CONFERENCE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

ReBuilding Democracy

Our conference is an event for civil society, grant-making organisations and donors working in the region on civil sector development to think together. We believe that a strong, independent civil sector is the foundation of a resilient, well-functioning democracy. The conference provides an annual meeting point for those actors to discuss and agree informally.

SHARED THINKING

For free speech

Over the past decade, the Central and Eastern European region has witnessed a worrying democratic decline in legislation, as well as in the autonomy of civil society organisations and the social participation of citizens. In addition, smaller organisations operating in rural areas are more dependent on local and national authorities, which significantly affects their possibilities and independence. Recognising the dangers of this process, larger donors are increasingly focusing on supporting capacity building activities in rural regions. The constant challenge for these programmes, regardless of national specificities, is how to promote sustainable development in the long term, so that they are not just ad hoc financial support.

I enjoyed networking and talking to experts/donors coming from various organizations.

The event was well organized and the panels presented a good overview of the CSO/NGO sector.

Was incredibly useful for networking, prompting discussions, etc.

Really great selection of participants, that represents different interests within the same sphere.

It was a great concept to bring together donors, intermediary organizations, service providers and grantees.

It was exciting to explore these diverse perspectives.

The whole event proved to be highly useful and well managed.

The selection of guests and participants was quite successful and the working method proved to be highly efficient.

Reflection, analysis, planning and action

Year after year, at Rebuilding Democracy conferences, we try to break out of our habits. To achieve this goal, we place great emphasis on reflection, analysis and planning before action. Above all, we ask ourselves the question “what happened?”. It is about us and our organisation, how do we feel, what are our experiences? In the analysis we try to understand the environment, society and culture in which things happen and fill in the maps and frameworks we use to understand them. The final step is to plan based on our new knowledge so that we can act more effectively.

YEAR

3

COUNTRIES

30+

PARTICIPANTS

50+

Downloads

Report of previous conferences

2022 2023 2024

News

(Re)Building Democracy conference report

Support and capacity building programmes for civil society in Central and Eastern Europe were the focus of this year’s (Re)Building Democracy conference….