News & Events

Study trip to Berlin to explore German consumer protection

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How does Germany implement EU-standards in the sector of consumer protection? What does federalism mean when it comes to guaranteeing food safety? Who implements consumer protection rights and which role do alternative dispute settlement proceedings play?

Our study trip gave answers to these and many more questions to Ukrainian consumer advisers, visiting Berlin from 25-30 March 2019. For 18 participants from all over Ukraine this trip was the final highlight of the training series on implementation of EU consumer protection in Ukraine, which took place over the course of six months.

The workshops trained the participants on the basics of EU-consumer protection laws as well as food safety and they were able to work with many practical examples from other EU member or candidate states.

Within the framework of the EU association the Ukrainian consumer protection system is being reformed fundamentally. The legal harmonisation with its constantly growing body of EU consumer protection regulations as well as the institutional and practical arrangement within limited resources puts the Ukraine under enormous pressure. Taking these facts into consideration the Ukrainian consumer advisers are asked to give useful impulses on creating Ukrainian consumer politics and to actively fulfill their role as a connecting element between politics, administration and consumers.

The study trip in Berlin was aimed at showing the interaction between EU and national legislation as well as its implementation in a decentralised state. The participants’ knowledge and competences were strengthened by visiting state institutions, consumer offices, NGOs and other stakeholders. At the same time the study trip gave opportunity to expand the participants’ professional networks. Among other things, the group visited the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, Stiftung Warentest, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the German Conciliation Body for Public Transport and the Humboldt Consumer Law Clinic.

The group was given the chance to discuss topics such as the institutional linkage in the areas of product and food safety and the responsibilities of companies in relation to market surveillance by the state. Especially the practice of dispute settlement appealed to many on the background of the Ukrainian juridical system. Apart from that the importance of consumer research for goal-oriented consumer politics as well as effective consumer protection worked as a common theme throughout the study trip.

The Civic School for Sound EU Practice is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.

Training series “Train-The-Trainer” on EU Association completed

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The Civic School for Sound EU Practice’s training series on “Train-The-Trainer” in the context of the EU Association was successfully completed in Lviv. The training series did not only follow the goal of conveying in-depth knowledge about the EU association process, but also extended the participants’ trainer skills. This enables them to subsequently become multiplicators and design and implement their own training formats.

From concentrating on the questions about the role trainers play, what kind of tasks there are, principles of adult education and working with different target groups, the focus was mainly on interactive training methods and plans and the necessary materials. The conceptual work was complemented with tools for organizing and time management, which can ease the work of the preparation and implementation phase of a training for the participants. Also, one’s own presentational skills are an important part of a trainer’s tool box. Along the “how to present”, a special focus was laid on involving the audience and working on an interesting as well as understandable communication of contents. Especially storytelling and visual facilitation were conveyed as successful techniques.

At the end of the workshop series, the participants were given the chance to present their own presentations, on which they were working over the course of the last workshops, and to get individual feedback. In order to complete the circle, the focus was given to the question on how to correctly evaluate exercises and what kind of tools would be helpful. The training series supported the participants in developing their own training concept and they are now prepared to successfully implement trainings on their own. The realization of their first own training is now in our participants’ responsibility. We are wishing them all the best and are looking forward to hand out the certificates to our participants after successful implementation.

The Civic School for Sound EU Practice (CiSEP) is a training programme for active citizens and change-makers in Ukraine. It creates a network of Association Agreement specialists with the common goal of enhancing Ukraine’s European integration.

CiSEP is supported by the German Federal Office (AA).

КОНКУРС ЗАЯВОК ОСНОВИ УА/ПВЗВТ

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  • Ти хочеш активно підтримувати імплементацію Асоціації Україна – ЄС?
  • Ти сприймаєш інтеграцію України до ЄС як можливість, але відсутні цифри та факти?
  • Ти особливо зацікавлений в Поглибленій і всеохоплюючій зоні вільної торгівлі (ПВЗВТ)?
  • Ти хочеш приєднатись до української мережі активних громадян, які беруть участь у європейській інтеграції?

Тоді у нас є правильні тренінгові серії для Тебе!

Якщо Ви хочете дізнатися більше про CiSEP та про критерії відбору учасників – будь ласка, ознайомтеся з оголошенням про Конкурс заявок на участь у CiSEP: http://cisep.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CiSEP_Association-Basics_2019_CfA_UA.pdf

Форма заявки на участь

Кінцевий термін подання заявок: 20 лютого 2019
Оголошення результатів конкурсу: до 27 лютого 2019
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Громадська школа дієвих практик ЄС (CiSEP) є модульною навчальною програмою для активних громадян і агентів змін в Україні. На її базі створюється мережа спеціалістів у сфері Угоди про Асоціацію України з ЄС та Поглибленої і всеохоплюючої зони вільної торгівлі, яка має на меті посилити процес європейської інтеграції України.

З 2015 року в рамках CiSEP сформовано мережу громадських активістів, залучених до процесів моніторингу та комунікації щодо імплементації УА/ПВЗВТ.

Training series on DCFTA chapter 13 “Trade and Sustainable Development” completed by study trip to Berlin

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For 19 representatives of the Ukrainian civil society our study trip to Berlin from 15-20 October 2018 marked the end of their successful participation in our Civic School for Sound EU Practice (CiSEP) training series on “Trade and Sustainable Development”.

The CiSEP training series focused on the DCFTA chapter 13 “Trade and Sustainable Development”. It not only incorporated the three components of sustainability: “Trade”, “Environment” and “Social Policy” and their state of implementation in Ukraine, but also offered introductions in the monitoring and advocacy work in this sector.

The study trip served as an additional measure to explore topics such as energy and waste management and sustainable forest management, which were only rudimentarily touched during the training sessions. As for the chosen destination, Germany seemed like the ideal pick, as it pursues its way of becoming more sustainable, especially on its transition to non-nuclear energy. Therefore, the main goal was to support the participant’s knowledge of the German approach by visiting state institutions, research facilities, NGOs and other important stakeholders. While doing that, the study trip also enabled the participants to strengthen their professional networks. Different organisations and experts, such as the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the House of Representatives, the German Eastern Business Association, BUND Friends of the Earth Germany and the German Trade Union Confederation welcomed our participants warmly. Apart from those visits, insights on how the concept of sustainability can be practically implemented, which were offered by “Das Baumhaus Berlin”, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development and the waste-fueled power station Ruhleben can be seen as highlights of this trip. During the discussions, the members of our group had the opportunity to ask numerous questions from a Ukrainian point of view and thus entered into a stimulating exchange with the German experts. After five successful days new ideas for creative projects in Ukraine already came up.

CiSEP trained civil society advocates for sustainable development in Ukraine

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19 Fellows of the Civic School for Sound EU Practice (CiSEP) successfully completed the training series on “Trade and Sustainable Development”.

The final workshop of the training series took place between 10-12 September 2018 in Lviv, Ukraine. The focus of this meeting lied on advocacy strategies for civil society organisations and how they can promote sustainability in Ukraine’s economic development as well as in the EU-Ukraine trade relations.

Experts from the Responsible Business Forum from Poland introduced CiSEP Fellows about the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, how can it help to achieve some of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as well as how to practically promote it with business representatives. Other activities of the Responsible Business Forum, like coordinating the EU Diversity Charter and promoting non-financial reporting of big companies, were also discussed.

Together with an expert from a Zagreb-based Society for Sustainable Development Design (DOOR) the Fellows learned how to prepare an advocacy campaign. Concentrating on topics like energy poverty, waste management and nature protection, the Fellows prepared their own action plans for an advocacy campaign that they discussed in groups.

A final exam on the last training day served as a way to check the Fellows’ knowledge after the whole CiSEP Level B “Trade and Sustainable Development” training series, which consisted of four seminars and took place between June and September 2018. 19 Fellows successfully passed the exam and will participate in a study trip to Berlin in October 2018.

Civic School for Sound EU Practice is implemented by Institut für Europäische Politik in cooperation with Lviv organisation of the Civil Network OPORA. It is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

CiSEP fellows studied social aspects of sustainable development

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Labour standards, governmental implementation plans and planning own monitoring projects were in the focus of the second and third CiSEP Level B trainings on „Trade and Sustainable Development” that took place in June and July.

The second training took place on 11-13 June in Kyiv, in which 22 CiSEP fellows dealt in detail with social components of the concept of sustainable development. The fellows studied standards and documents of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which serve as basis for many provisions of DCFTA Chapter 13 “Trade and Sustainable Development” in the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. They also became familiar with the work of the organization in Ukraine by working with its “Decent Work Country Programme 2016-2019”.

Furthermore, CiSEP fellows learned about the formats of civil society cooperation envisaged in Chapter 13 – Domestic Advisory Groups and Civil Society Forum. Since the Ukrainian side of the DAG is still not established, a representative of Georgian DAG shared her experience of its work. In the meeting with representatives of several Ukrainian ministries the fellows discussed the
implementation plans of DCFTA Chapter 13 and current challenges.

These implementation plans were put to the test in the third workshop, which took place on 16-18 July in Lviv. The participants discussed what monitoring means, received many tips from our trainer’s hand-on experience when conducting monitoring on the local and national level and finally designed their own monitoring projects of Ukraine’s EU association in the sphere of sustainable development. Another focus lied on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) – CiSEP fellows learned how they are conducted step by step and discussed the role of the civil society in this process.

The latter is important since in many countries it is the civil society organizations that control the correct application of EIA/SEA studies. In this context, the experience of Western Balkan CSOs presented by an expert from Bosnia and Herzegovina proved to be especially useful.

The CiSEP training series on “Trade and Sustainable Development” is a specialization training consisting of four seminars that started in May 2018. The final workshop will take place in September in Lviv. The Civic School for Sound EU Practice is supported by the Federal Foreign Office.

The devil is in the detail. 2nd CiSEP training on EU project cycle management

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Our CiSEP Alumni have plenty of project ideas with the aim to bring Ukraine closer to the EU. They deal with participatory governance, health, ICT, and cultural heritage. Yet, a good idea is never enough. After all, every project realization requires sufficient funds and administrative capacity. For this reason,

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Level B training cycle on Intellectual Property Rights in Ukraine concluded

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The fourth seminar dedicated to the DCFTA Chapter 9 “Intellectual Property” of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement took place end of March in Chernihiv. 19 fellows successfully graduated from the training series implemented by the Institute for European Politics within the Civic School for Sound EU Practice (CiSEP).

Between 26 and 28 March the Capacity Development Team of the Institute for European Politics together with local partner organization Polissya Foundation for International and Regional Studies implemented in Chernihiv the fourth and last of the CiSEP Level B (specialization) trainings on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Previous trainings took place in December, January and February in Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Within the program, a group of Ukrainian civil society representatives with different professional backgrounds (lawyers, scientists and journalists among them) studied the provisions of Chapter 9 “Intellectual Property” of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Apart from the documents’ provisions, the trainings concentrated on EU acquis on IPR, state of Ukrainian intellectual property system and main challenges on the way of Chapter 9 implementation.

Using the Project Cycle Management methodology (problem and objective trees) thorough the training cycle CiSEP fellows identified two main areas of Ukraine’s IPR system which need further improvement: public awareness as well as enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. Experts from EU trained them on designing effective public awareness campaigns and discussions with representatives of Ukrainian enforcement agencies helped to narrow down the areas needing action from the civil society. In the seminar in March they also learned on practical cases how to identify counterfeited products.

The training cycle ended with an exam. 19 successful alumni of the program will take part in the study trip to the EU in the beginning of June in order to learn more about the blocque’s acquis in the IPR field and learn about the work of relevant EU stakeholders in the field.

The Civic School for Sound EU Practice (CiSEP) is a training programme for active citizens and change-makers in Ukraine. It creates a network of Association Agreement specialists with the common goal of enhancing Ukraine’s European integration. CiSEP is kindly supported by the Federal Foreign Office.

Ukraine in the heart of the EU: CiSEP study trip to Brussels

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From 20 to 24 March 2018 our CiSEP “EU Association Skills” alumni discovered the world of EU-Ukraine relations in Brussels.

After having dedicated several training months to EU association monitoring and legal harmonization, it was high time to dive into the who’s who of EU-Ukraine relations.

We were warmly welcomed by experts of the European Parliament, the Support Group to Ukraine, DG TRADE, EEAS, ECOSOC, BusinessEurope, CEPS, the European Endowment for Democracy, as well as the Mission of Ukraine to the EU.

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A tool-box for EU Association

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20 civic activists practice legal approximation, association monitoring and English public speaking

The third workshop of the CiSEP training series “EU Association Skills” gathered NGO members from all over Ukraine from 22 to 24 January in Odessa. Aim of the training is to provide our CiSEP fellows with a “toolbox” of methods and skills to contribute effectively to the EU association process in Ukraine.
During our first two trainings we laid our focus on EU legal analysis. Now, we introduced our fellows to the steps and methods of legal approximation. In first practical exercises our fellows got acquainted with the Table of Concordance – an obligatory tool when checking the compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU legal provisions.
Our training session dedicated to public speaking on EU matters ensured the “feel-good-factor” of the training. Our CiSEP fellows boosted their presentation techniques in numerous practical exercises. The trainer conveyed the right attitude towards public presentations with a lot of empathy and humour.
Moreover, our group had the opportunity to discuss possibilities on regional NGO engagement with a colleague from the “National Coalition for Decentralisation” based in Niš in Serbia. On the basis of Serbian case examples they discussed topics such as regional cooperation, capacity development for smaller organisations, and communication with citizens on the one hand and national stakeholders on the other hand.

Institut für Europäische Politik implements this workshop series in cooperation with Odessa regional organization of All-Ukrainian NGO “Committee of Voters of Ukraine”. The project is kindly supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.

 

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