On June 10th, 2019, in the premises of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, the first meeting of the working group for the preparation of the Strategy for Transparency was held, attended by organizations that are active in this field and can offer their expertise, among which were the Foundation for Internet and society Metamorphosis and the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia, as leading organizations throughout the whole process together with the Minister without Portfolio in the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia in charge of Communications, Accountability, and Transparency Robert Popovski.
Opening speeches were held by the Minister without Portfolio in the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia in charge of Communications, Accountability, and Transparency Robert Popovski, Director of Partnership and Development of Resources of the Foundation for Internet and Society Metamorphosis Filip Stojanovski, Executive Director of the Open Society Foundation Macedonia Fani Karanfilovska Panovska and the international expert on transparency Veronica Cretu, followed by a presentation of the work plan and a brief discussion.
Filip Stojanovski noted that according to the results of the Regional Openness Index for North Macedonia (opennessindex.actionsee.org – part of the regional project ACTION SEE of the EU-supported Metamorphosis Foundation) there are many significant differences between the institutions regarding their openness and transparency due to the fact that the application of good transparency practices often depends on the goodwill and commitment of ministers and other management entities.
Therefore, as Stojanovski pointed out, there is a need for a systematic approach to finding a solution that will not only focus on identifying and replicating good practices, but also on the full process and opportunities that the Republic of North Macedonia has.
The Foundation for Internet and Society Metamorphosis, the Open Society Foundation – Macedonia and the Minister without Portfolio for Communications, Transparency and Accountability in the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, Robert Popovski, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation that will provide support for the creation and implementation of the Strategy for transparency of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia.