Civil Society, Needs and Perspective!

Luan Ibraj

02 September 2005

To get more first-hand information about the development of Kosovo�s civil society organizations, Syri i Vizionit in particular, OneWorld SEE has interviewed Veton Mujaj, Executive Director, who says that �Action in civil society sector was both a need and a perspective!

Why civil society?

Veton Mujaj, Executive Director of Syri i Vizionit

Coming out of a war and knowing only anarchy and totalitarian system in all spheres of life, the Kosovo society was in the stage and getting to know itself, and at the same time, it was introduced to various ways of functioning of systems in the world. With many social, economical and political problems, this society is determined to take on the building of democracy. One of the main aspects for sustainable democracy and for its continuous enforcement was the creation and finding of possibilities for functioning of all the structures. In order for these structures to reach their functional weight, the civil society was seen as practical and supportive to the establishment of institutions. Having in mind that it was a new form, not all that familiar in these parts of the world, civil society had first to be created and structured.

Veton Mujaj, Executive Director of Syri i Vizionit

No one could impact this new way of action and direct it to the right path than the youth. The great support and practices that were introduced by the international structures in Kosovo post-war period contributed to a situation in which a part of the population, the youth in particular, started to understand the importance of civil society action. The needs of daily life, that seemed to offer perspective, have provoked a group of young people, and groups of similar young people in the region, to take different initiatives which were nothing more than attempts at improvement of their own needs, so that later this approach is adopted by others with different needs. Action in civil society sector was a need and perspective!

How is civil society treated in Kosovo?
Being a new form of action which is still undergoing the process of structuring in the sense of its existence; being as close as possible to the community needs; and having in mind the increase of their role in terms of assisting and structuring of other sectors of social life, treatment of civil society in Kosovo still hasn�t reached its optimal forms. In general, the civil sector in Kosovo, NGO�s in particular as legitimate carriers of community needs, is not well structured in terms of clear determination of their status in specific fields, understanding that government and business as two other important factors in democracy are not adequately established, which creates the unnecessary conflicts of interest. The biggest mistake is that it is often understood as opposition rather than partner of the Government in the efforts to improve the needs of the community.
One encouraging fact is that these relations are improving daily and adopt the proper forms of interaction.

What are the possibilities of NGO�s in Kosovo, with the one you represent in particular?
Having in mind that Kosovo is going through its most important phase of understanding the individual role of every citizen in the transition, and having in mind its numerous problems, the possibility for Kosovan civil society action in improvement of conditions is indeed great and necessary. All spheres of life in Kosovo need the assistance of the civil society, which is on a constant rise. The improved structuring of this sector and understanding of its role by other sectors, opens routes for civil society to play a key role in the improvement of the role of the citizen in relation with his/her direct relation to the improvement of the overall situation and the needs he/she has. The possibility of impact on better functioning of institutions is very large as well as the fields of action, taking into account here the most vital and needy fields such as education, health, relations between communities, economy and up to better functioning of the decision making sector.

�Syri i Vizionit� continuously restructures itself, maintaining its three important fields of activity in public life: information, awareness and advocacy had and keep on increasing the level of understanding the role of the individual in the society. Activities and projects implemented by our organization are directly inter-related with the needs of the community where appearance and solving of issues is taking place. The possibility for action of our organization is increasing constantly with the understanding of the citizen that he/she is part of their problem and needs solving. This is best illustrated by the number of activities/projects and partnerships that are increasing from one day to the other in our organization and altogether with them the number of participants, volunteers and beneficiaries in these actions.

How much can the civil society with its capacity impact the numerous processes that await Kosovo in the future?
One thing that needs strengthening is to bringing to the fore the needs and will of its citizens, in order for them to be part of work and action of all the subjects that are active in Kosovo, with international principles as basis of practice.

How do you see the role of civil society organizations in the future?
CSO functioning, not only in Kosovo but elsewhere in the Balkans, is increasing fast, and this offers the hope for comprehensible action of these organizations in their respective fields of action and establishment of coordination networks to be more closer to joint solutions of plentiful problems that this region has, and together with this direct assistance for other development structures on action with other countries which earlier have gone through this phase of action to find ways and new practices for development of the system known with name �Democracy".