"Public policy and governance" in Tirana I

With civic education of youth as one of its missions, the Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture conducted in Tirana the training on "Public Policy and Governance" from the series of workshops and seminars which will be held also in Shkoder and Vlore. The first workshop held in Tirana saw the participation of 28 very motivated young people. The participants were chosen by IDMC very carefully among 70 applications.

The main goal of this training was to improve the understanding, knowledge and political skills of young people. As such, the training aimed to introduce them with the different contexts of public policies, the forms of action and inaction, and their importance in measuring the democratic level of a country's governance. Despite the understanding about public policies, their types and governance in a broader context, the training aimed also to enhance participation and decision-making skills. Participants were further expected to understand the importance of working in groups in order to be able to implement concrete public policies and achieve the desired results.

IDMC met its goal by dividing the training in Tirana into two long parts.

The first part provided the theoretical concepts and explained public policies and governance. Participants learned to engage with these topics and got introduced to politics by a specialist. Students understood that in economics, governance implies the role of people authorized for supervision, control and direction of a specific subject and the responsibility to ensure that the subject achieves its objectives, financial reporting and reporting to the stakeholders.

The second part focused on the application of theoretical concepts in actual cases and examples. Participants analyzed, discussed and decided, in groups, on specific public policies through exercises and case studies. These exercises enhanced their participation and decision-making skills and raised awareness of participants that in Albania, some of these specific public policies need several improvements. Participants, concluded that problems related to the transparency of public policies and bad governance were a key factor influencing the increase of their level of distrust and indifference, toward the governing institutions.

At the end of the workshop, participants completed the evaluation form for the workshop and received a certificate of completion.

About the Trainer

• Neritan Sejamini is a lecturer of "Game Theory and Rational Choice" at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tirana.