Concepts

Knowledge and attitudes to the civil society

In the issue 64 the Civic World started presenting parts of the publication “Trust, responsibility for social issues and charity in Macedonia”, published by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation. The publication is, in fact, a report made on the basis of two questionnaires and the results of four focus-groups. The questionnaires and focus-groups have been carried out by the Institute for Sociological and Political-Legal Researches. The publication in PDF format is available on www.mcms.org.mk.

The survey on trust, responsibility for social issues and charity in Macedonia has also addressed the knowledge and attitudes to concrete civil society organizations and persons from the civil sector. Besides general knowledge of the civil society organizations, the knowledge of the civil society organizations that work in three areas has also been surveyed: fight against poverty, development of civil society and fight against corruption. General knowledge of civil society organizations General knowledge of civil society organizations in Macedonia has been surveyed in a way that respondents have been asked to name organizations without reminding themselves or being given examples.

Chart 1. Name up to three civil society organizations that you know: 

Many of the respondents named concrete organizations (67.2%). Analyzing which organizations are mostly named, we should take into account that the survey was carried out before the beginning of the election campaign for parliamentarian elections 2006, which can be a reason that organizations that had activities related to the elections to be high on the list. More frequently mentioned organizations are those that have been existing for a longer period of time (more than 10 years), that are of international character, that are network and umbrella organizations, organizations with mass membership and organizations that work on national level.

Within certain civil society organizations ethnicity affects the knowledge so there are civil society organizations that are mentioned mostly or exclusively by members of one ethnic group. This depends on the organizations’ target group.

If we make a profile of an average person who knows/does not know of the civil society organizations, we can conclude that sex, ethnicity and political choice do not have any effect. However, there is a difference in terms of education, that is, those with high and post-secondary education are much more familiar with the civil society (only 16.5% can not name a civil society organization) than those with no elementary education (even 67.7% can not name a civil society organization). The respondents with no education who have an answer (those who know) most often (50%) name organizations of mainly socio-humanitarian character, and as the level of education increases, the knowledge of organizations of other type increases, too. The age has also an effect, so younger people at the age of 18-30 (26.3% have not named a civil society organization) know better than older over 65 (45.1% could not name a civil society organization). Those employed in the public sector and those with higher monthly income know better of the civil society than farmers and inactive citizens and those who have monthly incomes up to 2,000 MKD per a family member. Urbanization and the region have also effect. Those who live in Kumanovo and Stip know more than those who live in Strumica and Pelagonija, which responds to the number and level of activities of the civil society organizations in these regions.

Table 1. Profile of the ones who know of civil society organizations 

Going from general level of informing (have heard) towards those who know for each of the organizations the number is significantly decreasing, that is, for most it halves.

Both in terms of level of informing and knowledge, on the top of the list are organizations with longest history and organizations that work on national level. Exposure in the media might also have an effect.

Conclusion

Correlation between knowledge of civil society organizations and social indicators Sex, ethnicity and political affiliation are not in correlation with the general knowledge of civil society organizations, but the other social indicators: education, working status and monthly incomes has an effect.
Age, urbanization and region are also related to knowledge of civil society organizations. The ones who are familiar with civil society organizations belong to the middle class, that is, are better educated, live in a town, are employed in the public sector, have higher monthly incomes and are younger on average. 

Correlation between knowledge of civil society organizations and the organizations’ profile

How much the citizens of Macedonia know certain civil society organizations is also related to the organizations’ profile, above all with the level of operations (local/national) and the sector of operations. Citizens show better knowledge of organizations (and their leaders) that work on national level and cover sectors and target groups for which the citizens are more prepared to give (see VI Charity).

Some other factors might also have an effect: the level of organizations’ activities, especially before and during the period of the survey, the existing time and exposure in the media.