Within the “Local Democracy Network Development”project, delegates from LDA Dnipropetrovsk, LDA Mariupol, LDA Georgia, LDA Armenia and LDA Moldova will join a workshop, organised in Chisinau from 8th to 10th of June 2021. Focusing on the particularities of each LDA’s work; the main idea of the workshop is to discuss and finalise the strategy for the network in accordance with the Black Sea (BS) NGO Forum’s revised Strategic Framework for CSO Cooperation.
More into depth, the strategy will be developed taking into accounts the following principles:
- Good local governance;
- Active citizenship;
- Youth;
- Environment;
- Coordination of activities and
· Network extension and communication.
The idea behind this project is to turn LDAs into “bridges” between citizens and local governments, thus improving the citizen’s participation in their communities
Yet, an initial draft of the strategy has been already prepared, in May during a 3-day online workshop, with the support of an external facilitator. The latter was in charge to both elaborate and draft the strategy, while ensuring that the entire process would be implemented.
On a general perspective, aiming at establishing a network of LDAs from Eastern Partnership countries working in the Black Sea region, the idea behind this project is to turn LDAs into “bridges” between citizens and local governments, thus improving the citizen’s participation in their communities.
As far as the objectives of this initiative, one can identify:
- Increasing the resilience and sustainability of the Local Democracy Agencies Network (LDAs) working in the Black Sea Region;
- Boosting the fundraising skills, institutional capacities of the Black Sea LDAs with specific focus on resilience and sustainability and
- Elaborating, based on a participatory process, of a regional mid-term strategy of LDAs’ network development in the region.
Thus, the project is intended to formalise the network of the LDAs in four countries – be they Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – while extending the network in other BS countries, and spreading the concept of local democracy to a larger area.
Finally, the project aims at training and supporting LDAs in strengthening their own organisational skills and capacity, such as internal governance, resilience and fundraising. At the same time it is also designed to build a stronger and sustainable network, able to act for a long-term period of time.