How can governments foster meaningful citizen and stakeholder participation when trust is strained, debate is polarised, and civic freedoms are under pressure? Protecting civic space and enabling civic engagement is a critical – yet often challenging– condition for effective and responsive public governance. Without enabling environments for citizens and civil society to engage, participation risks becoming symbolic, exclusionary, or ineffective. Furthermore, OECD evidence suggests that when people believe that their views matter and that governments listen and respond, trust in public institutions increases. Conversely, when citizens feel excluded from decision-making or perceive participation processes as tokenistic, trust erodes. Low trust can in turn constrain governments’ ability to act. It reduces political room for manoeuvre, increases resistance to reforms and makes it more difficult to develop and implement long-term policy choices that aim to address complex challenges.
This event was the high-level launch of the mission-driven initiative on “Protecting Civic Space to Foster More Meaningful Public Participation”, a new cross-country initiative implemented with the kind support of the EEA and Norway Grants. Theproject places civic space at the heart of efforts to strengthen democratic governance and make public decision-making more responsive and impactful. It will support five beneficiary countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia and Lithuania – through in-depth country reviews, practical guidance and capacity-building, as well as a focus on improved monitoring of civic space and participation. The launch brought together senior government representatives and civil society to discuss why civic space and meaningful public participation matter more than ever and how stronger government–citizen relations can help governments navigate emerging risks and complex policy challenges.
The event also presented the project's main components and how they will lead to concrete results in supporting governments promote civic space and ensure participation efforts are more meaningful.
