"Civic Engagement. Is It a Right or a Duty?" with Sophia M.

Today's discussion was led by Sophia M., Civic Center Forum, NGO. Key words of this activity are the following ones: civic engagement, civic participation, a morally and civically responsible individual, community problem solving, regular volunteering for a non-electoral organization, active membership in a group or association, participation in fund-raising run/walk/ride, persuading others to vote, campaign contributions, volunteering for candidate or political organizations, contacting officials, contacting the broadcast media, protesting, e-mail petitions, written petitions, boycotting, buycotting, canvassing. Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes (The NYTimes http://goo.gl/SMtv7K). At the beginning a speaker organized an opinion survey making a sample of a social research. The questions of this survey are: (1) Gender (2) Age groups (18-25, 26-35, 35-45, 46-60, 61 and older), (3) Employment (public service, business, CCO, private entr, not employed, retired, other); (4) Education (higher, special school); (5) Have you ever appealed/complained to any representatives of state or local government authorities or their institutions of power on the problem that concerns not only you but a larger community? (yes-no); (6) Have you ever appealed/complained to deputies of any level - local, oblast, national? (7) Do you know the deputy who represents your district in Vinnytsia Oblast Council? (8) Do you know the deputy who represents your district in Vinnytsia Oblast Council? (9) Do you know the deputy who represents your district in the Verkhovna Rada? (10) Are you a member of any civil society organization or party? (NGO, trade union, citizens' self-organization bodies); (11) Do you know the legal instruments that support the Ukrainian citizens' right to influence the decision-making made by the authorities and elected officials?; (12) Do you read/watch news regularly? etc.,....(16) Do you read the campaign programs of the candidates in your district? As a result, we've discussed our civic engagement. A Discussion ended with a survey on Citizents' Rights and Freedoms Provided by Ukrainian Legislation (Rights and freedoms quaranteed by the Costitution of Ukraine, The Law of Ukraine "On Citizens' Appeals", "The Law of Ukraine "On Access to Public Information", Meetings of deputies with their voters, Citizens meetings by the place of their residence, Local initiaves, Local referendum, Public hearing, Advisory and consultative bodies. Proposals during the development and approval of regulatory acts, and Policy Analysis ("Hromadska Ekspertyza"), etc.