SOZM

I was finally able to meet with another women’s rights organization for my next meeting. SOZM or the National Council for Gender Equality (НСЖМ), is an NGO located in Skopje focusing on domestic violence. They had the smallest office I have yet seen. They had some room that was at most 10 feet long and 5 feet across. They fit about 5-7 people in this office at the time I was there. It was very disorganized- papers and books everywhere, but they were in the middle of a campaign. This was my shortest interview, because they had allotted less than one hour for our meeting. Also, they were very busy at this time.

This interview took place through a translator, because the head of the organization didn’t speak English, however, some of the information I got from the lady who translated. She also worked there and was not just a translator.

After the “reorganization” of Macedonia in 1991, they created the organization in Skopje and a few in other towns. They hosted humanitarian and peace events across the country. About 4 years later, there were 13 different women’s organizations in a network for international women’s rights.
Back then, many women were not involved in political activity. From the first and second parliamentary elections only 4 or 5 of the 120 members were women. The Reason for this, according to SOZM, was the parties themselves. They didn’t have women in the parties, they saw no need at first. This was one of their first goals- to get more women involved in politics. This was one reason for the establishment of their NGO- they saw this as a channel for social activity.
Using the political empowerment of women as the jumping board, they went as network throughout MK. All the different organizations completed independent activities but shared a common vision.

The government is supposed to support local women organizations and build their capacity. In 2011, there are 110 local independent organizations in the network that SOZM is a part of. They are the result of organizations acting as a network to promote the interests of women. Outside of the network, there are 200 other independent local women’s organizations The NGO sector outside of Skopje is not very active, nor visible. But there are a few NGOs that are very active.

SOZM works with the government and the municipalities, but mostly with the municipalities. They have no problem working with the government. They work closely with the local government, but it is “a different story” when working with the national government. Every time they approach the national government the situation is different. The national government  is fine to work with, but just not good for money. They have not received funding from the government for over 5 years; what funding they did get, was very minimal. All the funding comes from international donors. There is more money coming from the national government in the future. After MK became a Candidate Country, there was less funding available to NGOs in MK. In the future, they want to their use of international donors. While many of the people active in their organization are volunteers, they need funds to pay for their office space and main activities.
They work towards fighting the perception of opposition NGOs. They admit there are some NGOGOs and ones that are specifically one party or the other, but not all are. SOZM claims that not very many organizations are perceived this way. They did not elaborate.

While they mainly focus on violence now, they want to branch out to focus on economic and political issues. They do not yet have the funds to realize these goals yet.
SOZM provides a SOS line in three different mobile numbers, so it is no charge to the victims. They are able to reach someone to talk about their problems. Then the women who call will be refereed to other organizations for shelters, legal aid, etc. They can also be advised on their legal rights.  They also have an intervention center. You can stay there for 24 to 48 hours before you have to move. The center provides accommodation and food for the women. Outside of Skopje other organizations provide the same services within the network or women's organizations. They promote the call lines and shelters on local media, leaflets, etc. They even organized a round table with the stakeholders when the lines first became active.

They probably serve about 80 women monthly.

They also focus on the economic empowerment of women. They provide English and computer courses. They will train women how to start their own businesses. Or how to expand a current business. There is also a program for peace and conflict resolution that they work with. They promote the UN Resolution 1325. Towards increasing the participation of women in politics/democracy, their input for decision making, peace and in upper levels in the police and army.

ESEM (Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of Republic of Macedonia)

was really hoping to meet with this next NGO, I had found one of their publications while I was in the US and it was amazingly informative! So, I was very disappointed when I didn’t hear from them for over a month, and then when I called them to ask about the email, they stated “Yes, we got the email.” Nothing else. However, they did agree to set up a meeting with in 48 hours.

This was Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women of Republic of Macedonia (ESEM). Their office is located right off the main square in an apartment building, like every office seems to be here. When you walk in, you find a reception area, conference room, and 2-3 offices (I am not sure, because I walked directly into the conference room and was not given a tour). There was a built in bookshelf to one side of the conference room, totally filled with books. The table was littered with tons of papers, obviously mid thought. There was also a TV on, which was kept on through the interview.

ESEM focuses on women and equal opportunities They try to make sure that MK and EU standards are aligned. This is difficult because there is no EU standard, every country has a different standard. In MK there is a draft law on equality by the opposition, but it is mostly for general discrimination which is a “defocus” (not positive, but will strengthen the general system). There is no systematic approach to gender equality.

ESEM was formed in 1985. This period was the initialization of civil society in MK. They were helped with aid from a Dutch Development Agency. Their initial focus was on assessing and addressing the urgent needs of women. They have moved into a new area recently on women’s health. But they do focus on violence against women and women’s human rights (monitor quality implementation of treaty). They then are able to report to the UN on their findings. They claim they have the ability to improve certain issues, parallel to the EU progress reports. They have a highly structured organizational framework. There is a small set of employed staff. Any external professionals they have are contracted employees. They use their partner institutions to implement their different activities. ESEM uses all of their resources to lobby and advocate for women. If the current changes work, they will advocate for even more changes.

They maintain legal centers with direct serves. They also have a health info center where they provide advice on health issues. The health center gives them direct access to women who they can communicate. In the last 2-3 years, they have begun to develop budget monitoring in the health sector. Initially they focused on Roma health, but then switched to domestic violence. ESEM has office hours and phone numbers that people can call to find out about services for women (be it domestic violence or health related).ESEM provides services 2 days per week in the afternoon. They offer legal aid and pro-bono court representation when needed. This shows that people are turning to civil society for help; there is a small positive image.

While most of the civil society is really developed, there needs to be certain amount of cooperation between the government and said civil society. The civil society sector has the capacity, history, and potential but they are not used to help society. NGOs are often treated as enemies of the state, since they often monitor the government and act as a watchdog. This even goes are far as the government proclaiming that NGOs are essentially the opposition. Roughly 10,000 NGOs are registered in MK, which ESEM sees as a clear indicator that something is going on. Yet, ESEM believes that citizens see the sector as merely a way to get rich or, rarer, to contribute to society. ESEM theorized that the negative public perception of NGOs came from people who were willing to misuse the funds. Some organizations were used politically, and this contributed as well . There is an Awful perception of the left leaning Open Society Institute, which further negatively effects the rest of the civil society because they often the scape-goat of the government. Since ESEM can’t avoid this type of labeling, they ignore it.

When asked about the cooperation between NGOs and the government, ESEM responded that it depends on the ruling party and then who is specifically in power. NGOs are treated as the enemy and the government thinks NGOs are trying to usurp the government. Any cooperation between the government and NGOs is initiated by the NGOs, ESEM claims; you will rarely find honest cooperation initiated by the government. Often, they further claim, when NGOs have begun the cooperation, government employees often think that it is supposed to be a one way cooperation (NGO to the government) rather than a two way street. While ESEM could think of some examples of good cooperation with the government, it was very very rare. There is a difference between the local municipalities and the national government, but not much. Neither are interested in transparent activities. They also both use NGOGOs to cover up government activities. ESEM goes as far as to claim that the government has created their own civil society sector and that there are two sectors in MK: the real NGOs and the ones created by the government. According to ESEM, civil society is not sustainable in MK. It is hard to find real results of NGO’s work. There is a problem with activism and the formulation of the civil society field. Most NGOs are dependent upon foreign aid. This situation is creating an impossible working environment. Funding is already scarce, and these NGOGOs make it worse. Since 2010, there has been a downsizing in the civil society sector. It has become passive, according to ESEM. The sector exists, but does not do anything productive. Also, the quantity has decreased, possible from the lesser amount of money flowing into Macedonia. Cooperation with the government can be views through different lenses. ESEM meant that cooperation could be seen as equal depending on which issue you judge it off. However, there is no ‘established’ cooperation on any issue. They propose that when the government decides to actually cooperate with everyone who is responsible for subject. If NGOs can work with all ministries that address an issues, then when everyone is included, they can see the result as part of their own work- and thus want to maintain it. The government won’t refuse to work with you if you show them the benefit to them- but there has to be a benefit. Yet, some NGOs also think that cooperation with the government is a threat, a sell out.

There is some MK funding available to NGOs, and there is even a Department for Civil Society. The government announces grant opportunities, but the amount is quite small and maybe less than 1-2% of the budget. ESEM finds it “annoying” how funds are awarded. According to ESEM, the ministers directly decide which NGOs to support. Further, they do not see the applications as an opportunity to connect with many different NGOs, just preferring their own NGOs. While it is all “official and proper,” it is not “fair.” ESEM has received money from the MK government in the past.

Women’s NGOs are treated the same as other NGOs, and much is based upon the capacity of the different civil society organizations. Compared to the other civil society sectors in Macedonia, the women’s civil society sector is highly developed. They are more capable than the other NGOs in other sectors of the civil society sector. There is sustainable opportunities within the civil society sector for women’s NGOs. Since ESEM is striking out against cultural norms and traditions, this makes them stronger. Many NGOs can’t escape from general development and often lack the organizational funding and vision needed.

The meeting was very informative, especially about the ‘women’s situation’ in MK, but I am saving that for another collaborated post with information I have gained from another source as well.

Volunteer Center Skopje

My very first productive meeting was with the Volunteer Center Skopje is a youth based volunteer center that tries to “give non-formal educational possibilities to the young people in different fields, in local and international level, to promote the idea of volunteerism and to connect young people without reference to their nationality, religion, political economical, or social status. We are putting effort to develop a multicultural civil society, to reinforce the existing democratic structure, to enhance the affirmation of young people through their individual abilities and skills and to connect the young people with the purpose of their closer cooperation.” (Website of Volunteer Center Skopje on 10/14).

I meet with my contact at the Volunteer Center (VCS) the same day I emailed them- talk about good impressions! Ben, as I will call him, once again to disguise his identity. (As a note, I am choosing Western names rather than other Macedonian names so that I do not accidentally choose someone who works at their company.) Their office is located in Kisela Voda, a neighborhood in Skopje, in an apartment building up a few floors. Their office is located, like many others, in a renovated apartment. From what I could tell, there were 4 separate rooms: 2 private offices, a kitchen and meeting room, and a open area with a few desks. (This could be off, as I was not given a tour). We went into the kitchen/meeting room, where there was a big table with chairs all around and tons of informational and hand-drawn posters on the wall. There was also an exit to the small balcony they had as well. On one side there was a fridge, with sink and stove.  

What the Volunteer Center Skopje does, in Ben’s terms, is to help develop skill through field work of people aged 18-30 who can volunteer in different European Countries. They host EVS, European Voluntary Service (which is like a European Peace Corps), volunteers. They also give out grants to help create “bridging projects”- projects who bridge the gap between ethnicity's. They also focus on producing a youth journal and help with children’s centers. They really want to help bring people together. Ben acknowledges that it is difficult to reach the older people who are set in their ways but rather the youth. It is better to get to know other cultures, Ben states, and live by yourself as a youth, but it is difficult to get money for living alone and becoming independent.

The European Union has spent money to help with the idea of volunteerism, even declaring 2011 as the Year of Volunteering. The EU is trying to help with youth unemployment and avoid the protests and uprising they had recently seen; they wanted to give them something productive to do. The program is also trying to help youth gain skills for more opportunities in labor after they return to their home country. The EU believes that this program will help with increasing mobility and helping the youth find jobs internationally. Ben and the Volunteer Center Skopje have tried to bring the volunteering program to Skopje and to increase the activism of youth here in Macedonia. While their program is slowly increasing, Ben believes there is room for more growth in the area of volunteerism.

They have started a program that is to help “develop and implement local youth strategies. This program is a pilot program in the Balkans- no other country has yet to attempt this sort of connection with the youth and their neighborhoods. In the city of Skopje there are 10 municipalities/neighborhoods. So the VCS worked with the local communities and government offices to create focus groups that will develop an access plan for activities. They were checking their newly created plans through public opinion and the top 5 were focused on for creating a volunteer project. They then organized activities to help them engage with the local community. Currently, there are even more projects in development.

Ben believes that volunteerism helps with creating a civil society. It can help to create a “real or normal civil society.” Ben believes that civil society exists only on paper in MK; however, young people have the right to change the government. NGOs in general started moving towards working on civil society in the last 5 years. Before that they were connected with politics or not really functioning. When faced with the question of what has changed in the past few years to show an increase in the movement towards the civil society sector vs. politics, Ben had some real quick answers.

• The internet. Before it was a real privilege to have internet due to the cost. Now about 60-70% of all Macedonians have affordable internet. Yet, people are still experiencing how to use the internet, because it is so new.
• Until 2009, the EU was off limits due to the prohibitive costs of visas. So, people could not see anything outside of the Balkans. Only about 5% had been outside of the area before 2005. Now costs have been seriously cut, and a visa liberation agreement has been implemented, allowing those with a bio-chip passport could travel freely to the Schengen Visa area.
• Laws have changed. They have changed the target groups and the cost of running an NGO to make it easier. Basically, if you have a new idea for an NGO you can start it.
• There are more opportunities where you can become engaged in your community now.

Yet, and this is a big yet, young people’s interest is still very small. The attitude of service is missing from the discussion. Ben points out the difference between MK and the Netherlands/Belgium where volunteering is part of the curriculum. Recently VCS held a conference with the Red Cross on how to involve NGOs and other local organizations if there is a problem in Skopje. The Law of Crisis Management allows this sort of cooperation, and they began to plan how to connect the state and non-state actors. The only problem is trust- neither side trusts the other, which will impede emergency response after a disaster.

I also learned a new term “ngogo” standing for Non-Governmental organization/governmental organization, or “non governmental-governmental organization. Yea, that boggles the brain, does it not? This may be endemic to other areas around the world- I do not doubt it, but I only heard of it once I got to MK. There is a perception here, as mentioned before that if you take money from the government you are connected with the government/party. Ben wanted to stress that you could be part of the party that was not in power and yet still need to work with the current government. Sometimes NGOs avoid working with the government just to be able to say that they are not connected with the government- and so that there is no perception of working with the government, Ben suggests. However, NGOs/civil society and the government need to “[work] together to develop a good society.” Furthermore, “only by working together can we get somewhere.” In the past the government worked better with civil society, but then the party in power changed. The new government consideres that if there are good things that the NGO has to say about the government, then they are part of the goernment (it is considered); if they say bad things about the government, then they are considred part of the opposition.

VCS works with the local municipalities. When Ben and others go to speak with the government, they can reach the representatives that they “have to deal with.” Then after the local representatives, they move on to the state level, but they are more oriented towards the local level, where their programs take place. Ben finds it very difficult to speak with the national government, but it is Very Important to not “jump steps” in the chain of command. (Also, when I saw government, they think only the national government. The local government is called a municipality.)

There is a new local authority- with a law on decentralization. The national government is transferring more power to the local government. There are different taxes now (70%national, 30% local) than they were before. Currently the government depend on non-governmental organizations for development, but the government needs to begin to help with development themselves.
In addition to the government, the youth needs to change how they use their free time and turn it into quality time. They need to stop spending all of their time in cafes or on the internet. When asked how to change their perspectives Ben sounded like any US parent or couch

• get out of the house
• Get off the internet
• they need to go outside and play, get some fresh air, get physical

Ben told me that UNICEF tried to work with high school and elementary school students, but UNICEF claimed that it was too difficult because they needed “permits.” And Ben claimed, they were too afraid to make the connections because elementary students are managed by the local government and the high schools are managed by the national government.Ben suggests that the government let NGOs complete volunteer activities with the local elementary schools and then help the students move through the different processes.

Yet, VCS needs local government cooperation to fully integrate their projects. The problem is the “start,” you have to start somewhere. The information needs to be given on time to the students, they need to know their is an opportunity where they are needed and how to become active. The government and NGOs need to be built from below. It is more difficult to organize if the government is planning the event. There is too much bureaucracy, Ben claims, to be effective. Also, the enthusiasm will be curbed if the government is involved. Ben asserts that the NGOs need to become ore active in the city.

Further “Balkan countries can offer a lot, but due to disputes [with neighbors] they are discouraged,” Ben states. Ben believes that the world sees the Balkans as primitive. On order to create a more stable climate, the countries of the Balkans have to agree amongst themselves first. The future is not about joining the EU, but about How they join the EU.

As far as I can tell, from the numerous e-mails that I have received from VCS after my meeting, that they are very good at recruiting volunteers to the EVS program mentioned above. They have also had a meeting or two about the magazine they produce (I can’t wait to see how it comes out soon). This is one of the NGOs I hope to volunteer with. I am waiting on a response to see when I can volunteer with them.

Change of Plans

Originally I had planned on working towards getting a paper published on my work in Macedonia on women's NGOs and their access to the government. 

But like any good research plans change and so have mine. Instead of specifically working towards publishing a paper or condensing all of my research and contacts over this 9 months to a single paper, I will be blogging about my research here- on my website. 

In addition to the type of research changing, my content is changing as well. I have been here a month in Skopje and have almost no research to show for it. It has been next to impossible to reach the NGOs here. Even if they receive my email they do not respond until I call and ask if they got it. It just took a bit to figure out how to contact people here (if you have an email you should check it or not list it, ditto with the websites)- by calling only. 

I hope to show some insight into my research and NGOs in particular on this blog. I will take any constructive feedback as well as comments or help in research offered.