Today dialog is a powerful tool for successfully implementing any change or reform, Executive Director of the Reform Delivery Office Anton Yashchenko believes.
"Dialog is part of effective strategic planning and change management. It generates knowledge and understanding, enabling you to reach consensus and work out a win-win strategy. This is in turn the foundation for real successful actions," he said during the conference "Dialog and Mediation in Ukraine: from Confrontation to Understanding," held in Odesa on December 4.
He also stressed that dialog is an opportunity for Ukraine to stay on the agenda and build a positive reputation, and for international partners to keep their finger on the pulse and be heard by the Ukrainian side.
"Dialog is a two-way street. People should want to speak and hear one another. This is why dialog is not a matter of one day or quick decisions," Anton added.
He shared the Office's experience in using this tool.
"One of the first reforms that has heavily used dialog tools is decentralization. Another key reform that our Office is concerned with is the reform of public administration — the transformation of the Soviet-style bureaucracy into a contemporary effective European-style public administration model. We started with culture because we understood in the course of time that no transformations are possible in the civil service without changes in mentality and culture," he said.
Summing up, A. Yashchenko emphasized that dialog should become a value for the team, the civil service, the government, and the society as a whole.
"Our world is not black and white. There are many attitudes and opinions, we should learn to reach compromises, negotiate, and hear each other," Anton Yashchenko said.
