Civil Society Europe’s first General Assembly

On 27 April the newly established Civil Society Europe held its first General Assembly, electing its first Steering Committee consisting of four women and five men.

  • Assya Kavrakova (European Citizen Action Service – ECAS)
  • Conny Reuter (SOLIDAR)
  • Gabriella Civico (European Volunteer Centre – CEV)
  • Jean-Marc Roirant (European Civic Forum – ECF)
  • Katja Tuokko (European Movement International – EMI)
  • Luca Bergamo (Culture Action Europe – CAE)
  • Niccolo Milanese (European Alternatives – Euro Alter)
  • Oonagh Aitken (Volonteurope)
  • Paul L. Smits (Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l’Europe – AEGEE)

Civil Society Europe has as of today 30 member organisations, and Social Platform is one of them. SOLIDAR and Volonteurope, represented in the new Steering Committee are member of Social Platform. Its mandate is to ‘create an enabling environment for horizontal exchanges between civil society organisations and movements across Europe’ and ‘be influential in shaping the agenda on transversal issues of common interest for organised civil society in Europe’.

At the General Assembly members discussed the organisations first priorities and among others interest was expressed to work on mapping the civic space in the European Union and develop a training program for civil society to be held in different member states. Other points discussed was for Civil Society Europe to organise a joint event with the European Year for Development 2015 Alliance.