The Community of Madrid hosted, on 24th and 25th of November 2021, the third international event of the RECRUIT Project.

RECRUIT Project’s main objective is to promote the exchange between three Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy and Spain) to tackle local unemployment through the sharing of good practices in Social Economy.

The latter represents, in addition, the focus of the event itself. Thus, different associations and enterprises from Spain shared their experiences; among them:

  • Mercado Social de Madrid,
  • ECOINSERTA,
  • Endesys Sociedad Cooperativa,
  • Inrobics,
  • Fecoma,
  • Campus I+G,
  • Helechos,
  • Supermercados La Osa, and
  • Amoverse

Moving on to the second country tackled by the project, representatives from Italy showed how gender equality and youth inclusion are key features to fight unemployment with good practices as testified by Young Women Network, Sprint School Project from Impact Hub Bari, La Fabrica del Farò, RISE-LAB Palermo and the Municipality of Bari.


The Community of Madrid hosted the third international event of the RECRUIT Project: sharing good practices in Social Economy


Similarly, the Greek team had representatives from Impact Hub Athens, Agia Pareskevi Municipality and VIOME Project, also sharing their results and impression on the issue.

In addition, Mr. Guzman García Gonzalez-Posada, representative of the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, and Mr. Carlos Lozano Palanca, Director of International Relations for the Spanish Confederation of Social Economy Enterprises (CEPES) were among the keynote speakers.

Last but not lease, ALDA’s colleagues Alessandra Brigo – Project Manager – and Lavinia Traina – Project Developer – presented the results and goals of the project and its sustainability.

Finally, a booklet with all the good practices shared and collect throughout the project and the international events will be available at the beginning of 2022.  A special thank the Community of Madrid for the amazing hospitality during these two days!


Since 2015, when the Ukraine Working Group was firstly created by the European Committee of the Regions (COR), leaders of local-government associations and city mayors gather to reflect and share perspectives and concrete knowledge on Ukraine state of art in terms of politics and reform.

This year as well, led by Alexandra Dulkiewicz, mayor of Gdańsk and chairwoman of the meeting, the event was organized on November 18th 2021 on hybrid mode.

From a general perspective, decentralization and rebalancing of administrative and financial powers represented the key aspect of the meeting. Similarly, the discussion focused on the scheduled adoption of legislation on public consultations, having also in mind the COR and European Commission joint efforts to develop city partnerships as far as supporting anti-corruption initiatives in Ukraine concerns.


Decentralization and rebalancing of administrative and financial powers represented the key aspects of this year Ukraine Working Group


Thus, Andreas Kiefer, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, said that « the consultation of local authorities by higher levels of government needs to be further improved and strengthened ».

Generally speaking, the meeting represented an opportunity for participants to assess the current situation in Ukraine and create a strategy for future actions.

Hence, Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General, stressed the importance on focusing on « feasibility and inclusiveness », when it comes to the adoption of a law on public consultation. Besides the above-mentioned guests, among the keynote speakers at this year event there were:

  • Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and head of the Association of Ukrainian Cities;
  • Andrii Borovyk of Transparency International Ukraine;
  • Iryna Shybaof the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI);
  • Ksenia Sukhova, from Mariupol City Council;
  • Viacheslav Nehoda, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development;
  • Sergii Chernov, president of the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils

Overall, the meeting was a fruitful occasion to discuss on decentralization process in Ukraine and its roadmap. ALDA is very much glad to play an active role in these circumstances, working for the best of democracy development.

***
Further info:
Read “Decentralisation in Ukraine continues to enjoy strong public support ” article on COR website


On November 28-29 and December 1st 2021, ALDA had its much anticipated Staff Meeting in Vicenza (Italy) together with colleagues from all over Europe and beyond! 

Everyone was very happy to finally be together again after a prolonged absence due to the ongoing pandemic, and some of the colleagues had never seen the new Vicenza office after the move!

The key words of the meeting were: team building, dialogue, and sharing. Based on these three words, several activities and meetings have been organised. But let’s start from the beginning.


The key words of the staff meeting were: team building, dialogue, and sharing


ALDA staff coming from our different offices in Tunis, Chisinau, Strasbourg, Brussels, Skopje, gathered in Vicenza for a three-day event to meet in person and do some team building to get to know each other better.

On the first day the colleagues met in Villa Tacchi. Marco Boaria – Director of Programs and Development Department – together with Anna Ditta – Senior Project Development Officer, animated the first session. Thanks to interactive and team-building games, ALDA staff had the possibility to know each other better, while getting ready for the first day!

Moreover, after lunch,  future strategies to implement in the upcoming years and flagship initiatives that guide ALDA were presented. The latter, specifically, was essential to set the framework within which the Association is operating.

After an intense first day, November 30th  was dedicated to a  training session on Local Democracy and Participatory Processes, lead by Antonella Valmorbida – ALDA Secretary General – while the afternoon saw a meeting in the premises of Vicenza City Hall, where the staff was welcomed by the City Councilor Matteo Tosetto

During the meeting, Councillor Tosetto spoke about the importance of participatory processes for local democracy in the city of Vicenza and in Europe, as also underlined by ALDA Secretary General. At the end of the meeting Tosetto gave a commemorative plaque with the symbol of the city, the Palladian Basilica, to the representatives of the different countries, while receiving ALDA gonfalon.

Finally on the third day, the Associazione Caracol Olol Jackson hosted the final sessions, team building exercises, department presentations, bilateral meetings and working group sessions on the agenda for the day. Last but not least, ALDA’s staff gather together for the dinner with the Governing Board members as well, to celebrate this great moment of sharing and empowerment.

The meeting was a success! It gave ALDA colleagues a chance to have an honest and open dialogue and share meals and breaks together in a relaxed and joyful atmosphere. But most importantly it was a great opportunity to connect, reconnect and enjoy being part of a great team carrying on a important mission every day!


On 19th November 2021, the Young European France organised the national day entitled “ European Cities Label”.  Launched in 2020 for French municipalities by the Young European France (JEF), this initiative is supported by the France European Mouvement (MEF) and Union of European Federalists in France (UEF).

From a general perspective, the European Cities Label is a specific label for cities, aimed at giving them access to a wide network of towns, supporting in implementing European action in their territory; while highlighting their commitment to Europe and the European Union. 

Moreover, participants presented their actions in favour of European citizenship, exchange on their good practices and reflect on the next steps of the Label created in 2020.

Within this context, ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida was invited to give a speech on democracy and citizens’ participation; while presenting ALDA’s commitment as far as involving different actors on playing a role in the CoFoE platform. 


Ms Valmorbida’s speech at the European Cities Label  focused on ALDA’s work with Local Authorities and reaffirmed ALDA’s commitment in sharing European values.



Together with Mrs. Valmorbida, ,ALDA Resource and Network Development Manager –  Morgane Egerton – also attended the event, which saw, among keynote speaker:

  • Arnaud Michel, Councillor in charge of European Affairs and Memory of the city of Arras;
  • Nadia Haï, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relations; 
  • Dimitri Oudin, Municipality of Reims;
  • Anne Tallineau, Secretary General of the Franco-German Youth Office for Youth (OFAJ);
  • Adrien Naizet, Municipal Councillor Delegate for Youth, Student Life, Higher student life, higher education, student social housing in the city of Rouen;
  • Christophe Rouillon, Vice-President of the Association of French Mayors of France (AMF) 

Beside, on this occasion the plaque « Label Ville européenne » was presented to the City of Paris. 

Overall the event was a success and a reminder of how important ALDA’s work is to uphold and share European values across all platforms and with as many entities as possible. 


***
Learn more about the label here: Ville Europeenne
And read the article on European Federalists in France website

From the 22nd to the 25th of November the city of Peja in eastern Kosovo* welcomed the delegation of the Valid Project in a new opportunity to promote intercultural dialogue and collaboration between the local authorities and civil society.

The Valid project aims to spread more inclusive policies and European values to cities around the region, to finally develop a network of cultural exchange and tolerance. 

In Peja, the delegation from different associations and cities started their stay with a meeting in the Mayor’s office of Mr. Gazmend Muhaxheri

Overall, the agenda was rich of events and excursions:  from a visit to the natural and cosmopolitan heritage of the municipality, to the medieval orthodox to the ottoman time; or the  iconic landmarks included in the visit were the Drin Waterfall, which  is the source of the river Driniand located in the gorge of Drini i Bardhe, in Zhljeb Mountain in Radavc village.


Valid project in Peja: to develop a network of cultural exchange and tolerance


In addition, the delegation had the opportunity to listen to the Choir Siparantum Performance at Professional Theatre Istref Begolli Peja; while meeting the staff of the International Animation festival “Anibar”. Gathered in the theatre next to the centre of Peja, the creators of the festival explained how the project was born, the activities that they do and even showed some of the short films that were projected during previous editions!

Within this event, to emphasize the importance of solidarity and social values, the delegation was first brought to visit  the « Odhise Paskali » Art School, where the art exhibition in the school’s atrium was presented. The latter was comprised of works from the classes on fashion, architecture, paint and graphic design.

Finally, the VALID project partners also had the opportunity to visit the Patriarchate of Peja, an orthodox monastery near Peja; and finally the Bajrakli Mosque and the bazaar. By walking down the street of the city, by talking with people and meeting local delegates, participants had the opportunity to concretely see how culture does unite people, as aimed by the project itself.


***

The Valid project is co-founded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union.


Despite a rainy and cold morning, December 2nd marked a great day for the ALDA’s Governing Board, since the latter had the possibility to meet both in presence at Vicenza’s office and online.

President, Mr Oriano Otočan, gathered all the members for this last meeting of the 2021. Differently from the previous ones, having the possibility to see each other in person gave a new and fresh energy, allowing ideas and fruitful discussions.

More specifically, the occasion served as an opportunity to analyze and discuss the sustainability of the association and the programmes for the future. Similarly, the situation of LDAs has been among the subjects of discussion with a focus on the presentation of the new draft strategy for the Western Balkans.


ALDA Governing Board reflected and discussed future steps, and initiatives of 2022


In addition, the Governing Board had also the occasion to visualise and to be introduced to some major ALDA’s projects, such as: EPIC; Autrement; Media Dialogue and Climate of Change. Colleagues from the PM Department were able to update the Governing Board members on the activities and recently initiatives carried out within the projects.

After the lunch break, the second part of the meeting was dedicated to the strategic and political issues, such as updates on ALDA’s strategies, the role of members and the upcoming events involving the Association.

Finally, following the previous visit to the Municipality, the Governing Board welcomed Mr. Tosetto member of the city town hall.

This ALDA Governing Board meeting has been much participated by every member, laying the foundations for future steps, and initiatives of 2022.


The #MediterraneanDay is the initiative specifically dedicated to the celebration the Mediterranean sea. Have you ever thought about how people from Italy, and Spain to Morocco, and Tunisia have all be strictly connected to each other thanks to this common water basin?

The #MediterraneanDay is thus intended to remind people that similarities are stronger that differences. From 2021 and each year onward, on November 28th, several initiatives will be promoted so that to celebrates common achievements, relations while stimulating common understanding.

With more than 250 world heritage sites, rich marine flora and more than 40 languages spoken, the Mediterranean region is the cradle of many cultures, civilisations and history.


#MediterraneanDay to be celebrated each year on 28 of November from 2021 onwards



Yet, one question may come to mind. Why exactly this date?

Let’s take a step backward, untile 1995. That year on November 28th precisely the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU and 12 Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries held the first Euro- Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona signing an agreement to launch the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Process. The idea behind this initiative was to consider and set the Mediterranean region into a common space for peace, stability, security and shared prosperity.

Fifteen year later in November 2020, the Union for the Mediterranean with its 42 Member States declared the 28th of November as the official Day of the Mediterranean. Willing to focus on what unites rather than what divides, the #MediterraneanDay has its first edition, this year, in 2021, and will be celebrated each year onwards.

At the #MediterraneanDay different parties, from NGOs, public administrations or private entities can join and engage in various ways:

  • « Open doors – allow a sneak peek into what you do! »
  • « Promoting culture in many forms »
  •  Debates and workshops
  • « Recognising Mediterranean talent »
  • « Showcase what matters to you »

With enthusiasm ALDA shares this great initiative, having two of its offices in Italy and Tunisia, countries on the shore of the Mediterranean sea, as well as several Local Democracy Agencies. Thus, also at ALDA’s this common sea is what unites colleagues, people and friends of the association. 

Last but not least, for those interested it is also possible to follow the official hashtag #MediterraneanDay and keep updated with news and info.

***
The #MediterraneanDay is an initiative of Union for the Mediterranean in partnership with: European Union, European Committee of Regions, ARLEM, Anna Lindh Foundation, ENI CBC Med. To read the full list of partners please check: « Partners committed to make the Mediterranean a better place« 

ALDA continues to contribute to good governance on local level in Croatia and takes its activities on the next level. ALDA launched the “European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) » for Croatia on the 22 November 2021 in Zagreb. The project was promoted in a hybrid type of event, giving representatives of municipalities and participants the possibility to join both online and in presence.

The launching started with a short welcoming speech from M. Robert Ravenšćak, General Director of Ravecon LLC, our local partner organization and continued with the intervention from the President of ALDA M. Oriano Otočan and M. Niall Sheerin, representative of the Center of Expertise for Good governance, from the Council of Europe (CoE)


ALDA continues to contribute to good governance on local level in Croatia, launching the ELoGE programme for Croatia


M.Otočan illustrated the work of ALDA in Europe and specifically in Croatia; highlighting:

  • The duality of the local authorities in the country;
  • The openness they show in certain topics but remain firmly closed for other.

Thus, he reflected on how on the one hand Croatia has reached certain level of expertise and maturity; while on the other there are still difficulties that persist; emphasizing how this project will be perfect to tackle them.

Following, M. Otočan speech, M. Sheerin shared with the participant on the important work of the CoE mentioning the future plans and programmes that they are working on, such as the green agenda concerning Local Authorities. He highlighted that in these eras of social media and advanced technology, local authorities need to be innovative and open to change, in order to be efficient and effective in responding to the needs of the citizens.

The opening speeches were followed by a presentation of the ELoGE programme in the Country, done by Ms. Katica Janeva, ALDA’s regional coordinator for the Balkans, citing the details of the phases and processes that the LAs need to follow to be awarded the label, specific timing and timeline, tools and more. The event was closed off with a Q&A session and a fruitful discussion.


The BRIGHT project had its third capacity building workshop in the beautiful Azienda Agricola Favella farm, Corigliano-Rossano, Italy, on November 16 and 17, 2021.

During the two day event participants had the chance to share and listen to in person testimonies and experiences from all the different representatives from the various stakeholders. Women leaders who took part of the BRIGHT project intervened, sharing the voices of all the women working in agriculture who were involved in the BRIGHT project. Participants also enjoyed moments of levity and socialization during breaks to visit the farm and share coffee and a meal together.


The event was constructive and overall a very nice time, keep up the good work BRIGHT!


Among the keynote speakers were:

On the second day of the workshop, a panel on Agricultural Policy and Social Conditionality was held. Several speakers intervened (on site and online), discussing the tools to support the legality of the agricultural labour market and what is the potential of social conditionality in the new CAP. 

Participants gathered into work groups to discuss and then share their ideas for BRIGHT’s European Frame Pact.

The event was constructive and overall a very nice time, keep up the good work BRIGHT!


On 19 November 2021 in Patos, Albania 26 young people from the city engaged in a different interactive initiatives. Specifically, the main idea of the workshop was to discuss and reflect together on social inclusion in decision-making processes.

More in details, the VALID Team shared to the participants the main policies that the Municipality of Patos has reflected, based on the recommendations that young people made during the first local event. The goal of this initiative, among others, was to encourage youths to participate in decision-making processes such as the public hearings on the local budget and fiscal package for 2022. The latter were the main points that oriented the interactive discussion with the participants.


Participants agreed to join in the public hearings that the Municipality of Patos will organize in December 2021


With the participation of two experts from the region, one specialized in communication and the other on intercultural dialogue the group discussed the importance of citizens’ involvement regardless of their ethnic, social and cultural affiliation in the decision-making processes of their community.

The experts encouraged discussions on how much intercultural democracy influences local action, while the project team explained through a poster exhibition concrete initiatives that the youth of the city have undertaken in various topics, specifically those with a social theme. They were also greeted by the team that took part in the trip to Italy who shared their experience and brought examples from the city of Ravenna.

Participants agreed to join in the public hearings that the Municipality will organize in December 2021 with regard to the drafting and the approval of the city budget and fiscal package for the next year and were encouraged to be part of the Youth Advisory Group of Patos, an advisory group at the Municipality.


Skopje: the European Association for Local democracy – ALDA organised the “Launching Conference” of the project European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) in North Macedonia on the 18th of November.

With great enthusiasm representatives from Macedonian Local Authorities (LAs), previously invited to take part of the project, gathered in Skopje and online to learn more about the ELoGE label. Thus, benefitting from this initiative, the above-mentioned LAs will be required to act in accordance with the 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance. Among them:

  • Participation, Representation, Fair Conduct of Elections;
  • Responsiveness;
  • Efficiency and Effectiveness;
  • Openness and Transparency;
  • Rule of Law

More in depth, the event opened with the intervention of Eli Chakar from the Ministry of Local Self-Government; followed by Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA that illustrated experience of ALDA on the topic of good governance and Emir Coric, ALDA Governing Board member, who dedicated his speech to ALDAs work in the Balkans.


Representatives from Macedonian Local Authorities gathered in Skopje and online to learn more about the ELoGE label


Moreover, Niall Sheerin from Center of Expertise for Local Government Reform presented the important work of the Council of Europe and the different programs for development of local governance.

From a general perspective, the next steps will consist of measuring the assessment through the implementation of the benchmark for the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE). Additionally, this exercise is a good learning toll for the Local Authorities to improve their daily work.

Yet, this is not everything: the symbol of ELoGE, a crystal dodecahedron, will be awarded to the Local Authorities demonstrating compliance with the principles of good governance, measured against a national benchmark.

Further updates will follow on the implementation of this initiatives, as well as on the award!

***

ALDA has received the accreditation to implement ELoGE in North Macedonia, and already in October 2021 ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida and ALDA Office in Skopje and SEE Coordinator, Katica Janeva had a meeting with institutions to discuss about the initiative. Finally, ELoGE in North Macedonia is financially supported by the Council of Europe.

The project “Civil Society STAR initiative: CSOs as Sustainable, Transparent, Accountable and Resilient Development Actors in Georgia” (2021-2025).  is implemented by the Consortium led by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and composed of the following CSOs: Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG), Civil Society Institute (CSI), Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), and Institute for European Politics (IEP).

The Local Democracy Agency Kosovo, together with the Rrjeti i Organizatave të Kulturës (The Network of Culture Organizations) in Peja, have organized a common activity on 12th November 2021, involving pupils of the School of Arts together with an acoustical performance by the local artist Agon Goqi. Through this activity both organizations have prepared an exhibition inside the old and decaying structures of a former public bank.

35 participants attended the activity! Among them:

  • pupils of the School of Arts,
  • children coming from different ethnic entities and citizens.

The pupils of the School of Arts have exhibited their operas in the spaces of the old structures of a former public bank.  A video has been created to convey the message of the activity to the general public.


The Local Democracy Agency Kosovo, together with the Rrjeti i Organizatave të Kulturës involved pupils of the School of Arts for a local initiative in Peja


The aim of the exhibition was to convey the message that public and social structures can easily be transformed in spaces where culture activities can be implemented and through which culture can be conveyed. In short: a new life can come out of the rubbles.

The message that old public and social buildings can be reused for cultural activities has been conveyed to the participants that were present in the activity, and to the general public through the social media.

This event was organised within VALID project.


A Climate of Change spread all over the city of Brussels, from 10 to 12 November, when the city was suddenly filled up with young students coming from evry corner of Europe.

Indeed, within the framework of the Climate of Change project, Brussels hosted the final contest of the Pan-European Debate, where 117 students from 13 EU countries will try to win using their best dialectic skills on climate change, migration, youth and economy.

Each country sent two teams to the competition: one composed of three university students and the other made of six teenagers (from 16 to 19 years old), accompanied by professors and educators.

In Brussels, the national team have been mixed together in order to form 26 new “European teams”, debating to raise awareness on climate issues, connected to the challenges of economy and migrations. Each debate contest was judged by a jury composed of 6 international experts and educators, who decided for each debate the team who better managed to argument and defend the assigned cause.


117 students from 13 EU countries will try to win using their best dialectic skills on climate change, migration, youth and economy


Cooperation among participants from different parts of the EU was one key factor to achieve success in this intellectual challenge. The aim is to foster EU citizenship as an evident EU added value for the youth tournament. On the 11th of November the students also had the chance to meet MEPs and ask questions or expose concerns about the just transition to climate justice.

On the other hand, each evening of the debate a Contemporary Circus Show titled “We Land” took place in the venue of Tour&Taxis in Brussels. Organised by ALDA and EEB – the European Environmental Bureau, the circus company MagdaClan performed an artistic show full of deep reflections on climate change.

The performance enjoyed a great participation from local citizens and was very appreciated by the students, thus making it the perfect closure of such an intense and deep week of climate debates!

***

Learn more about the Climate of Change project

Sign the #ClimateOfChange petition


The Nature of City Festival (TNOC) is an annual experiment in multidisciplinary collaboration designed to go beyond borders to radically imagine our cities of the future. The Nature of Cities’ mission is to curate debates and dialogues about urbanism through transdisciplinary collaboration and exchanges of experience and knowledge. A virtual festival that spans 3 full days with programming across all regional time zones and is available in multiple languages.

Moreover, TNOC Festival’s main philosophy is to promote inclusiveness and lower barriers to participation by striving for worldwide cities that are livable, resilient, sustainable, and just. It focuses on the creation of trans-disciplinary, publicly available, and widely disseminated programs mixing the arts, science, urban practice fields, and performance, in order to bring urban thought leaders and changemakers together to build better cities.


The Nature of Cities Festival will engage ALDA as a 2022 edition partner, based on a synergy born in 2021 during the last edition!


The Festival, which was developed by the Nature of Cities Organization in collaboration with a wide variety of global stakeholders, is taking place on March 29-31 2022, and it will engage ALDA as a 2022 edition Partner. A synergy born in 2021 during the last edition of the TNOC Festival, through the involvement of the LIFE METRO Adapt project as one of the main co-organizers, as it brought to the Festival a wide variety of activities and sessions, disseminating the project results and knowledge generated to the broader public.

We look forward to participating as partners! In the meanwhile, you can also help The Nature Of City build cities that are better for nature and people by submitting proposals of all kinds, from workshops and presentations to art performances, field trips, and documentaries.

The primary phase for session submissions is closing on the 30th of November 2021 at Midnight EST. Submissions after this date will only be considered on a « space available » basis. The results will be announced in early December while the full Festival schedule will be announced in January 2022.

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Further info:


Lisbon hosted the second International event of the European project “STreet ARt project” – co-funded by Europe for Citizen Programme of the European Union –  from the 13th to the 15th of October, 2021. It was hosted by the project partners Junta Fregasio Beato Municipality in collaboration with Clube Intercultural Europeu.

The three-day event was full of activities and opportunities to learn from each other and spend time together.

On the first day they had a welcoming and project technical meeting, where each presented the latest results of the ongoing local participatory process leading to the realization of mural.

On the second day, participants had a study visit to As Costas da Cidade (Backside of the city), one of the projects implemented as a part of a strategy aimed at reintegrating one of the marginalised neighborhoods of Lisbon and strengthening communitarian identity and cohesion, through street art and guided tours led and managed by residents. During the 2 hours tour led by locals and representative of the citizens’ association Associação Geração com Futuro, the most iconic murals.


Reintegrating one of the marginalised neighborhoods of Lisbon and strengthening communitarian identity and cohesion


In the afternoon, ALDA project manager Nadia Di Iulio together with Camilla Pieri cultural operator at CO.LORE | Collettivo Loredana | Performative Woman held the workshop “Imaginable compromises”: a theoretical and practical workshop on the relationship between compromises and artistic expression, reflecting on the management  and overcoming of legal, environmental, social etc. limits that may be encountered in the development of an artistic project aimed at disseminating an inclusive message. 

After an introduction of the sharing case studies, participants were grouped and a working sessions started in two rounds. In the first round “Unleash your creativity”, participants were asked to develop an artistic project for social purposes specifying time, budget, community, space with no limits conditions. In the second round “What if…”, Nadia and Camilla imposed fixed limits for each of the above mentioned parameter (eg. budget upon €100, 1 day, etc.), and participants had to adapt their project according to the news condition, finding suitable and imaginable compromises without reducing artistic expression and the social purposes. 

Finally, in a plenary, each group presented both projects and well, amazing ideas and interesting reflections came out.


On the final day, participants had a tour at the Panoramico de Monsanto, one of the most emblematic urban space in Lisbon and the stage of the Festival Iminenete. An abandoned restaurant, it is now an open space for murals and street artworks, including an amazing 360° view of the city.

This 2nd meeting in Lisbon was a great occasion to further develop STAR project, and exchange with partners. A particular « thank you » to  Clube Intercultural Europeu which organized such a interesting and fruitful meeting.


The EPIC International Networking Path took place in Zagreb (Croatia) the 9th and 10th November in hybrid-mode (in person and online).

The event aimed at promoting an exchange of ideas and favoring the emerging of joint policies and initiatives. The event saw EPIC partners meeting external stakeholders for a further exchange of newly-acquired knowledge and experiences. Local Authorities (LA) and NGOs were invited to participate in the “international networking paths”, giving a chance to LAs to interact with their counterparts and integrate additional knowledge. 

The main topics discussed were:

  • Experiences of the City of Sisak and its Community
  • Guidelines on how to develop the Pilot Project
  • Management and Financial

Between discussions, participants also had group sessions to work and brainstorm together.


This EPIC event was also an opportunity to connect and re-connect with partners after a long time


Amongst the key speakers there were ALDA Project Manager  Dolinda Cavallo; together with Janko Gredelj – Country Director at JRS Croatia and Marta Sisciarek– Director of the Immigrants support center Municipality of Gdansk. 

Participants also visited the city of Sisak, where they met with representatives of local institutions, such as:

  • Red Cross Sisak;
  • Civil Rights Project NGO;
  • Primary School: Braća Bobetko;
  • Centre of Culture of Dialogue;
  • Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing from Zagreb, as well as
  • Migrants from Sisak.

Last but not least, LDA Sisak, which is one of the 15 Local Democracy Agencies working together with ALDA, took part at at the meeting, 

Furthermore, attendees to this meeting visited apartments offered within the housing service program for migrants in Sisak, guided by the Representative of the Central State Office for Reconstruction and Housing.

This EPIC event was also an opportunity to connect and re-connect with partners after a long time, and ALDA colleagues also had the chance to meet again Paula Rauzan from LDA Sisak.

***
To know more, visit EPIC website

As for other ALDA projects, PART-Y partners led an online session on October 14th during the 2021 EUWRC.

The lead partner Kallipolis first introduced the project and its goals to the participants, highlighting the fundamental importance to take into account the challenges faced by women and girls in urban spaces and thus to plan a city which will work for everyone.

ALDA, as PART-Y project partner, had then the responsibility to present the first output of the project, namely the “Toolkit to Build a Communication Campaign for a Young and Inclusive Placemaking” whose aim is to ensure youth involvement in this kind of urban and community regeneration projects.


It was a pleasure to discuss about PART-Y with the participants and to have their feedback


Two other partners, the municipality of Umeå and Basurama Asociación, made also two focus moment regarding respectively the gendered landscape method developed by the municipality and the social reuse of trash to build a community. Finally, the workshops sessions allowed all the participants to give their insights on how to involve youth and promote young people participation, especially girls, in placemaking projects, and in PART-Y!

Participating at this event marked an important step for the future of the project, while representing an occasion to discuss and reflect on future steps.

***
Keep in touch with the PART-Y project:


Eurocultura and ALDA together to talk about citizens, planet, digitalisation and more. Hence, the two associations have organised a series of webinars thanks to which, by focusing on a specific European policy, attendees will then have the opportunity to get concrete examples on projects and initiatives.

Let’s see together what is on the agenda!

Starting on November 23rd at 12.00 PM with a first webinar on theatre and climate. Entitled “Theatre and sustainable art”, this session will present how climate change; the conservation of biodiversity, the promotion of a territory and the promotion of artistic, natural and cultural heritage can all be interconnected and explained through theatre (registration is free and open to the public at this link).

Presented by ALDA’s Project Managers Nadia Di Iulio and Valeria Fantini, at the debut of this series of webinars, there will also be representatives of the following associations :

Considering the era in which we are living, it would not have been possible not to tackle the topic of “digitalisation”. Thus, at the third webinar, the project P-CUBE and especially the video game developed will be presented as a good practice, while showing how digital tools can be used to support education and foster civic engagement. In this occasion, ALDA Project Manager Lisy Piter will introduce: 

This webinar will take place in late December 2021, early January 2022. Dates will be announced.


Eurocultura and ALDA: free webinars on European policies and projects!


Leaving the tech world aside, how far do people know about agricultural policy? Italian citizens have, on average, little knowledge about the existence of a European agreement to guide EU agriculture, and little awareness of the impact of the agricultural sector on climate change, biodiversity conservation, regeneration of rural areas and creation of new jobs. Having that in mind Eurocultura and ALDA organised a webinar on that as well!

In January 2021 participants to the third webinar will have the possibility to know more about participatory methods and peer-to-peer learning activities, which allow people (especially young generations) to develop awareness about biodiversity conservation and rural regeneration in an experiential way, through an educational and creative journey. Alessandra Brigo, ALDA Project Manager, will host the event. (More information soon available)


Last but not least, for those more interested in citizens’ participation, the webinar not to be missed, is the one scheduled for 22nd February 2022. This time, the two project managers, Nadia di Iulio and Valeria Fantini will welcome as keynote speakers:

  • Marco Boaria, Director Programs and Development ALDA; CEO ALDA+ 
  • Alessandro Maculan, Councillor for environmental, rural and hillside policies and public green areas
  • Giulio Pesenti, consultant

The participatory approach offers a great variety of possibilities for strengthening the resources within municipalities, not only as finances concerns, but also in terms of creative and experiential resources. Benefitting from this approach, it is possible to identify and adopt shared solutions, making all citizens feel part of a sustainable and prosperous change. Thanks to this occasion, the project LIFE BEWARE, a project addressed to the citizens of the Upper Vicenza area with the aim of elaborating a Climate Adaptation Action Plan for the Upper Vicenza area. (registration is free and open to the public at this link).

With great pleasure ALDA and Eurocultura are offering these 4 free webinars, which will last about one hour, presenting projects and initiatives, starting from EU policies. There will be the possibility to join the Q&A session after speakers’ speeches. Please note that webinar are mainly in Italian, excluded the one on digitalisation.