The openness and the responsibility of the institutions are key for the democratization of the society – was the conclusion from the final conference within the project “Action SEE Visegrad” – Accountability, Technology and Institutional Openness Network Responsibility in South-East Europe called “Road to Good Governance” that was held today in organization of the Foundation for Internet and Society “Metamorphosis”.
Jacek Multanowski, the ambassador of Poland in Macedonia said that civil organizations are keepers of democratic values, the rule of law and human rights.
– The concept of the European Union has been under question lately, as there is a great dissatisfaction and projects such as this one can contribute to strengthening that trust. The technologies are a good opportunity for spreading disinformation and fake news, but also, they can help in seeking responsibility from the politicians. Without responsibility, one cannot expect that the democratic processes will occur – said Multanowski.
The German ambassador in Macedonia, Christine Althauser, thinks that the fight for keeping a civil society, democratization and the rule of law, are very important. She said that these goals are hard to accomplish but they are worth the try.
We cannot contribute to the quality of life if there is no openness and responsibility, including the rule of law, said Bardil Jashari, director of the Foundation for Internet and Society “Metamorphosis”.
– As an organization it is important for us to find a way how the civil sector can contribute for the good governance. Through this project, with the help of technology, ways can be found to seek responsibility and good governance. We, as civil organizations, can contribute to improve the distrust that the citizens have towards the government, and lately this distrust is on a higher level.
Regarding the openness of the institutions in Macedonia and their attitude towards the media and the journalists, spoke Dimitar Tanurov from the “Meta” news agency. According to him, the institutions in Macedonia are closed and a lot of effort has to be invested in order for that to change.
– A large number of institutions will not take into consideration the oral requests for information so the process of receiving an answer is prolonged and it makes the journalists’ work more difficult. A large part of state institutions are closed for the media that are critically inclined, especially the government which spokesperson almost never responds to telephone calls from journalists – said Tanurov.
