Application of the Participation Principle as the Basis of Good Governance at the Local Level

The importance of citizens' participation in the decision-making process and the application of the principle of participation were the topic of the third training for capacity building of the good governance competency units at the local level, which was organised from February 7 to 9, 2024 in Arandjelovac by the Joint UN Programme "PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature", with the support of the Swiss Government.

"Participation is very important, it gives us the opportunity to hear the voice of the people and be a real service to citizens, which is what we were founded for, to solve key problems, to make a selection of the most important issues and those where the greatest consent of citizens can be achieved. Also, in this way we can enable the legitimacy of our decisions and involve citizens in the way budget funds are spent", says Ljiljana Šobić, representative of the City of Kragujevac.

A representative of the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue contributed to the discussion on the role of civil society organisations in the processes of defining and adopting public policies, as well as decision-making in the public administration system.

The functioning of local self-government cannot be imagined without the participation of citizens, said Marijana Đokić, training participant from Nova Varoš.

"Thanks to the trainings within the Programme, we gained knowledge about the mechanisms of how to include the principle of participation in good governance, because we are aware that the implementation of such procedures brings good results, that is, leads to good decisions. The Programme's trainings are extremely important for all those who are in leadership positions or are appointed to public positions because they receive a lot of support in capacity building and the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they acquire in local self-governments, both vertically and horizontally." , Đokić pointed out.

The training is part of the support provided by the Programme to the LSGs for them to improve governance. Programme support will, inter alia, also cover the improvement of eGovernance, introduction of eServices, data opening, improved implementation of local regulations, which will be achieved through co-operation with the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, as well as promotion the provision of public services to citizens and businesses.

The Programme “PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature” is jointly implemented by United Nations agencies in Serbia - UNOPS, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNEP, in cooperation with the Serbian Government, and with financial support of the Government of Switzerland.