“Progress is achieved by working together” — Lydia Mikheeva

The AICESIS General Assembly presided by the Civic Chamber was held in Athens.

On June 28, the General Assembly of the International Association of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions (AICESIS) met in Athens, under the presidency of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. The meeting was attended by representatives of 37 economic and social councils, who are members of AICESIS, and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

At the General Assembly session, the results of the association's activities for 2021 were summed up, a financial report was presented, and key areas of cooperation with the ILO and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) were discussed. The representatives of the international organizations praised the current level of cooperation with AICESIS, as well as the association's contribution to resolving urgent tasks facing them, particularly in the context of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The President of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, Lydia Mikheeva, told the participants about the progress of the presidency program of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation in AICESIS, which is titled "Life in the Online Age: New Challenges and the Search for Solutions."

"The theme we have chosen implies a special focus on solving topical issues on the digital agenda: digital inequality, protecting citizens' rights from the IT giants, ethical problems of digital technology, and much more. At the end of the two-year presidency cycle, there will be a concluding forum at which civil society will make recommendations for overcoming these problems. We also plan to present this report at the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the auspices of ECOSOC," Lydia Mikheeva said.
A draft of new Articles, prepared by a working group initiated by the Russian presidency, was also presented and the participants agreed to continue this work.

There were also attempts to politicize the work of AICESIS. During the General Assembly, the economic and social councils of Spain, France, Portugal, and Ukraine called on the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation to voluntarily step down as presidency in light of "Russian aggression against Ukraine," having found no legal grounds for the removal of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation in the AICESIS statutory documents. In her response, Lydia Mikheeva pointed out the emotional nature of several of the speeches made.
"A number of the speeches were very emotional. It is understandable, but I will try to refrain from being emotional on my part. Our salvation is always to respect the rules we have created," said Lydia Mikheeva, referring to the Articles of Association of the AICESIS. "Cancel culture policies don't solve the problem. We need progress. Progress is achieved by working together."

As a result of the discussion, the initiative of some European councils to terminate the presidency of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation in AICESIS was not approved by the association's members, who spoke in favor of continuing an inclusive dialogue. The French and Spanish councils then declared their intention to suspend their membership in the association for the period of the Russian presidency.
The next meeting of the AICESIS General Assembly will be held in October 2023 in Moscow.

The Civic Chamber delegation at the General Assembly was represented by Lydia Mikheeva, Andrey Maximov, Chair of the Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation on Territorial Development and Local Government, and Alexander Ternovtsov, Member of the Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation Commission Examination of Socially Significant Draft Laws and Other Legislative Initiatives.