CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

By Susan M. Camp

Graduate Student, Grand Valley State University

Definition

The nonprofit organization, CIVICUS, promotes civil society on a global basis. By July 2001, CIVICUS had over 604 members, representing organizations and individuals from over 105 countries. It is a global network of nongovernmental organizations and foundations whose aim is to promote civil society.

CIVICUS' purpose is to help create a world in which:

Citizen action is a vital feature of the political, economic, and cultural life of all societies; private action for public good is expressed by a rich and diverse array of organizations operating sometimes apart and sometimes in dialogue with government and business; a healthy society is understood as one in which there is an equitable relationship among citizens, their associations, businesses, and governments. ("The Concept and Practice" 2002)

Historic Roots

The organization, CIVICUS, grew out of a series of meetings that began in 1990 and 1991. As funders worldwide received requests for initiatives to help strengthen local and regional communities, the need for an organization to provide networking and information support became apparent. The Council on Foundations in the United States and its counterpart, the European Foundation Centre, were simultaneously grappling with this issue. Both organizations determined not to try to rejuvenate an earlier organization called the International Standing Conference for Philanthropy (Interphil), because of its limited scope and because of program and finance issues.

In early 1991, James A. Johnson, President of the Council on Foundations, and Brian O'Connell, president of INDEPENDENT SECTOR, were asked to establish an exploratory committee to determine if such an organization was needed. The first exploratory committee meeting was held in November 1991 and the second in February 1992. Each step of the process was a struggle. At this early stage, the discussions nearly broke down because "there were entirely different interpretations and reactions to such words and practices as philanthropy, voluntarism, civic and civil society, pluralism, nonprofit or nongovernmental organizations, advocacy, empowerment, participatory government, and on and on" (O'Connell 2000). The tension was eased when Miklos Marschall, a member of the committee and mayor of Budapest, observed that "effective societies exist in direct proportion to their degree of citizen participation and influence" (Ibid.). With that common ground in the forefront, differences caused by cultural variations seemed to lessen.

The result of these meetings was the decision to form an organizing committee to be chaired by Brian O'Connell. The organizing committee consisted of representatives from Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Hungary, Germany, India, France, Japan and the U.S. - a diversity of cultures, languages and economic conditions. The organizing committee's meetings were held in London in October 1992 and in Lisbon in January 1993. At times, the issues resulting from the diversity of the people involved seemed insurmountable. Three major obstacles had to be dealt with: 1) the perception that the process of organization had the appearance of being under the control of developed countries; 2) the frustration of the various members that priority of focus was not on their particular region or issues; and 3) attempts by funders to control the project.

In spite of these difficulties and many more, discussions continued, fed by the excitement of the information being exchanged and good will of the people dedicated to making a difference. Much of the discussion naturally dealt with fundraising. The initial estimate to operate the new organization as envisioned for the first three years was $3,081,000. Primary funders during the early years included Manuel Arrango, European Foundation Centre, Ford Foundation, Hitachi Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mexican Center on Philanthropy, The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and an anonymous donor. The Council on Foundations, European Foundation Centre, and INDEPENDENT SECTOR contributed with in-kind support, including staff time.

With high hopes and an ambitious agenda of goals and activities, the founding board of twenty members met for an organizing meeting in Barcelona in May 1993. Miklos Marschall was selected as executive director and officially began his duties in early 1994. In addition to ongoing financial and organizational issues, planning for the first World Assembly was underway. The World Assembly 1995, in Mexico City, involved 500 people from more than fifty countries. It was an exhilarating event for those who had spent nearly five years in the development of CIVICUS.

In May 2001, the board of directors adopted the third strategic plan in the history of CIVICUS. This strategic plan for 2002-2004 contained three major directives: to focus activities and energies around a few key issue areas, to streamline and restructure the organization, and to enhance its presence in developing areas of the world. As a result of these strategic initiatives, the board of directors elected in August 2001 contained thirteen members instead of twenty-six. The board approved the location of three offices, one in Washington, D.C., focused primarily on development and pubic affairs; one in London, will serve as the "central coordination hub for global resource mobilization and diversification of activities;" and a new central operations office in Johannesburg, South Africa ("The Concept and Practice" 2002). In addition, the board envisioned a major expansion of staff personnel.

Importance

CIVICUS defines its mission as "an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world" (CIVICUS 2002). It does this by facilitating work in two broad areas: promoting citizen participation and strengthening and enabling environments for civil society.

Appearing in the organization's Strategic Plan of 2002-2004, are the five major program areas, called core functions and competencies, to which CIVICUS has committed to focusing its work. They are:

• Crisis response: An effort to "mobilize quick, principled, and helpful responses to events that threaten citizen action and civil society rights and freedoms." CIVICUS has created a program called Civil Society Watch for this purpose. Updates on the status of civil society in various areas of the world are available on the CIVICUS website at Civil Society Watch Digest.
  
  
• Capacity-building: In order to help societies help themselves to increase social capital and community building, CIVICUS "undertakes programs, such as the Civil Society Index Project, that provide the tools and promotes member initiatives to strengthen civic existence, expression and engagement."
  
  
• Convening: A major role of CIVICUS is to serve as a facilitator, bringing together civil society actors "to share experience and knowledge as well as to define and work toward common goals." Sometimes such dialogues will also include government representatives, government organizations, and private industry.
  
  
• Knowledge Development and Dissemination: "CIVICUS is committed to building the intellectual capital of civil society and enlarging access to this capital throughout the world."
  
  
• Advocacy and Promoting Enabling Environments for Citizen Participation: CIVICUS advocates greater citizen involvement in public affairs. "This requires interaction with leaders in international and multi-lateral institutions, government, business, the media, and philanthropy."

To achieve it objectives in each of these purpose areas, CIVICUS has many programs and products. The CIVICUS Web site serves as a clearinghouse for news and events concerning global civil society and related organizations. CIVICUS publications are intended to increase knowledge and dialogue in the civil society arena. CIVICUS sponsors workshops and seminars for civil society actors to meet, learn and discuss issues. And its world assembly, convened biennially, is intended to bring together leaders from the private, public, and third sectors, to share knowledge and establish goals. Each world assembly is focused on a particular theme. For example, the 2001 Vancouver World Assembly was titled Putting People at the Centre: Voluntary Action Shaping Social and Economic Change.

CIVICUS has lofty goals and is important because it is the only major organization focused on a networking and facilitator role in promoting a global civil society. However, it is not without its difficulties. Caroline Hartnell, in Alliance online magazine (2001) discusses several issues that CIVICUS is still grappling with as it works to find its place in the global network. Is CIVICUS becoming a coalition of nongovernmental organizations or an association of associations? Is CIVICUS creating a meaningful dialogue across all three sectors? Will the new strategic plan help the organization stay focused and not be spread too thinly? Even more basic, is CIVICUS still needed? Does it have something distinctive and worthwhile to add to the global discussion? Brian O'Connell, founding co-chairman, believes that CIVICUS does have a niche - helping people who have no rights find ways to make significant changes in their lives.

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

If the organization proves to be effective, CIVICUS' goals place it in the position of playing an integral role of facilitator and convener of citizens, nongovernmental organizations (nonprofits) and governmental representatives within countries where this work is, yet, very young. Similarly, the organization can bridge the gulf between countries with newly developing nongovernmental organization sectors, and those with thriving sectors. CIVICUS' meetings and programs are aimed at building the third sector, civil society, and intellectual capital within countries and strengthening the global community. Time will tell if its connections and effect on the philanthropic sector, within a particular country and within the global community, prove to be strong.

Key Related Ideas

Civil society: A set of intermediate associations which are neither the state nor the extended family; civil society therefore includes voluntary associations and firms and other corporate bodies (Learning to Give 2003).

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs): is a term used in non-American countries to define their nonprofit sector (Ibid.).

Social capital: Features of social life-norms, and trust that enable participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared objectives (Robert Putnam at Learning to Give 2003).

Social justice: Justice applied to the framework of social existence; consideration of the requirements of justice applied to the benefits and burdens of a common existence (Learning to Give 2003).

Sustainable development is "that which meets all the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (The U.N. Brundtland Commission, 1987 at Caretakers.org).

Important People Related to the Topic

James A. Joseph: Served as president and chief executive officer of the Council of Foundations from 1982-1995. He served as president of the Cummins Engine Foundation (1971-76), as well as in numerous capacities in the administrations of Presidents Carter, Regan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton. Most recently he served as U.S. ambassador to South Africa from January 1996 through November 1999, and was awarded the Order of Good Hope, the highest honor the Republic of South Africa bestows upon a citizen of another country.

Currently Mr. Joseph is Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Studies at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and Leader-in-Residence at the Hart Leadership Program, both at Duke University.

Miklos Marschall: Received his doctorate in economics from Karl Marx University in 1984. From 1994 through 1998, Mr. Marschall was founding executive director of CIVICUS. In July, 1999, he joined Transparency International as executive director for East- and Central-Europe.

Kumi Naidoo: Executive Director of CIVICUS since 2000. He has also been a freelance journalist, editor and researcher. He is a Rhodes Scholar and has degrees in politics and law. Born in South Africa, Mr. Naidoo was active in the anti-apartheid movement. He fled the country for his personal safety, but returned in 1990 upon the release of Nelson Mandela and has worked for numerous political and social reforms.

Brian O'Connell: Currently serves as a professor for the University College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. Mr. O'Connell was founding president of Independent Sector and served as president and chief executive officer from 1980 to 1995. He served as chairman of the organizing committee for CIVICUS and as its first chairman of the board. He has also served as president of the National Council of Philanthropy and as chairman of the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations.

Related Nonprofit Organizations

Allavida (Alliances for Voluntary Initiatives and Development) grew out of Charities Aid Foundation. It brings together grant-making, training and capacity building, and research and publishing to provide resources for people working for the development of their communities (visit site at http://www.allavida.org).

The Civil Society International Web site, at http://www.civilsoc.org/, gives information on its publications and provides services to strengthen citizen's organizations worldwide working for civil rights, democratic institutions, social assistance, and economic reform.

The CIVNET Web site of Civitas International, at http://www.civnet.org, provides information on the world-wide non-governmental organization for civic education. Civitas aims to strengthen effective education for informed and responsible citizenship in new and established democracies around the world. CIVNET is a site for civic education practitioners (teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum designers), as well as scholars, policymakers, civic-minded journalists, and non-governmental organizations promoting civic education all over the world.

Nonprofit Pathfinder of the INDEPENDENT SECTOR Web site, at http://www.independentsector.org/media/nonprofit_pathfinder.html, is an online information resource for civil society organizations; it provides methodologies, research, bibliographies, and innovative profiles of community building experiments.

The Synergos Web site provides access to global news on philanthropy and civil society, publications, jobs and internships. With its partners, Synergos seeks to mobilize and bridge social and economic divides to reduce poverty and increase equity around the world (see http://www.synergos.org).

The Transparency International Web site, at http://www.transparency.org, gives information on this international non-governmental organization devoted to combating corruption, and bringing civil society, business and governments together in a powerful global coalition.

Related Web Sites

See information on "Related Nonprofit Organizations" above.

Bibliography and Internet Sources

Caretakers.org. Sustainable Development. [cited 14 January 2003]. Available from http://www.caretakers.org.au/new/sustainabilitydefinition.html [no longer available].

CIVICUS. Welcome to CIVICUS! [cited 30 September 2002]. Available from http://www.civicus.org/new/default.asp.

"The Concept and Practice of Civil Society: Perspectives and Responses from CIVICUS (World Alliance for Citizen Participation)." Briefing Paper, CIVICUS, Johannesburg, South Africa, May 2002.

Hartnell, Caroline, ed. "CIVICUS at a Crossroads." Alliance Magazine, 1 December 2001. [cited 16 September 2002]. Currently not archived online.

Learning to Give. Glossary of Philanthropic Terms. [cited 14 January 2003]. Available from http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/vocabulary.asp.

O'Connell, Brian. "First Lights: Recollections of the Beginnings and First Years of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation," October, 2000.

Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. James Joseph. Duke University. [cited 30 September 2002]. Available from http://www.pubpol.duke.edu/people/faculty/joseph/bio.html.

Transparency International. International Secretariat. [updated 18 September 2002; cited 16 September 2002]. Available from http://www.transparency.org/contacting_ti/secretariat.html.

University College of Citizenship and Public Service. Brian O'Connell. Tufts University. [cited 30 September 2002]. Available from http://uccps.tufts.edu/01_about/OConnell.html.