British Ambassador John Kittmer inspires civil society in Greece
John Kittmer spoke to representatives of local charities and NGOs in Crete.
In a speech he gave at the presentation of We are all citizens road show event in Heraklion, Crete, John Kittmer highlighted the advantages of a strong and independent civil society in the modern world. The conference was organised by the Bodossaki Foundation which operates EEA grants in Greece.
John Kittmer said:
My country has a long history of encouraging an active and vibrant civil society, in which all citizens can play a full, active and satisfying role. It’s for this reason that I was very keen to accept the Bodosaki’s invitation to speak today. I am here to share some of our experience, to give a flavour of some developments we have underway, and to float some ideas. I hope that this will be seen as a useful encouragement, particularly to Greek NGOs and to Greek citizens. I wish everyone who is involved in “We are all citizens” every success. This programme deserves to succeed.
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UK government policies are designed to support charities and community interest. Policies include making it easier for people to set up and run a charity or voluntary organisation and providing funding tadn other support to encourage social action and community – led solutions. Government wants communities to take greater control of the places they live in and make a difference to their local area.
We Are all citizens programme aims to strengthen civil society and facilitate the contribution of NGOs to social justice, democracy and sustainable development.