BCSDN participated to the Strategic partners’ co-ordination meeting on the Council of Europe (CoE) Code of Good Practice for civil participation in the decision-making process. The meeting was organised by the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe (Civil Society and Democracy Committee) with a view to identify its strategic partners for the implementation of the Code of Good Practice. It took place on the 3 of December in the Council of Europe Liaison Office with the European Union in Brussels. A large number of European networks and national organizations were recognized as possible partners and participated to give their input on the Code and the possibility to include its promotion in their programs: Partners Foundation for Local Development (Romania), Access Info Europe, European Anti Poverty Network, CEDAG – European Council of Associations of General Interest, European Movement, European Civic Forum, CEE CN – Central and Eastern European Citizens Network, ENNA – European Network of National Civil Society Associations, ECAS – European Citizen Action Services and Balkan Civil Society Development Network. This group is foreseen as an open and live brainstorming committee that is not going to be limited in number. The idea is to include a large number of organizations so that the Code can reach different target groups (geographically and thematically).
The general opinion is that the Code is a tool that can be promoted during trainings, conferences and workshops and while working with local governments. The CoE will make the website promoting the Code more interactive and all the strategic partners taking part in this group will be presented on the website. This will give visibility to the project as well as visibility to the partnership.
The Code and the preparations steps were presented by Ariane Rodert who mentioned BCSDN members input several times and thanked them for their successful cooperation and participation to development of the Code. Most BCSDN member organizations participated in different capacities and stages in preparation of the Code, i.e. Tina Michielli from CNVOS, Slovenia participated as one of the co-authors of the Code, representatives of MCIC, Civic Initiatives, CPCS, KCSF, ACSF etc. have participated in regional consultations and promotion conferences.