A Decade of NEPAD - Economic Commission for Africa - uneca

60 A Decade of NEPAD: Deepening African Private Sector and Civil Society Ownership and Partnership
Today, considered one of the three sectors of a “modern
nation” (along with the public sector and the private sector),
civil society organs are unique because they offer citizens a
forum through which they can voluntarily come together
in support of common values, ideals and interests. “Civic”
engagement describes the activity of citizens of a nation
getting involved in the political, social and economic
decision making processes that impact upon their lives 74 .
Thus, the space created by civil society organizations allows
members and the constituencies they represent to engage
with government and the private sector around issues germane
to the development, growth and governance of the
nation. This interaction can be achieved through formal
and informal structures, such as associations, organizations,
or collective bodies, but also through individual
action and the advocacy of citizens:
Civil society refers to the arena of un-coerced collective action
around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its
institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family
and market, though in practice, the boundaries between
state, civil society, family and market are often complex,
blurred and negotiated. Civil society commonly embraces a
diversity of spaces, actors and institutional forms, varying in
their degree of formality, autonomy and power. Civil societies
are often populated by organisations such as registered
charities, development non-governmental organisations,
community groups, women’s organisations, faith-based
organisations, professional associations, trades unions,
self-help groups, social movements, business associations,
74 Handbook for African Civil Society: African Peer Review Mechanism,
Economic Commission for Africa, June 2008, pp. 1-2
coalitions and advocacy groups (London School of Economics
2006) 75 .
Civil society organizations can be very diverse in their
focus of activity (information dissemination, research,
advocacy), the causes they champion (women and children’s
rights, environmental protection, good governance,
electoral fairness), and the roles they choose to play (watch
dog, service deliverer, public advocate, dispute arbiter).
However, they most often share the following traits, and:
ӹ Are voluntary bodies and most have no mandatory
membership fees (although those that relate to the professions
and/or that are religious organizations may
encourage the collection of fees/ dues);
ӹ Have daily and regular operations;
ӹ Are owned, managed and operated by private individuals
who are not considered officially as being part
of the State;
ӹ Run their operations through structures that are notfor-gain,
do not distribute dividends to shareholders
or a board of directors and are not involved in commercial
activities;
ӹ Are self managed and established as independent structures
that control their agenda and activity.
Although there is not yet a universally recognized classification
of what constitutes “civil society”, in 2003 an
International Classification of Non-Profit Organizations
(ICNPO) was developed to segment institutions into thematic
groups and sub groups:
75 Matheson, G., Defining Civil Society in the Context of the African
Peer Review Mechanism, Electoral Institute of South Africa, 2006, p. 3