The International Republican Institute (IRI) and its partner the Pro Democracy Association (APD) published the fourth edition of Cartea Albastra (Blue Book of Democracy), a contact directory for all major Romanian government officials. The publication of the directories has increased the openness and transparency of the Romanian Parliament by ensuring all Romanians can contact their representatives.
In addition to contact and biographical information on each Member of Parliament and many key government officials, this edition also included expanded information about the Romanian Parliament, diagrams of the Romanian government system and a critical essay on the role of institutions in democratic governments in Romania by APD President Christian Pirvulescu.
To release the directory, IRI and APD conducted two launch events. The first, held in the Romanian Parliament, was attended by leaders of the various party caucuses – the Democratic Party, National Liberal Party, Social Democratic Party and Party of Hungarians – the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the Parliament press corps and representatives from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Embassy. The second event, entitled Scoatem Parlamentul on Strada (We’re taking Parliament on to the Street), was held in downtown Bucharest. Members of Parliament, including the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Bogdan Olteanu, distributed copies of the Blue Book directly to the public and answered citizen questions about a wide range of issues.
Copies of Cartea Albastra will be distributed to schools, local APD chapters, the media, foreign embassies, trade unions, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions.
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