6 November 2011 ended training in the School of Public Control on Local government activity conducted by the Lviv office of Civil Network OPORA.
Activists of civic organizations and initiative groups in regional centers and towns of Lviv region participated in interactive trainings during four days. Generally, in project were also involved following cities: Drohobych, Truskavets, Dobromyl, Boryslav, Pustomyty and Stryi. School participants, the youngest of which was 17 years old, and the eldest – 57, shared their experience in civic activity with trainers and other participants, enriched theoretical knowledge on mechanisms of civic initiative and control in general, and improved practical their skills.
School program provided complex training for public control. The first day was dedicated to determination of the public control concept and watchdog organizations, discussing issues “who can control”, “who can be controlled”, “what are legal grounds for public control”. Participants, together with trainers Olha Streliuk and Iryna Shvets, discussed principles which must follow public controllers. Between main principles activists distinguished: objectivity, financial independence, publicity and public benefits of control.
The second day in School was a day of rights. Module “right of citizens to participate in local government” was conducted by trainers of Informational-Legal Centre "Our Right" Oksana Vashchuk and Yaroslav Zhukrovskyi. Participants and trainers of the school analyzed system of public administration, mentioned advantages and drawbacks of mechanisms for public activity on local level, and discussed new possibilities provided by the law “On Access to Public Information”. To put the acquired knowledge into practice (what is necessary during campaigns of local public control), the group learned to write requests for information.
The third day was dedicated to monitoring as instrument of public control. Serhii Averkov from Economic Development Agency (Voznesensk) and Oleksandr Neberykut from the Lviv office of OPORA helped participants of the School to identify the major components of monitoring, its purpose, object and subject. At the end of the day group learned about the methodology of monitoring which may be used for the analysis of local government’s openness.
The last module in the School was dedicated to planning campaigns of public control. The main task of the group that day was to understand what steps should be made for effective campaign planning, and what activities to undertake to achieve changes. Theoretical part of the school has come to an end, but application of acquired knowledge in practice and priceless experience of interaction with authorities and officials of local government waits for activists.
Civic Network OPORA is grateful to all participants of the School of public control for their activity and enthusiasm! We are also grateful to trainers which shared their experience and have committed themselves to a common cause.
We also would like to express our special thanks to Serhii Averkov and congratulate him on parenthood one more time!
We remind that we owe this training to the project “Development of the civil society” conducted by UNDP in Ukraine and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark during 2009-2011.