In order to demonstrate their transparent and credible operation, more than 60 civil society organisations endorse a document of positions and principles.
The “Transparency Initiative: cooperation for the common good“, publishes a text of positions and principles that aims to highlight their significant contribution to Greek society, but also to highlight the general framework of their transparent and reliable operation. The document is endorsed by more than 60 civil society organisations that make up the initiative, including Syozoia .
It is a document addressed initially to all Civil Society organisations and then to the general public, to private donors and donors and to the State. It attempts to make a productive contribution to the public debate and is signed by many organisations that are important for their social work. Its ultimate aim is to be an essential tool in the effort to highlight the transparency already embedded in the way they operate as a core value for an open and constructive relationship between organisations and citizens, restoring their credibility and building cooperative relations with the State.
In this context, the Initiative’s position and principles document includes a number of proposed measures to enhance transparency in relation to organisations. These include the obligation to publish the current statutes and financial statements on an annual basis, the implementation of transparent management and resource allocation procedures, the establishment of strict regulations and codes of conduct, the continuous provision of information to the public on their activities, and the active participation of volunteers in internal procedures and decisions. At the same time, the document also includes considerations that create a closer interaction with the public and the State in order to ensure the implementation of existing legislation and transparency rules.
It is worth noting that the idea for this cooperation and the joint drafting of a position paper with this objective arose from an informal initiative of people from civil society that aimed to propose ways of promoting transparency and avoiding the generalization of individual phenomena of dysfunctions. At the same time, it invites the State to assist in ensuring transparency by protecting the public and the recognised organisations, which operate in a consistent and impeccable manner, offering significant services, remarkable and long-lasting work to Greek society.
In this direction, the joint effort of more than 60 organisations to contribute to the maintenance of trust within a framework of transparency and credibility has been translated into the “Transparency Initiative: working together for the common good”, an informal partnership of civil society organisations consisting of the association of non-profit legal forms, the organisations that subscribe to it and its published position paper and principles.
The initiators of the initiative were Mrs Alexandra Martinou (Together for the Child), Mr. Σωτήρης Πετρόπουλος (HIGGS), η κα Βάλια Φράγκου (Σύμβουλος Φιλανθρωπίας), ο κ. Νίκος Χαραλαμπίδης (Greenpeace Ελλάδα), ο κ. Dimitris Karavelas (WWF), Mrs. Sofia Kouvelaki (The HOME Project) and Mrs. Elina Smpokou (HOPEgenesis).
Mr. Sotiris Petropoulos, co-founder of HIGGS and member of the “Transparency Initiative. Through our common alliance we seek to ensure the transparent activity of civil society organisations and the maintenance of their credibility. The document of positions and principles that we have created through a process of open, participatory and inclusive dialogue aims to contribute to making transparency a key parameter for the recognition and operation of organisations. In this effort we call on all the communities involved, other organisations, the State, donors, institutions and the general public to become aware, to show vigilance and to join us in this effort. “.
For more information on the participating organisations and the conditions for joining the Initiative, please see the link below: