The important concept of media freedom and the role of the media in a democratic political system puts the interests of citizens as its starting point. The norm of freedom of the press protects not only the press, but the process of public communication as a whole; a process in which the voices of civil society are given the role of partners in public communication.
It is important for the self-sustaining stability of democratic life that different ideas within society are heard. The diversity of views and activities of civil society actors is a sign of the capacity for self-organization and pluralism in society. At the level of society as a whole, social actors play an important role in initiating public policy debate and strengthening the capacity for negotiation.
Using the example of Ukrainian civil society, it is obvious that it has begun to play a more significant role in recent years, in the sense that the capacity of traditional decision-making actors has weakened considerably. Representative and social democracy can be considered a precondition for peace. In this context, civil society groups perform an important function: they intensify the participation of social groups in the peace process.
Civil society organisations play an important role in relation to social change and sustainable democratic development. They increase the opportunities for participation of all members of the community, especially those whose voices are not heard in elite communication. Supporting civil society can thus contribute to democratization, human rights and conflict resolution.
