A few months ago, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the draft Election Code of Ukraine in its first reading. So far the matter has not gone away. But such important changes in the political sphere depend not only on Deputies.

ІР, Ужгород марафон

Can simple citizens facilitate the implementation of political reform? At the moment, the issue is of special urgency, because the elections are ahead of us: presidential and parliamentary.

Uzhgorod residents were looking for the answer to this question within of the Marathon “The Role of Citizens in Political Reforms.”

The first part provided for the acquaintance of the participants with the processes taking place in the political sphere of our country during the last years. It is a question of state funding of political parties – their reporting, comparative analysis of the local elections in Transcarpathia, etc.

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During the discussion, everyone could ask the question to:

  • Andriy Shekhet, deputy of the Transcarpathian Regional Council, expert of the International Republican Institute;
  • Sergey Adamenko, expert of the Center “Eidos”, editor of the portal “Party Cassette” (Kiev);
  • Andriy Vyshnyak, deputy of the Transcarpathian Regional Council, chairman of the coordinating council of the All-Ukrainian network of hubs for the organizational development of the CSOs, chairman of the Board of the CF “Center for Public Initiatives”;
  • Mykola Yatskov, coordinator of the All-Ukrainian initiative “Active Community” in Uzhhorod.

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But listening and asking is one thing, and producing your own ideas is completely different. After a coffee break, the participants were divided into three groups and offered to develop a vision and action plan for implementing policy reforms on the ground. The division took place in the Walt Disney format: everyone could choose whom he attributes to himself – a dreamer, a realist or a critic. In 30 minutes of intense brainstorming, one had to express his thoughts on the flipchart and be ready to argue his vision according to the list of questions for each of the groups.
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“The discussion was lively, the participants calculated from the square meters of party offices the trends of the development of networks of cells. They talked about the involvement of citizens and the need for their networking in civic organizations to jointly defend their interests. As for the workshop, he received a response from everyone – deputies and students and pensioners”? – said the regional coordinator, Mykola Yatskov.

Reference: Marathons will be held within the “Active Community”: right of choice” project, implemented with the support of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) with financial support from the American people, provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).