Volodymyr Vakulenko: The study visit to Bratislava was well organized and balanced with meetings in study institutions and local government bodies. The first and last days were very helpful in terms of discussion of the results and understanding of joint measures for further implementation of the project. I enjoyed the meetings in the municipalities and universities in Slovakia during the visit. The results of the discussions in universities can be the basis for future research connections with NAPA. In general, there are many positive impressions from communication with open and transparent Slovak people.

 

Olga Berdanova: I thank the organizers of the Study Tour to Slovakia for the wonderful opportunity to explore the experience of training future civil servants in the country's universities, to learn in-depth the benefits and problems of decentralization, as well as to see the beautiful city of Bratislava!

 

 

 

 

Hryhorii Borshch: I have a very positive impression of an amazingly harmonious study tour. It united, in equal proportions, both the benefits of theoretical materials acquisition, the possibility to see with my own eyes how they are implemented in practice, and the pleasure of communicating with academic colleagues, with professionals of local self-government and public administration, as well as discovering the unique culture of the Slovak nation. Many thanks to the tour organizers for their warm hospitality and personal involvement. I am absolutely sure that the knowledge, observations, impressions, and results of the discussions of the tour will help us to implement, in the best way possible, the goals and tasks of our common project.

Olena Burba: Participating in this study tour was very useful to me because I had an opportunity to visit Departments of PA in the Slovak universities. It helped me to identify the similarities and peculiarities of the criteria and principles of organization of trainings for civil servants. Informative presentations and discussions during the meetings will help us to successfully design teaching modules for our PA programme. Thank you to the NISPAcee team, for building educational and cultural bridges between the Slovaks and the Ukrainians!

 

 

Yurii Dekhtiarenko:

1. The overall conclusion: In general, organizational, methodological, theoretical and practical levels of the Study Tour activities were sufficient. I was particularly impressed by the organizational component: everything was organized well, without any pads; everywhere we were aware of the responsibility and caring by Elena Zakova.
2. Most liked: Discussion of the presented NAPA report on the current challenges of public administration and self-evaluation report on the EAPAA criteria was productive. Presentation by representatives of the Department of Public Administration of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic on the implementation of public administration reform was cognitive.
3. Concerning further cooperation: The list of challenges after the discussions, instead of being diminished, was increased. This is a sign of the need for continued cooperation within the framework of the NISPAcee project.

Nataliia Grynchuk: It is almost impossible to choose the most striking moment of the Study Tour, because the whole trip was very interesting and caused a storm of emotions. I was astonished by the Slovaks’ attitude towards everything that surrounds them, to their traditions, their patriotism and respect for people.
This trip to Bratislava left  knowledge that will serve the development of educational programmes at the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine; impressions that inspire creating new projects; new friends and new ideas to promote further cooperation and improvement of democratic processes in our countries.

Anzhela Lelechenko: NISPAcee is an important creating platform for towns’ and municipalities’ representatives to exchange opinions and generate joint strategies, reinforcing the position of local administration, organized within the SlovakAid – NISPAcee – NAPA (Ukraine) project "Capacity Building of NAPA for local governance”. At the same time, it was necessary for me to learn a lot about NISPAcee as an organization which supports the transfer of experience and good practice relating to the process of decentralization and consolidation of local self-government.

Viktoriia Strutynska: I would like to join in with the thanks given by my colleagues and emphasis that the programme of the study tour was organized at the highest level. There was a combination of meetings with academic colleagues from the Slovak educational institutions and practicians in the field – with the majors of the cities and representatives of the Slovak Association of cities and communities, and the Department of Public Administration of the Ministry of the Interior. We were able to share experiences, conduct open dialogues and ask questions. During the coordination meeting we had the opportunity to discuss different aspects with Slovak experts and clarify the next steps. Especially important for me were the visits to the Slovak educational establishments, where we had the opportunity to become acquainted with the learning programmes, modules on public administration, public policy and regional development and local self-government, modes of study and studying process; and to discuss the possibilities of establishing cooperation between Ukrainian and Slovak institutes in the academic and research sphere. Finally, thank you for your warm welcome and hospitality and the possibility to discover your beautiful city Bratislava, and your country.

Oleksandr Tytarenko: I would like to note and thank you for the theoretical basis and good examples of implementing open governance and direct democracy mechanisms at the local level. I was also impressed by the beauty of the country, by the kindness of the people, by the professionalism of the organizers, by the erudition and competence of colleagues in universities and by local officials’ optimism. All of this together is a bright beacon for further progress in Ukraine.