About the organization

    Public organization Institute of Political Education is an independent non-government organization. It was founded in 2001 by a group of young people from different centre-right parties.

The Institute’s main goals are:

- studying and promoting classical European ideologies and movements;

- developing civil society;

- educating and raising the skill level of the young generation;

- analysing the current political situation.

Institute’s Partners

The Institute cooperates with numerous international organisations, such as:

- Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Germany);

- Eduardo Frei Foundation (the Netherlands);

- Westminster Foundation for Democracy (Great Britain);

- Robert Schuman Foundation (France);

- Alcido de Gasperi Foundation (Italy);

- Hanns Seidel Foundation (Germany);

- USAID;

- International Soros Foundation;

- OSCE Representative Office in Ukraine;

- Centre for Political Parliamentary Education and Training (CET);

- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland Republic;

- Embassy of Poland Republic in Ukraine;

- Robert Schuman Institute (RSI).

Brief description of the Institute’s programmes

Several continuous programmes aimed at developing civil society and strengthening its values in Ukraine ought to be noted within the context of work done by the Institute of Political Education to achieve its goals:

1. Educational programme aimed at bringing up the new generation of the youth leaders (running since 2003). The programme includes the schools of young leaders – “New generation in politics” – held together by the Institute, the Robert Schuman Foundation (France), and the representative office of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Ukraine. In 2005, the programme added Ukraine-wide project – “New youth – new Ukraine!” which was carried out by the Institute together with the Office of OSCE projects coordinator in Ukraine.

2. “Developing civil society” programme, which includes numerous events: seminars, conferences, and visits organised and held by the Institute aided by various partners:

­- Educational seminars:

“Public control over the election process”;

“Youth for Europe”;

“Internet journalism in Ukraine and Germany”;

“Eastward expansion of the EU: consequences for Ukraine”.

- Project “The main institutions of the civil society: the role of mass media, political parties, and the church.”

- Conferences:

“Contemporary people’s parties: European experience and Ukrainian reality”;

“The youth policy in Ukraine: problems and possibilities”;

“The government’s social policy: reforms or conservation”.

Moreover, understanding that promoting the implementation of European values in the work of Ukrainian parties is one of the key tasks of our work, the Institute initiated and organised a visit by the leaders of the centre-right parties to the headquarters of the European People’s Party in Brussels. This visit, which took place in 2001, was called to acquaint representatives of the Ukrainian party elite with the functioning of European institutions and to strengthen political ties between parties with similar ideologies in Ukraine and Europe prior to elections to the parliament and local councils in 2002. It is worth noting that was the first visit of such kind in the history of cooperation between the European People’s Party and Ukrainian centre-right parties.

3. “Fair Elections” – programme aimed at preparing members of district election commissions, which was carried out in 2004 prior to the Presidential election and was aided by the International Soros Foundation.

4. Preparation programme for candidates into local councils. The programme has been running since 2001, which gave an opportunity to prepare candidates that became deputies in 2002 and to educate activists from political parties that participated in the 2006 elections. (Close to 1000 persons participated in the programme for candidates into local councils and approximately 40% of them became deputies on various levels). The programme includes:

- education of the young candidates into local councils “Effective participation in the election process”, carried out in 2001 with the support of the representative office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Ukraine and Eduardo Frei Foundation (the Netherlands);

- education for the young leaders – candidates into the local councils at the School of young leaders, held together with the Robert Schuman Foundation (France) in 2003, 2004, 2005;

- education for candidates into local councils and managers of political parties: “Elections to the local councils – 2006. What one ought to know for conducting a successful campaign”, carried out together with Eduardo Frei Foundation (the Netherlands) and the representative office of the Conrad Adenauer Foundation in Ukraine for representatives from all Ukrainian regions.

5. Educational programme for the newly-elected local council members

- education for local council deputies and their aides: “Working together!”, carried out together with the representative office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Ukraine and Eduardo Frei Foundation (the Netherlands) in 2003;

- Ukraine-wide project “Local self-government: A step towards effectiveness”, which will be carried out in 2006 for representatives of all Ukrainian regions together with the representative office of the Conrad Adenauer Foundation in Ukraine, Eduardo Frei Foundation (the Netherlands), and Robert Schuman Foundation (France).

6. Analytical support for the legislation process

Within the framework of studying the problems of the local government in 2005, the Institute together with public organisation “Laboratory of legislative initiatives” on the project “Aiding the organisation of elections in Ukraine” (financed by the USAID), held a number of roundtables in different regions of Ukraine and attracting representatives of the local government bodies, experts on the election legislation, members of civic organisations, and mass media representatives. Participants of the roundtables discussed the existing problems and the implementation of the Ukrainian legislation “On the election of deputies to the Verkhovna Rada of the Crimean Autonomous Republic, local councils and the election of the village, town, and city mayors.” Upon the completion of the project, the organisers released a handbook: “Local elections in Ukraine: problems of legal regulation”.

7. Program of self government development in the former Soviet countries

Within the framework of this program:

- the trainings for the candidates to local councils in Belarus and Moldova were held in 2006;

- the trainings for the newly elected councilors and city mayors are planned in 2007. These events will take place with involvement of Ukrainian and European local self government experts.

- educational seminars for the local councilors were conducted, and also the new project "From general to concrete" which includes a lot of aspects: budget aspects, land issues , humanitarian issues, government programs, housing issues in 2008;

- educational seminars of project «From general to concrete» and also the new pilot project «Training program for assistants of local councilors» in 2009.

In addition Institute of Political Education with Association of Ukrainians in Poland began realization of project of euro integration direction «The Ukrainian workshop of European integration».