THE 8TH CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM TOOK PLACE IN ASTANA

October 24, 2018 in the building of the Nazarbayev center was held the 8th Civil city forum "Civil society and the state: prospects for effective cooperation in the framework of social initiatives of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev, voiced in the Address to the people of Kazakhstan".

The event was organized by the Mayor's Office of Astana together with the Office for social development of Astana, "Forum of NGOs-Astana", the Library of the First President of Kazakhstan-Elbassy with the support of the Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan. The forum was attended by the Mayor of Astana Bakhyt Sultanov, Minister of social development of Kazakhstan Darkhan Kaletaev, First Deputy Director of the Library of Elbasy Amerkhan Rakhimzhanov, members of Parliament and the city maslikhat, Heads of state bodies of the capital, representatives of NGOs and political parties.

The purpose of the forum is an open dialogue and consolidation of efforts of representatives of the non-profit sector and government agencies to strengthen the national unity of society and the development of civil initiative.

- Currently, preparations are well under way for the 8th Civil forum with the participation of the Head of state, which will be held on 27-28 November this year. 15 years ago, the first forum was held in Astana, which opened, in my opinion, a new page in the institutionalization of the non-governmental sector. The Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan was established. Astana has become a new growing-point for non-governmental organizations. In the capital, on the basis of functional analysis, the State Board for Social Development was created. The construction of a center for civil initiatives, which should become a home for NGOs, has also begun. In general, Astana accounts for about 11% of the government social-sector procurement throughout the country, said the Minister of social development of Kazakhstan Darkhan Kaletaev.

At the same time, upon the information of the head of the Department, 5300 NGOs are registered in Almaty today, which is about a quarter of all NGOs in the Republic, Astana takes the second place – 2700 NGOs, which is 12% of the national value.

- In his Address to the people of Kazakhstan on October 5 this year, the Head of our state N. Nazarbayev outlined the main task of the reforms to increase the welfare of all Kazakhstanis, for the successful implementation of which the consolidation of society around these goals is more important than ever. Including the non-governmental sector. ...Today we can say with confidence that non-governmental organizations are not only one of the most developed institutions of civil society in Kazakhstan, but also a reliable partner of the state. They make a huge contribution to the solution of various problems of the social sphere. To date, the Mayor's office of the capital together with more than 30 non-governmental organizations is implementing 66 large-scale socially significant projects worth 463 million tenge. ... It is obvious that the level of development of society is determined by the degree of its participation in solving the problems of the whole state with respect to the interests of various social groups. Therefore, there is no doubt that the implementation of all social initiatives outlined in the Address of the Head of state is possible only with close cooperation", - Mayor of Astana Bakhyt Sultanov said in his speech.

- One of the most important goals of civil society is civil control. That is, we need to establish a strong system of civil control. The first steps in this direction have already been made - civil control in the form of public reception offices works. They were established the by Agency on affairs of civil service, but we would like it to get a systemic role, to involve more people from civil society, and we would have a real picture. In particular, in order to give the President an assessment on the execution of the Addresses, not only by state bodies, but also by civil society, he was given an assessment of this activity.. ...The new Address of the President impressed me with the fact that, in my opinion, there is a correct change of direction from the development of infrastructure – to the development of people, said the President of the Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan Asylbek Kozhakhmetov.

First Deputy Director of the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbassy Amerkhan Rakhimzhanov made a welcoming speech.

– It should be noted that the most important prerequisite and at the same time a factor in the formation of a political system of a democratic type is the presence of civil society. Respectively, the close interaction of local authorities and representatives of civil society with the priority of legal methods and public opinion will certainly improve the quality of implementation of Presidential initiatives and public confidence in the existing political system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. ...It is impossible to overestimate the importance of today's forum as a promising form of consolidation of efforts of civil society and state structures to address the specific tasks of implementing the President's Address. I hope that the work of the forum will give a new impetus to the formation of a common public opinion between state bodies and representatives of civil society. I am sure that the rich program of the forum, creative atmosphere, exchange of experience, an open discussion will help us to find solutions, able to develop new forms of interaction and cooperation, – said Amerkhan Muratbekovich.

Presentations were also made by Chairperson of PA "Socium Zertteu" Altynay Nurkeeva, President of the Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan in Astana Arman Nurgazin, President of "NGO Forum of Astana" Bayan Akhmetzhanova, Head of NGO "Aimag" Aigul Solovyova.

As a result of the work of the 8th Civil city forum, a resolution was adopted, according to which the participants unanimously decided to improve the system of cooperation between NGOs, business and the state through the introduction of innovative mechanisms of cooperation