During the event, trainers from the Dutch consulting company BKB introduced the participants to the fundamental principles of conducting political campaigns. They spoke about the global trends in new media and presented successful cases of using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube by European and American policy makers.
Training on Social Media Strategies for Political Parties
On November 2-3, the Radisson Blu Hotel in Kyiv hosted a training for representatives of Ukrainian and Georgian political parties, organized by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) in partnership with the Agency for Legislative Initiatives.
The event was aimed at transferring innovative practices for conducting political campaigns using new media and social networks. Representatives of the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary parties of the two countries received hands-on experience in applying various tools to create a strategy and a content-calendar of an online campaign.
Levan Tsutskiridze, Executive Director, NIMD regional office in Eastern Europe, draw attention to the excellent opportunities for the networking of Ukrainian and Georgian MPs:
“The Institute’s activities are aimed at increasing the capacity of parties through technical assistance”
Yurriaan Regouin, Program Manager, NIMD Central Office, emphasized the principles of the Institute, i.e. those of multiparty approach, inclusiveness, diversity, taking into account local context and a long-term strategy
“We operate on three levels of assistance: the development of inter-party dialogue and assistance to active politicians, as is the case today”
Uliana Poltavets, Program Director of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies, Agency for Legislative Initiatives, congratulated the NIMD on the occasion of the office opening in Ukraine.
“Strengthening parties’ capacity will definitely contribute to improving the quality of Ukrainian political life. The lack of trust in Ukrainian political parties can be gradually overcome through inter-party and broad-based public dialogue. The participation of non-parliamentary parties also contributes to the inclusiveness of the process and overcoming of distrust”
Colloquium Presentation of Teaching Materials on Social Studies
The event consisted of the presentation of methodological guidelines for secondary school teachers concerning the introduction of civic education in school curricula and testing of the role-playing game “AGORA: Democratic Procedure of Law Adoption in the Parliament of Ukraine” which simulates the legislative process in Ukraine.
Фото: Олександр Коваленко
Tetiana Chernukha, ALI Program Coordinator, presents guidelines for teachers of senior forms:
“Only by changing the perceptions and expectations of young people concerning government institutions can we influence the quality of the government’s operation and ultimately improve political culture”
Фото: Олександр Коваленко
Larysa Pavlovska, Head of the Division of Pre-School and Secondary Education of the Department of Education and Science of the Sumy Oblast Administration, said the following:
“Today when the country is facing difficult times, the issues of civic activity, protection citizens’ basic rights and duties are especially relevant. The innovative teaching methods offered by civil society, especially the role-playing game “AGORA”, involve the simulation of the democratic decision-making procedure in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. This will allow students to penetrate the legislative process and contribute to improving the quality of perception and mastering theoretical information. The initiative allows for introducing new elements and methods into the educational process, such as training in different structural subdivisions of the government authorities from the level of the city and district deputy corps to the level of the Verkhovna Rada”
Фото: Олександр Коваленко
Natalia Amelchenko, PhD, professor of political science (NaUKMA), discusses with Sumy teachers the issues of facilitating students’ understanding of the legislative process, including through the role-playing game “AGORA”.
The discussion of the concept of the New School and testing of the role-playing game “AGORA” aroused lively interest among the teachers of Sumy oblast.
Фото: Олександр Коваленко
The methodological guidelines for the Colloquium were prepared by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives within the framework of the USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly, implemented by East Europe Foundation.
Dialogues on Civic Education and the Concept of the New School in Poltava
On October 27, 2016, Poltava hosted the Colloquium Presentation of Teaching Materials on Social Studies.
The event included the presentation of methodological guidelines for secondary school teachers of senior forms concerning the introduction of civic education in school curricula and testing of the role-playing game “AGORA: Democratic Procedure of Law Adoption in the Parliament of Ukraine”, which simulates the legislative process in Ukraine.
The opening speech was delivered by Olena Kharchenko, Director of the Department of Education and Science of the Poltava Oblast State Administration. Ms. Kharchenko observed that it was extremely important to update the curriculum that provide students with knowledge about the place of the citizen in society, the role of citizens in state governance, and the fundamental rights and duties of a person and of a citizen. She said the following:
“We, educators, cannot fail to notice to what extent today’s curricula are out of touch with reality, and teachers’ efforts are inefficient when it comes to the civic consciousness of students. Therefore, we are pleased to support the initiative for introducing a mandatory course or courses of civic education based on new approaches and methods of teaching. Undoubtedly, a role-playing game that will give students an idea of the real work of legislature should contribute to improving the quality of teaching, and will increase students’ interest, their performance, and, consequently, their level of internalization of the information. We will be glad to continue our cooperation with the Agency for Legislative Initiatives in this sphere”
Natalia Amelchenko, PhD, professor of political science (NaUKMA), explains the essence of the Agora game that simulates the legislative process in the Verkhovna Rada.
Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, emphasized that the introduction of civic education in schools would neutralize unreasonably high expectations of the Parliament and will raise the political culture in general. He argues that ever since the early 2000s the improvement of the functioning of the Verkhovna Rada – which the Agency for Legislative Initiatives has been working upon – had been problematic in view of the problems that lied outside the Parliament and distorted the legislative adoption process:
“Manifestations of the so-called “lack of political culture” include imperfect legislative procedures, non-compliance with these procedures as such, and lack of transparency in the work of committees and individual MPs. Nevertheless, it is precisely the domain of distorted public perceptions about the work of Parliament, corrupt practices of interaction between voters and MPs, and, consequently, unreasonable expectations that give rise to the problems of the Ukrainian Parliament, which experts can see with the naked eye”
The project is aimed at strengthening the political culture, making basic information and skills of “citizenship” available to the widest possible range of people, consolidating new practices of interaction between citizens and institutions of governance. It is only under such conditions one can expect qualitative changes in the activity of authorities themselves. Changes in the political culture should begin with the secondary school when the basic ideas of future citizens emerge.
Guidelines for the Colloquium are prepared by Agency of Legislative Initiatives with the support of USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly, implemented by East Europe Foundation.
Meeting of the Working Group on Development of Guideline for Conducting Public Consultations in Ukraine
The purpose of the meeting is to develop a guideline on the draft law on public consultation with regard to the objectives, scope, target audience, format, approval, performance and other aspects of consultation and public participation in policies and decisions.
Alice Thomas, Chief of ODIHR’s Legislative Support Unit, told about the experience in implementing the guideline of the OSCE in Moldova, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
“Often the same representatives of civil society are involved in discussing various issues. Unfortunately, in many cases, citizens learn about the negative effects of a new law only after its adoption”
Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives Oleksandr Zaslavskyi presented the study concerning the involvement of NGOs in the work of parliamentary committees, which was used as a reference document for discussions in the working group. Mr. Zaslavskyi pointed out,
“It is important to move from discussing ready draft decisions and legally finalized documents to discussing the problems themselves. At the stage of reviewing texts, the public is faced with legal “casuistry”. Very often, the problem that the law is supposed to deal with is quite different. Therefore, it is necessary to involve the public in public discussions at the stage of problem identification rather than to the final discussion of ready texts”
Based on the results of the study, O. Zaslavskyi identified the following problems with public consultations in Ukraine:
- Lack of systematicity;
- Lack of professional and technical support of the authorities for conducting public consultations, as well as of means for communicating information;
- Synchronization of work between different authorities;
- Citizens need to learn existing tools. Very often, citizens address various authorities to issues that are beyond their jurisdiction;
- Lack of statistics concerning advocacy results. Citizens do not know the real impact of public consultation, and whether there are any results of taking into account the “voice of the people”;
- The illusion of “fast solutions”. On average, it takes several months to get a message across.
As a result, the working group decided to work out and discuss the guideline. The first version of the guideline will be written online by the experts of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives.
II Dialogues on Parliamentary Ethics in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
DIALOGUES ON PARLIAMENTARY ETHICS
When does deputy ethics transform into professional practice?
October 21, 2016, Verkhovna Rada
On October 21, II Dialogues on Parliamentary Ethics took place in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Meeting participants analyzed practical cases and tried to solve ethical dilemmas. The purpose of the Dialogues is to improve the quality of the parliamentary process through the support of intra-party dialogue and promotion of ethical standards in the parliament. At the moment, there is a search for consensus on ethical standards at the regulatory level. The meeting, attended by MPs of Ukraine, was moderated by MEP Kaja Kallas.
Kaja Kallas noted that the purpose of a code of conduct is to raise the professional standards of MPs, just like any other profession, i.e. lawyer or teacher. Without doubts, everyone acts within the framework of the law but some actions may be unethical. If one deputy does so, this affects the reputation of the entire parliament. Ms. Kallas emphasized:
“Parliament is not only elected by people but also represents people. The MP is a reflection of society and its values. Of course, you can rightly ask: if something is not accepted in society, why would an MP do this? However, I am convinced that deputies should be the first to set an example”
Ihor Kohut, Director of the USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly said the following:
“We are convinced that dialogue format is best suited to understanding ethical standards. Now Parliament has different attitudes towards the reform of internal standards. The Code of Conduct is the last element in the Road Map of parliamentary reform, but I’m sure we will manage to make it real”
Margit Sutrop, Professor of Practical Philosophy, Head of the Center for Ethics, University of Tartu, told about the Estonian experience of adoption of the Code of Conduct.
“When we presented our research in Estonia, people told us: How can children be taught about ethical behavior if deputies behave unethically? Ukrainians must make up their minds as to the values they want to pass on to their children and grandchildren. We are in the situation of the post-Soviet society where people know that regulations and practices can be rather different. Ethics is an agreement, a consensus on common values when society moves towards greater openness. People need to understand why it is easier and safer to live in an ethical and transparent society. Deputies must show people that ethics is not only about what they say but also about the principles they live by. If there are a conflict and discrepancy between words and actions, it will be impossible to restore people’s trust”
Dirk Toornstra, Independent Parliamentary Governance Advisor, believes that the code of conduct should be shared by all members of Parliament, and one has to be careful speaking about sanctions for noncompliance:
“In any case, the code should not become an instrument of political lynching”
The meeting was held within the framework of the project of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives aimed at improving the quality of parliamentary process by supporting international dialogue and promoting ethical standards and implemented with the support of Embassy of the Netherlands in Ukraine and in partnership with OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), RADA Program, and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.
During the events, an inclusive dialogue platform was created to discuss ethical dilemmas. It will serve as the basis for the elaboration of a Code of Conducts for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Presentation of Methodological Guidelines for Teachers in Chernihiv
On October 21 at 10:00, Chernihiv hosted a discussion of civic education and the Concept of a New Ukrainian School. More than 30 teachers discussed the competency-based learning and the key competences which a school-leaver ought to have.
Natalia Amelchenko, PhD, Professor of Political Science in NaUKMA, presented methodological guidelines for teachers of civic education and the role-playing game Agora which simulates the legislative process in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The event was devoted to the presentation of methodological guidelines for teachers of senior forms in order to introduce components of civic education in Ukraine, such as in particular “Legislative Power for Youth”, “Youth in State Programs”, “Political System of Ukraine”, and “Election Process”. The guidelines were prepared by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives within USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly, implemented by East Europe Foundation.
The significance of the integration of civic education into the curricula is stipulated in such documents of the Government of Ukraine as the draft Concept of the State Target Social Program ‘Youth of Ukraine’ for 2016-2020 and the draft Concept of Education Development by 2025.
Consultative Meeting with NGO Representatives in the framework of “II Dialogues on Parliamentary Ethics”
On October 21, at 10:30 am, in the office of USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives held a consultative meeting within the framework of “II Dialogues on Parliamentary Ethics”, with the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy and Embassy of the Netherlands in Ukraine. The meeting was broadcasted online via YouTube.
Invited experts, Margit Sutrop, Professor of Practical Philosophy, Marten Yuurik, Center for Ethics, University of Tartu, and Dirk Toornstra, Independent Governance Advisor, held a training game with representatives of NGOs involving the analysis of complex ethical cases, which will be further presented to MPs.
Ihor Kohut, Director of the USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly, said that parliamentary ethics was one of the cornerstones of the program in cooperation with the OSCE ODIHR. Meetings at the level of NGO experts help to “test” the game, based on cases with complex ethical challenges. He said the following:
“Our goal includes inclusiveness, MPs’ involvement in discussing ethical standards, and engagement of civil society in the dialogue. We will be glad to see the “Code of Conduct” emerge as a result of our activity, but the decision is up to MPs. We urge everyone to contribute to persistent work”
Kateryna Ryabiko, project coordinator of the OSCE ODIHR, elaborated on the extension of the pilot project:
“We are looking for a new format for involving deputies and implementing the reform. We are continuing “dialogues” in the Verkhovna Rada. The first meeting was devoted to finding consensus on the Code of Conduct or amendments to existing regulations. Today, there are debates about principles that may be stipulated in the code of conduct. A similar game (case study) in the Estonian parliament resulted in adoption of a code of conduct.”
Margit Sutrop, Professor of Practical Philosophy, Head of the Center for Ethics, University of Tartu, noted that a code of conduct was necessary if we should take the European Parliament as an example:
“There were many ‘heated debates’ in Estonia, and the process of adopting the code was not very easy. Why is it needed to codify things that seem to be understandable to adults anyway? We are ready to share experience and explain why it is so important to enshrine certain rules in a code and present it to people. In Estonia, even the Speaker of the Parliament was not convinced that the written code would help change the situation”
MPs need to agree on the Code so that people could understand why must be followed, rather than just to ‘show off’ how ethical they are.
Town Hall Meeting “School Education: Budget and Parents’ Funds”
A town hall meeting on “School Education: Budget and Parents’ Funds” was held in Kharkiv on July 20th.
The event was organized on the initiative of MP Olena Sotnyk by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives in cooperation with the Interns’ League within the Model District project under the aegis of USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly implemented by the East Europe Foundation.
Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, familiarized the participants with the methodology of the event and told about the tangible results of the previous Town Hall Meetings within the Model District project.
The author of the scenarios, Iryna Kohut, expert at the CEDOS Center, told the audience that the public education subvention is currently one of the “cheapest” public subventions. Recently, there has been a change in attitude towards parents’ contributions throughout Ukraine – from legalization and “unshadowing” of the funds offered by parents to educational institutions monthly to their full ban. The expert stressed the importance of an active public stance as regards settling the issue of parental contributions:
“In order to get the maximum effect from state funding, the topic of today’s discussion should be in the focus of the Kharkiv community”
The discussion was held at ten desks and involved more than a hundred representatives of the Kharkiv community: teachers, parents, activists, and representatives of local authorities. The participants considered the pros and cons of each of the 5 alternative solutions to the problem of school budgets and legalization of parental contributions.
Eventually, 27 participants (majority of those who took part in the voting) chose the option of imposing a total ban on parental contributions. One of the alternatives was not supported by anyone at all, and only 7 people chose the option “do not change anything”.
At the end of the event, all interested persons had an opportunity to express their ideas concerning the format and content of the event, to briefly comment on it, and ask questions.
Olena Sotnyk is convinced that a complete ban on parental contributions is too radical a decision. The MP expected some more willingness in terms of personal initiative and responsibility. Therefore, based on the results of the discussion, the best proposals and ideas will be collected to be used for amendments to the law On Education.
Materials of the Town Hall Meeting:
Description of the problem
Option 1. Arrangement and collection of parental contribution should be left to the discretion of school administrations and parents (status quo)
Option 2. Creation of a charitable foundation
Option 3. School administration opens an account at a state bank (or treasury) and independently manages its own school fund
Option 4: Local authorities make it obligatory to transfer all parental contributions to special accounts in the State Treasury
Option 5. Completely ban parental contributions at schools
4th Political Party Experts Workshop
On July 6 and 7, in Kyiv, the OSCE / ODIHR in partnership with the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, IFES Ukraine, Civil Network OPORA and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy held a workshop for experts on political parties.
The venue of the workshop was, as usual, the NaUKMA Historical and Museum Center.
The first expert discussion panel was devoted to the memory of Professor Yuriy Shveda, a political scientist and recognized expert on political parties. Svitlana Matviienko, Chairwoman of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, announced an essay contest in memory of Professor Shveda, who also was a long-term lecturer at the Ukrainian School of Political Studies (winners of the competition will be honored at the annual “Parliamentary Readings” conference, which will take place in October this year).
At the commemorative panel, MP Serhiy Leshchenko pointed out that
“Political parties in Ukraine suffer from a low level of trust, which undermines the legitimacy of the functioning of all institutions. Just like last year, today, together with international experts, we have an opportunity to analyze recently implemented laws on parties and the potential for further reform of this sphere”
During two days, more than 80 international and Ukrainian experts took part in interactive discussion panels and debated on the following issues:
- party funding and party reporting control;
- election process;
- inclusiveness of parties;
- involvement of young people in political life;
- gender aspects of political parties;
- new political movements and application of modern technologies;
- measurement of the impact of new media on politics;
and a number of other topics and issues.
Dr. Marcin Walecki, Head of the OSCE / ODIHR Democratization Department said,
“Political parties have faced significant challenges regarding their ability to represent public interests and citizens in all OSCE countries. Without transparency of party procedures, funding sources for parties, increased level of inclusiveness of under-represented social groups, and the ability of parties to use new media, it is very difficult to talk about political pluralism and sustainable democracy”
The workshop ended with a public discussion on “The Future of the Reform of Regulation of the Activities of Political Parties in Ukraine”, involving:
- Roman Bezsmertnyi, former Deputy Prime Minister,
- MP Oleh Lavryk,
- Oleksii Honcharuk, ex-advisor to the Minister of Ecology,
- Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives,
- Denys Kovryzhenko, Legal Advisor at the IFES Ukraine,
Several Ukrainian TV channels gave live coverage of the discussion.
The event was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) with the partner support of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, Civil Network OPORA, and IFES Ukraine.
Town Hall Meeting “Looking for Ways of the Further Use of the Landfill in the Village of Korzhi”
A town hall meeting on “Looking for Ways of the Further Use of the Landfill in the Village of Korzhi” was held in the town of Baryshivka on June 30th.
The event was organized by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives in cooperation with the Interns’ League within the Model District project under the aegis of USAID RADA Program: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly on the initiative of MP Pavlo Rizanenko.
In his opening speech, MP Pavlo Rizanenko emphasized the urgency and importance of finding a consensus concerning the further use of the landfill. He encouraged representatives of the communities of the villages of Berezan, Baryshivka, and Korzhi, as well as representatives of local self-government bodies, to discuss the issue in detail in order to break the impasse arising out of one of the most urgent problems of the region.
Oleksandr Zaslavskyi
Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, familiarized the participants with the methodology of the event, giving examples of the application of the Town Hall Meetings format abroad and in Ukraine.
The expert of the event, Valeriy Mykhailenko, Associate Professor of the Department of Physical Geography and Geo-Ecology of T. Shevchenko National University, Candidate of Chemical Sciences, spoke about the modern scientific methods of landfill management and shared the relevant experience of the Baltic countries and Scandinavia in order to prepare the participants for discussion of the scenarios.
More than 50 participants spent hours discussing different options concerning the future landfill management from setting a sorting line to building a waste recycling plant.
Policy option 1 (to retain the status quo) proved unacceptable for both community representatives and local deputies. Therefore, they together decided to skip this alternative. Eventually, most of the participants voted for policy option 3, which implies the construction of a mini-processing plant funded by an investor.
Photo credit: Oleksandr Kovalenko
At the end of the event, representatives of the investor, who attended the event, made a presentation of concrete projects that can be fulfilled in the landfill of the village of Korzhi.