Various types of civic actors disrupt the illiberal democracies in the Western Balkans: investigative reporters, watchdogs, fact-checkers and do-tanks, and, as a relatively recent development, local civic initiatives and movements, which all work daily to promote democratic governance, human rights, sustainable development, and social justice. Diverse by origin, goals, and approaches, the civic challengers face one common challenge–-sidelined by the mainstream media, they struggle to reach out to broader audiences and generate popular demands for change. How to engage citizens? – remains the key question. In this text, various approaches are explored, as well as the prospects of collaboration of the various types of civic challenges, with an aim to help each other increase the leverage, and with it, the impact on social change.
Find PDF here: How to engage citizens? Strengthening Civic Action in the Western Balkans
