On November 19 and 26, 2021, the webinar “Government and civil society: interaction within the framework of public and social dialogue.” The event was held within the framework of the project “Support to UNP EaP CSF in 2021-2023” funded by the European Union, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and implemented by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting.
Participants represented various sectors of Public Policy: central and local authorities, local self-government bodies, public organizations and civil initiatives.
As already noted, the organization of the webinar was caused by the need to form a common field of knowledge for the development of the concept of civil dialogue in Ukraine. After all, its implementation in practice depends on it.
On the first day, dialogue was seen not only as a form of communication, but also as a way to manage conflicts in public policy. The result was a discussion about the relationship between the concepts of “public dialogue”, “civil dialogue” and “social dialogue”. The second day was devoted to situationally determined forms of interaction between civil society institutions and the authorities. As a result, the participants developed joint project essays on development, the value of which lies in focusing attention not on formal features, but on the essence of the citizens’ dialogue. The main result was the identification of basic problems: declarative dialogues, which sometimes provokes inconsistency with real requests for Conflict Management; inertia of authorities, perceived as resistance. Overcoming these problems lies in the formation of dialogical competence of all existing and potential participants, which provides for constant mutual consultation and training. This is smoothed out as a basis for creating systems of dialogical interaction.
The professional nature of the participants’ work, the questions they asked, and the motivation to work together in the future – all this sets new tasks. Which can only be solved together.
The organizers of the webinar are grateful to all participants and hope for fruitful cooperation in the future.
The following topics were discussed during the webinar:
✅ Communications in public policy. Dialogue as a form of communication.
✅ Participation of citizens in the development, adoption and implementation of decisions is a condition for the effectiveness of Public Policy.
✅ Institutionally formed dialogue. Directions, goals, boundaries, opportunities.
✅ Public dialogue. Social dialogue – commonalities and disagreements.
✅ Dialogue – goal or process?
The structure of the webinar provides for interactions between presenters and participants. So get ready for a conversation.
Webinar Program, 19 and 26 Nov 2021
The event was organised within the framework of the project “Activities Support of the EaP SCF 2021-2023”, funded by the European Union, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and implemented by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting.
