for Cooperation with and Development of the Civil Society will be drafted with support from the Department for Cooperation with NGOs, after organization of broad consultations with civil society organizations by means of:

  • publishing an open call on the website: www.nvosorabotka.gov.mk;
  • submission of proposals from Council Members;
  • activities under the project “Technical Support for Advancing the Enabling Environment for Civil Society Organizations in the Republic of North Macedonia” and
  • other forms of consultation.

At the same time, the Department for Cooperation with NGOs was tasked to develop an updated review/overview on implementation of the Action Plan to the Government Strategy for Cooperation with and Development of the Civil Society (2018-2020) by September 2020 (tabular section and narrative summary) for the next session of the Council for Cooperation with and Development of the Civil Society, that will take place in October 2020.