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CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is an international alliance of members and partners which constitute an influential network of organisations at the local, national, regional and international levels, and span the spectrum of civil society including: civil society networks and organisations; trade unions; faith-based networks; professional associations; NGO capacity development organisations; philanthropic foundations and other funding bodies; businesses; and social responsibility programmes. CIVICUS has worked for over a decade to strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world, especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizens' freedom of association are threatened. CIVICUS has a vision of a global community of active, engaged citizens committed to the creation of a more just and equitable world. This is premised on the belief that the health of societies exists in direct proportion to the degree of balance between the state, the private sector and civil society. CIVICUS provides a focal point for knowledge-sharing, common interest representation, global institution-building and engagement among these disparate sectors. It acts as an advocate for citizen participation as an essential component of governance and democracy worldwide. CIVICUS seeks to amplify the voices and opinions of ordinary people and it gives expression to the enormous creative energy of the burgeoning sector of civil society.

Originally based in Washington, DC, USA, CIVICUS has now established its global headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Mission

CIVICUS is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world.

Vision

A worldwide community of informed, inspired, committed citizens engaged in confronting the challenges facing humanity.

CIVICUS seeks to amplify the voices and opinions of ordinary people. It recognizes that for effective and sustainable civic participation to occur, citizens must enjoy rights of free association and be able to engage all sectors of society.

Values

• Justice and Equality - CIVICUS believes in the equality and dignity of every person, and that all people should be free to exercise their rights as citizens as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Reciprocity - CIVICUS exists to ensure that people treat one another with the respect with which they themselves wish to be treated. Civil society cannot thrive without mutual respect.
• Knowledge - CIVICUS recognises that to increase its global awareness of civil society and before it can assist or take action, it needs to form alliances with other concerned bodies to increase its influence and knowledge.
• Vision - CIVICUS is realistic about conflict in today’s world, but remains optimistic that most people, organisations, governments and businesses will work together for the benefit of all.
• Principled Courage - CIVICUS will always promote civil justice and pledges to act in a manner that honours the principles of democratic civil society.

Objectives

The three main objectives that inform our mission are:

• Civic Existence - to promote the rights of citizens to organise and act collectively towards defined goals for the public good.
• Civic Expression - to increase the effectiveness and improve the governance of civil society organisations, as well as their capacity to set and achieve their individual and collective goals.
• Civic Engagement - Engagement - to foster interaction between civil society and other institutions in order to increase the voice of citizens in public life.

Our programmes

CIVICUS programmes aim to ensure the unfettered ability of citizens, and the voluntary organisations that they organise, to enjoy the rights of free association and free speech and to participate in the full range of civic life (political, economic, cultural, educational, religious) in their communities and nations. CIVICUS carries out its mission and objectives through the following core programmes: (Please click on the programme name for details).

• The Civil Society Index (CSI) Programme uses an action-research methodology to assess the state of civil society in countries around the world, creating a knowledge base and impetus for initiatives to strengthen civil society. The CSI was launched by CIVICUS as a pilot project in 2000, and uses a unique, participatory methodology to assess the structure, impact, values and environment of civil society at the national level. The CSI is currently applied by CIVICUS and its national partner organisations in more than 50 countries.
• The CIVICUS Gender Equality Policy The 2001 Vancouver World Assembly strongly encouraged CIVICUS to develop an explicit policy on how to address gender equality issues and women’s leadership within CIVICUS and in all CIVICUS programs. Consequently, the CIVICUS Board appointed a gender task force to design and implement a policy formulation process consisting of a series of meetings and workshops for both CIVICUS Board and staff. This process also included a formal assessment of the present (implicit) level of gender equality policy within CIVICUS programmes and management. A draft Gender Equality Policy developed as a result of this process was presented for discussion to the CIVICUS Board in Glasgow in October 2005 and approved in principle.
• The Legitimacy and Transparency (L&T) Programme works to enhance the legitimacy, transparency and accountability of civil society organisations (CSOs), and to build public trust in them by improving their individual and collective governance. It builds on past CIVICUS commitments to promote ethical practice and agreed codes of conduct for CSOs, including functional and effective civil society organisation boards and other oversight mechanisms.
• The Participatory Governance (PG) Programme develops a systematic and comprehensive process of building the capacities of CSOs to engage more effectively with inter-governmental agencies (IGOs), regional integration bodies and national governments on issues of governance. This programme is also intended to increase the receptivity of governments and IGOs to civil society engagement.
• Civil Society Watch Programme (CSW) aims to protect the space for civil society and citizen participation in countries around the world by mobilising effective responses to situations where the rights to freedom of civic association (freedom of association, assembly and expression) are threatened. Building upon CIVICUS’ long-standing role as a global voice in defence of civic rights, the CSW programme exposes and seeks to prevent or overturn measures that threaten to curtail or eliminate the freedoms that civil society should enjoy.
• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Programme convenes civil society to use the MDGs as a unifying framework to galvanise joint mobilisation and activism by building bridges between trade unions, faith-based organisations and service-oriented, development, environmental and human rights NGOs. By working together to advance these goals, civil society organisations would in turn open up greater space for themselves to influence governance, policy and the delivery of services to the poor. The Secretariat of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is based at CIVICUS, and is an integral activity of the MDG Programme.
• Knowledge Development and Dessimination Programme capitalises on the global knowledge base of CIVICUS’ members, partners, volunteers, staff, and other stakeholders to provide a global resource centre and information clearinghouse for civil society. CIVICUS continually develops new and critical information tools for its rapidly growing membership and civil society in general, and assists in generating and disseminating knowledge and tools that help mobilize for social change. CIVICUS is also committed to being a learning organisation, and to sharing best practices and lessons learned amongst its wide and diverse membership.
• Civil Society Network Programme (CS Networks) comprises groupings of CSOs that contribute to the promotion of CIVICUS’ values and mission. They can be constructed on a thematic, regional, or linguistic and cultural basis. They provide a platform for CSOs that share common values and interests to engage in peer-learning, knowledge sharing and joint advocacy. CIVICUS serves as the Secretariat for two such networks: The Affinity Group of National Associations (AGNA) and the International Advocacy Non-Governmental Organizations Workshop (IANGO Workshop). CIVICUS also hosts the Accountability Charter: an initiative born out of the IANGO Workshop that sets common standards of conduct for CSOs working trans-nationally for the advancement of public goods.
• CIVICUS World Assembly Programme (WA) serves as a primary venue for civil society practitioners, researchers, activists, concerned business leaders and representatives from development agencies to share ideas and experiences on strengthening citizen participation and civil society. One of the WA’s strengths is its ability to act as a forum where groups from around the world look at successful models for advancing national, regional and global agendas. Please see the CIVICUS World Assembly Brochure (English, PDF):
  Acting Together for A Just World. For the World Assembly programme, please click here.