Active Citizen Participation Through Use of New Technologies

31.08.2014

Projects

The project aims to increase the transparency and accountability of the institutions of the system, through their opening for the processes of active civic participation, leading to increasing of internal cohesion of the Macedonian society and speeding up its integration into the EU. It will focus on building local capacities for forming partnerships and networks for implementing the values of active citizen participation through trainings primarily aimed at NGOs and prospective citizen activists. These activities will be executed in cooperation with the municipal staff in the communities where political will for providing conditions for active citizen participation exists, and will focus on providing lobbying and advocacy skills for the NGOs in the municipalities where the administration lacks interest for participative democracy.

Specific project objectives include:

  • Raising the awareness of the citizens, politicians and civil servants about the active inclusion in the decision making process on local level.
  • Raising the capacity of the civic activists, NGO members and informal groups, as well as individual citizens for active citizen participation through use of ICT.
  • Creating a network of NGOs to facilitate and encourage active citizen participation within their local communities, in cooperation with the municipalities.
  • Creating resources for active citizen participation in Macedonian and Albanian, including a training curriculum, manual, and web-portal which will store the resources and enable exchange of best practices.
  • Creation of local websites for citizen generated content to serve for dissemination of general information about the municipalities and for platforms for discussions on local issues.
  • Increased use of existing digital tools for citizen participation, especially those provided by the local municipalities.
  • Application of the gained knowledge and skills for local initiatives organized by the direct project beneficiaries.