On 15–16 October, the National Forum of Non-Governmental Initiatives – OFIP – marked a major milestone with the 10th edition. The first OFIP was held in 1996. Since then, Polish civil society organisations and local activists have met every two or three years to assess their activities and to plan for the future. Over the years, OFIP has produced important documents, including the Charter of Principles for NGOs. The major themes of this year’s OFIP were not only a look back at previous years, but also the drawing of conclusions and lessons learned from the democratic backsliding and crises of the past years (Covid-19, the response to the full-scale invasion in Ukraine and natural disasters). The overarching theme was one of resilience.
This year’s forum also included an international session focused on the future of civil society in Europe. The panel featured Anna De Marchi, Team Leader for Hate Speech and Civil Society at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Fundamental Rights Policy Unit, Balázs Dénes, Policy Officer at the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA); Aarti Narsee from the European Civic Forum; and Riccardo Rossella, Advocacy and Fundraising Officer at Civil Society Europe.
The discussion centred on the Civic Space Report (2026 edition), presented by Aarti Narsee, which identifies significant threats and trends facing civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights defenders in Europe. In response to these threats, the representative of the European Commission, Anna De Marchi, highlighted elements of the Commission’s Strategy for Civil Society, which could provide significant support for organisations in times of shrinking resources and institutional crises across the EU. Similarly, the FRA representative, Balazs Denes, indicated how the Agency plans to support civil society, among other things by creating a knowledge hub, which will be designed to foster the capacity of civil society to respond to challenges of today’s world. The representative of Civil Society Europe, Riccardo Rossella, concluded by discussing how engagement and cooperation at EU level can counteract these trends. The panel was moderated by OFOP’s Karolina Dreszer-Smalec (president of the Board and member of European Economic and Social Committee).
The panel discussed foreign agent laws, the delegitimization and defunding of advocacy-focused civil society organizations, and the criminalization of humanitarian aid. A key point was the interaction between Brussels and national levels, which exacerbates these issues. The Commission representative highlighted the strong stance on protecting human rights defenders. FRA representative emphasized the role of the newly established Civil Society Platform.
The discussion highlighted the need for stronger cooperation, meaningful dialogue with EU institutions and greater involvement of civil society in European policymaking. Protecting civic space requires not only responding to emerging threats but also ensuring that civil society organisations have a genuine influence on decisions shaping Europe’s future.
In response to these urgent priorities, in September 2026, the National Federation of Polish NGOs (OFOP) established the Polish European Advocacy Network (PSRE). The Network brings together 35 Polish civil society organisations to strengthen their voice at the European level. Its first joint position, submitted to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in response to the 2026 State of the Union address, calls for stronger civil society participation, respect for the partnership principle and sustainable EU funding, including through AgoraEU.
You can watch the full session on OFOP’s You Tube channel: X Ogólnopolskie Forum Inicjatyw Pozarządowych
Text written by OFOP team (machine translated by Deepl).