EaP CSF Civil Society Summit
Every year, the EaP CSF Civil Society Summit brings together EU and EaP civil society organisations and decision-makers in a unique forum. Together they discuss the future shape of the Eastern Partnership multilateral cooperation, the role of civil society and how to ensure its future resilience.
The Civil Society Summit is open to all delegates of the EaP CSF. As its highest decision-making body, the Summit has deliberative, representative and elective functions exercised in line with the EaP CSF statutes. The 1st EaP CSF Civil Society Summit (16th General Assembly) was held in Vienna, Austria between 19-21 November 2024.
Resolution
Recognising the role of civil society as a driving force for the reforms in the Eastern Partnership countries, the General Assembly of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum adopted its resolution.
Among the 107 delegates in presence, 90 voted in favour, 11 against and 6 abstained.

In their own words
What people say

Daniela Mussnig
The EaP CSF is an important platform to understand the regional dimension and current challenges of civil society and link them to the EU policies for the region.
The Civil Society Summit is unique in bringing together civic actors face to face – as organisation and individually it helped us to gain valuable insights for our work with EaP countries, connect with other stakeholders and start new partnerships.

Pavel Havlicek
For us in AMO, the Eastern Partnership and keeping strong people-to-people ties and civil society component of our cooperation has been one of the long-term priorities, particularly because we have been one of the founding organisations of the Forum in 2009.

Irina Sukhy
The shrinking space for civil society across many EaP nations makes it crucial for activists and experts from diverse backgrounds to unite in their efforts. Environmental issues transcend borders, and meaningful progress can only be achieved through collective action and shared expertise offered through events like the Civil Society Forum organised by the EaP CSF.

Igor Stukalenko
My organisation, CGS “Strategy XXI”, was invited as an expert to the Forum and participated in the EaP Energy Panel and the Eastern Partnership LNG Network. We were able to discuss with representatives of the European Commission, Energy community, Energy Regulator, operators of gas networks, storages and LNG Terminals, other business, embassies and academia from the EU, Eastern Partnership countries as well as from the US. This greatly contributed to the exchange of best practices and models and allowed us to be heard by all levels.

Olena Pavlenko
The EaP CSF brings together people with the same values and principles, and it helps to find partners or even friends in the countries of the region. When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine happened, most of the EaP CSF colleagues provided enormous support to Ukrainians, and I will always be grateful to them for that.

Tamara Malkova
We are united with our neighbour countries by rivers, forests, mountains. And, like them, we have similar problems regarding climate change and nature protection. Participating in the EaP CSF and its events help us create joint policies for good environmental governance.
EaP CSF Civil Society Award
Since 2018, EaP CSF has been presenting its Civil Society Award to celebrate the outstanding and courageous work of organisations from the Eastern Partnership region who are on a daily basis defending core democratic values, advancing democratic reform, contributing to the political, economic and social development of their countries, and helping people and communities in vulnerable situations.
The 2024 Civil Society Award was presented to Journalism Resource Centre (Georgia) for its persistent work to counter disinformation and contribution to a free, fair and independent media in Georgia amidst the crackdown in the context of the Foreign Agent Law.

What our awardees think

Andrei Bastunets
For the Belarusian Association of Journalists, feeling the support of the international community and fellow journalists is essential. We see it as support not only for our organisation, but also for the entire Belarusian independent media sector in the country and in exile. It is very important for us that in this mad world plagued by wars and conflicts people do not forget about Belarus, about Belarusian independent journalists and about our friends and colleagues behind bars.

Marina Gutgarts
In 2023, the Ukrainian National Platform redistributed the prize fund from the EaP CSF Civil Society Award for the benefits of Ukrainian troops. The funds were used to purchase stretchers for Ukrainian combat medics in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia areas and for electrocardiographers in Kharkiv hospital”

Ion Manole
The Civil Society Award was and remains a recognition of the efforts and contribution of the Promo-LEX Association to the democratisation of the country and the Eastern Partnership region.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank our generous donors for their continuous support towards the EaP CSF Civil Society Summit. The content of the event is the sole responsibility of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.

European Union

Federal Ministry Republic of Austria European and International Affairs

Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

City of Vienna
Previous editions

2024
Ms Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Leader of the Belarusian Democratic Forces


2024
Mr David Usupashvili, Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Georgia


2024
Ms Ina Coșeru, Chair of the Committee on Foreign
Policy and European Integration, Parliament of the Republic of Moldova

2024
Ms Adrienn Kiraly, Director, Neighbourhood East and Institution Building (NEAR.C), Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), European Commission


2024
Mr Michael Siebert, Managing Director for Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, regional cooperation and OSCE (EURCA), European External Action Service


2024
Mr Franak Viačorka, Chief Advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya


2024
Ms Liliana Palihovici, President, Public Association “Institutum Virtutes Civilis”; Co-Chair, EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform

2024
Mr Vladzimir Astapenka, Representative for International and European Cooperation, Head of Mission, Mission of Democratic Belarus, Brussels


2024
Mr Reinout Dekkers, Special Representative for the EU Eastern Partnership, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands

2023
Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia

2022
Ms Markéta Pekarová Adamová, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

2019
Mr Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement

2023
Minister Wojciech Gerwel, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland


2022
Minister Jan Lipavský, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic


2018
Mr Mamouka Kharazaradze, Former Member of Parliament of Georgia


2018
Mr Zohrab Mnatasakyan, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia


2017
Mr Alex Bialiatski, Belarusian Human Rights Activist

2017
Mr Siarhei Antusevich, Belarusian Trade Unionist Activist

2017
Ms Leyla Mustafayeva, Azerbaijani investigative journalist
