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Description
The basic prerequisite for civic participation of citizens at the level of self-government is knowledge of the competences of individual local-policy actors. However, a frequent problem is the lack of knowledge of the legislative frameworks allowing the participation of the public - the Act on Free Access to Information, the Act on the Support of Regional Development and others.
The project aims to improve the enlightenment and education by creating an e-learning platform Get oriented to self-government, which will bring important information about the functioning of municipalities and the possibility of involving the widest possible range of people. The online course will feature videos created by our instructors. After watching the videos, participants will be provided with study materials to solve the practical assignments that are part of the course. There will be invited successful participants to joint seminars where they will be able to deepen their knowledge, discuss problems and meet other people working in the self-government. Study materials will also be available as a publication after the course.
The aim of the project is to strengthen the legal awareness of citizens and increase the level of competent involvement in self-government. Combining online and offline access will improve education (e-learning, publication), exchange of information (legal counselling, discussion forum, seminars) and watchdog activities (fieldwork in municipalities, mediation, participation in the councils). The project also includes monitoring good examples of civic participation and evaluating the openness of smaller municipalities with awarding prizes.
Summary of project results
The project was devoted to strengthening civic participation, especially by supporting local leaders. At the same time, the project tried to influence the legislation to strengthen the organ balance and does not provide opportunities for corruption and abuse of power. During the project, the villages have been attended, educated leaders and published a publication that includes important basic information to be understandable for everyone. It is a contribution to understanding the tasks of municipalities and at the same time prevents unnecessary problems due to conflicts between authorities. The publication has proven and many people call the organization only for clarification or closer explanation of obscure things. Within the project, an e-learning platform has been created on the website of the organization that follows the published publication.
An analysis of small municipality transparency has been developed, which showed that the municipalities are actually lagging behind and their support is crucial. This analysis is also accessible to the general public. The collected data will be downloading and evaluating at certain intervals in the future. During the project, two municipalities were awarded with the ZOMOS award, which will be able to inspire other municipalities in their effort in developing themselves. Awarded municipalities are examples for other municipalities. One of the awarded municipalities also gained the highest ranking in the transparency scale.
The project implementers have made a legal counseling that helps to raise awareness of citizens about their rights and obligations. The responses of legal counseling are transmitted to the practice of specific municipalities. The ability of citizens to engage in public affairs is currently the only way to monitor the self-governments that have full power in its original competencies. It is the reason why are the project promoters trying to educate the citizens in these topics.