Daniel Braun, Official representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation as well as Gunther Krichbaum, Member of the German Bundestag and Spokesperson on the European Union affairs of CDU/CSU in the German Bundestag, addressed the opening via video link.
In his welcome address, the Official representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Daniel Braun emphasized "Professional and positive performance is of great importance for a political party at all levels. The local level is the first calling card of a party to convince citizens of its essential and personal competence in political work. VMRO-DPMNE is a party with strong roots in cities and municipalities. It is important to strengthen them and further develop these skills and abilities, because the trust of the citizens needs to be won over and over again."
In his address the Member of the German Bundestag, Gunther Krichbaum greeted the senior representatives of the municipal committees, noting that "... politics is most successful when it is closest to the citizens, at the local level, where we have to take care of the needs of our citizens." He stressed that he hopes that VMRO-DPMNE, as a member of the European People's Party, will soon have the opportunity to participate in the elections for the European Parliament, regretting bilateral differences in the past, which delayed the process of joining the country to the EU. Encouraging the participants to continue with the next steps towards Europe, where they can firmly count on the support of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, but especially the CDU as a party.
The President of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, also addressed the participants and stressed the importance of transparent and open and accountable communication with the citizens, during the campaign, but also after assuming the responsibility to lead the country. "By participating in political life, you are no longer just a citizen, but you have the responsibility to represent VMRO-DPMNE and all citizens in the best possible way. Therefore, that communication must be serious, dedicated and dignified. Citizens deserve politicians who truly care about the country."
Gjorgija Sajkoski, Secretary General of VMRO-DPMNE, the party vice-presidents Aleksandar Nikoloski, Gordana Dimitrieska Kocoska, Vlado Misajloski and Timco Mucunski, and the International Secretary of VMRO-DPMNE, Stefan Andonovski also had their presentation in front of the participants. The speakers emphasized the importance of direct and transparent communication with the citizens.
The second day was opened by Marija Miteva, Member of the Executive Committee of VMRO-DPMNE and Spokesperson, who in an interactive discussion covered the issue of key communication messages, preparation and delivery of an effective and efficient message.
Furthermore, the long-time journalist and editor Iskra Koroveshovska worked with the participants through workshops on topics such as preparing and delivering a press conference, successful approach in an interview and preparation for a public debate.
The last day of the training seminar focused on communication through social media. MP and member of the Executive Committee of VMRO-DPMNE, Mile Lefkov, spoke about proper self-presentation in the digital space. The digital media expert, Stojce Stamenkovski, addressed the digital media section, analysing and presenting the channels, strategies and approach of these new media.
In the part of concluding observations of the training, Davor Pasoski, from Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Stefan Andonovski, International Secretary of VMRO-DPMNE joined the discussions. Within this discussion it was concluded that communication with citizens is the key to success in politics and in creating better conditions for all citizens in the country.
The three-day event underlined topics such as the role of municipal committees in effective communication with citizens, communication and cooperation with municipal committees within electoral units and efficient models of public relations, ethics in communication, relations with the media, social media and their use for effective communication with different target groups, as well as strategic positioning.
