Trainings

From July 4th to July 7th the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) conducted the first training course (out of a series of three) for the CSOs participating in its current Program "Connecting CSOs and Political Parties". The topic of the course was Local Governance. The training sessions covered the major aspects of local governance: municipal councils, local administration, local policy development, the role of political parties, as well as practical information on relevant legislation: Local Governance Act, Access to Information Act, Municipal Budgets Act, Classified Information Act.

The participants were trained by Tim Baker with NDI - Kosovo, Sevdalina Voynova - NDI Bulgaria, as well as the municipal chief of staff Mina Ilieva (UDF) and the local BSP district chairperson Rumen Petrov, who shared their knowledge and expertise.

The training sessions were designed in such a way as to provide participants with opportunities for practical experience. They had the chance to have a one-day internship at the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo - one of the most innovative municipalities in Bulgaria.

The representatives of the CSOs participating in the program also had the chance to get acquainted with innovative practices such as citizen service department, register of public hearings, register of citizens' complaints, diary of media briefings, policy development process and registers.

Throughout the training session the participants conducted on-site government monitoring according to the criteria openness and transparency. As part of their skills development participants conducted a street survey on citizens' expectations and priority issues.

The CSO related topic was advocacy campaign planning. More materials on advocacy such as Advocacy Manual, examples of innovative practices can be found  here

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