|
Establishment of party fractions at the parliament, committee work, development and article-by-article reading of the bills, parliamentary hearings, lobbying and public campaigning – in such and many others activities the participants of Mock Legislature were involved. The event took place on July 16th-18th, in Kyiv, Ukraine with support of American Councils for International Education and, particularly, LFP program coordinator Kateryna Tyminska. For three days the participants turned into the Members of Parliament, of the public, lobbyists, businessmen etc. and discussed a bill on gambling in a fictional country Mock-U (from Mock-Ukraine, mock – model, simulation).
In addition to the mock legislature itself, the project has also involved the presentations and discussions, led by foreign guests, including alumni of various years of Legislative Fellows Program and organizations that coordinate this program in Georgia and Turkey (American Councils for International Education in Tbilisi, Georgia and Ekonomistler Platformu, Istanbul , Turkey). The guests spoke about their fellowships in legislative bodies and NGOs in the United States of America and conducted presentations about the plicial systems and lawmaking in their countries. The director of newly established Institute of lobbyism in Ukraine Denis Bazilevych described the legislative process in Ukraine and the role in lobbying in it. The Country Director of the American Councils in Georgia Timothy Blauvelt discussed American federalism and the peculiarities of lawmaking both on local, state, and national level in the USA. Two honorary guests have opened the Mock Legislature, such as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Tefft and the chairman of Youth NGO "Democratic Alliance" Vasyl Gatsko. It was also symbolic for the participants to attend the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the day of 20th anniversary of adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine.
However, the main focus of the event was the role game "Mock Legislature". The participants received an opportunity to organize and conduct party caucuses and committee hearings, observe how hard and challenging it is to improve the bills sometimes. The parliamentary hearings demonstrated the significance of public involvement in lawmaking, and heated debate during the "sessions" proved that it is important to focus on consensus-seeking and not on the conflicts and differences.
All participants were awarded with certificates and, on the leave, each one of them indicated that such role games provide more skills and experience than typical lectures, Also, almost everybody emphasized the need for such events in the regions as well. Therefore, we are looking forward to meeting again in Mock-Odesa, Mock-Dnipropetrovsk, Mock-Mykolaiv and many other Mock-cities and countries!
The Legislative Fellows Program (LFP) is sponsored by the U.S. State Department, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. For Georgia, Russia and Ukraine it is administered by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS with support from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Initiated in 2005 under the auspices of the Legislative Education and Practice (LEAP) program, the LFP affords up to 50 promising young professionals from Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine the opportunity to gain practical experience in, and exposure to, United States government. The knowledge and interest of these young Eurasian professionals in American political processes will be expanded through short-term fellowships in state legislatures and city halls across the United States, as well as on Capitol Hill. In addition, the LFP will enable up to 25 Americans to travel outbound on reciprocal visits. One of the program objectives is to enable Fellows to share their knowledge with peers in Eurasia through a follow-on program in which they will conduct conferences and outreach activities in collaboration with American counterparts. Another unique new feature to the LFP is that it will serve countries outside Eurasia, meaning that American Councils’ Georgian, Russian and Ukrainian Fellows will have an opportunity to learn from their peers around the world (Asia, Africa, etc). Plans are currently underway for a large pan-LFP conference to take place twice a year in Washington, D.C.
|
ukr 
eng 
