Modern tools for public control over authorities

Modern tools for public control over authorities

25, 27 May, 2021

We are calling on the members of civil society and political organizations in the Western Balkans. YOU are in the spotlight: your role in strengthening accountability of public officials and developing innovative solutions to prevent and curb corruption is crucial. And we will empower you with tools to effectively achieve this goal.

The years following the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine saw the emergence nationwide of multiple civil society organizations and initiatives working on anti-corruption, having often played a central role in initiating and promoting the relevant reforms launched by successive governments. There are also examples of similar projects in specific SEE states, and we believe the importance and potential of a similar civil society input to the Southeast European processes is worth further discussion and assessment. 

On 25th and 27th of May, 2021 via Zoom meeting our partners from Albania and Ukraine (Open Government Hub and Anti-Corruption HQ respectively) will share their experiences and introduce members of the EPP family and civil society actors from South Eastern Europe to working initiatives generated by their respective societies to efficiently monitor and promote transparency of public funds spending by the authorities, fight corruption, and contribute to the strengthening of the rule of law and democratic processes in the country.  We will look into main types of activities and instruments that anti-corruption activists in Ukraine and Albania successfully employ. They will share specific examples and tried-and-true methods, practices and advocacy strategies, which are meant to hold valuable lessons and inspiration for the Western Balkans, where similar tendencies are not yet observed in the same amount or scale.

The participants will be introduced to the activities and digital monitoring in such areas as public procurement and asset declaration; we will look into the origins and scale of corruption and its impact on global economy; conflict of interests and covert interests of elected officials; advantages of using technology in the fight against corruption; ways of involving citizens into fight against corruption, keeping them informed, setting achievable goals, facilitating their contribution and overall raising awareness on citizens’ engagement. 

Our attendees will also have a chance to develop concepts for building and use of similar tools in their respective domains, as part of their homework to be further subjected to peers and trainers’ review. During the follow-up  designated spokespersons from smaller groups will deliver short pitches describing their teams suggested approaches and specific solutions, and receive expert feedback and advice on improvement. 

On the panel: 

• Olga IVANOVA, Head of the Fundraising and International Relations department at the Ukrainian CSO Anti-corruption Headquarters. She joined the AC-HQ in 2019 after graduating from the University of Lille in France with a Master`s degree in European Affairs. Olga is responsible for international relations coordination, communication with donor organizations and fundraising. On the invitation of the Robert Schuman Institute, she already conducted a seminar on the use of digital tools in the fight against corruption for young representatives of EPP parties in the Eastern European countries, trained colleagues from Lebanon on how to fight corruption on repair works and was one of the speakers at the EBRD workshop on Civil Society Data-Driver Procurement Monitoring. Olga also managed a 6-months UNDP-funded project on strengthening cooperation between civil society and local governments in the regions of Ukraine to prevent and combat corruption. 

• Edison FRANGU, Managing Director at Open Gov Hub Albania. In his executive role he oversees all strategy, operations, and programs for this growing social enterprise, and leads the design and implementation of programs to promote collaboration, innovation and learning across the Hub network of member organizations. He is working toward making governments and public policy becoming  more efficient, transparent and accountable in Albania. He believes that one of the best ways for Albania to move forward is through the education, transparency, Open Government, accountability, civic engagement and training of young generations who are capable of understanding, confronting and resolving global, regional and domestic issues based on International trends, and innovations.

Schedule:

May 25 (Tuesday), 2021

 10.30 – 12.00 CET/GMT+2 (11.30 – 13.00 UTC+02:00)

Discussion

• Introduction into Anti-Corruption HQ and Open Gov Hub’s format, ongoing projects and digital solutions
• Impact of corruption on global and local levels
• Why digital? Advantages of using technology in the fight against corruption and ROI of projects
• Citizens’ engagement
• Success stories and lessons learn
• Building your own control tool (technical and practical implementation)

May 27 (Thursday), 2021

 13.30 – 15.00 CET/GMT+2 (14.30 – 16.00 UTC+02:00)

• Participants’ presentations, feedback and follow up discussion

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Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the responsible Project Manager, Evgenia Jarabik at evgenia.jarabik@schuman-institute.eu

Please make sure to apply for participation before 24th of May, Monday EoB, filling the  application form

Evgenia Jarabik