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GENERALIZATIONS ON THE ROLE OF THE MOLDOVAN CIVIL SOCIETY INSTITUTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Budurina-Goreacii Carolina, Cebotari Svetlana, Moldova State University, Chisinau, Moldova
E-mail: carolina.budurina@gmail.com
Abstract. This article examines the role of civil society institutions in the context of local community development in the Republic of Moldova, once with the detachment of our country from the Soviet Union. This fact has led to the identification of the main problems and challenges faced by the representatives of the associative and academic sector and have allowed the presentation of some recommendations on the development of local community in terms of economic, social and cultural aspects.
Key words: civil society institutions, problems, solutions, functions, role, community development.
Introduction
In the context of the globalization process, the importance of developing civil society institutions and their relationship with the government and business sector is increasingly discussed. At the beginning of the XXIst century, civil society institutions have become important actors in relation to the state, actively participating in the development of the community, where the citizen is placed at the center of local civic initiatives.
For the Republic of Moldova, the phenomenon has begun to be analyzed by researchers especially during the last two decades, once with the break-up of our country from the Soviet Union. However, there are few studies and reports in which the role of civil society institutions in the development of the local community has been investigated. It was determined by the fact that the communist party had total control over society and the citizen was limited in undertaking individual actions locally. Initially, in the early 1990s, the adopted democratic reforms did not envisage certain mechanisms geared to the development of civil society institutions, as they required time, resources and changes in mentality [7, p. 9-10].
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Starting from this point, we find that the subject investigated on the role of civil society institutions in the local community development is less studied by the academic staff. Several investigations, reports and sociological studies were elaborated by representatives of the non-governmental sector, who are directly involved in the activities at local, regional and national level. Their efforts have also been capitalized by the adoption of the legislative framework regulating the activity of the Moldovan civil society institutions, as well as in the mobilization of the citizens to get involved in certain events that contribute to local development, etc. However, in spite of the results obtained, there were elaborated modest analyzes regarding the integral approach of the role of civil society institutions' involvement in the economic and socio-cultural development of local communities. This finding was deduced indirectly from the activities carried out, but also from the studies elaborated by the associative sector.
At the same time, we note that the subject under investigation has also some findings:
1. Foreign and native researchers began to examine the concept of civil society institutions at the beginning of the XXI century. This term is defined as a total of formal and informal organizations of the associative sector that have the role of developing successful practices at local, regional and national level. In particular, civil society institutions are represented by: public associations, public/private institutions; economic agents; religious groups; informal groups, but also by ordinary citizens [2, p. 79].
2. The formation of the Moldovan civil society institutions began in 1988, once with the awakening of national conscience and social emancipation [12, p. 209-210]. Since then, they have undergone a continuous development (evolving from the stage of rebirth (1988-1990), establishment (1991-1996), consolidation (1997-2008) and transformation (2009-present). Today, national or local civil society institutions strive to become more familiar with communities and gain more trust from citizens while also focusing on improving management financial and human resources of the organization, which, once solved, will help to achieve better indicators in the development of the local community.
3. In a narrow sense, the concept of local community development is a process, as there are carried out conscious and planned interventions that are focused on the prosperity of the community and the welfare of individuals [4, p.55-60]. In a broad sense, the concept of local community development is a result, because there is a collective adoption of economic, social or cultural measures for the development of the local community [11, p. 130-138]. Also, the concept of local community development is focused on positive changes and on improving the living standards of citizens in the community. And these changes have to take place, especially at the economic, social and cultural level [10, p. 115-119].
4. The relationship between civil society institutions and the local community development is based on certain norms and values derived from the mission (purpose) of formal and informal civil society institutions, as well as the culture and traditions
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existing in community, which must be developed for the welfare of society. However, civil society institutions can not exist in isolation and their activity is more or less focused on local community development.
5. The legislative framework regulating the activity of civil society institutions in Moldova is favorable for carrying out the actions according to their objectives. However, many representatives of the associative sector do not know how to apply the provisions of the normative acts. At the same time, there are some stipulations that create certain ambiguities and impediments to the activities of civil society institutions [3, p. 11-15].
6. The number of Moldovan non-commercial organizations has increased greatly since 1991, once with reaching country's independence. In 2018 there were registered 11,702 nongovernmental organizations. Despite the quantitative increase, their role in local community development is less significant due to the low number of employees, poor organizational development, and insufficient financial resources for organizations. At the same time, the Republic of Moldova is represented by a wide variety of (in)formal organizations, covering virtually all spheres of activity.
7. Civil society institutions at national and local level, which are particularly active in the economic and socio-cultural spheres, are a reflection of the transformation of local communities. In the context of the precarious economic situation, the political crisis, the imperfection of legislation, such (in)formal structures are the most effective mechanisms of mobilizing civic engagement. At the same time, civil society institutions have to focus their efforts especially on involvement in such areas as health, culture and youth, as they include a considerable part of population on which general well-being depends.
8. Meanwhile we can not talk about a constructive and effective dialogue between civil society institutions and local public administration authorities. Although the Republic of Moldova has signed the main international documents on citizen's involvement in public affairs and has passed lots of internal normative acts in this respect, the local community development as a process and result is delayed to occur in the majority of localities in the country. Civil society institutions are informed and participate in public consultations organized by local government authorities [8, p. 2224]. However, the stages of involvement in the decision-making process, as well as the ability to influence and control certain public policies, are less representative for civil society institutions for several objective and subjective reasons invoked by local government authorities [5, p. 20-26].
9. Analyzing the specific functions of civil society institutions in the context of socio-economic and cultural changes at the local level, we identified the most important functions:
- promotion of human rights, the peaceful coexistence of ethnic minorities;
- economic development;
- ensuring gender equality;
- personal development of young people;
- social protection of citizens.
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Thus, our studies have shown that although several actions have been carried out at local level, a number of human rights are not respected. Ethnic minorities are often marginalized. They are not involved in activities that organized at local, regional and national level, because of the language spoken, the culture and values promoted. There are still stereotypes (especially in villages) about the role of women in society, while the economic situation in local communities continues to be precarious. At the same time, a number of youth issues have not yet been resolved, and social protection remains a priority task to ensure the general well-being of communities.
By combining efforts with local and regional authorities of first/second level and all local actors, positive changes can be achieved in their communities. However, there are still a number of issues that can be addressed more effectively through joint involvement.
10. Moldovan civil society institutions have a passive role in the local community development. This is due to the insignificant progress achieved at the local level. The activities carried out by nongovernmental organizations do not have continuity. Many of actions are spontaneous, occasionally and as long as there is financial support.
11. The confidence of Moldovans in civil society institutions is low, with respective evolution: 22% in 2001; 26% - 2002; 29% - 2003; 36% - 2004, 35% - 2005; 32% - 2006; 39% - 2007; 20% - 2008; 34% - 2009; 30% - 2010; 23,8% - 2011; 22,5% - 2012; 22% - 2013; 26% - 2014; 24,2% - 2015, 15% - 2016. At the same time, the results presented in the study "Barometer of Public Opinion" showed that about 30% [1] of the population trusted NGOs in April 2017.
12. The staff of (in)formal organizations require professional training and qualification. At the same time, the Moldovan civil society institutions continue to contribute to positive changes at the local level. But the results of their actions and role depend not only on the civic attitude and activism of citizens, but also on local public administration authorities, which must support and encourage the civil society institutions in everything they do [6, p. 34-35].
In order to improve the situation, we believe that:
(1) Local Public Administration authorities have to:
A. Develop some social dialogue forums involving not only trade unions, employers and government representatives, but also civil society institutions. Thus, at these forums there would be discussed topics of common interest in the development of local communities [9, p. 13]. In other words, the Republic of Moldova should take the example of Romania in the application of the notion of "tripartite social dialogue "plus", through which the civil society institutions participate in the tripartite consultations within the social dialogue committees as a member.
B. Ensure the implementation of international and national legal framework on strengthening the political dialogue. In particular, civic society institutions participate in public affairs, the public policy process and the decision-making process. Also civil society institutions should be involved in all stages of the process: information, consultation, involvement, influence and control.
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C. Launch a forum of discussions on the City Hall's website so that civil society institutions and citizens in particular can ask questions or express the needs and problems they face at the local level.
(2) In order to accomplish its specific functions regarding: promotion of human rights, the peaceful coexistence of ethnic minorities; economic development; ensuring gender equality; personal development of young people, as well as the social protection of citizens, the civil society institutions registered at national and local level have to:
a) promote human rights, the peaceful coexistence of ethnic minorities through:
- identifying cases of human rights violations in local communities and bringing them to authorities, for undertaking certain measures in this respect;
- organizing more information activities on human rights, basically with the representatives from the local, regional or national public authorities, in order to undertake the measures and prevent the violation effects both on citizen and society, as a whole;
- supporting ethnic minorities in the promotion of their own culture and traditions, through carrying out more activities to facilitate and develop interethnic and intercultural dialogue;
- promoting a positive image of marginalized groups and ethnic minorities through fair and transparent media coverage of journalists' activities about and for the benefit of these people.
b) contribute to economic development through:
- involving citizens in social entrepreneurship programs by providing small business development facilities and more support from the state;
- carrying out economic activities that are adapted to the realities of Moldovan rural space, by capitalizing the human potential and applying economic policy measures at all levels, that would contribute to the development of human resources in rural areas.
c) ensure gender equality through:
- carrying out regional and local education/awareness campaigns, trainings and public lessons, focused primarily on changing stereotypes and negative social attitudes about women's status;
- developing and distributing informative/methodical materials, including guides to ensure gender equality in educational, health and justice institutions;
- involving economic agents in promoting empowerment of women at work by improving internal regulations, wage policies, and actions aimed at reconciling work and family life.
d) contribute to personal development and develop programs for young people through:
- providing opportunities for greater involvement of young people in local communities in various training and project programs;
- informing young people on the events to be held in order to provide an equal participation of all those interested in these activities.
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e) ensure the social protection of citizens through:
- streamlining the social benefits system by directing them to the poorest and focusing on social groups at risk;
- developing and implementing specific programs, such as: protection of solitary persons, protection of persons with disabilities;
- creating several social canteens in rural areas and encouraging more volunteers to take care of homeless people in need [13, p. 42-43].
(3) Financing organizations have to:
- develop grant programs that would require the presentation of the social impact, not just the immediate results. These will create opportunities to analyze the situation within the locality and will contribute directly to solving economic and socio -cultural problems and improving the living standards of the local community;
- support the initiatives of local civil society institutions that have demonstrated credibility and transparency. The continuity of projects provides more effective results and better quality of services rendered in the interests of citizens and the community in general.
- ensure the capacity building of civil society institutions in various areas of the country.
Conclusions
We believe that the general findings and recommendations presented in this article will raise the awareness among the authorities about the problems of citizens, but also about the role played by civil society institutions in the development of local communities. At the same time, we hope that these issues will be found on the working agenda of government authorities, local public administration authorities and funding organizations to ultimately contribute to the general well-being of citizens.
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