NISPACEE Conference in Bucharest

Subject: CfP: Enhancing the capacity of local governments to provide equi
table access to minorities, 10-12.4.2002, Bucharest

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: [email protected]
Jana Krimpe, Tallinn University of Educational Sciences, Estonia, e-mail:
[email protected]

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 [email protected],

or Jana Krimpe (Tallin University)[email protected]

or write to the email list of the working group
[email protected]

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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:
[email protected])

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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?