Center for Community Organizing (CCO) is non-governmental organization that has carried on its programs in Slovakia since 1999. The roots of Center for Community Organizing go back three years earlier to 1996 when it began its work with funds from the United States government.
Center for Community Organizing supports the active participation of citizens in the public decision making processes. It helps citizens to formulate and advocate their natural interests. It creates the space for the effective co-operation between citizens, government and business sector in the complete development of the communities.
Center for Community Organizing provides assistance to activists of civic initiatives to better ensure that they become a part of the decision making of local governments. The work with citizens is focused on fostering the feeling of the responsibility for the development of their neighborhood and city. Center for Community Organizing wants to contribute to the changes of the Slovak society into the society of active citizens in which the “voice of people” is asked for and respected.
Empowerment of citizens
The core program of CCO is working with citizens through a methodology of community organizing to assist them in solving issues confronting them and to build their capacity to engage over the long term in the public and social processes that affect their lives via:
- identifying, recruiting and training citizens to become more active and effective in their communities
- extensive leadership training programs
- offering assistance on developing strategy on issues and building strong and effective organizations
- providing opportunities for leaders and staff to meet and exchange ideas
- convening groups to work on common issues
Services
The main goal of the program is to provide services for citizens, public administrative and/or business sector both within Slovakia as well as internationally which can help to increase the quality and also the quantity of public participation in the decision making process. CCO offers:
- consultations
- trainings
- organizing and facilitation of various types of public meetings, discussion forums or negotiations
- organizing and leading planning processes in communities.