M development of civil society around the world. Marschall is from Hungary, where he was deputy mayor of Budapest. From a career as an educator, he entered politics in 1990 shortly after the fall of communism in eastern and central Europe. He was interviewed by Dennis R. Young in the Washington, D.C., office of CIVICUS on March 25, 1996, on the subjects of establishing and managing an international association and promoting the development of the nonprofit sector worldwide.
Young: Tell me about CIVICUS. What is its mission and why was it established?
Murschall: CIVICUS is a global alliance to strengthen citizen activities and civil society throughout the world. CIVICUS was established in 1993 by American and European organizations that thought there was a need for a global convenor of the emerging nonprofit sector. The moving force of the 1990s is revival of civil societies throughout the world, so it was a timely thought to create a global alliance. The founders identified and invited civil society leaders, very committed individuals from twenty countries around the globe, and asked IN-DEPENDENT SECTOR and the Council on Foundations in the United States to do some exploratory work. It was these two organizations that set up the first exploratory meeting, which was attended by around twenty civil society leaders. I was honored to be one of them. Important features of CIVICUS are that it is a global organization, it brings together funders and all kinds of nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and it is a truly international organization.
Young: What precisely .do you mean by civil society and why is it important? What does civil society look like in different places? 31 7