Date: 2024 November 21-22.
Location: Up Hotel, 1067 Budapest, Csengery street 31.
21 November Transparent and corruption-free municipalities: dream or reality?
9:00 - 9:30 | Registration
9:30 - 9:40 | Intro: Municipal transparency in Hungary since 2019 (K-Monitor)
A short presentation of the results of the "This is the minimum" municipal transparency program.
9:40 - 10:00 | Results, flaws and next steps in Budapest – discussion with Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony
Since a signatory of "This is the minimum" in 2019, we will discuss the results and shortcomings of the past term with the mayor of Budapest as well as highlight the areas, where the city needs to improve in the next period.
10:00 - 11:00 | Who can warrant a corruption-free Budapest? - panel discussion with the representatives of party groups forming the council of Budapest
participants: Judit Annamária Barna and Áron Porcher (TISZA), József Gál (Podmaniczky Movement), Dorottya Keszthelyi (Democratic Coalition), Dávid Nagy (Two-Tailed Dog Party)
The issue of transparency was already raised on the forming session of the new Budapest council. How do the different factions understand the main deficiencies and what are their priorities within this policy area until 2029?
11:00 - 11:30 | Coffee break
11:30 - 12:30 | Where are we now? Challenges on the transparency agenda - panel discussion with leaders of Hungarian municipalities
participants: András Rózsa (mayor of Budapest District 14), Tamás Soproni (mayor of Budapest District 6), László Csőzik (mayor of Érd)
What are the next steps in local governments, where high scores were achieved in the transparency audit? What needs to change in municipalities with lower scores? In which areas should citizens receive more information and influence of decisions in local governance?
12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch
14:00 - 15:45 | Transparent self-governance: good practices from the CEE region - presentations and Q&A
expert participants: Nejc Horvat (Danes Je Nov Dan, SI), Tomáš Münzberger (Oživení, CZ), Szymon Dubiel (Sieć Obywatelska Watchdog Polska, PL), Božena Stojić (Ministarstvo Prostora, RS), Sorin Ionita (Expert Forum, RO)
We have similar systems of self-governance in the CEE region – are the challenges in municipal transparency also similar? Are there specific good practices that our countries and our municipalities could learn from each other?
15:45 - 16:00 | Coffee break
16:00 - 17:30 | Measuring municipal transparency: results and challenges from the CEE region - presentations and panel discussion
expert participants: Alexander Kashumov (Access to Information Programme, BG), Tomáš Münzberger (Oživení, CZ), Michal Piško (ONLINE Transparency International Slovakia), István Pósfai (K-Monitor, HU)
In a number of countries, similar transparency audits are conducted by CSOs. By presenting each of these programs, the initiators can discuss the strengths and weaknesses in each and develop their own programs based on the others' good practices.
22 November The democracy formula: how citizens shape local power
9:00 - 9:30 | Registration
9:30 - 11:15 | Monitoring together: from evidence to story, from story to policy - presentation and Q&A
local CSO participants: Áron Csere - Dialóg (Miskolc), Melitta Szarka - AKE (Debrecen), Norbert Falusi és Róbert Alter - KecsUP (Kecskemét), Krisztina Virág és Tibor Horányi - Alba Natura (Gárdony), Szabolcs Vaszkó - Tavirózsa (Veresegyház)
Local CSOs have conducted projects to influence local decision-making with professional guidance and advice from K-Monitor. By presenting the individual projects, we hope to inspire other CSOs to act upon their interests in local policy issues.
11:15 - 11:35 | Coffee break
11:35 - 12:30 | Cooperation or confrontation? Civil-municipal relations - panel discussion
CSO participants: Friends of Lake Fertő, Mothers of Mikepércs, Act Consciously for Our Settlement (Tata)
Local investments with nationwide ripples: what are some of the successful methods and strategies employed by local CSOs to oppose large-scale infrastructure projects? What is their relationship with their local governments - that of mutual support or animosity?
12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch
14:00 - 15:45 | Participation without borders: international methods, local results – presentations and Q&A
expert participants:
- Ingrida Kalinauskienė - ONLINE (Transparency International Lithuania, LT): participatory budgeting experiences in Lithuania,
- Nejc Horvat (Danes Je Nov Dan, SI): introducing Parlameter to make council minutes and voting records more user-friendly,
- Jovana Timotijević (Ministarstvo Prostora, RS): applying the citizens’ assembly format to urban planning
What are some innovative methods and tools that can be employed by civil society organisations to influence local policy-making? How can you engage citizens in urban or budget planning and how can you introduce a bottom-up initiative into the institutional cycle of a municipality?
15:45 - 16:00 | Coffee break
16:00 - 17:00 | Digital allies: online tools for transparency and participation - presentation and Q&A (K-Monitor)
K-Monitor will showcase three exciting applications in the presentation. First, the budgetvisualization app, which visualizes local government budgets to make them transparent for the public. We’ll also cover Voksmonitor, an app that helps make decisions on public policy issues. Finally, the highlight of the presentation will be PartiMap, a participatory mapping tool for municipalities and NGOs to identify local problems, comment on projects, and assess community needs.