Kyiv welcomed a conference that launched the Ukrainian National Platform of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership Initiative. The platform brings together representatives of think-tanks and NGOs from all over Ukraine willing to promote European integration of Ukraine
Kyiv welcomed a conference that launched the Ukrainian National Platform of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership Initiative. The platform brings together representatives of think-tanks and NGOs from all over Ukraine willing to promote European integration of Ukraine. The conference was supported by The European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation.
“Many NGOs want to see the Ukrainian National Platform as a discussion fore for them to coordinate their positions. This is an opportunity to unite the potential of many civil society initiatives that deal with European integration all over Ukraine”, said Ihor Kohut, Chairman, Agency for Legislative Initiatives, National Coordinator for Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership Initiative in Ukraine, at the opening event.
The activities of National Platform will involve existing civil society platform, such as Civil Society Expert Council with the Ukrainian part of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Committee, Civic Assembly of Ukraine, Reform Support Network, added the expert. However, he said, the National Platform will remain open to all NGOs that want to and have the potential to develop European integration initiatives.
Tevan Poghosyan, coordinator of the 4th Working Group “People-to-people contacts” of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership Initiative, said that the real aim of such national platforms is to help their countries in implementing reforms required for integration with the European Union.
After opening, the conference split into four working groups along the following lines:
– Democracy, human rights, good governance and stability;
– Economic integration and coordination of EU policies;
– Environment, climate change and energy security;
– People-to-people contacts.
At the final plenary session the participants set up the Steering Committee for the Ukrainian National Platform of the EaP Civil Society Forum. Ihor Kohut (Chairman of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, National Coordinator for Ukraine of the EaP Civil Society Forum), Oleh Rybachuk (Chairman of the Civil Society Expert Council with the Ukrainian part of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Committee), Andriy Kohut (member of the Steering Committee of the Civic Assembly of Ukraine), Yulia Tyshchenko (Chairwoman of the Ukrainian Centre for Independent Political Research, European Convention of Ukraine), Yuri Vdovenko (Vice President, Polissya Fund of International and Regional Studies), Sviatoslav Pavlyuk (Deputy Director of the PAUCI Foundation), Yaryna Boren’ko (Programme Director of “European Dialogue” NGO), Natalia Andrusevych (Chairman, “Society and Environment” Resource & Analysis Centre), Hanna Golubivska-Onisimova (President of Ukrainian Environmental NGO “MAMA-86”) and a representative from the Reform Support Network (to be approved).
The participants approved the 2011 action plan for the National Platform and expressed support for the revised Memorandum of the Ukrainian National Platform of the EaP Civil Society Forum.
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