Local Correspondents – EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / Public Administration Reform in Moldova: Interview with the Deputy Secretary General of the Government

by Stas Ghiletchi, Local Correspondent from Moldova Public Administration Reform in Moldova has been a priority on the political agenda of successive governments in the past 10 years. Poor performance of governmental institutions in delivering public services and failures in managing state owned enterprises served as incentive to design an ambitious reform agenda of the

Belarus

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / Appr. 1K neighbours chats! How and why urban experts help local communities improve their neighbourhoods

by Valeria Volkogonova, Local Correspondent from Belarus and Alexandra Savinich (Office for European Expertise and Communications). The Minsk Urban Platform has been known in Belarus for quite a while due to its urban projects and research. The young professional community tells and even shows how our cities and towns live and linger on, and how

Azerbaijan

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / Young Idea Generators

by Ismayil Fataliyev, Local Correspondent from Azerbaijan. According to the global startup ecosystem 2020 ranking Azerbaijan holds 70th position in the list of first 100 countries. By 2020, Azerbaijan, home to more than 200 startups, was among the frontrunners in the CIS area in this respect. Tural Zakaryazadeh is a 23 year old-start-up founder. In June

Moldova

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / Local budgets: What do citizens want?

by Stas Ghiletchi, Local Correspondent from Moldova The month of November and December are the months when Moldovan local public authorities are busy developing the budgets for the next year. Budget development is a complex and lengthy process on a regular basis, but the effort this year was significantly more difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Armenia

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / COVID-19 and Creativity

by Mari Chakryan, Local Correspondent from Armenia Creative minds were boosted in Armenia along with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering that time is the most valuable resource and with a focus on protecting human health, Earlyone team adapted its innovative customer flow management system to work with hospitals. To prevent queues, they offered

Belarus

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / “There Have Been Three Waves, Two Disappearing at Hand of Persecutions.” Belarus’ LGBTQI movement history and a “new” future

by Valeria Volkogonova, Local Correspondent from Belarus and Alexandra Savinich (Office for European Expertise and Communications). In today’s Belarus it is quite a bit of a challenge to write about any underrepresented groups. The local mass media are focused on the COVID-19 pandemic topics or on the political agenda issues; however, it is at times

Azerbaijan

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / Young filmmakers in Azerbaijan

by Ismayil Fataliyev, Local Correspondent from Azerbaijan. Maser Hasanov is a 29 year-old short-film filmmaker. Due to the spine-related problems he experiences certain difficulties when walking. Nevertheless, Maser is a laureate of the Presidential Youth Prize in the field of culture and holds a master degree in film directing. But his interest in filmmaking appeared before

Georgia

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / New Approaches – the Case of Orbeliani Meti, interview with Keti Khachidze

by George Chanturia, Local Correspondent from Georgia. Even though implying non-traditional ways of CSO management has been discussed for many years, including in Georgia such as enterprising NGOs or crowdfunding, unfortunately, so far this sector is dealing with the business “as usual.” As I have written in many of my blogs, the Georgian CSOs are mostly using traditional

Ukraine

#LocalCorrespondent Opinion / Positive Change Despite All Odds: the Story of STAN, a Youth Organization

by Maksym Mazypchuk, Local Correspondent from Ukraine. Can one single organisation meaningfully contribute to a more open, tolerant society? Can it even hope to address such complex issues as the reintegration of war veterans? One Ukrainian NGO answers both these questions with a resounding ‘Yes’. STAN NGO was founded in Luhansk and took an active