On May 15, 2015 at the premises of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service the two-day conference “Interaction of Government Authorities and Civil Society in the Framework of the Association Agreement Implementation” took place. The event was organized by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, the Center for Adaptation of Civil Service to the EU standards together with the Estonian Centre of Eastern Partnership with the support and assistance of Civil Society Platform Ukraine-EU.
The aim of the conference is to discuss and exchange experiences and the best practices of establishment the interaction of goverment authorities and the media on the dissemination of European values, the development of relations with the EU in terms of European integration in the EaP countries.
On the first day of the conference participants considered the issue of establishing an effective communication between government authorities and civil society in the framework of the implementation of the Association Agreement. The guests took part in three plenary sessions, during which the strategic issues regarding the role of civil society and the media in the process of European integration of Ukraine were discussed. The best practices of the EaP countries and the EU Member States in establishing the active interaction with the public during the EU accession were presented.
On the second day of the event during the work in sections the practical aspects of conducting objective information campaigns on European integration with maximum usage of government authorities’ capabilities and potential of the media, including the establishment of effective mechanisms of interaction of government authorities, civil society and expert environment were discussed. However, the participants analyzed the modern methods of informing the public about the results of European integration activities involving the civil society and the media.
The event was attended by the representatives of the Eastern Partnership countries, the European Commission, the central authorities of Ukraine, related with the issues of European integration, NGOs, media and foreign experts.
After the conference, all participants were awarded with the certificates.
For reference: an important precondition for successful implementation of the Association Agreement is the support from the public society and raising awareness of all stakeholders, including the public, the business community and other non-governmental organizations of Ukraine about the benefits and the main challenges and threats related to the process of political association and economic integration of Ukraine with the EU.
