Social security and aid constitute one of the largest expenditures in the budget of any town in Ukraine.  Numerous categories of socially vulnerable citizens – low income families, orphans, disabled persons, war veterans, pensioners, etc. are entitled to state social security and aid in the form of monetary support, transportation benefits, reduced payments for utilities, free medication and food.  However, a majority of them are often dissatisfied with the quality of services provided by the state and municipal institutions.

On December 25, 2008 the draft law “On Access to the Public Information" (developed by a coalition of ACTION Grantees) was approved by the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information to be forwarded to the Parliament for consideration and endorsement. The draft law was so enthusiastically endorsed by the Committee that attending NGO activists did not even have to advocate for it any further!

More details are available at the official site of Verkhovna Rada: http://portal.rada.gov.ua/rada/control/en/publish/article/info_left?art_id=139069&cat_id=105995

On December 9, 2008 ACTION held the Second National Contest for the Best Journalistic Investigation Awards Ceremony to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day.  The Second National Contest on the Best Journalistic Investigation and Anti-Corruption Publication in Ukraine was held this year to further the ACTION project’s commitment to popularize investigative journalism.  This year the ceremony was attended by Hryhoriy Nemyria, Vice-Prime minister of Ukraine, Valeriy Putiato, representative of the Presidential Secretariat of Ukraine, representatives from various ministries, diplomatic missions, international projects, as well as colleagues – journalists from numerous media outlets.

On December 9, 2008, ACTION held the National Essay Contest 2008 Awards Ceremony «Corruption in Higher Educational Institutions» and the Second National Contest for the Best Journalistic Investigation Awards Ceremony to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day.

Kyiv, December 9, 2008 - The World Bank in Ukraine and Promoting Active Citizen Engagement (ACTION) in Combating Corruption in Ukraine project announced the winners of the National Essay Contest 2008 “Corruption in Higher Educational Institutions”.