YEREVAN, 15 MAY, ARMENPRESS. To earn the trust of the population, state organizations and political figures always have to be in dialogue with the people, ensuring their participation in governance. This is the main message of the regional conference entitled “Effective Governance and Participation: Black Sea Region” being held in Yerevan.

 Deputy Mayor of Yerevan David Ohanyan gave opening remarks in which he mentioned that Yerevan Municipality collaborates with more than 50 countries and is a member of 10 international organizations. “The title of this conference is current since civic participation plays a huge role in effective governance. Civic participation in decision-making processes must become a component of modern democracy. In this context, it is important to raise the level of public awareness,” the deputy mayor emphasized, as “Armenpress” reports.

 According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ashot Hovakimyan, it’s not by chance that this event was organized by Austria, namely the Ministry of European Integration and Foreign Affairs of Austria. He also emphasized the fact that good governance is one of the priorities of the Armenian government.

Director of the Go-Governance Institute of Vienna, Professor Melanie Sully suggests using Finland’s experience, which engages in citizens with hands-on experience in governance. President of the Union of Communities of Armenia Emin Yeritsyan told journalists that effective governance has become one of the major issues facing the modern world, states, local and regional authorities. “Effective governance has many components, including transparency and the rule of law, but the main component is civic participation. Good governance is impossible without the participation of citizens,” Emin Yeritsyan noted.