The Metamorphosis Foundation, for Internet and Society, Macedonia and the Minister without Portfolio for Communications, Transparency and Accountability in the Government, Robert Popovski, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation that will provide support for the creation and implementation of the Strategy for Transparency of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia.
Today. the first meeting was held of the working group for the preparation of the Strategy, which was attended by organizations working in the field and who can offer their expertise.
The opening was attended by the Minister of Communications, Accountability and Transparency Robert Popovski, Director for Partnership and Development of Resources of the Foundation for Internet and Society “Metamorphosis” Filip Stojanovski, Executive Director of the Open Society Foundation Macedonia Fani Karanfilova-Panovska and the international expert on transparency, Veronica Cretu.
Stojanovski said that according to the results of the Regional Openness Index for North Macedonia (opennessindex.actionsee.org – part of the regional project by “Metamorphosis” and supported by the EU), there are various significant differences between the institutions regarding their openness and transparency due to the fact that the application of good transparency practices often depends on goodwill and commitment from ministers and others in managerial positions Therefore, as Stojanovski pointed out, there is a need for a systematic approach to finding a solution that will not only focus on identifying and replicating good practices, but also on the full process and opportunities that the Republic of North Macedonia has to offer.
Karanfilova-Panovska stressed that for the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia, in building dynamic and tolerant societies, whose authorities are held accountable, it is imperative that citizens actively control and correct the government’s work and participate in decision making. The creation of the Strategy for transparency of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia through direct involvement of civil society and, of course, its consistent implementation, is a step towards substantial and systematic changes to improve the lives of citizens, especially members of marginalized groups.
