Redlad has continued its efforts to get to know each member of the Pillar, to understand their interests and expectations of the Pillar’s work, and identify windows of opportunities to act together during 2023.

The Chair and Secretariat of the Civil Society Pillar’s team has held meetings with Canadian, Macedonian and African stakeholders, Cooperation Canada, Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation and DefendDefenders and has maintained contact with Arab and Asian members. For us, giving the focal points and other Pillar’s representatives the opportunity to participate actively and create spaces where they can discuss their main concerns and areas they would like to work on and strengthen is a must in order to contribute to the consolidation of the Civil Society Pillar. 

For instance, on 24th February the first meeting of Redlad as Secretariat and Chair of the Civil Society Pillar along with the SC Pillar member Defend Defenders was held. This meeting aimed to strengthen ties between the organizations, to learn about the work done by Defend Defenders and to articulate strategies and efforts between the Secretariat and Chair of the Civil Society Pillar and the African members. 

We will be having a meeting soon with the Arab countries that are members of the Community. From the Secretariat and Chair of the CoD Civil Society Pillar we would like to thank our members for their willingness and work.