Dialogue platform on the topic: "The competences of public councils: real opportunities or possible reality"

Almaty, Kazakhstan - On May 13, 2016, the Public Fund “Information and Resource Center” within the framework of USAID's "Initiative to Support Effective Governance" project with the support of the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia Foundation organized and conducted a Dialogue platform on the theme: "Competences of Public Councils: real possibilities or possible reality."

The format of the event predetermined an interested and quite emotional discussion of the issue of the powers of the Public Councils, designed not only to enhance the influence of the Public Councils on social and economic processes and increase the responsibility of state bodies to the population for their solution, but also to create a qualitatively new state of civil society capable of initiating and directly take part in the implementation of socially significant issues.

Participants of the Dialogue Site, in which members of the Public Council of Almaty (Kobeeva A, Shalabaev K., Shibutov M., Danilina A., Baisakova Z.,), representatives of state bodies (the State Revenue Department of Almaty, the Employment Department and the social programs, the Department of the Ministry of Public Service of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Almaty, the Almaty Public Health Administration), leaders of public organizations, leaders of public opinion in Almaty recognized that the competence of the Public Councils in the meaning Yelnia extent create real opportunities to influence the formation and implementation of state bodies of priority for population programs and activities. At the same time, participants of the Dialogue platform noted that the existing legislative powers of the Public Councils to a large extent limited to "discussing projects, plans, programs, reports" significantly reduce the potential for civil society to participate in the formation and implementation of managerial decisions, and do not sufficiently take into account the views of the population on socially significant issues and the adoption by local authorities of legislative decisions. The nature and tone of the discussion showed that representatives of civil society would like the Public Councils not just to aggregate social issues and discuss their relevance, but also be endowed with effective powers to solve them, and act as real conductors of public initiatives in the legislative and executive structures of power.

The recommendations of the Dialogue Platform, as well as the final document of the event, contain concrete proposals aimed at improving the legislative base on Public Councils, which make it possible to strengthen the role and influence of the Public Councils in the contemporary socio-political life of the country.