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Description
In this project, we strengthen civic engagement of residents of the Purda Municipality, support democratic culture and help local leaders to implement their ideas. We support leaders and people engaged in the activities of local NGOs. We show them how to educate residents, how to cooperate with the Municipality Council and the residents, and how to develop civic engagement in the community. From our experience we observe that the community of the Purda Municipality do not engage in the processes and events that are important for the development of a democratic society. Residents do not participate in elections, do not engage in public consultations, and do not attend sessions of the Municipality Council. There are 5 Rural Housewives'' Clubs in the municipality, and 25 people serve as village heads. These persons are active and highly motivated to act, but they lack resources to implement their ideas. The Purda Municipality is dominated by areas formerly belonging to State Farms, with no institutions supporting civic activities. On the other hand, in each village there are active people who could become leaders activating rural communities. As part of the project, we conduct workshops, set up a Forum of Village Heads and provide the leaders with individual counseling. We help young people to implement three social initiatives that are important to them. The workshops are attended by 25 Village Heads and the Village Councils members, 20 members of the Rural Housewives'' Clubs and 15 students. The workshop topics include democratic mechanisms (public consultations, elections), tools of public participation (a petition, a motion, public information), but also motivation, volunteerism and ideas on how to engage people in acting for the common good.
Summary of project results
The project was aimed at increasing civic involvement and involving the inhabitants of the Purda commune in active participation in activities for the common good and management of public affairs at the local level and in the communities in which they function. It was intended to solve the problem of low activity of the inhabitants of the Purda commune in the area of civic involvement and democratic culture. It responded to the need:
- strengthening the democratic practices conducted by the KGW and Village Councils
- improvement of documents regulating democratic practices in the functioning of village councils and organizations in the Purda commune (statutes of village councils, statutes of the Municipal Municipal Council),
- dissemination of knowledge about democratic mechanisms (social consultations) and civil rights of adults and youth.
It was intended to improve the practices of conducting meetings, increase the involvement of residents in social consultations, meetings, and elections held in the Purda commune, make residents aware of what tools of civic participation they can use, and strengthen the role of village heads, village councils and the Municipal Council.
The project activities are:
- Educational workshops and counseling for Rural Women''s Associations from the Purda Commune
- Educational workshops and counseling for village heads and village councils
- Organization of the Forum of Village Heads of the Purda commune
- Workshops for young people as part of the Youth Leader School
- Initiatives organized by the Youth Leader School encouraging residents to engage in civic activity
- establishing new KGW in the Purda commune
- supporting local leaders and organizations in activities for the local community (especially in the area of civic activity)
The project products were:
1. 60 project participants
2. 64 hours of educational workshops
3. 1st Village Heads'' Forum
4. 1 Closing conference
5. 35 hours of consulting
6. 7 Youth initiatives
Results:
1. increasing the civic involvement of rural residents from the commune
2. increase in social capital. and civic participation and community involvement. commune residents
3. strengthening local self-government and cooperation between communities. local and public institutions.
4. strengthening the sense of agency and civic involvement of young people
5. improvement of documents regulating democratic practices in the functioning of village councils and the municipal municipal management committee
6. Development of the democratic culture of the commune
7. Popularization of public participation tools