CONF\PROG - Good Governance and Participation: the Black Sea, 15 May 2015, Yerevan

This high level international conference will be held in Yerevan, Armenia.

Supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, the International Relations Department of the City of Vienna, the Institute for Go-Governance Vienna, the City of Yerevan, Kapsch Austria and the Assembly of European Regions, ADC, the conference looks at the state of play of governance in the Black Sea Region.
A number of international experts will take part in the event.

The conference will be focused on the role of participation in implementing practices of good governance.
For more details and registration office@go-governance.com or simonyanvergine@yahoo.com

Friday May 15

9.00 registration at Hotel Metropol, Yerevan Armenia

Translation simultaneous Armenian-English

9.30

Opening speakers

• Taron Margaryan, Mayor of Yerevan,
• Ashot Hovakimian Deputy Foreign Minister Foreign Affairs Armenia,
• Dr Jakub Forst-Battaglia, Minister Plenipotentiary, Director of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Kiev
• Emin Yeritsyan, Co-chair of CORLEAP (Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities of the Eastern Partnership), President of the Union of Communities of Armenia
• Chair Prof Dr Melanie Sully, Director of the Institute for Go-Governance, Vienna

10.15 coffee

10.45 Panel Governance and Participation: the post-Soviet Space

• Hamazasp Galstyan, Deputy Head of Financial Dept of City of Yerevan,  “Digital Democracy in the Municipality of Yerevan”
• Dr Olga Kamenchuk, VCIOM, MGIMO Moscow former student of Diplomatic Academy Vienna, “Case Studies Russia, Ukraine, Moldova”
• Dr Jakub Forst Battaglia, Minister Plenipotentiary, Director of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Kiev, “Good Governance in the Black Sea Region: expectations and reality. A personal view”
• Chair Prof Dr Melanie Sully, Director of the Institute for Go-Governance Vienna.
• Discussion

11.30  Panel: Protest and Participation: case studies

• Stefan Ralchev, Programme Director and Policy Analyst, Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS), Sofia, Bulgaria, “A true civil society: how the Summer 2013 protest movement led to better governance in Bulgaria”
• Hikmet Kirik Istanbul University, “Reforms, Democracy and Civilian Praetorianism: impressions from Gezi demonstrations”
• Volodymyr Dubovyk, Director Centre for International Studies, Odessa I Mechnikov University “Maidan II and beyond: lessons from Ukraine”
• Chair:  Lilit Karapetyan, Chief Specialist, Investment Policy and Analysis, Dept, Ministry of Economics, Republic of Armenia, BA in International Relations, MA in European Studies (Human Rights and Democratisation)

12.30 Lunch open to public by courtesy of the City of Vienna

Press Conference 1.00pm -1.30pm

2.00pm 

• Panel : Governance, Participation and Democracy: the Caucasus
• Dr Stepan Grigoryan, Chairman of the Board, Analytical Centre on Globalisation and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC), “Experience of Armenia, civil society organisations, cooperation with the Government”
• Richard Giragosian, RSC Yerevan
• Levan Kakhishvili, Researcher Georgian Institute of Politics, “Measuring and Interpreting political participation in Georgia”
• Chair: Gevorg Melikian, Alliance for Democracy NGO
• Discussion

2.45 coffee

3pm

Panel: Governance best practices, lessons for the future

• Eduardo Balekjian, EU Project Manager and Entrepreneur, Brussels, “The importance of citizen engagement in governance”.
• Dr Josef Mantl, Deputy, Institute for Go-Governance Austria,  “Digital Media and Participation” 
• Alexandra  Dancasiu, Assistant, Institute for Go-Governance Austria, “From Romania to Vienna”
• Dragutin Djekovic, City Manager Podgorica Montenegro
• Chair: Eva Polak, Senior Research Fellow, Analytical Centre on Globalisation and Regional Cooperation, ACGRC Yerevan
• Discussion

Conclusion by Austrian representative

End of conference – 4.30pm