ABOUT

Creating stronger Nordic civil societies by increasing cooperation

We enable cooperation and sharing of knowledge among a broad range of Nordic civil society actors within the social area – by doing this, we aim to make the Nordic civil societies better equipped for addressing current social challenges that are shared across the region.

The project is funded by The Nordic Council of Ministers.

The structure of the Platform

The Platform is made up of five different networks. Each network will function as a digital–meet-up-place centred around a specific theme (i.e., a specific social challenge or an organisational problem).

The responsibility for developing and conducting the activities in the five networks are shared among five lead organisations – the lead organisations come from all five Nordic countries.

Each network will gather around 3-4 times a year for online facilitated sessions, but the specific activities in each network will differ according to the lead organisation and the needs of the participants in each network.

Timeline

The project consists of two phases,

• Phase 1: seeks to gather knowledge that allows to design the best possible platform. Part of this phase is carrying out an open and inclusive process with a broad range of Nordic civil society organisations within the social area and other relevant stakeholders, as well as hosting workshops in all five Nordic countries.
• Phase 2: will establish and run the Nordic Platform for civil society, and moreover develop a model for continuing and anchoring of the Platform after the end of phase 2.

Phase 1 and phase 2 is based on knowledge and insights from the Nordic Summit for Civil Society 2021.

Background: Nordic Summit for Civil Cociety 2021

The background for the Platform is the Nordic Summit for Civil Society in 2021. It displayed a great interest in thinking about civil society in the social area across the Nordic region and revealed an immense potential in strengthening cross-Nordic cooperation between civil society actors working with people in socially vulnerable positions.

The knowledge and perspectives from the Summit process was collected in the Road Maps 2022+, that included 11 recommendations for creating stronger Nordic civil societies in the social area.

One of the recommendations was to establish a strong platform for civil society organisations in the social sector across the Nordic region to enhance networking, sharing of knowledge and inspiration.

Read more and find all available material from the summit below.

Video on the Nordic Summit for Civil Society in 2021 (Danish w. subtitles):

Reading material from the Nordic Summit for Civil Cociety 2021