Seminar Self-organization of the population opportunities, challenges and powers in Novoyavorivsk

On April 4, 2017, the seminar “People’s Self-organization: Opportunities, Challenges and Powers” was held in Novoyavorivsk, where local activists, members of initiative groups for the creation of self-organizing bodies, representatives of business, local governments, NGOs, condominiums and communal enterprises discussed the main principles for an effective system of self-organization and public participation in the life of Novoyavorivsk.

Participants of the event had an opportunity to get acquainted with the best practices of self-organization and use of forms of public participation in the management of local affairs, on the example of Ukraine and Poland.

It is sometimes difficult to make a clear distinction between the mechanisms of participatory democracy and other forms of civic engagement. In fact, quite a lot of forms of civic activity can be qualified as mechanisms of participation democracy. Under the mechanisms of democracy participation (in the narrow sense) should be understood only those mechanisms of civic activity, which involve the reaction of the authorities in a certain way. In other words, forms of democracy participation are only those types / ways of participation of citizens in management, which have certain legal consequences.

To this list can be attributed (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Referendums
  • Public initiatives on local government decisions
  • Meeting of citizens at the place of residence
  • Public hearing
  • Organs of self-organization of the population
  • Public examination
  • Public councils
  • Public consultation.

During the event, the participants emphasized that the development of local democracies is impossible without the activity of the residents and the readiness of the authorities to be open to dialogue. The benefits of developing local democracy for residents and for the government have been demonstrated.

Community Benefits:

  • Strengthening responsibility and accountability of the authorities
  • The possibility of a more effective solution to the problems of the community and the most rational spending of budget funds
  • Possibility of achieving the same or similar understanding of community problems, directions and ways of their solution

Benefits for the authorities:

  • Improving their own image through the effect of openness and attraction
  • Attraction (as a rule, free of charge) of additional potential / resource: intellectual, physical, organizational, and often financial
  • Possibility of optimization / improvement of the quality of solutions
  • Raising the level of people’s awareness and understanding of the real scale of problems that have to be solved by the authorities
  • Achievement of the effect of involvement
  • Directing the energy and enthusiasm of the masses in a constructive way, preventing uncontrollable and destructive social activity
  • The strengthening of cohesion, the synergistic effect of the joint, directed in one direction the efforts of the authorities and the community

The event was organized within the framework of the project “Development of self-organization of the population in the cities of Yavoriv District through the introduction of innovative e-governance systems” implemented by the Local Economic Development Agency of Yavoriv District, carried out by the Eastern Europe Foundation within the framework of the OPEN CITY: increasing citizens’ participation in local development, with funds provided by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (USA).