Currently, a number of communication channels between civil society and the state has set up and operates in the Republic of Belarus: handling the requests from the citizens and legal entities, tools of "electronic government", "hot lines", common days of informing etc.
However, opinion polls show that the existing communication channels are not always sufficiently effective. The experts of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Research named the contradiction in the mutual expectations of government and society as one of the reasons.
Image On the one hand, people are not always ready for their own activity in the implementation of the common objectives, but they blame the authorities for poor communication. On the other hand, the government expects the initiative participation from the citizens in solving their own problems, but the social activity is in some cases perceived by the state authorities as the "background" dissatisfaction, i.e., as a risk or a threat.
Along with the traditional forms of social activity (political parties, public organizations and associations, religious organizations, foundations, community councils), the new forms of meaningful participation (volunteering, environmental movements, online activity, etc.) are becoming more common.
At the same time, the significant potential of the civil society structures is not implemented in full due to the fragmentation and inconsistency of their activities. In this regard, the experts noted the need for additional political and legal support of constructive forms and channels of communication by the state.
During the discussion, the experts proposed a number of initiatives and ways to improve the "authorities-society" communication system, taking into account regional specifics. These include the development of new communication forms and models through social networks, online reception, local media.
An important role is given to the educational projects (for example, the "deputy school"), training programs of RSPA “Belarusian Society "Knowledge". The experts agreed on the need for civil society moderator, who would coordinate the activities of the numerous and disparate civil society organizations, as well as provide support for the socially useful initiatives.
The Belarusian Institute for Strategic Research will continue to review the problems announced at the forum and the joint work with the experts on the development of the proposed initiatives.