2011 Fellows deliver Action Plan presentations
On 6th July 2011, each of our twenty two 2011 John Smith Fellows delivered a five minute presentation summarising their ‘action plan’ – a project to implement on their return home, often inspired by their individual programme of attachments and other John Smith Fellowship experiences. The presentation day was held in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords with guests including Trustees Baroness Smith, Paul K Winter, and Lord McCluskey, in addition to several attachment hosts and friends of JSMT.
The 2011 Fellows share their experiences and present their Action Plans in a House of Lords committee room
The day began with a focus on conflict resolution and capacity building. Armenian Fellow Hovhannes Nikoghosyan spoke of his plan to create a ‘pool of intellectuals’, focused on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, in order to build a climate of reconciliation aimed at building better relations between those who help to shape public opinion in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Hovhannes also intends to research the means and ends of devolution in the UK (Northern Ireland and Scotland) and assess whether these models can be adapted for other regions. From Iraq, Ghassan Kadhim hopes to contribute to the democratic development of the country via the establishment of the ‘Sheikhs for Iraqi Democracy Association’. The aim of the association is to bring together the tribal leaders of Iraq into a democratic movement that would help to stabilise the political system of the country.
Marina Cherenkova (Deputy Governor of the Donetsk Region of Ukraine) has returned to Donetsk with a plan to improve the education system in the region via the implementation of a ‘Life-Long Learning’ project. Marina’s goal is to bring a range of learning opportunities to her region and thereby contribute to both its economic development and its political development by creating a better educated and therefore engaged citizenship.
Marina Cherenkova answers questions on her plan to develop the Donetsk education system
The discussion moved to business and development, with Uluk Kydyrbaev (CEO, Bishkek Business Club) telling the audience about his experience learning how the UK business community conducts relations with the UK government. On his return to Bishkek, Uluk will put forward a series of recommendations to the Prime Minister’s economic department and the Council of Business Development and Investments under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on how to improve public-private dialogue in the country. Uluk’s aim is to support the effective collaboration between the government and business community on economic policies and reform.
Vitali Chiurcciu spoke of his four year plan of regional economic development for the Gagauzia region of Moldova. Among a number of other measures, Vitali intends to create a Regional Council for Development in Gagauzia, launch a tourism development programme for the region, conduct training for mayors of Gagauzia’s towns on the improvement of the region’s strategic planning and local policy making, and will organise two international economic forums in the area. As Deputy Governor of Gagauzia and Chief of the General Department of Economic Development, Vitali is well placed to achieve his goals and to implement and adapt what he has learnt during the UK Fellowship.
Moldovan Fellow Natalia Calenic tells her peers about her three year plan to reform the Moldovan Customs Service, with measures to make it more productive, efficient and transparent
Following meetings with The Quilliam Foundation, Jonathan Powell, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Conciliation Resources, Aziz Ahmad (Department of Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq) plans to establish the ‘Zakhota Foundation’ whose mission will be to provide independent and reliable research supporting the following key goals:
• Promote and encourage democratic reforms, transparency and accountability
• Provide recommendations to resolve key issues in the region as a whole
• Present the stage for dialogue and understanding
Aziz hopes to found a truly independent institution comprising a team of academics, businesses, politicians, and students who will conduct research on domestic and regional issues in cooperation with local governments and organisations. It will work with reputable market-research firms to conduct reliable polls in the region and will provide local governments with recommendations on how to advance the consolidation of democracy in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
Azerbaijani Fellow Emin Milli, released from prison in November 2010, intends to write a book about his life experiences including his time on the 2011 Fellowship Programme
With a view to the upcoming elections, Russian Fellow Grigory Fandeev told the group about his plans to stand in the 4th December election to the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, whilst Ukrainian Fellow Taras Berezovets spoke about the measures he will conduct in order to engage the young people of Ukraine in politics and anti-corruption activities. Via advertising campaigns, public service recruitment, and the use of social media tools, Taras is hoping to increase youth turnout during the 2012 elections, create a series of new anticorruption blogs and website, and increase the popularity of public service in Ukraine.
The 2011 Fellows and JSMT staff, Committee Room 2
The final presentation of the day was that of Irakli Khorbaladze whose focus was on freedom of information. Irakli discussed the way in which the initial passage of legislation in the field of freedom of information was just the beginning of the process of opening up Georgia’s government to scrutiny and accountability. What is needed is a public information campaign to ensure that citizens take up their legal rights and the institutions of the state are thereby held to account. It was a theme that was echoed in many of the other presentations during the day.
The 2011 Fellows will reunite in July 2012 to report on their progress. The John Smith Memorial Trust would like to thank Lord McCluskey and House of Lords staff for assisting with the arrangements for this day for our Fellows.
July 2011
Photos courtesy of Jorge Dieguez