TIRANA, November 25 – The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and the OSCE Presence in Albania conducted a two-day regional training for representatives of civil society organizations and journalists from South Eastern Europe in Tirana, Albania, from 24 to 25 November.
According to a press release issued by the press department of OSCE Presence in Albania on Friday, the training enhanced technical capacities and fostered discussions and knowledge sharing on the use of open data in preventing and combating corruption with a special focus on the transparency and oversight of public procurement processes.
The training provided participants with knowledge on relevant international legal and compliance frameworks as well as with practical open data tools and ways to analyse, visualise, use, re-use and investigate government disclosures on its decisions and expenditures of public funds, as an important anti-corruption measure used to ensure transparency and efficiency in public institutions’ functions.
“The future of transparent and accountable public processes lies in responsibly designed digital tools that enable full participation of all groups from all spheres of our societies. The role as civil society organizations and journalists is of the utmost importance and the OSCE stands ready to support them in fulfilling this important task,” said Professor Anita Ramasastry, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Corruption said.
Clarisse Pasztory, Acting Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania emphasised: “I hope and believe that by gathering diverse speakers and participants such as yourselves, with representatives from civil society, media, international organizations and government, we will help to mend the gaps in open data and increase transparency. Transparency, which is crucial for trust and to counter misinformation or disinformation, and trust that is crucial for active citizenship.”
Albania’s Minister of State for Standards of Services Milva Ekonomi, Polish Ambassador to Albania Monika Zuchniak-Pazdan, and Director of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) Albania, Kristina Voko, also gave opening remarks at the event.
Around 40 participants representing international organizations, civil society organizations and media outlets from South Eastern Europe shared common challenges and good practices of their work through interactive discussions and a networking event. /Argumentum.al
The training was organized in the framework of the Presence’s unified budget and the extra-budgetary project, Promoting Good governance and a Positive Business Climate in the OSCE Region through Digitalization and the use of Open Data funded by the United States and Poland.
