Successful Completion of CiSEP Level A2 in Dnipro
The Civic School for Sound EU Practice (CiSEP) Level A2 training series has successfully come to an end in Dnipro. The training series focused on basics concerning the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union (AA) and the accompanying Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).
Over the course of four workshops, our participants, who represent active citizens from civil society organizations within Ukraine, learned about the values, the political system and the bodies of the EU. They learned how civic participation can function within the EU integration and also got a systematic introduction into the AA and DCFTA and an approach on how to read them.
The last two workshops have taken place from 20–22 May and 24–26 June 2019 in Dnipro. The workshop in May focused on the implementation and civic engagement aspect of the EU-integration, further approaching the topic by using examples from neighbouring countries and their experiences with the EU association, such as Serbia and Georgia. Thematically, an emphasis was made to Intellectual Property Rights (Chapter 9) and Transparency (Chapter 12).
The last workshop of the training series combined different aspects: Firstly, it focused on Chapter 3: Technical Barriers to Trade. It further stressed the importance of regional civic engagement and the opportunities decentralization can bring. Organizing civil society in local hubs, as demonstrated by the example of Nis in Serbia, is very important to give a voice to civil society members and empower them, since it creates opportunities of influence. Supporting this process, the participants also learned more about Project Cycle Management and how it can be of help to them. A highlight of the training was visiting the production site of Interpipe – a Ukrainian industrial company for steel pipes and railway wheels.
The end of the workshop series was marked by the exams all participants had to pass in order to successfully complete Level A2. All of our participants have indeed passed and we are very excited to see our CiSEP network growing. We wish our participants all the best and hope we will be seeing them again soon.
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 Foreign Office (AA).
