Civil Society in
Transition and the Role of Civic Forums
On the 31st May 2001 LILP held a workshop on civil society in Renshaw's
Hotel, Belfast. The question of civil society in transition was identified
as one of particular importance in a 'post-conflict' context. When
conflict 'ends' so does the reason for being for many civil society
groups, indeed their very existence may come under question. The
workshop was divided into two sessions:
The
stream also facilitated an exchange visit to the Scottish
Civic Forum in Edinburgh, and a publication summarising the
main questions and challenges that arose during the project.
Civil
Society in Transition: The South African Experience
Panellists
included:
- Eldred
de Klerk, Community Development Council, Belfast,
formerly of CCR, South Africa
- Roelf
Meyer, Civil Society Initiative, South Africa
- Brandon
Hamber, Democratic Dialogue and Research
Associate at Queens, Belfast, formerly of CSVR, South
Africa (Chair)
The
many groups which make up civil society play active and diverse
roles which include: mobilising people, providing an enabling
environment, facilitating dialogue, transforming the state,
providing social services, and facilitating a context for
good governance. It was pointed out that these contradictory
roles become apparent in times of transition, as the challenge
becomes to supplement government, not oppose it.The questions
faced by civil society, as the peace process progresses are
both diverse and complex. For example civil society must
redefine itself, in terms of its role and its relationship
to governance. Practical problems, include the loss of civil
leaders to government and international jobs, and a decrease
in available funding as international players focus their
attentions elsewhere.For an outline of the major challenges
and questions that arose during the LILP stream please see
the Occasonal Paper on Civil
Society and the Role of Civic Forums.
The Role
of Civic Forums
Panellists included:
- Akuila
Yabaki, Executive Director, Citizens Constitutional
Forum, Fiji
- Chris
Gibson, Chairperson, Civic Forum for Northern
Ireland, Belfast
- Kate
Fearon, Political Advisor, Northern Ireland Women's
Coalition, Belfast (Chair)
The
Citizen's Constitutional Forum (CCF) in Fiji has, for six
years, operated in a difficult political environment. Defining
its role in terms of education and creating a multicultural
society, it has recently become involved in the constitutional
review process. The CCF is not linked to government and is
an NGO with charitable status. The Northern Irish Civic Forum
enjoys a very different structure to its Fijian counterpart,
coming into being as part of the Good Friday Agreement, it
is essentially linked to government. Its sixty members aim
to give a voice to everyone thus fostering compromise. Despite
differences, both speakers defined the overarching function
of their forums as providing a context or vision for good
governance.
For
an outline of the major challenges and questions that arose
during the LILP stream please see the Occasional Paper by
Cheyanne Church and Anna Visser, Civil
Society and Role of Civic Forums.
