Marketing Democracy Project
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Project's background:
In the three years following the so-called Orange Revolution, there has been limited progress in undertaking the democratic reforms necessary for Ukraine's achievement of the MDGs and further integration with Europe.
As political factions seek to attract voters and gain public approval in this period of political uncertainty (frequent parliamentary elections and changes in government), partisan politics and populist issues have dominated political debate in the country. Public demand for reform has been eroded since the Orange Revolution, at least in part due to insufficient presentation/debate in public and in the media about the key democratic reforms required to fulfill Ukraine's European Choice and MDG commitments.
The dominance in the media of headline-grabbing populist issues is not unique to Ukraine; the media in most countries will always focus on potentially controversial issues. In Ukraine, however, there is a clear rationale to foster an informed public debate on judicial reform - a key issuefor the country's democratic development.
There is a clear need for an informed public debate about democratic reforms in order to address Ukrainians' increasingly pessimistic perceptions of democratic processes in the country.
According to recent survey results, conducted by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Ukrainian Sociology Service Company, 61.5 per cent of Ukrainians are dissatisfied (absolutely or mostly) with the way democracy is functioning in Ukraine. Only 2.1 per cent of respondents said they were ‘absolutely satisfied', 23.1 per cent were ‘mostly satisfied' and 13.2 per cent found it ‘difficult to say' (from a sample of 1800 respondents across Ukraine, aged over 18).
Far from representing momentum or informed demand for democratic reform, the risk is indeed that Ukrainians will lose trust in democratic institutions and adopt an ambivalent approach to democratic processes in the country.
What is our mission?
The project fosters a national public dialogue about issues of judicial reform, with the intended impact to create an educated, strident public demand that stimulates government action and accountability for undertaking key democratic reforms.
The Project is implemented by a specialised public education NGO "Center for Ukrainian Reform Education" (CURE) in partnership with International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS), as their bid was the winning one in an open Project implementation tender earlier this year.
The project's main activities include:
1. Research and analysis to form information base for public dialogue
- In order to stimulate an informed public dialogue on judicial reform, a solid informational base will be required. Therefore, 2 permanent project staff members will be hired by the implementing partner (CURE) to conduct an initial review of the vast body of existing analyses by international and national organizations to articulate
- Status quo of the justice system in Ukraine. (Where is Ukraine now?)
- Progress since independence and where further steps will be required. (How far has Ukraine come? What steps must Ukraine still take?)
- Implications of judicial reforms for Ukraine and individual Ukrainians, with a particular focus on benefits for the individual (Why is Ukraine doing this? What does it mean for me, the individual?)
- Current initiatives and plans for judicial reform, drawn from the new government's Action Programme and stated objectives/initiatives. (What is the government planning to do about it?)
- Prospects, opportunities, challenges, gaps.
- A senior national expert will be recruited to ensure accuracy and a high quality of the project's analysis and content developed
- An ‘advisory group' of stakeholders, including media NGOs and State Committee on TV and Radio Broadcasting, will be convened to advise on quality of content proposed by the research team.
2. Develop and implement a public outreach campaign to facilitate public dialogue on judicial reform issues through varied media products
- Initiate and sustain a public dialogue during 4 months, through national TV, radio, newspapers and internet. A professional media production and broadcasting company must be engaged to ensure a high quality and national audience for the project's media content. Various media products will be produced and broadcast as the project progresses, presenting and discussing progress on, and prospects for, judicial reform in Ukraine.
- The project will produce 2 short TV documentaries and broadcast on national networks, facilitated by the media production company and with support from the State Committee for TV and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine.
- The State Committee for TV and Radio Broadcasting will be engaged to facilitate the project's access to national TV and radio networks.
- A website and online discussion forum will also be maintained.
- To develop national capacities to sustain an accurate, educated public debate on judicial reform, the project will facilitate 5 one-day regional seminars to train journalists and editors.
- To debate the major needs, gains and prospects on the path of judical reform in Ukraine it is planned that the project will organise five regional discussions (round table meetings) with representatives from NGOs, Government officials (i.e. Ministry of Justice) and other stakeholders, during which the project will present major analysis findings and advocacy messages.
The Project's budget amounts to USD 200,000 and is funded by the UNDP's Democratic Governance Trust Fund.
Our Partners:
Ministry of Justice of Ukraine; State Committee for TV and Radio Broadcasting; Verkhovna Rada; Academy of Judges; State Court Administration.
