The Bodosaki Foundation presents the Action Plan for Civil Society in Greece, following the preparation of action plans for the University of 2030, for upgrading public health, and for the environment and climate, areas that coincide with the main pillars action of the institution.

As stated in a relevant announcement, the Action Plan for Civil Society, like the three previous action plans of the Bodosaki Foundation, is under the auspices of the AE of the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou and it will also be made available to the competent state services for exploitation.

The plan captures the current state of Civil Society in Greece, gathers good practices from international experience, identifies possibilities for improvement and proposes changes moving along three axes: institutional functioning, economic viability and social interaction.

The proposals are addressed both to the State, as the institutional environment is of vital importance for the proper and effective action of Civil Society, and to the field of Civil Society (self-regulation recommendations).

The Action Plan for Civil Society, as mentioned in the announcement, is the result of the collective voluntary work of 30 members of the academic community, members of the Board of Directors and executive bodies from the entire spectrum of Civil Society. For the preparation of the Action Plan for Civil Society, the Bodosaki Foundation addressed the field of organizations, charitable institutions, the academic community and research institutions (think tanks).

The official presentation of the Plan (which is part of the Foundation’s participation in the 1821-2021 Initiative) will take place on November 27 at the Benaki Museum – Piraeus 138.

For the Bodosaki Foundation, the strengthening of Civil Society is a strategic pillar of action. The foundation promotes the development of a strong and independent Civil Society, as well as the creation of the appropriate institutional framework for its operation. An active, healthy, dynamic Civil Society can function complementary to the state, offering services in critical areas such as health and social welfare, helping to deal with emergency situations, and overall contributing to the improvement of people’s daily lives citizens, in the defense of human rights and in the consolidation of democratic values.

The aim of the Action Plan is to highlight proposals that will contribute to improving the functioning of Civil Society and to strengthening its contribution. It is the wish of the Bodosakis Foundation that these proposals act as a springboard for extensive dialogue, broad consensus and political will for the upgrading and strengthening of Civil Society in our country.

The importance of Civil Society in Greece and internationally

In Greece, the action of the SC, despite the important contribution historically, is relatively limited compared to other EU countries. Its institutional role has relatively limited recognition by the state at national, regional and local levels. At the same time, surveys show a low level of social trust in the actions of the bodies of the CoP, while the participation of citizens in voluntary actions and initiatives of the CoP appears to be limited.

According to the findings of the research carried out by IOBE on behalf of the Bodosakis Foundation, within the framework of the Active citizens fund program, the contribution of Civil Society to the Greek society and economy is multi-layered and very important. The activities of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) directly or indirectly support the production of 1.6% of the country’s GDP and the employment of 1.9% of workers in Greece. In absolute terms, the contribution to the GDP of OKiP for 2021 is estimated at 3 billion. euros, supporting 88.4 thousand jobs. These figures do not include the economic value of volunteering, which amounted to 357 million. euros in 2021 – which corresponds to about 0.2% of the country’s GDP.