On June 4th, 2019, BCSDN participated at the ‘International Civil Society Forum 2019’, in Bucharest, Romania. The Forum gathered more than 200 participants from 28 European countries, concerned that democracy, human rights or the rule of law are increasingly threatened throughout Europe. The event was organised by the Civil Society Development Foundation (FDSC) in Romania and the Slovenian Center for Information, Cooperation and NGO Development (CNVOS) in cooperation with the European Civic Forum and in the framework of the Romanian EU Presidency.
The forum set forth to coagulate and enable the contribution of civil society to the strengthening of the European Union values. Following the 2019 European Parliament elections, we need the new European Parliament and European Commission to actively support civil society to maintain its prominent role in protecting and implementing the EU values, defending and acting for access to fundamental rights for all.
This conference provided a unique space for civic actors to share and learn from different experiences, hear from a variety of stakeholders and engender meaningful cooperation between civil society and institutions at all levels towards giving real substance to shared EU values through dialogue and policy making.
At the conclusion of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the forum built a common message of civil society for the future Commission and the future European Parliament in the same spirit of building a value-based Europe and rebuilding the civil society’s space to actively contribute to this goal.