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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.

DOCUMENTS

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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

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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:

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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.

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ALDA’s commitment in Ukraine has always involved several actors, from institutions to citizens. Hence, in partnership with the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, and supported by  Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, ALDA has been involved in the “Good Governance Platform project” implemented by  UNDP.

Already in July 2021, ALDA Secretary General, Antonella Valmorbida, visited Ukraine to deliver a series of training sessions in the city of Svyatogorsk. This time, in November 2021, at the second and final conference within the project, entitled « Good local governance: challenges and solutions” guests speakers and participants reflected on: 

  • Strengthening the institutional capacity of local authorities to manage communities;
  • Ensuring the involvement of the public in decision-making and
  • Implementing good governance policies through participatory democracy were among the main objectives of the event.

ALDA’s commitment in Ukraine has always involved several actors, from institutions to citizens

Specifically, this occasion gave the possibility to Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts’ communities to exchange and dialogue on “European experience of responsible local government”, especially as far as publicity, transparency, innovation, partnership concern.

Thus, as also stressed by Ms. Antonella Valmorbida: « Democracy at the local level is the diversity of civil society engagement with local authorities between key democratic moments, which are elections. It’s an effective and efficient tool for addressing the challenges. »

Inspired by this, through this event participants were able to talk about and share their experiences on implemented projects and developments in good governance, be they the creation of  advisory offices for citizens, or a resource centre for initiative groups and youth councils.

Overall, ALDA was and still is very proud and honoured to be supporting active citizenship and democratisation in Ukraine and it is looking forward to continuing the efforts in the future.

***
Some useful data:

  • 240 people trained
  • 6 weeks
  • 12 training sessions
Topics
1E-democracy
2Good governance: authorities’ transparency and accountability to the territorial community
3Public monitoring and anti-corruption control
4Good Governance: public monitoring and anti-corruption control
5Raising awareness on the professional competencies of representatives of local governments and community leaders of target communities
6Creativity and innovation in local government
7Development and implementation of effective mechanisms of interaction among local governments, citizens and media: examination of participatory democracy
8Responsible local government: transparency, innovation and partnership
9Introduction of mediation principles in communication among authorities and communities
10Conflict resolution through mediation
11Local budgets at the present stage: changes in legislation and new tools 
12Improving the budget management system of territorial communities in the context of decentralization reform

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Last autumn LIFE FALKON staff installed 200 nest boxes for Lesser Kestrels, scattered in the large agricultural area between the provinces of Mantua, Modena, Bologna and Ferrara (Italy), and another 110 boxes grouped in five nesting towers built by the project. This area hosts the most northerly population of Lesser Kestrels in Europe, as a representation of the fact that this species is able to colonize new latitudes because of global warming.

Since the return of the Lesser Kestrels from Africa around early April, FALKON staff have been monitoring whether the installed boxes were being used. Even though a low occupancy rate of the new structures was anticipated, at least four pairs of Lesser Kestrel occupied the boxes, raising one or more chicks, and they were not alone, in fact, two pairs of Eurasian Jay and a dozen of Little Owls have used the nest boxes as well.

Each of these boxes provides a safe nesting site for the Lesser Kestrel, and also supports the populations of several species of protected birds of the Po Valley, so that they may all have a secure and cosy place to raise their offspring.

The project LIFE FALKON transferred 30 Lesser Kestrel chicks from Matera to the nesting tower  in the province of Bologna

And speaking of offspring, during the month of July, the project LIFE FALKON transferred 30 Lesser Kestrel chicks from Matera to the nesting tower “Matteo Griggio” in Baricella, in the province of Bologna.

The transfer, anticipated by the conservation action plan of the project, is not aimed at the repopulation of the species in the Po Valley, but at encouraging and accelerating the colonization of the nesting towers built by the project and to increase the proportion of colonies settled on stable buildings and in safe places.

Following the transfer the chicks were free to enter and exit the tower and get fed daily, but without getting into contact with the staff of LIFE FALKON. The project team also installed video cameras to observe the behavior and interaction between the transferred individuals and the wild kestrels who started to regularly visit the tower, attracted by the presence of the chicks (and of two adults no longer able to fly, who came from the Wildlife Recovery Center of Bitetto and were hosted in a large space adjacent to the tower). 

On July 14, the first of the Matera chicks took flight in the Pianura Padana, followed by all the others once they reached the right age. After the first flight tests, the young Lesser Kestrels continued to regularly visit the tower to be fed, before leaving it by the end of August.

[Photo credit LIFE FALKON website]

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Help us, sign the petition!

Climate change is not only a problem for the health of the planet and its inhabitants, but it is also beginning to affect individual freedoms and social justice. Many people find themselves in a vulnerable situation due to the consequences of climate change and are forced to leave their region because they can no longer provide for themselves. 

Faced with this situation, the project « End Climate Change, Start Climate of Change » was born, with the support of the DEAR program (Development education and awareness raising) of the European Commission. This ambitious project aims to find sustainable solutions and policy changes to preserve the planet for future generations, as well as to share the responsibility for the protection of the Earth fairly. We believe that change is truly about politics.

Sign the online petition « End Climate Change, Start Climate of Change »

To achieve its goal, the #ClimateofChange project and campaign proposes the following actions:

  • To keep global warming below 1.5°C to avoid catastrophic levels, the European Union must accelerate its climate neutrality ambitions for 2040, that is, a decade ahead of the current 2050 target. The EU must decarbonize its economy by accelerating the transition to clean and renewable energy technologies to replace fossil fuels.
  • Second, the shift to a socially and ecologically just welfare economy, which places the interests of society and nature above those of business and adopts indicators that go beyond GDP: the welfare economy must abandon the current destructive fixation on constant economic and productivity growth. Instead, it must be regenerative, sustainable, democratic, equitable and caring.
  • Foster local resilience and global justice by providing financial and technical support to countries affected by climate change and by developing an international protection system for climate change-induced migration. Equitable and human rights-based migration and adaptation policies would strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable people. They will also improve well-being in communities of origin, transit and destination.
  • Finally, youth are important but underrepresented actors with a stake in the present and even more so in the future. Policy makers should enable youth participation and integrate their views and vision into policy making through the creation of youth councils in the EU and in the Member States. These youth councils should acquire the status of social partners in the EU and its Member States and would be in contact with the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.

In order to make your voice heard, we invite everyone interested to sign the online petition « End Climate Change, Start Climate of Change », whose main objective is to raise awareness of the links between climate change and migration, and the need for a welfare economy

***
This petition will be handed over to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at an event organized by the Climate of Change consortium on the occasion of the COP 27  which will take place in November 2022 in Egypt.

With your signatures, we hope to trigger the debate and put these demands on the European policy agenda.

N.B.: Your data will be shared with the European Commission to document the number of signatures supporting the petition and will not be used for any other purpose. Your data will be kept by the consortium for at least 5 years. All information will be processed in accordance with the European and national requirements of the GDPR.

[Photo credits: @Quiqueg]

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On October 1st “The research on the Lesser Kestrel in the Po Valley: the results of the campaigns LIFE FALKON 2018-2021” was held in Milan at the Expo Hall of the Research Area of the “Consiglio Nazionale della Ricerca” (CNR).

The event focused on the presentation of the latest research carried out within the LIFE FALKON project, including an open debate to discuss achieved results and ongoing progress. 

The conference was opened by the project manager Michelangelo Morganti (CNR), who introduced to the participants, the genesis and the objectives of the LIFE FALKON project, and enclosed  the  participation of Fondazione Cariplo, one of the funders  of the project.

One session of the conference was dedicated to the presentation of the conservation actions carried out within the LIFE FALKON project, including the research and design of different models of nest boxes and nesting towers. After, the results of the monitoring on the effectiveness of these actions were presented

The research on the Lesser Kestrel in the Po Valley: the results of the campaigns LIFE FALKON 2018-2021” was held in Milan at the Expo Hall

October was a very big month for the project also because on the 22 and 23 October the LIFE FALKON project officially opened three out of the five nesting towers of the Po Plain project areas. 

First the two towers of Poggio Rusco (Mantua) were opened, with the participation of LIFE FALKON, the Major of Poggio Rusco dr. Fabio Zacchi and the farmers that own the terrains. The towers have been dedicated to the memory of two personalities of nature research and conservation: the professor Nicola Saino and the partisan and environmentalist Laura Conti.

Then, LIFE FALKON opened a tower in Mirandola, erected in the wonderful landscape of the SPA ‘Valli Mirandolesi’ and is dedicated to the ornithologist Michele Panuccio, will be managed by LIFE FALKON in collaboration with ASOER, and the SOM (Stazione Ornitologica Modenese). 

Special guest of the ceremony, a Little Owl (Athene noctua), which choosed the tower as a shelter from the cold winter days.

[Photo credit LIFE FALKON website

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The 41st session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities took place in Strasbourg from 26 to 28 October 2021. Two days of intense and fruitful dialogue on several key topics, very close to ALDA’s commitment and mission. Thus, having the Congress among the statutory members of ALDA Governing Board, it comes with itself that the relation between the Association and the Institution is simply part of the essence of ALDA itself.

The agenda of this year’s session was rich in terms of content and speakers. Debates focused, among others, on: 

  • Post-COVID Recovery;
  • Migration;
  • Hate speech and fake news;
  • Cross-border cooperation for better integration and
  • Education and young generation

Furthermore, particularly relevant and in line with the recents ALDA’s mission, the debate on the decentralisation process in North Macedonia. Mr. Zoran Dimitrovski, Deputy Minister for Local Self Government, also met by ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida in early October, intervened during the “Monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-government: North Macedonia” session, taking place on Wednesday 27th.

 Being able to join the Congress 41st session in presence, gave this event the feeling of “nearness and human bond” 

After two years of intense work, yet from remote due to the health crisis, being able to join the Congress 41st session in presence, gave this event the feeling of “nearness and human bond” which were quite missed. Meeting representatives from other countries, organisations and institutions definitely further stimulated ALDA in keeping its commitment and hard work in being a key stakeholder in developing democracy and good-governance in Europe and beyond.

More on an internal note, this occasion also gave the possibility to ALDA’s staff from Vicenza to meet colleagues from the Strasbourg office. Thus, the “Staff Meeting” served as a great moment of sharing, dialoguing and getting to know each other better. Last but not least, after the 41st session of the Congress, the staff also had the opportunity to walk around the city, having a lovely dinner!  

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More information:

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CSOs Networking for Better Local Democracy in the Balkans is a project with a self-explanatory name. The main focus of the project is to address the challenges of civil society organizations within the region of the Western Balkans. It concluded its affairs around October of 2021 and is implemented by the Balkan Network for Local Democracy and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, or SIDA.

There are many challenges in the region related to the CSOs sector, and this project seeks to highlight and support it and its development. The project has the goal of being a major resource for civil society in the region, through methods such as research, providing and spreading information, and encouraging further capacity building in the sector, on local and regional levels. To be able to accomplish that sort of goal, a knowledge sharing platform is necessary, which this project seeks to provide.

Raise awareness, provide resources, facilitate exchange, create cooperation, and strengthen CSOs

An important principle within the function of this project is general awareness raising and promotion. To accomplish this end, under the banner of the project we have seen :

  • 9 animated videos,
  • 9 video interviews,
  • 2 newsletters,
  • 1 large social media campaign,
  • the creation of a resource hub for information,
  • 3 extensive comparative studies and
  • 9 individual local-level case studies, and it was all highlighted with a regional Best Practice Fair.

The 3 comparative studies all examined local factors such as self-government, CSO cooperation with government and involvement in local-level processes, decentralization, and public participation in policymaking. The resource hub, meanwhile, is a designated area of the website that compiles together resources, documents, infographics, studies, research, etc. all about local democracy within the Western Balkans region.

The time spent on this project was highlighted with the Best Practice Fair, a two-day hybrid event that brought together multiple CSO representatives, BNLD members, public authorities, and members of other groups, where the individual delegations present their best practices for encouraging participation of citizens in local government. This event provided a good opportunity for the participating parties to exchange ideas and programmes. The comparative studies and the individual case studies were presented here, along with their findings and accomplishments respectively.

In conclusion, this project has taken steps necessary to raise awareness, provide resources, facilitate exchange, create cooperation, and generally strengthen CSOs within the realm of the Western Balkans.

***
The project “CSOs Networking for Better Local Democracy in the Balkans” was supported by the Project « Protecting Civic Space – Regional Civil Society Development Hub » financed by Sida and implemented by BCSDN ».

DOCUMENTS

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Three comparative studies have been done, examining the level of citizen participation in decision-making process at local levels within the six Western Balkans countries (WB6);  under the work of the project “CSOs Networking for Better Local Democracy in the Balkans”, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and implemented by the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN), each of the above-mentioned studies focuses on a different facet of citizen participation. Yet, taken as a whole, they represent one comprehensive analysis.

The first book is about local self-government and decentralization in the Western Balkans. Decentralization is one of the most prominent series of reforms in the region. Across the different government systems in the region though, the level of decentralization differs due to various domestic factors. We see examinations of key features, structures, and mechanisms within the local government of multiple internal systems in the countries.

The publishing of these comparative analysis is meant to inform and act as a guide for interested citizens and groups

The second book is about CSOs and participation in decision and policymaking on the local level. Based on this, one can consider how the civil sector is important in strengthening democracy and accountability in the region, and to what extend CSOs play various roles with varying levels of political involvement. In addition, the study examines policies, initiatives, and mechanisms within the targeted region; acting as a guide for those who want to engage in local participation.

The third book is about local community participation in decision-making within the Western Balkans. Citizens’ participation is one of the hallmarks of democratic functioning, and each country has their own mechanisms and laws for regulating it. The purpose of the analysis is to further examine the interests, initiatives, and degree of participation in various municipalities.

Overall, local democracy and citizen participation continue to be a major fundamental focus in the empowerment of the Western Balkans region. The publishing of these comparative studies is meant to inform and act as a guide for interested citizens and groups.

You can download the comparative analysis available in 4 languages, English, Albanian, Macedonian and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian here or visit our Resource Hub.

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The second transnational meeting within the DAFLS project “Developing Applied Foreign Language Skills“ took place on 18 and 19 October 2021 in Belgrade. The Faculty of Philology from the University of Belgrade hosted the event. Around 20 participants from the partners organisations followed the presentations concerning the creation of the Bachelor Degrees in Applied Foreign Language in the University of Belgrade and University “Saint Cyril and Methodius” from Skopje.

Starting from the next year, students in Serbia and Nord Macedonia will have the chance to develop their skill in project management through the distance learning language courses of Bachelors and Masters Degrees . The proposed study courses intend to offer a higher level of education to students in order to remain competitive with other universities. Ambitious and motivated teaching teams from both universities will take up the challenge of creating a new course.

The Faculty of Philology from the University of Belgrade hosted the event

The new study program will offer a development of digital educational resources following the example of the Masters degree in European Project Management at Caen University, France.  

Close collaboration with professionals in this field is seen as mandatory in order to motivate students and present them the market realities. 

It is an original study itinerary combining local project engineering with a European dimension.  Its objective is to train specialists in the setting up and management of projects in a transnational framework, working for the development of a territory on the economic, scientific, and cultural level.

ALDA’s team from the Skopje office is supporting this project with concrete examples of EU project management and how to work with local stakeholders.

The project is funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ Programme and implemented by the University of Caen Normandy, The University St. Cyril et Methodius of Skopje, the University of Belgrade and ALDA’s office in Skopje

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Within the framework of the 19th European Week of Regions and Cities, on the 12th of October 2021, ALDA, together with the European Partnership for Democracy, organized the online workshop “Boosting territorial recovery through innovative citizens’ participation”.


The main theme of the workshop was citizens’ engagement, and how it can improve local governance and play a key role in addressing the main challenges the EU is facing right now related to the environment, digitalisation, social inclusion and economic recovery, along with the revitalization of European cities in the post-pandemic reality.

Within the framework of the 19th European Week of Regions and Cities,  ALDA  organized the online workshop “Boosting territorial recovery through innovative citizens’ participation”

The speakers, coming from all over the European Union, were:

  • Gonçalo Lobo Xavier from the European Economic and Social Comittee, who presented the EESC work and recommendations to promote investments in education, infrastructure and industrial policies that can raise employment in EU’s Member States, 
  • Gary Glaukka from Demo Finland, presenting Demo Finland’s approach to enhance democracy through collaborative projects between Finnish political parties and parties in new and developing democracies, 
  • Krzysztof Izdebski from the Open Spending EU Coalition, who presented the Open Spending EU Coalition work to improve transparency, decision making and services in governments through collaboration with activists and citizens,
  • Valentina Minazzi from Legambiente, with a presentation on the effect of citizens’ participation in raising awareness and promoting actions about climate change, and on how to further promote citizens participation for the future, and 
  • Antonella Valmorbida – ALDA Secretary General, who presented ALDA’s work in supporting citizens and local authorities affected by the Covid-19 crisis. 

After an introduction by ALDA’s own Project Manager Nadia Di Iulio, the speakers shared their experiences and examples of participatory processes and bringing together different expertises. 

Between the speaker presentations, videos were shown introducing European projects currently facing these issues through citizen participation, such as SMART – Small Museums Alliance Representing Territories, Food Wave, P-CUBE and LIME – Labour Integration for Migrant Employment.

A final part of the workshop was dedicated to the participants’ questions for the speakers, discussing further some of the practices and ideas brought to this event.

ALDA is proud to have participated in the organization of this event, and will be thrilled to participate in the European Week of Regions in the future as well! 

***
You can watch the projects videos here: (link to a youtube playlist – soon available)

Curious about the workshop? You can watch the recording online here

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While the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) is at its peak, the Civil Society Convention on the Future of Europe is working unceasingly to back the CoFoE to ensure a total and wide inclusion of civil society organisations in such a unique and crucial process.

Indeed, on Tuesday October 12th, a Plenary of the Civil Society Convention on the Future of Europe took place. After receiving the latest updates by the institutional representatives, the core of the conversation focused on the methods to give voice to Civil Society Organisations from all over Europe and listening to their aspirations and concerns.
Such an ambitious goal will be reached, among others, thanks to the spread of a set of surveys elaborated by each cluster in order to get thematic feedbacks from Civil Society Organisations.

Results are not to be awaited. After a work of research and consultation, the 5 thematic clusters have produced a questionnaire each, as a valuable instrument to boost the dialogue with major stakeholders, encouraging the latter to consider the perceptions and the vision of European citizens.

We invite all Civil Society Organisations’ representatives to join the survey by filling one or more questionnaires, according to your area of competence

Thus, each cluster has produced a coherent and representative sheet to be submitted to key policymakers to ensure that the voice of CSOs is heated and taken into consideration for the elaboration of policies and plans.

Find below the clusters and the link to each survey:

  1. Environment, steered by Green 10: the goal is to face the challenges brought by climate change. Questionnaire coming soon.
  2. Social Europe, chaired by SOLIDAR, aims at outlining the future priorities of the EU. Join the survey and fill in the questionnaire here
  3. Europe’s digital transformation, chaired by ECAS, focuses on setting standards on technology and data’s management, also considering not loosing sovereignty on the topic. Find the survey here
  4. Our European life, chaired by Volonteurope and CEV, focuses on rights, values, new and unexplored challenges such as space and migration. Find their questionnaire here
  5. The Union’s democratic foundations, and how to strengthen democratic processes governing the European Union – To make Europe a citizens’ project, chaired by ALDA and ECOLISE, focuses on boosting citizens engagement, involvement and participation to guarantee a high qualitative social development. Join the survey, choose your language and fill in the questionnaire in English, French or Italian

***

About the Civil Society Convention on the Future of Europe (#CSOCoFoE): the role of the Convention is that of working as a bridge between civil society organisations and the institutional setting of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). The Convention has kicked off in February 2021 and is committed to examine the democratic functioning of the Conference and ensure a real involvement of citizens and their representative associations in this process.

It gathers over 75 European networks and platforms, thus reuniting millions of citizens from all across Europe. Its work is managed by a steering committee and 5 thematic clusters, reflecting the political priorities and pillars of the EU.

ALDA, following its vocation and mission, has an active role in the Convention, not only participating as a member, but also as part of the steering committee, represented by ALDA Secretary General, Antonella Valmorbida. Moreover, ALDA is also colliding the cluster on democracy, by making available its expertise on democratic processes, good governance and citizens participation.

Read more on the Civil Society Convention’s website

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The project Culture Twinning: Twinning Tourism Promoting Cultural Heritage, which started in 2018, is coming to an end with an upcoming last meeting online to close the project and sum up the results.

The project, funded by Europe for Citizens programme of the European Union, is led by the Municipality of Novo Mesto (Slovenia) in partnership with ALDA, the Development Centre of Novo Mesto (Slovenia) and the municipalities of Herceg Novi (Montenegro), Torun (Poland), Vilafranca de Penedés (Spain), Trnava (Slovakia), Langhenagen (Germany), Bühl (Germany), Bihać (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The main objective of this two-year-long project was creation of a strong network of twinned towns to mutually promote cultural tourism and raise awareness among citizens on the importance of cultural heritage. This resulted in the creation of a network of towns that promote cultural heritage in a long-term perspective, and which developed opportunities for mutual understanding, intercultural learning, solidarity and social engagement.

The objective was successfully achieved!

Cultural heritage is more than historical monuments left behind from the past. It defines who we are as individuals, as communities, as regions.

Through project’s activities, partners had the opportunity to meet each other and present their respective towns and their cultural heritage and also to interact with local actors operating in the field.

All events implemented aimed at discovering the rich cultural heritage of each town of the network. In Italy an interactive guided tour for kids took place, in order to stress the importance of educating young generations on local cultural heritage, while in Herceg Novi the international conference « Strategic Tourism Development Based on the Valorization of Cultural Heritage » presented examples of good practice of proper valorisation of cultural heritage in European cities.

In Novo mesto a hackathon was organised where kids presented inspiring examples of good practice of innovative cultural tourism, as well as a visit to the 4th festival of Iron age living and cookery.

Another meeting was in the beautiful and historical city of Trnava, one of the oldest cities in Slovakia, where participants could enjoy the unique medieval atmosphere, culinary specialities and hospitality during the Traditional Trnava Market.

In Vilafranca  exchanged ideas about the methods for creating cultural knowledge, enhancing culture in society and fostering the weight of culture in promoting quality cultural tourism. The participants learnt about the culture of “castellers” through a wide range of activities related to their world.

The sixth and the last meeting of the project, which contributed to the involvement of citizens and awareness of cultural heritage in several European partner cities through education and lifelong learning, took place in Bihać. The urban pulse of the city with an extremely diverse and unique history of different cultures and religions enriches the offer on the river Una.

The event has officially concluded this joint adventure, but the established connections between partners will live on and create common stories backed with richness of natural and cultural heritage. The project has reached an incredible number of citizens, more than 460 direct participants in the events and more than 40.000 indirect participants through the project’s website, partners’ websites, press conferences, news and articles.

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Why CUT – Culture Twinning Project? 

Cultural heritage consists of cultural and creative resources with a value for society that has been publicly recognised in order to preserve it for future generations. The rich and diverse cultural heritage of central Europe is one of the key attractions for tourists visiting the area. That is why local heritage has become an important economic factor. Efforts to preserve and utilise cultural heritage can help generate tour¬ism income in particular for remote regions, far from economic centres, rely on tourism-related services for employment. The sustainable use of cultural heritage is essential to ensure that central Europe will remain a popular destination to visit and to live in.
Through the exchange of good practice, experience and expertise of involved partners, we have increased involvement of citizens and raised awareness of the importance of Eu¬rope’s cultural heritage through different events and promotion. Through the activities of the project, we have strengthened the tolerance and mutual understanding between European citizens respecting and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity, while contributing to intercultural dialogue.

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Useful links:

DOCUMENTS

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The educational content for DEVOTE’s future open online course is now available in 6 languages!

The DEVOTE team has worked hard to develop the structure of a 6-module course for teachers and educators, aiming to provide them with skills and tools to integrate students with migrant backgrounds in schools.

The team developed the above-mentioned modules using feedbacks from students with migrant backgrounds and their teachers, collected through a survey. Their insight highlighted the necessity to discuss the assessment practices for students with migrant backgrounds and the difficulties they can encounter regarding the national language. Therefore, DEVOTE Project designed educational content aiming to give teachers tools and guidance to better support students while fostering their success in school.

DEVOTE Project designed educational content aiming to give teachers tools and guidance to better support students while fostering their success in school

However, the survey conducted also demonstrated the importance of both the environment and the social setting for students with migrant backgrounds. To address these matters, the team created modules on parents’ engagement, on psychosocial support and on the “Whole school approach”. The latter involves all parts of schools’ staff to answer students’ holistic needs. Finally, this exercise provides examples of good practices in intercultural education.

You can find all the modules in English below. If you want to download them in another language, check this page.

Module 1 – The Whole School Approach DOWNLOAD

Module 2 – Assessment of students with migrant backgrounds DOWNLOAD

Module 3 – National Linguistic Support DOWNLOAD

Module 4 – Parental Involvement DOWNLOAD

Module 5 – Psychosocial support DOWNLOAD

Module 6 – Best practices in Intercultural Education DOWNLOAD

The publication of DEVOTE’s educational content brings us closer to the creation of our Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and we want it to be as helpful and instructive as possible for you, so please give us your feedback on the modules by filling in the following survey in your preferred language:

English / Dutch / French / Slovenian / Turkish / Italian / Greek

DOCUMENTS

  • No documents available

The CAP-PERI project had its start on the 29th and 30th of September with the Kick Off Meeting that saw partners coming to Vicenza to discuss the implementation of the project and the organization of the educational activities.

During the second day they had the opportunity to visit to the rural area of Carpaneda, the perfect place to analyse how to define themes such as the connection between town and country; as well as the inter-exchange among the rural and urban worlds. At the same time, it is a place that expresses the urgency of developing and promoting a « culture of agriculture » open to all citizens, as far as the following topics concern:

  • Food & Health;
  • Safeguarding biodiversity and the rural landscape and
  • Adapting the territory to the challenges posed by climate change.

CAP-PERI is expecting to improve citizens and youths’ awareness on the social, economic, and environmental implications of the CAP at National and European level

The itinerant walk was hosted by the local associations of “Comunità Vicentina per l’Agroecologia” and the “Laboratorio Spazi Rurali e Boschi Urbani”; enhancing the value of the territory as a place of dialogue between the city and the rural area. Similarly, the occasion was perfect to size the possibility for it to become the centre of new agriculture and sustainability.

In the late afternoon the public presentation of the project was held at a Teatro Astra where a performance followed.

CAP-PERI is expecting to improve citizens and youths’ awareness on the social, economic, and environmental implications of the CAP at National and European level.

CAP-PERI will shed lights on how the Future CAP Strategic Plans will be the instrument to achieve the Green Deal goals, how they will support EU policies in managing the transition towards a sustainable food system and in strengthening the efforts of farmers to contribute to the EU’s climate objectives and to protect the environment.

The project methodologies are innovative as children and young people will have the opportunity to learn social research and theatre techniques through augmented reality tools and seminars with experts.

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The project is led by ALDA (lead partner) together with LaPiccionaia, CESIE, ISBEM Scarl, IRS – Institute for Social Research and Replay Network.

DOCUMENTS

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Meeting with representatives from Solidarité Laïque took place on October 5th, together with Antonella Valmorbida – ALDA Secretary General; Abdelaziz Bouslah – Project Manager from ALDA Tunisia. Auray Aun, Director of alliances and networks at Solidarité Laïque; Ilyes Gaidi, Director Solidarité Laïque Méditerranée and Sirine Khedher, Project Manager at Solidarité Laïque Méditerranée.

Already collaborating within “Municivile -Municivil” project aiming at encouraging and supporting the construction of effective local democracy in Tunisia, the aim of the meeting was to present the projects of the two organisations while considering avenues of further collaboration in Tunisia and in the region.

Avenues of further collaboration in Tunisia and in the region together with Solidarité Laïque

Welcomed in the office of the organisation in Tunis, this fruitful meeting was a good moment to reflect on how to build further initiatives as far as capacity building, decentralisation and encouragement of citizens’ participation in Tunisia concern. 

With great pleasure ALDA met representatives from Solidarité Laïque and it looks forward to further initiatives to implement together.
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More on the mission in Tunisia: