MINELRES: CFP: Enhancing capacity of local governments to provide equitable access to minorities

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Petra Kovacs <kovacsp@osi.hu>


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http://www.nispa.sk/conf2003/conf2003.html

For applications/deadline, see the end of the message

INVITATION & CALL FOR PAPERS for the 11th NISPAcee Annual Conference

"ENHANCING THE CAPACITIES TO GOVERN: Challenges facing the CEE
countries"

Bucharest, Romania, April 10-12 2003

Organized in cooperation with the National School of Political Studies
and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania

IV. Working Group on Democratic Governance of Multiethnic Communities

Coordinators:
Petra Kovacs, LGI/OSI, Hungary, e-mail: kovacsp@osi.hu
Jana Krimpe, Tallinn University of Educational Sciences, Estonia,
e-mail: krimpe@tpu.ee

The coordinators of the WG invites contributions on its 2003 theme:
"Enhancing the capacity of local governments to provide equitable
access to minorities".

Background
The Working Group (WG) on Governing Multiethnic Communities had its
third gathering at the 10th Annual Meeting of the NISPAcee. This year,
working sessions of the WG have been devoted to an in-depth analysis
of new models and methods of public service delivery from the point of
view of ethnic diversity. The aim of the WG is to assess and analyze
public policies that determine the access of minorities to public
services.

The WG decided to continue its operations at the next NISPAcee
conference. Researchers will contribute to the conference with the
topic: "Enhancing the capacity of local governments to provide
equitable access to minorities". This topic will be based on research
results of the working group to date. During the next twelve months
members of the research team will continue their field research to
identify key factors of successful practice in providing equitable
access to public services for minorities. By identifying these key
factors, the working group will contribute to promote policies of
equal opportunities and non-discrimination at the sub-national levels
of government. This issue has become a key priority for all
governments in Central and Eastern Europe in the process of European
Integration.

CALL FOR PAPERS
Officials as well as citizens are often frustrated in their attempts
to get a clear picture on the performance of government's achievement
in promoting inclusive policies responsive to the needs of ethnically
diverse communities. Success stories or bad examples become reported
by the media sometimes. However, comprehensive information and
analysis is rarely available on the issue equity in public service
delivery.

We are calling for policy studies to provide suggestions by which
local governments and their agencies or institutions might regularly
assess their performance or demonstrate progress. Interested
individuals are invited to join the Working Group's research team and
to submit papers analyzing key factors of successful practices in
providing equitable access to public services for minorities.

The aim of our inquiry is threefold. First, to provide governments and
public officials with suggestions on improving particular situations.
Second, to accelerate new policy actions in areas of service provision
to meet the need of minorities. Third, to enhance governments
capacities to manage ethnic diversity.

A preference will be given to papers based on empirical research (case
studies).

For further information, please contact the coordinators:
Petra Kovacs (LGI/OSI) at kovacsp@osi.hu,
or Jana Krimpe (Tallin University)krimpe@tpu.ee

or write to the email list of the working group
nispawg4@yahoogroups.com

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Applications should be submitted to the NISPAcee Secretariat no later
than September 30, 2002 and should include:
- An abstract of a paper that is relevant to the Conference theme
(maximum 2 pages), or a proposal for the panel discussion
- A completed application form (this will be available on the NISPAcee
homepage or from the NISPAcee Secretariat)
- Applicant's curriculum vitae.

Application documents should be in English and sent in an electronic
form by e-mail to Viera Wallnerova, NISPAcee Project manager (e-mail:
Viera@nispa.sk)

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The NISPAcee Conference provides a forum to encourage the exchange of
information and developments in the theory and practice of public
administration. The Conference addresses experts, scholars and
practitioners who work in the field of public administration in
Central and Eastern Europe (including all countries covered by the
NISPAcee membership, the Russian Federation, Caucasus and Central
Asia).

The Conference will be structured into a plenary panel discussion and
working sessions on the main Conference theme with meetings of the
NISPAcee Working Groups running in parallel. Papers are invited on the
main Conference theme or on the themes of the Working Groups. The call
for participation in the Working Groups for next year's Conference is
based on the outcomes of the NISPAcee Conference in Cracow 2002.
Information on the Conference is also available on the NISPAcee web
site (http://www.nispa.sk) or at the NISPAcee Secretariat from the
beginning of July, 2002.

THE MAIN CONFERENCE THEME
 
A naive version of quasi-neoliberal thinking has been predominant in
many of the former communist countries in the last decade. Partly as a
natural reaction to the failures of command economies and partly to
adjust to often ill-understood western ideas and institutions, many
politicians believed that the market alone had the power to destroy
the old-fashioned structures of the centrally planned economy and
authoritarian politics of the Communist past. In other countries, the
inherited patterns of tough centralized control hindered most of the
effort to replace them with efficient regulatory structures
facilitating and compatible with the market economy and political
democracy. Both approaches paved the way to corruption. It is only
after a series of bitter experiences in the political and
administrative practice of central and eastern European countries,
that the awareness of their inadequacies is now widespread.

Without doubt, the role of public policy and administration is now
much more valued than at the beginning of the 90s. However, there is
still a lot of hesitation and confusion concerning the relevant scope
and appropriate methods of administrative regulation in political
practice. In addition, central and eastern European countries face
serious problems in respect to the shaping of future governmental
activities and balancing them with pressures to have results here and
now. That is why cognitive, educative and the practical task of
enhancing the capacities to govern has been selected as the main theme
of the 2003 NISPAcee Annual Conference.

Prof. Yehezkel Dror from the Hebrew University, Israel, will be the
Conference keynote speaker. His presentation will be based on his new
Report to the Club of Rome The Capacity to Govern (for those
interested in the book, information about it as well as a nine-page
abstract of the book written by Prof. Kuklinski, University of Warsaw,
Poland and a nine-page summary of the book written by Prof.
Argyriades, UN Consultant is available on the NISPAcee homepage, or
upon request from the Secretariat)

Panel discussion: The Role of Education in Enhancing Capacities to
Govern

Schools and institutes of public policy and public administration have
the eminent task of educating not only future politicians and top
civil servants, but also citizens, in order to prepare them for the
challenging tasks they will be exposed to in the future in order to
enhance capacities to govern. This is true both for universities and
for in-service training institutes. How should they adapt their
curricula? Is there a need to introduce special courses, modules
and/or teaching methods?