Day 1 will provide a framework for the whole event by focusing on how to capitalise on what civil society can offer in advancing the reform agenda and promoting good governance in the Eastern Partnership countries. It will start with a broader debate on the state of play in government-civil society cooperation and continue with a more focused discussion on cooperation in such key areas as trade policy, media and disinformation, and digital tools. Participants will offer ideas on how to advance the partnership between the governments and civil society, refining those ideas with concrete examples from the EaP and EU countries. Policy debates and formal “Experience Exchanges” within Working Groups will enable participants to work on specific means of clarifying and implementing the 20 Deliverables for 2020. They will also address recommendations to the Brussels Eastern Partnership Summit, stemming from the Civil Society Declaration, which will be officially adopted on Day 2.
The goal of Day 2 is to present the recommendations of civil society debated during the previous day to policymakers for consideration at the EaP summit and beyond, while also communicating the role that civil society sees for itself in the joint efforts to implement the 20 Deliverables for 2020 successfully. Later that day, these recommendations will be built on with stakeholder sessions involving both civil society and governmental actors on both cross-cutting and country-specific issues focused on maintaining progress towards reforms and on communicating to the citizens of the EaP countries the benefits of further economic and political cooperation with the EU.
The EaP CSF Pavel Sheremet Award was established in 2016 in order to recognize courage in journalism and outstanding achievement in the cause of media freedom in the Eastern Partnership region. This award honours Pavel Sheremet, an acclaimed critic of authoritarian leaders, who was killed in a car bomb explosion in 2016, for his exceptional contribution to the promotion of human rights and freedom of speech. Given that freedom of the media in the Eastern Partnership countries has been deteriorating in the past years, its importance cannot be overestimated. Accordingly, for the second time, the award will recognize outstanding reporting on injustice and human rights abuses.
The high-level debate will address the expectations and recommendations of civil society towards the EaP Summit as well as the implementation process of the 20 Deliverables for 2020. The panellists and participants will reflect on and further develop the ideas on how to improve civil society partnership with policy stakeholders and how civil society can do more to support effective implementation of the EaP policy after the 5th EaP Summit presented on Day 1. In particular, moderators will pose questions raised by the Civil Society Declaration to the panellists.
These debates with a multi-country focus on specific policy issues defined as civil society priorities will bring together information, ideas and recommendations from the public policy stakeholders and from the civil society. At the same time, the aim of these sessions is to deliver a message and the Civil Society Declaration recommendations to the stakeholders on how the civil society can contribute effectively to the implementation of the related 20 Deliverables for 2020 agenda in the near future.
The EaP CSF participants from each EaP country elect a Country Facilitator/National Platform Coordinator for a one-year term in accordance with the EaP CSF Statute. The elected person will coordinate the respective National Platform and ensure the link between the NP and the EaP CSF Steering Committee.
For the third time, the EaP CSF Steering Committee awards the three best projects funded through the EaP CSF Re-granting Scheme. Through the Scheme, the EaP CSF supports projects of the EaP CSF members with a regional dimension that contribute to achieving the mission and objectives of the Forum. The donors of the Scheme are the European Union and National Endowment for Democracy. The session will be finished with conclusions of the day and announcement what is still to be accomplished on Day 2 and 3.
The last day will be dedicated to presenting the final conclusions and recommendations addressing the current and possible future challenges the EaP will be facing. The first session will focus on reporting on the activities implemented by the EaP CSF in 2017 and adopting the new organisational strategy for 2018-2020 aimed at streamlining the CSF advocacy and policy advice mission in light of the 20 Deliverables for 2020. The closing remarks will explore the parallels between the work of the Estonian civil society that brought about the reforms for the benefit of the citizens and how similar reforms can be implemented in the EaP countries. Finally, the participants will have an opportunity to network and exchange experience with Estonian CSOs working in the same fields.
The session will start with the presentation of the EaP CSF activities in 2017 followed by the discussion. The second part will be dedicated to the presentation of the new EaP CSF strategy for 2018-2020 and scenarios for the organisational reform of the Forum. The new strategy including the structural adjustments of the Forum will be debated and adopted at the session by the EaP CSF participants.
