Annual Report 2012 Oživení’s Activities in 2011 Were Made Possible by Financial Support from: Our donors: We also thank the following for their material support: 1 Contents Our Donors inner cover A Word of Introduction 4 I. Corruption-Less Programme 8 Areas of Activity 8 Public Procurement 10 Corruption-Less Platform 14 Legal and Anti-Corruption Consulting Centre 16 The Reconstruction of the State 22 International Cooperation 23 II. Sustainable Transport Programme 26 Areas of Activity 26 Education Towards Sustainable Transport at School 28 Student Critical Mass Bike Ride 32 “We Want to Be Seen!” Campaign 33 Pedestrians United – Portal for reporting problems with the pedestrian infrastructure in Prague 34 Partnership in the Project “Message to the Mayor” – Encouraging Civic Participation in V4 Region 35 Lobbing 36 III. Financial report 38 Structure of Organisation 45 Friends of Oživení Club 48 SUSTA DEVE LOP RES PO NS AD MIN IS A IN ABLE P MENT S IB LE PUBL IC TRA TI ON 4 A Word of Introduction Dear friends and supporters, In the year 2012, Oživení celebrated its 15th birthday. Looking back at the results we have achieved, I would say, we managed some things excellently, and other things went well, but there is still a lot to learn. Our organization was originally created with the aim of promoting and supporting the meaningful restoration of public spaces; by doing that, we intended to participate in the creation and maintenance of healthy sustainable development within our communities. Over the past 15 years, our organization has undergone a considerable shift in focus and several changes have taken place. Today, our fundamental tasks are the consolidation of democracy and supporting the rule of law in the Czech Republic. We focus in particular on the economical management of public funds, and promoting the principles of transparency and efficient functioning of the public administration. Allow me here, in the introduction to this annual report, to take a short look back; I would like to highlight ten achievements that my colleagues and I consider the most important in the history of our NGO Oživení. Public contracts are more transparent. Together with other non-profit organizations and experts we actively promoted desirable changes to the revised Public Procurement Act. Also thanks to our efforts the amendment passed in the year 2012 brings greater transparency and a more open competition to public procurements. Public contracts are now under greater public supervision. Thanks to the realized traffic calming, i.e. various modifications to roads and public spaces, pedestrians and cyclists can move about more safely and more comfortably at more than 100 places in Prague. Seventy of these sites are located in the neighborhood of schools and were adjusted within the Safe Routes to School programme. In cooperation with experts on transportation, we also produced 78 so-called “input cards”: these are used as a basis for project documentation aimed at eliminating barriers and dangerous points – from the perspective of cyclists. One third of these cards have already been implemented and about ten are in the process of implementation. Also thanks to our activities, Prague is becoming a better place to live. 5 We provide a communication platform for over 100 active local citizens, representatives in local councils and experts in related fields. The Corruption-less Platform meets the need for an informal exchange of anti-corruption know-how and the dissemination of experience from individual municipalities and their local politics. Thanks to the systematic work on individual cases, Oživení managed to build a stable legal consulting centre . We have helped to protect the uniqueness of the Green Belt along the former Iron Curtain, which became – thanks to the inaccessibility of the territory in the past – a refuge for rare and endangered plants and animals. In 2007, a 35 km long segment of the Upper Palatine Forest was highlighted as a good model of meaningful and considerate use of this territory. There are also information panels covering various aspects of the territory from both a natural and cultural-historical perspective. 15 organizations from all European countries where the Iron Curtain was in place took part in the project. Together with other organizations and individuals we stood by the birth of Prague’s annual critical mass bike rides in the year 2001 and also by other events that promote environmentally friendly transportation. The year 2006 was a breakthrough, 360 people cycled through Prague’s main road (otherwise only used by cars) – compared with several dozens in the previous years. Today, 3000 to 5000 people participate in Prague’s critical mass bike rides. Newspapers and journals that promote the ruling parties cost hundreds of millions Czech crowns of public money a year. In co-operation with Otevřená společnost (The Open Society) and IuRe, we produced the first content analysis of municipal periodicals ever . For municipalities, we prepared recommendations that reflect the principles of objective dissemination of information: both from the perspective of the overall layout and organization as well as content. 6 More than 10 000 pupils and students from 35 schools in various districts of Prague have been involved in the Safe Routes to School programme, within which they map their routes to school and indicate dangerous and otherwise problematic places. Based on these surveys, traffic studies are created. These studies serve as a basis for further negotiations to modify the sites so that the children have a safer way to school either on foot or by bike. The programme has been running for 14 years, in co-operation with the civic association Pražské matky (Prague Mothers). We introduced a code of ethics for local authorities as a tool for promoting transparent decision-making and for regulating situations in which there is a conflict of interests. We offered a model Code of Ethics for Municipal Representatives to the local authorities to use. In the following years, some of our recommendations were accepted in several Czech cities, e.g. in Prague in 2005. We were the first to receive copies of declarations of assets of members of parliament, senators and members of the government in 2002 and published them on our website. Until then, the declarations had been available only to a restricted group of journalists, which did not enable sufficient public scrutiny. We had been publishing this information every year until a new law was passed, covering the issue of conflict of interests. Since 2006, the declarations of assets have been published by the state and the law also applies to selected officials of the local administration. 7 We contributed to several major legislative changes in the area of transportation . In the year 2000 we pushed through the priority for pedestrians on crossings, and it was included into the traffic code. In 2009, we achieved the renewal of 79 out of 111 pedestrian crossings leading over tram lines, which were eliminated by the city of Prague in response to a decree of the Ministry of Transport, which only permitted crossings over tram lines with traffic lights. At the same time, we initiated the change of that decree, which now allows the existence of crossings over the rails without light-signaling: this was welcome by thousands of Prague pedestrians. We believe that our existing efforts gradually bear fruits, even though the feast we are hoping for is still a very long way to go. The successes we have achieved and the valuable experience we have gained would not have been possible without your support, for which let me say thank you on behalf of the entire organization. Yours sincerely, Štěpán Rattay The Director of Oživení o.s. 8 Corruption-Less Programme With a long-term commitment for increasing the efficiency and transparency of public administration, we participate in eliminating uneconomical actions as well as manipulations of public procurement, conflicts of interest, nepotism, and other forms of abusing public power for private gains. We provide a comprehensive service to the victims of corruption which includes legal advice. We reveal and publicize cases of mismanagement and corruption. We cooperate with law enforcement authorities, carry out research, analyses, and anti-corruption audits, and we propose and promote systemic improvements. We are trying to increase the openness of decision-making and management of public institutions, ensure that public officials be personally liable and strengthen the active participation of citizens. The main areas of our interest include the right to information, public procurement, management of public property and redistribution of public funds. Last but not least, we take part in spreading anti-corruption know-how, educating and networking anti-corruption and civic activists. 9 Our activities and objectives: Increasing the transparency of public administration Enforcing personal liability of public officials Monitoring the management of public property Striving for systemic changes via analysing corruption risks and creating anti-corruption strategies at the level of public administration Providing legal advice and anti-corruption counseling Watchdog activities and publicizing corruption scandals Spreading anti-corruption know-how and networking anti-corruption activists Lobbying for anti-corruption legislative changes 10 Public Procurement Legislation In April 2012 a large amendment to the Public Procurement Act (the so-called transparent-making amendment) came into effect. The change significantly increased the transparency of public procurement in the Czech Republic and opened the way to better public control. The amendment was approved owing to a long-term joint effort of a wide range of organizations and experts, in which Oživení played an active role. Oživení participated in negotiations within an expert group at the Czech Ministry of Regional Development– Platform for Transparent Public Procurement. Thanks to the active monitoring of the legislative process and publicity in the media, we managed to stop various changes proposed by members of the parliament, that were going against the logic and objectives of the amendment.