Regional forums “Local Initiative Today, Tomorrow” will take place on November 27 in Bishkek, November 30 in Naryn, and December 07 in Osh. Representatives of local self-governments (LSGs) and civil society organizations (CSO) from aiyl aimaks and small towns of Chui, Naryn and Osh oblasts will take part in the forums. Events are organized by the “Voice of Citizens and Accountability of LSG: Budget Process” Project financed by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the Development Policy Institute.
During these regional events, participants will share their practices of their oblast and views about cooperation between LSG bodies and local communities; discuss ways to improve this cooperation and encourage LSGs to be more transparent and accountable to residents on the one hand, and residents to be more responsible for local decision making process. The key moment will be sharing results of three contests held by the Project among all municipalities of Chui, Naryn and Osh oblasts in 2017, and awarding of diplomas and certificates to the winners.
"Our Project facilitates and reveals many good practices proving that LSGs in fact can be transparent and responsive, that residents share responsibility for the decisions affecting living conditions in villages and towns. And this forum is meant to disseminate information about such practices, to encourage others to conduct public budget hearings, for example, and to participate in public meetings and suggest to LSGs ways to solving local concerns and help. According to the agenda, the winners of all three competitions (results of which were summed up on October 20, 2017), will present their cases to their colleagues” says Bekbolot Bekiev, Project Manager. “After presentations and discussions, all the participants, representing three different groups: LSGs, unofficial groups of residents and NGOs, will discuss and elaborate recommendations for each other on how to improve the cooperation among LSGs, CSOs, and residents.”