CIVICUS Civil Society Index for Serbia Presented

Centar za razvoj neprofitnog sektora

The Argument analytical centre started a serios of public events and debates in a number of cities in Serbia, with the aim to present the results and findings of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) for Serbia.

The CIVICUS Index is an internationally recognized methodology aimed to measure the health of civil society in the countries around the world. The survey was conducted simultaneously in over 60 countries, including Serbia, where it was implemented by Argument, in cooperation with Centre for Development of Non-Profit Sector (CRNPS), with the support by UNDP and European Agency for Reconstruction.

The collected data were summed up in the form of civil society diamond that illustrates the four dimensions of civil society � structure, environment, values and influence.

The survey shows a number of obstacles to the development of civil society: problematic and insufficient implementation of the law, overall deficit of stimulating legal network, weak openness of political and socio-cultural environment in which the organizations function.

The Serbian civil society diamond shows that all four dimensions of civil society in Serbia are equally, but not sufficiently developed, which means that it is still in its initial stages of development.

The study is available for download on Argument and CRNPS websites.

The round of presentations starts today in Novi Pazar, and will also go to �abac (November 20), Kragujevac (November 27), Novi Sad (November 28), and Belgrade (November 18).