On August 3rd, 2023, upon the invite of Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organisations (EU TACSO 3) in the Western Balkans and Türkiye, Metamorphosis was a guest speaker in the first Consultative Meeting on Digital Agenda titled “What is the change?” The objective of the online meeting was to explore the impact of digital transition on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and discuss strategies for adapting to the changing world. The aim was to identify priorities related to the Digital Agenda and digital transition for CSOs in the region: to address various aspects of digital transformation and its implications on the modus operandi of CSOs and their beneficiaries.
Metamorphosis Foundation, represented through Mila Josifovska Danilovska (Manager of the Programmes for Social Accountability and Human Rights Online), shared its experience and research findings with over 70 CSO representatives from the Western Balkan and Turkey present at the meeting, highlighting the positive practices that Metamorphosis has implemented at national and regional level, but also warning about the potential cyber threats that should be addressed.
Source: Screenshot from the session presentation
“The digital transformation has had a big impact on the operations, activities and effectiveness of the CSOs as not all of them came prepared with the skills, knowledge, policies, and resources to reap out the benefits that come from it. To start on a positive note, the digital transformation got the CSOs out of their comfort zones in the sense of starting to invest more in the digital skills of their employees or members, extending their activities online and in that way widening their reach and impact on a bigger audience, using online tools to implement their activities in a more creative way. It pushed them to be more creative, more flexible to change, to learn new things, to find new ways of how to spread their message to the community.” – Josifovska Danilovska shared.
However, she also emphasized that the digital transformation presented a big challenge for the civic sector. With the digital transformation and the pandemic especially, the online space, already crowded as it was before 2020, is now even more overwhelmed with information and cyber threats. She also spoke about the dynamic social media algorithms, the speed of new tech developments and the online fatigue which also pose challenges to the civic sector.
Source: Facebook of EU TACSO
Another very important aspect of the digital transformation that she emphasized during the meeting is the cyber security which is something that many CSOs neglect, do not have policies about nor practices or capacities in the area to protect themselves as an organization, and then the beneficiaries they work with alongside their data. She emphasized that strengthening cyber security, especially in this period when technology is becoming more and more sophisticated, is a daily challenge that always requires attention, commitment and cooperation. Aside from investing in its internal capacities, Metamorphosis also builds the capacities of citizens, CSOs, media and institutions through trainings, webinars, mentorship and resource materials in order to support them in becoming cyber resilient to any threats that come our way.
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