{"id":5301,"date":"2014-10-10T14:21:20","date_gmt":"2014-10-10T14:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=5301&post_type=story"},"modified":"2022-07-29T20:09:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T20:09:29","slug":"no-one-said-it-would-be-easy","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/no-one-said-it-would-be-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing a Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall 2014<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRomania is in a unique situation right now as a recent entrant to the European Union trying to professionalize its bureaucracy to align with European standards,\u201d says Thomas Bryer<\/a>, associate professor and director of the Center for Public and Nonprofit Management<\/a> in the College of Community Innovation and Education<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are interested in having good government. They are interested in having open, sustainable tourism. And they\u2019re interested in supporting a good business climate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enter UCF<\/h2>\n

The American system of public administration offers examples that Romania\u2019s officials want to emulate, especially the relative uniformity and consistency in how our government officials do their jobs. So the UCF Division of Continuing Education<\/a> has created a training program through a partnership with the Romanian Review of Local Public Administration and the American Society for Public Administration<\/a> (ASPA).<\/p>\n

The certificates in public management and city management draw upon the expertise of Bryer and eight other faculty members on topics ranging from civic engagement and human resources to ethics and strategic planning. Online learning modules will help Romanian city and county managers and mayors gain \u201ca common base of knowledge\u201d about the course material before meeting with their instructors, explains David Laney, interim director of UCF\u2019s Division of Continuing Education.<\/p>\n

The certificate program is an exciting project, Laney says. \u201cIt is a worthwhile thing to do as an international partnership on the part of UCF when you have an appreciation for what it is the people of Romania are attempting to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n

The partnership formed last fall when the ASPA asked UCF to host a Romanian delegation. The Good Governance Exchange brought Romanian officials to Central Florida for panel discussions with their American counterparts and field visits to Orlando City Hall, Second Harvest Food Bank, Evans Community School and other sites. On a reciprocal visit to Romania, Bryer and a delegation of UCF professors and students met mayors and local government administrators and toured various agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the most impressive part was the cooperative side of local government [in the U.S.],\u201d says Cristina M\u00ee\u0163\u0103, managing editor of the Romanian Review of Local Public Administration. \u201cWe were surprised to see that UCF has partnerships with local governments and with the private sector, and that they work together to solve problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the trip to City Hall, M\u00ee\u0163\u0103 was equally surprised to learn about the many citizens who donate their time there throughout the year. \u201cYou can\u2019t do that in Romania,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is no rule prohibiting volunteering, but there are no procedures in place and the employees at city hall have no idea how to handle someone who wants to volunteer.\u201d Volunteering used to be compulsory in Romania, M\u00ee\u0163\u0103 explains. \u201cAfter the revolution, when people heard about volunteering, they were a bit skeptical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Full Circle<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe are still learning about democracy,\u201d says M\u00ee\u0163\u0103. \u201cThe challenge is to teach the citizens that democracy also comes with responsibilities and that being a citizen does not mean only voting and paying your taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becoming a member of the EU in 2007 has led to a host of new environmental and other regulations in Romania, M\u00ee\u0163\u0103 says. \u201cBut the good part is this will eventually lead to a better quality of life for Romanian citizens.\u201d She says that Romania\u2019s local governments are beginning to work together more, forming associations to manage landfills and other infrastructures.<\/p>\n

According to Bryer, the Romanians have their own practices worth emulating. While visiting the city of Tulcea, he noticed that the city council members sat around a circular table while the audience was seated above. \u201cIt was sort of a flip of what we\u2019re used to in the United States, where council members sit above everybody,\u201d he says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t help but think, \u2018Does this create more civility than we have in the U.S.?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

He adds, \u201cMy hope is to not only teach some technical skills, but also to open channels for some robust dialogues across nations so we can improve the systems on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryer\u2019s goal is for the Romania partnership to eventually lead to study-abroad opportunities for UCF students and, as its value is demonstrated, for the certificate program to be extended to other emerging democracies. \u201cThere are a lot of opportunities for this kind of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

[callout background=”#eeeeee”]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”5489″ title=”Romania_Inset-optimized” alt=”Romania_Inset-optimized” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

The Facts: Romania<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Location:<\/strong> Southeastern Europe<\/p>\n

Capital:<\/strong> Bucharest<\/p>\n

Government type:\u00a0<\/strong>Republic (Est. 1996)<\/p>\n

Government branches:\u00a0<\/strong>Executive (president and prime minister), Legislative (parliament includes Senate and Chamber of Deputies), Judicial (High Court\u00a0of Cassation and Justice, Supreme Constitutional Court)<\/p>\n

Political parties:<\/strong> 11<\/p>\n

Population:<\/strong> 21,729,871<\/p>\n

Literacy:<\/strong> 97.7% (age 15 and older)<\/p>\n

Economy:<\/strong> 6.4% agriculture, 34.2% industry, 59.4% services<\/p>\n

Labor force:<\/strong> 29% agriculture, 28.6% industry, 42.4% services<\/p>\n

Unemployment rate:<\/strong> 7.3 %<\/p>\n

Inflation rate:<\/strong> 3.2%<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0CIA World Factbook<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/callout]<\/p>\n

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