The Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law demonstrates through its own example that the stories of successful change are written by active and responsible citizens and their unions. Undoubtedly, Ukrainian civil society is one of the most powerful in the world. The Revolution of Dignity, the phenomenon of volunteering and charity during wartime, advocacy for Ukraine’s interests abroad, support for the state on its path to EU membership and resistance to the aggressor are just some of the missions carried out by civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ukraine. To ensure the successful functioning of CSOs, it is important to provide a dynamic and adaptable legal environment for their work, develop partnerships with government institutions, strengthen CSO coalitions, provide training in all necessary skills for effective work, foster a culture of mentoring, support the transfer of institutional memory from experienced organizations to newly established ones, and enhance legal, digital, physical, mental, and financial security. All of this is what CEDEM does to amplify the voice of CSOs and increase their influence on the reform process in Ukraine.
The largest project by CEDEM to strengthen the civil sector was the Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity, implemented from 2019 to 2025. The project was carried out by ISAR Yednannia in consortium with the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research and CEDem. The consortium aimed to achieve the following goals: strengthening the institutional capacities of CSOs, improving the legal conditions for civil society activities, and supporting research to explore the challenges, opportunities, and development prospects of civil society. Some of the results of CEDEM’s work within the project include: coordinating the creation and updating of the Map of Legal Reforms for civil society, initiating and conducting six mentoring programs to enhance advocacy capacities of newly formed CSOs from different regions of Ukraine, training workshops and information campaigns, working on the implementation of a percentage deduction mechanism, improving legislation for volunteers and organizations involving them, improving CSOs’ access to quality banking services, strengthening partnerships with government and parliamentary institutions, launching a communication platform for media, CSOs, and the state to address the TOT agenda, and enhancing the security culture within CSOs.
Most of our activities continue to be implemented with support from other donors and development partners, aiming to strengthen and empower CSOs, their coalitions, activists, and volunteers.
