On Wednesday, March 30, the opening of the Public Information Center took place in the premises of the Lutsk City Executive Committee. The Center was created on the initiative of the public organization "Association of Young Reformers," which will also coordinate its activities. The Lutsk City Council provides support in implementing this project. Deputy Mayor Oleksandr Voliyko supported the idea of creating the Center, as the city executive committee is interested in better informing citizens. Mr. Voliyko expressed hope that the Center's work in this direction will be appropriate and needed. Project coordinator Mykhailo Shelep said that the Public Information Center was created in order to simplify citizens' access to information and services provided by the structural divisions of the city executive committee, and to suggest correct and quick ways to solve problems. According to M. Shelep: "The more informed citizens are, the fewer problems and misunderstandings will arise." The Public Information Center will operate on the first floor of the Lutsk City Executive Committee, next to the citizens' appeals sector, and will work in an open office mode. Every day, from Monday to Friday, starting at 9 a.m., Center staff will receive citizens, to whom they will provide free consultations on pressing issues. They will advise where to properly turn for the effective resolution of a raised problem. Mr. Voliyko expressed the readiness of the relevant divisions of the city council and city executive committee to cooperate with the Public Information Center and provide comprehensive support in its activities. Thus, it is planned to improve Lutsk residents' awareness of the functions and main tasks of the departments and divisions of the city executive committee, which in turn will help overcome negative stereotypes in society about the work of local self-government bodies.
Information about the project
Since January 2005, the international Ukrainian-Polish project "I Know What I Should Know; I Know How to Find Out About It; I Know Where I Will Find Out About It" has been implemented in the city of Lutsk. This project is a joint initiative of the Volyn public organization "Association of Young Reformers (AMoRe)" and its Polish partner, the "Tea House" Society, from the city of Tomaszow Lubelski. The project is financed within the framework of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation Program "Changes in the Region - RITA," implemented by the Education for Democracy Foundation. The Lutsk City Council also provides support in implementing this project.
The main goal of this project is to promote positive transformations in Ukrainian and Polish societies by raising citizens' awareness of the work of local authorities and through the creation of effective mechanisms for solving local problems of residents of the city of Lutsk and Tomaszow County of the Republic of Poland.
Within the framework of implementing this project, a Public Information Center (PIC) is being created and will function at the Lutsk city executive committee, whose activities will be coordinated by the project's implementing organization. The goal of creating the Public Information Center is to simplify citizens' access to information and services provided by the structural divisions of the city executive committee, and to suggest correct and quick ways to solve problems.
The tasks of the Center will be: - disseminating information about the structure and mechanisms of work of local self-government bodies of the city of Lutsk, the powers and tasks of the divisions and departments of the city executive committee; - providing consultations to citizens on the quick and quality resolution of a local problem; - providing the services of legal consultants on issues of the city executive committee's activities; - developing and distributing information booklets concerning current community problems.
In the future, the work of the Public Information Center will contribute to changing the stereotypes of Lutsk residents regarding the role and functions of local self-government bodies, increase the civic activity of Lutsk residents, and help establish two-way communication between the local community and city authorities.
Young lawyers, political scientists, and sociologists work in the project's working group. The project coordinator on the Ukrainian side is Mykhailo Shelep, Head of the "Association of Young Reformers" (80673321998).