Despite its own notoriety for corruption and nepotism, the Government is successful at assaulting the civil society in Ukraine. Why Ukrainian NGOs cannot find general support among citizens?According to the leaders of the NGOs, they fail to become influential players due to lack of their presence in the media. TV channels are still shaping outlook of the most of Ukrainians; while Facebook is full of profiles knowing who is who in politics, voters eagerly elect MPs of parties led by the same corrupt leaders for decades.
However, there is another issue. The civil society in Ukraine turned into business. It easily falls victim of discrediting as people simply do not understand why ex-students entitle themselves to $2,000/month salaries while country's average is $300. NGOs use foreign grants to finance their activities which limits their range of activities to those stipulated in the funding agreements. Quite often the set targets are far from topical issues in Ukraine. For instance, general public does not get why one should elaborate gender budgeting while the budget cannot make both ends meet firsthand.
All in all, career in the civil society institutions seems to be very appealing for young Ukrainians; some choose it over business. Very few civil servants in Kyiv make more than $500 per month - not including bribes, of course.
Civil society turned into a special social class. Usually it does not unite professionals in the particular field; instead people choose it as their first job after graduation and stay there. No experience in real economy limits their future job prospects to the civil society. Ex-activists usually fail to work as civil servants as they lack any proper training. If appointed, they tend to quit soon.
Ukrainian civil society needs to engage field experts instead of relying on passionate but completely unqualified individuals.
