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by Lionel Wijesiri

Today, the sensible Sri Lankans are a frustrated lot. They see pressing problems like crime and the breakdown of the family on the rise, no matter how many programs to fight them are in place. They sense that something is amiss and feel powerless to act effectively on their concerns. More and more, they feel disconnected from the politicians and institutions that serve the public's interest. Unbridled criticism is the result.

Combating today's problems requires not only money, but enormous amount of public will and sustained energy - commodities that foundations cannot buy or even rent. It requires stronger, more inclusive, more effective associations of citizens - what is sometimes referred to as a "civil society".

When working hand-in-hand, individuals, organizations, policymakers and communities can forge a collective identity to achieve common goals. It is through this process - social mobilization - that people at various levels of society engage in dialogue, negotiation and collective action. The social mobilization involves planned actions and processes to reach, influence and involve all relevant segments of society across all sectors from the national to community levels in order to affect positive behaviour and social change.

In Sri Lanka, despite the notable efforts of a number of people in community organisations, political and community leadership, civil society is under-recognised: in public policy and by citizens themselves.

Government has an ad hoc approach in relating to civil society. While there are some encouraging pockets of government personnel and policies that are aware of the significance of facilitating, strengthening and working along side of civil society, unfortunately these are in the minority. In too many areas, government policies or programmes risk undermining civil society, and there is certainly no whole-of-government approach or overarching policy framework.

Voice

It is through the advocacy efforts of civil society organizations that people are given a voice in the process of formulating public policy.

Organizations including human rights groups, professional associations, religious institutions, pro-democracy groups, environmental activist organizations, business associations, labour unions, media organizations, and think tanks play a vital role in educating the public and the government on important local and national issues. Their presence and activities help assure that government and citizens comply with the rule of law. Many civil society organizations take on controversial issues.

They champion women's rights, ferret out government corruption and institutions and practices and often provides the only viable opening for restructuring power and formulating a democratic social contract. We are a nation of "contributors" - we belong to clubs, societies and associations, we commit our time and energy to temples and churches and social movements, we give generously when touched by human need, we volunteer in large numbers.

We readily form new groups and there are countless opportunities to "contribute".

But a relatively small proportion of the volunteers and unpaid workers do most of the work. Women are most prominent among them. Much of our voluntary contribution does not get beyond relatively narrow interests of immediate family and friends - school and sport is the main focus for much volunteering. We have relatively high levels of interest in politics and voter turn out, but not many people participate in civic activities beyond the relatively undemanding tasks of voting in general elections.

How do you create civil society where civil society `appears' to be `missing'? How do you strengthen civil society where it `appears' to be `weak'? How do you know you have achieved what you set out to do? In attempting to nurture and harness the potential of civil society, the developed countries have adopted two broad approaches: Institution and capacity-building; partnerships and coalitions.

Institution and capacity-building implies a range of activities such as fostering the emergence of new non-profit associations, supporting local NGOs with funding, technical advice, training as well as encouraging the establishment of a legal and regulatory framework conducive to the development of such organizations.

The idea of partnerships is based on the notion that there are four main actors on the development scene - the state, market, civil society and donor agencies. Partnerships and coalitions are aimed at drawing these different agents together to work towards a common goal. It is assumed that these agents share a common vision, common interests, and common purpose.

Any serious study of civil society will identify the importance of a community-based perspective - encouraging networks that will help build supportive communities. This goes beyond the concept of paternalistic state (which looks exclusively to the Government as the means for resolving all social problems). This will require a new way of working together.

Again and again we hear our young people (even in the most desperate circumstances) striving to be in control of their destinies. They want to contribute to resolving major social problems. They have many practical and specific ideas. But too often they feel locked out and ignored. A new inclusive approach is required that actively helps communities find the means to define their own issues of concern and develop the ways of addressing them - and this can only be done together.

Common concerns

A strong and effective civil society means people working together to address common concerns : A strong and effective civil society is not an alternative to a strong and effective Government; what is required is a partnership of mutual respect and support : A strong and effective civil society must be based on acknowledging and living out a robust partnership - all races together.

Kept apart, and suspicious of each other, we will remain trapped in the politics of scarcity and 'winning' only at someone else's expense. Together we can muster the social, economic, cultural and personal resources to tackle the challenges that confront us now.

At the same time, the Government needs to make an increased commitment to improving social statistics, especially regular collections on people's values and use of time, and development of broader indicators than merely GDP (which take into account environmental and social values).

Government and civil society organisations need to embark on a joint process to develop a framework policy for government/civil society relationship - ensuring a whole-of-government approach. This means, investigating a single coordinating contact point within government, and recognising the wider role of such civil society organisations in encouraging participation and community involvement. This will bring grass roots experience and expertise to national policy-making.

Mechanisms need to be developed to systematically encourage the participation of young people in volunteering, student governance and social movements, along with an emphasis on civics education in schools. More extensive mechanisms need to be put in place for community participation and deliberation in local and national government policies and programmes (hearing their grass roots experience at a policy level).

The Government should also address the basic human needs of adequate income, housing, employment, access to transport, health and education services, and take action to halt the growth in the extremes of inequalities in order to enable people to participate and belong in society and become a more active citizen.

Improved and routine access to a wide range of government performance data and social outcomes data is important in enabling better public scrutiny, and promotes a sense of transparent accountability.

Active outreach is required to enable excluded and neglected groups of people a real chance to have a say; proactive community development strategies and community problem solving techniques will probably be more important and useful than just opportunities to make submissions or appear before hearings.

To ensure full participation of minority in society, renewed efforts are required to address past injustices and promote reconciliation in both the Tamil and Muslim communities.

Government also should consider giving additional emphasis to needs for voluntary and community sector infrastructure support. Facilitating access to capital is also an important need and area for possible government-business-voluntary organisation collaboration; it can also enhance the financial sustainability of such organisations At the same time, organisations need to ensure that their focus is maintained on their mission, and not merely led by the money, otherwise their more important roles in society are compromised.

Social mobilisation

Many countries in Asia and Africa have begun implementing programmes to develop social mobilisation. Madagascar, Zambia, Tanzania and Indonesia are few of them. For example, Tanzania is implementing a two-year civil society program dedicated to enhancing the role of civil society in policy reform across various sectors, and at different levels of government. Sectors include health, democracy and governance, private enterprise and environment.

The program strengthens civil society organizations as actors in Tanzania's policy process through organizational capacity development, network building, and advocacy training. Through small grants, participants are given the opportunity to engage in advocacy activities and experiment with new approaches.

Its time we,too,really take a hard look at ways of strengthening and supporting our community leadership, investing in the capacities of organisations and people, and sharing responsibility both for the present and as stepping stones to the future.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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