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Further Promoting Civil Participation in Ukraine

Civil participation is an essential element of any democratic society. One of the major concerns of modern democracies is the alienation of citizens from the political process. In this context, civil society constitutes an important element providing citizens with an alternative way, alongside elections, of making their voice hear and working for the community. Local government is the level closest to citizens, and this proximity should in principle convert into increased levels of citizen participation in local affairs. For decentralisation to demonstrate its inherent benefits, local authorities need to encourage and facilitate citizen participation, both individually and with the help of various non-governmental organisations.

The new Council of Europe project “Promoting civil participation in democratic decision-making in Ukraine” will assist in creating conditions for the strengthening of civil participation in Ukraine, the wider use of civil participation tools in the decision-making process, and the promotion of mutual engagement and cooperation between civil society and public authorities during all stages of the policymaking cycle and at all levels of participation (information, consultation, dialogue and active involvement) in pursuit of sustainable policies aimed at improving the lives of citizens.

On 14 March 2019 in Kyiv, participants of the first Project Steering Committee meeting, the representatives of public authorities, NGOs, associations of local self-government and donor community in Ukraine, discussed and endorsed the project work plan for 2019-2020. The new project aims to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between public authorities and civil society in the decision-making process, further narrowing the gap between them at national and local levels through the implementation of two components:

I) Enhanced national institutional and policy frameworks for civil society development and participation – the project will aim to strengthen the institutional and policy framework for civil society development in Ukraine and to promote a dialogue between civil society and public authorities. The project will conduct a monitoring study on the implementation of the National Strategy for Civil Society Development in Ukraine and provide recommendations for the development of the implementation plans and of a new strategy. The project will also provide expert opinions and recommendations on draft legislation concerning NGOs, civil participation and public consultations; and furthermore, will raise awareness on the Council of Europe standards and best European practices related to the creation and maintenance of an enabling environment for civil society development.

II) Improved local practical frameworks and increased capacity of local public officials and NGOs in the area of civil participation the project will focus on enhancing local practical frameworks to enable more inclusive and wider citizen engagement in the decision-making process. In addition, the project will build the capacity and expertise of public authorities and NGOs in pilot municipalities, including in Kyiv, through highly interactive and engaging training courses for NGOs and public officials (Academy of civil participation), providing expert support to pilot municipalities on enhancing and implementing civil participation mechanisms in line with the Council of Europe Guidelines for Civil Participation in Political Decision Making and international best practices. The project initiatives, inter alia, will be aimed at strengthening the capacity of NGOs and NGO platforms in strategic development and engagement with public authorities in the decision-making process; as well as strengthening communication between public authorities and citizens.

This project is implemented in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2018-2021 and in its Part III: Promoting Participation and Diversity - Civil Participation.

 

First Project Steering Committee meeting - Further promoting CS dialogue
Kyiv, Ukraine 22 March 2019
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Action Plan 2023-2026


 

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