IDA-VIRUMAA CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM 2014

Where: Jõhvi Concert Hall When: 28.11.2014 at 09.00 Invited: NGOs, Foundations, municipalities, different institutions, and other interested parties The Forum has three main key words: Participation, Involvement, Cooperation!

More find at www.foorum2014.sscw.ee

PARTICIPATION – of Ida-Virumaa NGOs in wider civil society events, local and national application rounds etc

INVOLVEMENT – the NGOS involvement in decision making processes and policy design, developing their surroundings etc.

COOPERATION  - between Estonian and Russian speaking organisations, between organisations and local government, international cooperation etc.

Ida-Virumaa Civil Society Forum 2014 main aims to advance the visibility on civil society level and the active participation in civil society of Russian language population and Russian speaking NGOs. 

Additional goals of the Forum are: 

• Increase the motivation of Russian language population and of the Russian speaking organisations.
• Promote awareness in Ida-Virumaa of the problems concerning the involvement of Russian language population and Russian speaking NGOs.
• Advance cooperation between Ida-Virumaa’s Estonian speaking and Russian speaking organisations.
• Create Ida-Virumaa Civil Society Network that would support the development of civil society in Ida-Virumaa and cooperation between NGOs.
• Improve Ida-Viru County Development Plan on the topic of Civil Society according to the needs of the target group. 

Target group:

• Russian speaking NGOS and foundations form 2/3 of the participants. Estonian speaking NGOs and foundations will form 1/3 of the participants in order to promote cooperation between Russian speaking and Estonian speaking organisations.
• Other parties involved include ministries, Ida-Viru County Government, businesses, umbrella organisation, foundations and representatives of possible financers as the third sector in Estonia is largely project based. 

Wider beneficiaries include the Russian language population in Ida-Virumaa and the civil society in Ida-Virumaa and with success these processes can also be used as an example to other counties.

Expected results

• Representatives of the organisations who participated are more aware of their possibilities to develop their organisation, expand their activities and be a more active participant in civil society.
• Russian speaking organisations and their needs are more visible in Ida-Virumaa.
• Estonian speaking organisations and Russian speaking organisations are more motivated to cooperate and opportunities to cooperate have increased.
• On the basis of organisations that participated a Ida-Virumaa Civil SOciety Network have been created with the purpose of enabling cooperation between NGOs and stakeholders and developing civil society and avocating for its members on a national level.
• Ida-Virumaa Development Plan 2014-2020 has been amended on the topic of civil society based on real needs of the target groups.

Project is support of  Ministry of the Interior and National Foundation of Civil Society