Co-governance with citizens kicked off on Wednesday the active interaction with ordinary people to address registered initiatives on the Co-governance Platform. Prime Minister Edi Rama, along with Minister of Education, Lindita Nikolla held the first online interactive communication with a group of parents, teachers and students who have summoned to utilise this direct cooperation space with the government by bringing forth the proposal to restructure day-to-day schedule curricula through “3 subjects in 6 hours” initiative. This initiative, adopted by the Ministry of Education will start implementation from 1st February and aims at facilitating school week to students and teachers and in particular to ease students’ physical load.
Prime Minister Edi Rama’s remarks during interactive communication with students, parents and teachers at the co-governance office:
It is a twofold satisfaction to me, on one side, because the Minister and I have been discussed several times related to the heavy learning load issue, the physical load of the school bag each morning to which another approach was thought about. Meanwhile, thanks to the courage to trust the lady who brought you together and that we are together, we are provided with a more simple and comprehensive solution ahead us.
It is due to a parent and afterwards to your cooperation as parents, as pupils, as teachers and on the other side, due to the fact that we have established this bridge of communication which we look forward to further strengthen. This expresses my other side of satisfaction since it provides a tangible proof to all the suspicious ones, by all rights though, who put some cynicism in these effort, “how will we co-govern?”, which is not worth mentioning as no one listens properly” etc…”
We have began to gradually experience that people’s complaints on the Platform are addressed according to deadlines we pledged and that every complaint that derives from the Platform does not undergo through red tape filters which are frequently our common issue, but instead are headed to the minister or the head who is directly responsible to provide answers. This is an enormous added value because the Platform does not include complaints only but it offers space to undertake concrete steps to concrete initiatives.
Likewise you came here today and presented a worthwhile proposal, which we have studied and adopted during preparations before this communication takes place, thus it will be implemented starting from 1 February, the co-governance office is open to individuals or groups of individuals wanting to raise an environmental issue, an enterprise management issue or a particular problem to a particular school. The online Platform is endowed of a special column, “My School” where a group of students, parents or teachers get together and would be enough to write on the Platform in relation to a certain initiative for the school and include us directly. However, the Platform serves also to present initiatives related to improving processes within the administration, initiatives related to communities in a certain village, a certain district, municipality or administrative unit, hence there is a wide range of issues and we have created this opportunity spectre.
I am hopeful that this will serve not merely on the issue we treated and which took its path but also to provide a co-governance, interactive and dialogue space with ordinary citizens who above all are the reason we are in power and that, as the initiative itself proves, can offer practical concrete solutions. Solutions, which sometimes look like Columbus egg, but which entire think tanks cannot find in such efficiency at times perforce, as the lady herself said that we were driven here perforce, since we are faced with the distress if the child can or cannot handle the same learning load in the following day.
The online Platform has also reserved a space to make motions. Likewise a group of MPs can call in motion the Premier or a minister, a group of citizens can call in motion in this space we adequately provided for this practice. Actually, today is the first day this screens switch on and I hope to remain systematically on to give account to any ahead assigned issue. For instance, we had a concrete example with a group of oil workers in Fier, who came long way to Tirana. Obviously, travelling to Tirana and protesting before an institution by an interest group is democratic, not questionable, but prior to popping up here, they could very well call a motion through the Platform with the Minister of Energy. I assure all that this will happen.
We are willing to undergo a test because, after all, people have seen so many and have heard so many stories and in the meantime they have been so disappointed in years due to the indifference or the hypocrisy of politics, that they can righteously say these are all movies, farces etc … This is not a movie. This is a new reality we are trying to create using the technology, utilizing the possibility of internet connection on the Platform, also taking advantage of this opportunity.
Thank you very much that you became the reason of twofold joys within a day; the satisfaction of having found a concrete and practical solution that will ease many parents, pupils, teachers and will facilitate utterly the day’s load by spreading it rationally during the week, but also the joy of us together providing an evidence. The evidence that this is a new experience, a new governmental practice, innovative, that if others like you, common people, present themselves perforce to contact the government, they take the courage to believe, hence we are here to answer, proving that we are serious about this new governance initiative, as a new element of governing, to bear it with the quality and sensitivity of everyday life.
Thank you very much!
