OSCE Mission to Skopje workshop promotes co-operation between civil society and local authorities

SKOPJE, 18 June 2007 - Co-operation between non-governmental organizations and local authorities in Skopje was the focus of an OSCE-supported workshop held today.

About 100 participants, most of them NGO representatives, took part in the workshop, organized by the Committee for Inter-community Relations and supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

The workshop is part of the OSCE Mission's efforts to support Skopje's local authorities as they develop a strategy for co-operation with NGOs. The strategy will include criteria for distribution of financial support to the NGOs.

"For the strategy to be successful, it must be developed in a transparent manner with wide participation by the NGOs," said the Deputy Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Natalya Drozd.

"This project helps involve citizens in decision-making, and it makes civil society more effective."

The Mayor of Skopje, Trifun Kostovski, added that the workshop and the development of the strategy gave NGOs a chance to have more say in the work and decisions of local government.

The workshop marked the start of a four-month project that will target around 800 NGOs in Skopje.