Eastern Partnership Leaders for Change 2019 - Foundation Office Ukraine
The three-day seminar was started by a short welcome from the representatives of the partner organizations. Subsequently, participants had the opportunity to get to know with the other participants during an introductory round. This was followed by an introduction to the structureof the Eastern Partnership by Rostyslav Tomenchuk (UIIP). In Odessa, Zoriana Makarukha from the Government Office for European and Transatlantic Integration provided expert insight into the work of her office. Hanna Shelest from the NGO "Promotion of intercultural cooperation" provided an outlook on current and future security challenges for the countries of the Eastern Partnership. Local input was provided by Anatoly Boyko from the Committee of Voters of Ukraine on the electoral process in Ukraine and his experiences in the recent presidential elections. In Kamianets-Podilskyi, the "Youth Capital of Ukraine 2019", Aliona Kuzema, Head of the Department of Humanitarian and Youth Work of the City Council, presented possibilities of engaging young people in local politics. Furthermore, Daniel Kramer shared insight into the implementation and challenges of the EU Association Program from the perspective of the EU Delegation in Kamianets.
The second day of the seminar began with an introduction to the planning process of political campaigns by Bart van Horck from the Eduardo-Frei-Foundation. To illustrate this, examples of election campaigns from the US and the British “Brexit Party” were presented. Subsequently, the participants had the opportunity to incorporate their knowledge into a self-planned campaign on a self-chosen problem. Thereafter, Isabel Weininger (KAS Kyiv) spoke about the results and consequences of the European Parliament elections. In addition to this presentation, the participants discussed Christian Democratic values and afterwards applied and presented these values in a country-specific way. The second day was rounded off by Bart van Horck's remarks on European values in politics.
The last day of the seminar was kicked off by Nadija Afanasieva (UIIP), with a brief analysis of the elections in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. The participants afterwards assessed opportunities for cooperation in different fields. Subsequently, Anatoly Boyko from the Committee of Voters of Ukraine reported on the election process in Ukraine and his experiences. The final item on the agenda included a feedback session in which all participants could provide suggestions and proposals for improvement. One participant from Georgia concluded that this project allows the particiapnts to broaden their horizon and to meet representatives from the three countries. She explained that not only the exchange of ideas and practical examples would be interesting for her but more importantly the group work and deleloping solutions together.
Autoren: Florian Binnewies und Isabel Weininger
