The NIOK Civil Report 2025 analyses the current state of civil society organisations in Hungary and provides the first comprehensive overview of the sector. Focusing on traditional civil society organisations - foundations and associations registered in Hungary - it examines the political, legal, and economic developments shaping the sector’s operating environment, as well as its key structural characteristics. The analysis draws on a wide range of data sources, including official statistics from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), data from the Adjukössze.hu fundraising platform, a systematic review of relevant literature, and original surveys and interviews conducted by the NIOK Foundation. The report addresses three mainareas: macro-level conditions affecting civil society, statistical trends in organisational capacity, employment, and revenues, and funding opportunities, with particular attention to normative public funding, the 1% personal income tax scheme, and private donations. The findings indicate that civil society in Hungary operates in an increasingly constrained environment characterised by growing inequalities in access to resources. While overall revenues and employment have increased since 2010, these gains are highly concentrated, and volunteer participation has declined. At the same time, private donations and the 1% tax scheme remain vital for many organisations, highlighting both the resilience of the sector and its structural vulnerabilities.

A pedagógusok társadalmi megbecsültsége és szakmai státusza az oktatás minőségének kulcsfontosságú tényezője. Az oktatási rendszer hatékonyságának növelése érdekében a pedagógusokat érintő társadalmi és politikai diskurzusok mellett egyre nagyobb szerepet kapnak a civil társadalom aktív szereplői, akik különböző kezdeményezésekkel és kampányokkal igyekeznek támogatni a tanári pályát. Az előadás és a tanulmány célja, hogy bemutassa a civil társadalom és a pedagógusok közötti partnerség nemzetközi példáit, és elemezze, hogyan befolyásolják ezek a kapcsolatok a pedagógusok társadalmi megbecsültségét és szakmai helyzetét. Különös figyelmet kapnak olyan országok példái, ahol a civil szervezetek és szakszervezetek erős kapcsolatai segítettek elő a pedagógusok munkakörülményeinek javulását és társadalmi státuszuk növekedését. A tanulmány emellett bemutatja, hogyan formálhatja a civil társadalom a pedagógusok jövőjét nemzetközi és helyi szinten egyaránt.

Many charitable and civil society organizations have made tremendous and extensive efforts during the crisis in Gaza, playing a crucial role in addressing the urgent and critical needs in the region. Despite their inability to meet all humanitarian needs and requirements due to the restrictions imposed on them under current circumstances and war conditions, they have played a significant role and initiated numerous activities in a substantial manner. Non-profit organizations must highlight this role. This article provides a comprehensive theoretical description of the activities of various organizations, including the Reconstruction Alliance, the World Food Programme, the Women’s Program Center in Rafah, ActionAid, USAID, Islamic Relief, and UNRWA. Through this study, we will highlight the efforts of these multifaceted institutions to mitigate and alleviate the crisis, supporting the people of Gaza and emphasizing the importance of both immediate relief and long-term recovery initiatives. This research paper will provide qualitative evidence. Interviews were conducted with staff members of these seven organizations to provide a comprehensive picture. The scale of these organizations' activities and initiatives during the crisis provides a clear understanding of the collaborative and individual efforts between them.In conclusion, this study highlights the crucial role of diverse organizational efforts in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The specific focus of each organization, along with coordinated efforts, played a vital role in addressing the complex needs of the affected population. The findings provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of these responses and offer recommendations for strengthening future humanitarian strategies in similar crises.

The study presents the process that took place in Miskolc between 2019 and 2024, during which the municipality aimed to establish and deepen the culture of social participation in the city. To this end, the Office of Social Participation was created under the leadership of the referee responsible for civil participation. The concept of citizens' participation was developed in consultation with members of civil society, which the General Assembly unanimously endorsed. Subsequently, several participation methods were tested. Some of these latter innovations were integral to democratic processes, including citizens' assemblies, participatory budgeting, and city hall meetings. In contrast, other traditional means of participation included citizens' forums and public hearings. However, some methods focused on community development, including community initiatives, community discussions, community surveys, and social hackathons. Other postmodern means of social participation were also applied. Social participation had begun to be integrated into the municipality's operations, primarily thanks to the openness of the chief architect's cabinet, which willingly involved itself in many processes. Cooperation with the Department of City Maintenance and the institution providing cultural services has also started. A local government decree was established regarding the socialization procedure, and a proposal was accepted, according to which the city's tenders should be prepared in the future to involve representatives of civil society organizations concerned by topic and/or location in the planning. Although the creation of a system of civil cooperation was included as a goal in the concept of citizens' participation, it was not possible to initiate its operation. Another weak point of the processes was that very few people were involved in the programs, more than the already active citizens of the city, and even some of the latter deliberately withdrew from the participation process in Miskolc due to conflicts and dissatisfaction. This low participation rate was not unexpected; the experts involved in the process had expected significant effects only in the longer term. However, weak performance regarding communication activities also had a role in this low participation.

The present paper aims to conduct a longitudinal and comparative analysis over the development of the Moldavian civil society in the context of the Ukrainian war and the European accession process. The topic is of high importance since a proactive and engaged civil society is one of the markers of a democratic, stable society. This, in turn, is essential for the future possible European integration of the country into the European institutions. 2022 marked Eastern European security both in terms of threats and opportunities. In February 2022 the European security architecture was changed due to the war in Ukraine. In June 2022 the Republic of Moldova was granted the candidate status for its future accession to the European Union (EU). Although we can claim that both events have a direct consequence over the central decision-making process and the security of the state, the way in which the civil society organizations (CSOs) are reacting is a maker of the society’s robustness. The relationship between Moldova and the EU is not a new one, as Moldova was part of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) since its beginnings. In order to have a comprehensive view over the civil society from Moldova, from a methodological pointy of view, we will employ the document analysis and case study methods. Through them, we will analyse the scores that Moldova registered under the EaP umbrella regarding the civil society development since 2011 until 2024 having a focus on the tangible results that were reached by the Moldavian society and the areas where there is still room for improvement. Secondly, we will make a comparative analysis between the pre and post 2022 moment in order to see if the CSOs from Moldova were and are still sufficiently developed and robust in order to have a decisive role in the integration process. In this case we will also analyse if the CSOs were influenced in a positive or negative way by the two external factors. Additionally, as mentioned above, we will employ the case study method in order to analyse concrete examples regarding the state accountability principles. Last, but not least, we will take into consideration other international indexes that are measuring the civil societies’ development in order to make a comprehensive view over the Moldavian civil society.

The present research aims to provide the theoretical and methodological framework able to contribute to a better understanding of the polarization phenomenon in Republic of Moldova (RM) and the role of civil society within these processes. At the momentum of gaining its independence, RM was inexperienced in terms of self-governance, having in mind the inherited legacy and influence for almost two centuries of former Russian Empire and Soviet Union. These influences led to a heterogeneous society which had to assume and adapt within a new geopolitical context, where the main challenge was to strengthen and confirm its statehood so they can clearly choose, define and follow a coherent path in their geopolitical orientation. Although independent and sovereign, RM has found itself caught within two contradictory geopolitical vectors of development: toward the West (the path of European integration) and toward East (within the gravity of Moscow’s interests and toward the Russian led project Eurasian integration). These opposing vectors engaged and used political, economic, social, cultural and psychological resources, which led to polarization of RM. From state structures and societal actors, up to individuals, they were all caught in these dynamics, which were easier to be observed within the electoral processes and the alternation in power, public opinion pools, sociological and political analysis. In this context, as a distinct category of actorness, the developments of civil society has been engaged, in various forms, to participateand to be affected and/or to affect, within the general phenomenon of polarization. This observation generates the main hypothesis of our research: the polarization of civil society can be analyzed by identifying the factors on how each entity belonging to civil society is positioning itself, directly or indirectly, more or less explicit, based on the discursive actions which can be associated with particular interests related to one of the two polarizing vectors. As variables to follow we will use the perception of civilizational positioning (core values of East or West), the issue of identity (national, ethnic, linguistic and religious) and how these are engaged within public agenda of securitization/desecuritization of loyalties and support for each vector.

The article focuses on the role of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and its efforts, in collaboration with local NGOs, in bringing about conflict resolution in the Republic of Moldova. The OSCE has been active in the Republic of Moldova for the last twenty years and has been working with NGOS from both sides of the Dniester/ Nistru river. While the process has met with several challenges over the years, the recent full-fledged war against Ukraine has complicated the strategy for conflict settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict even more. The main goal of this article is to present and analyse various forms of cooperation between the OSCE and local civil society actors and to identify activities which encourage confidence-building. To this end, we will discuss relevant conceptual approaches in the field of Conflict Resolution and focus on mediation, conflict transformation, conflict settlement, and reconciliation. Moreover, we will explore activities of civil society organizations which are engaged in dialogue and collaboration with the OSCE. Methodologically, the article is built around a constructivist theorizing and the main argument is that the Transdniestrian conflict is an identity conflict and reconciling the parties, from grass-root level upwards to community leaders, ensures identity transformation and confidence building. The latter are key aspects in fostering trust, dialogue, and conflict management.

A felsőoktatási intézmények jelentős átalakuláson mentek keresztül az elmúlt években. A változások célja elsősorban idomulás a változó oktatási követelményekhez, (az oktatók és hallgatók) generációs különbségeihez – amelyek a belépők fizikai és mentális különbözőségében nyilvánulnak meg – amely feszültséget a digitalizáció, a fenntarthatóság és az esélyegyenlőség eszközeivel kezelünk. A tanulmány célja, a nonprofit szervezetek szerepének vizsgálata a folyamat kapcsolódó alrészleteiben. Az elemzés további célja, hogy, hogy bemutassa az alapítványi fenntartású felsőoktatási intézmények helyzetét három kulcsterületen, kiemelve a társadalmi szerepvállalás jelenlegi eredményeit, fontosságát és szerepét, kutatási eredmények felhasználásával. A tanulmány tervezetten áttekinti a három terület sajátosságait. Az alapítványi fenntartású intézmények számára a digitalizáció előnyei versenyelőnyként működhetnek, de sokkal inkább az élethosszig tartó tanulás és a transzverzális kompetenciák fejlesztésének támogatói. A második részben vizsgáljuk a nonprofit szervezetek beavatkozási lehetőségeit. A nonprofit szervezetek támogatják a digitális eszközök és módszerek bevezetését az egyetemeken. A NIOK Alapítvány–Civil Tech Hub kulcsszerepet játszik a folyamatban, segítséget nyújt a nonprofit szervezetek számára a hatékonyabb együttműködés biztosítása érdekében. Az adaptív technológiák használata lehetővé teszi/tenné az oktatási folyamatok testreszabását, hozzájárulva a hallgatók egyéni igényeinek kielégítéséhez és tanulási eredményeik javításához. A speciális szoftverek használata jelenleg esetleges a felsőoktatás rendszerében. A harmadik részben az elemzés eredményeit összegezzük és javaslatokat fogalmazunk meg a nonprofit szervezetek és a felsőoktatási intézmények közötti közös munka minőségének javítására. A tanulmány egyik fő következtetése a kutatási eredmények és konkrét adatok alapján, hogy az alapítványi fenntartású intézmények működési rendszerében a nonprofit szervezetek aktív részvétele és támogatása, különösen az esélyegyenlőség területén nehézkes és esetleges a felsőoktatás egészét tekintve.

This research aims to examine the evolution of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Türkiye following the introduction of neoliberal policies, utilizing Habermas's legitimacy crisis theory. The findings demonstrate that neoliberal policies have created a crisis of legitimacy for NGOs, affecting both their institutional legitimacy and the legitimacy of the public sphere. By shedding light on the legitimacy crisis experienced by NGOs, this study provides an original perspective and contributes to understanding the transformation of NGOs in Türkiye. While qualitative text analysis formed the primary methodology, quantitative data was utilized to support qualitative findings with empirically validated results. By triangulating themes from various sources, consistent patterns in the spread of neoliberalism within the civil sphere were identified. However, it is important to note that further research and analysis are needed to fully comprehend the complexities of this topic and its implications for the field of social sciences.

Széles körben elismert, hogy az állampolgárok és szervezeteik meghatározó szerepet játszanak a környezeti politikában, és a társadalmi részvétel hatékonyan csökkentheti a környezeti szabályozás végrehajtási hiányosságait. Az 1998-ban elfogadott Aarhusi Egyezmény és az uniós jog is előírja, hogy az egyének és a környezetvédő szervezetek számára garantálni kell az igazságszolgáltatáshoz való hozzáférést környezeti ügyekben, ami magában foglalja a perindítási jogot a nyilvánosság azon tagjai számára, akiket közvetlenül érint a környezeti jog megsértése. A tanulmány a magyar bírói gyakorlatra összpontosítva mutatja be, hogy milyen súlyos kihívásokkal kerülhetnek szembe a környezetvédő szervezetek, mikor a perindítási jogukat szeretnék gyakorolni a magyar bíróságok előtti környezeti ügyekben.