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Background information

The general objective of the project Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organizations (TACSO) is to strengthen the civil society within a participative democracy, to stimulate a civil society-friendly environment and culture, as well as to strengthen the overall capacities and accountability of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) within IPA beneficiaries (Western Balkans and Turkey), to guarantee the quality of service of CSOs and a sustainable role of the CSOs in the democratic process. An important project component is capacity development of CSOs and on this occasion we are organising a

Regionaltraining on Citizens' participation in decision making process

Belgrade, Serbia: 1 – 3 March 2010 (First Module)
Istanbul, Turkey: 23 April 2010 (Second Module)

Objectives and training outcomes

The specific objectives of the training are T enhance the knowledge and skills of selected CSO representatives in using various methods, techniques, tools and approaches in the participation of the citizen’s in the decision-making process. It is hoped that the devloped training module will inspire and motivate CSOs to deepen their knowledge and skills in this area.

The focus of the regional pilot training will be on folowing:

• Citizen's participation in the decision-making process – levels of participation, their purpose, different methods, techniques, tools and approaches
• Regional/localexperiences in citizensparticipation in decision-making – presentation and analysis of case studies
• Challenges faced in Citizens participation and options for overcoming these obstacles.
• Role of CSOs and other stakeholders in developing and institutionalizing mechanisms forcitizens participation
• EU best practices in citizens’ participation in the decision-making process

This training program consists of eight interrelated steps that will take twomonths to complete (March – April 2010) including three -day training (1-3 March 2010) and one-day follow-up (23 April 2010). The training module is designed at the advanced level and will combine and mix theory and practice in the form of mini-lectures, group work, sharing of experiences, participative methods, practical assignments to be applied in every-day operation, on-line coaching and personal advising to ensure that learning takes place.

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Better understand the role and importance of citizen and CSO participation in the decision-making process

• To develop a useful and practical document such as a Strategy /Action plan for improving citizens participation mechanisms on local level and for overcoming obstacles to citizen’s participation in their own national/local context
• Apply good EU and IPA countries best practices on a local context

Who can apply?

CSOs with legal personality and belonging to non-governmental organisations, trade unions, mass movements, cooperatives, professional associations, cultural and religious groups and grassroots community groups are eligible to apply. Each organisation interested in this regional training will nominate an individual to participate. Once admitted to the training the participating CSO will commit itself to ensure the full participation of its participant throughout the foreseen steps in the training module.

Required qualifications of the participants

• University degree in social sciences or relevant working experience is required;
• At least five years of experience in the work of Civil Society Organisations;
• Previous practical experience in the field of citizens' participation, community development, partnership building with government and other stake holders, strategic and organisational development;
• Previous practical experience in designing and delivering trainings would be considered a strong asset;
• Excellent computer literacy;
• Excellent communication, presentation and report writing skills;
• Good command of written and spoken English language.

Application procedure

• Interested CSOs from the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey are requested to submit:
• Application form (attached to this document),
• Updated Curriculum Vitae of the nominated candidate (EU format to be used),
• Motivation letter in which the expected contribution of the training program to the development of the organisation will be explained. This also should include training applicant statement that he/she is willing to perform one free of charge training for local CSOs on the subject of Citizens participation (In cooperation with respective TACSO office)

Recommendation letter from the network or coalition would be an advantage.

Please send your application to email address of cTACSOSerbia office: info.rs@tacso.org by 10February 2010 at the latest.

If you haveany additional questions, please contact us using the same e mail address.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.This training is free of charge. The organiser will provide accommodation for the participants and cover all costs related to the training such as travel costs.

In order to ensure good representation of CSOs in our project activities, we strongly encourage organisations of different types, profiles and backgrounds, and those operating in urban as well as rural areas to apply for participation in this training.

APPLICATION Form for Orgnizations nominating Candidate for TACSO CP Regional training (Doc, 45kB)