Members and ALDA: together for a brilliant new year!

Despite the big challenge the whole world is still facing, 2021 marked a great year for ALDA: spreading democracy, supporting local initiatives are at the heart of the Association’s activities. Yet, much of this has turned into real thanks to, and in collaboration with, members and friends of ALDA.

Hence, listening to members’ ideas and proposals is a daily commitment: through interactions the best projects have been made possible! Therefore, ALDA is very much committed to engage and animate its network, offering several concrete opportunities

Yet, what does “being a member mean”? As many of you already know, by joining ALDA and become an ALDA Member, you will enter an international network offering several benefits, such as:

• Networking, partnership opportunities and facilitation;
• Capacity-building activities;
• Free webinars and workshops specifically designed for the members;
• Assistance in finding funding opportunities.

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Listening to members’ ideas and proposals is a daily commitment: through interactions the best projects have been made possible!

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Yet, this is not everything. Believing in its network is a concrete exercise for ALDA: thus, the association re-invests in its members the majority of its total budget. As shown on the picture  on the right, the 55% of its resources are allocated to Local Authorities, Civil Society Organizations, and Local Democracy Agencies. In other words: to ALDA’s network!

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Last but not least… 2022 already brings something new! ALDA has launched a new communication initiative called “Shades of democracy” – the new ALDA Podcast. Each episode, monthly broadcasted, tackled several topics related to democracy, from crowdfunding, to ELoGE, from culture to youth! 

Listen to it on the main platforms, and contact us at alda@alda-europe.eu if you want to know more!

Hope to see you online soon! Great to have you as #ALDAMember

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Shades of Democracy on:

• Spotify
• Google Podcast
• Spreaker
• Deezer

This newly started 2022 has also marked the inauguration of a new Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Following Slovenia, from the 1^st of January 2022, France has taken over the Presidency for the next six months, until June 30^th, 2022.

In light of the delicate and peculiar situation the Union and the whole World are going through, the French Presidency will focus its mandate according to citizens’ expectations and needs, trying to bring the needed changes in a concrete way, as stated in the latest news.

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2022 starts with the beginning of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union

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From a general perspective the trio programma, that means the overall mission of French, Czech and Swedish Presidencies, up until the beginning of 2023 will focus on:

• Protecting citizens and freedoms; based on European values;
• Promoting a new growth and investment model for Europe, inspired by sustainable green growth;
• Building a greener and more socially equitable Europe, with special regard to health and
• A global Europe that promotes multilateralism and renewed international partnerships

Specifically on the French Presidency, its main priorities around three emblematic areas: climate, digital and social. At the same time, it will work to lay the basis for important changed and achievements linked to the economic sphere, youth, health and culture.

ALDA welcomes with enthusiasm the new French Presidency and encourages it to keep the active participation of citizens in the European governance high in the political agenda, thus giving the needed impetus to the closing phase of the Conference on the Future of Europe!

Check the Presidency website

Winter Greeting and Happy New Year from ALDA President, Mr. Oriano Otočan, ALDA Secretary General Mrs Valmorbida and all the ALDA team!
As every December, it is time to stop for a second and look back at what has been done during the last 12 months. A year full of initiatives, meetings and events that give great energy for the upcoming 2022.

“Dear Members, Partners and Friends of ALDA, behalf of the whole team of ALDA, its Governing Board and all the LDAs, let me wish you all the best Winter Holidays that 2021 can offer to all of us!” – stated our President Mr Oriano Otočan  at the beginning to its letter.

“The year about to end has been a unique one – continued Mr. Otočan –  with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis still challenging deeply the implementation of our activities and everyday work all around Europe and beyond. Many of you have faced difficulties in the management of the crisis, from the economic to the social and cultural point of view. It is the reason why our support towards local communities has been more important than ever.

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This year more than ever, our goal has been to connect our network of local communities and actors from Europe and beyond, deeply convinced that only together, by sharing ideas and by working together, we will overcome the complex challenges of our time. In this regard, we also launched a series of new opportunities for our members, among which the working groups, giving the opportunity to share, cooperate and shape together the future of our Association and of Europe as well.

Despite difficulties in the phase out this global pandemic, that deeply affected the life of all of us, we are ready to do our part to protect the more vulnerable ones and to approach ourselves to 2022 with renewed energy to finally come back to a new-form of “normality”, enriched by all the thoughts and challenges we all together faced in the past 2 years.

I wish also to use this opportunity to remember our dear friends and colleagues Sasa Marinkov, delegate of the Local Democracy Agency Central-Southern Serbia, and Victor Cotruta, Eastern Partnership Project Coordinator, that left us this year. Friends that we would truly remember and adore till the end of days.

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“Let me wish you all the best Winter Holidays that 2021 can offer to all of us!” – Mr Otočan – ALDA President

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As said, the year(s) behind us were not easy. Yet, besides challenges, they were also full of opportunities to prove the importance of mutual support that only the global community, composed by the local communities all over the globe, can provide. That is the core of ALDA, the core value of all of us: local communities working for a global sustainable change, towards a better future for all the human beings and for our planet as well!

Last but not least, – concluded Mr. Otočan –  I wish everyone all the best!  I wish you a better, calmer, safer and happier 2022!”

Similarly, Mrs. Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General wished to the network and friends of the association warm winter greetings and happy New Year, and willing to see each other soon in 2022.

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Play the video and listen Mrs. Valmorbida’s winter greetings in Italian, French or Russian

After the first steps of the programme in Croatia and North Macedonia, ALDA was awarded with the accreditation to implement the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) in Kosovo*.

In the next 2 years, ALDA will implement the ELoGE assessment of around 15-20 municipalities in Kosovo* and work with them to be able to understand and apply good democratic practices. They will also facilitate and monitor the process of the implementation of the 12 principles of good democratic governance as outlined by ELoGE and spread awareness among authority figures.

This project will last for a 2-year period, starting the activities in January 2022 and ending-up in November 2023.

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From January 2022, ALDA will contribute delivering better local governance for citizens of Kosovo*

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Previously, ALDA received the accreditation to be able to implement ELoGE in Croatia and North Macedonia, which was a precursor for the work in Kosovo* and another step in the greater ambition for the Western Balkans. Along with that, recently on September 28th, the Secretary General of ALDA, Antonella Valmorbida, visited Kosovo* in order to create a proposal for the support of local governance, encourage and facilitate capacity building, and grow regional cooperation in the Country and the rest of the Balkans. Important factors are the promotion of good management of EU funds and the promotion of EU programmes.

Strong of this further accreditation, ALDA is excited and committed to supporting local government and EU integration ambitions in Kosovo*.  Through the implementation of the principles of the ELoGE programme, ALDA will contribute to deliver better local governance for citizens.

Why the ELoGE? The ELoGE evaluation allows local authorities to understand their strengths and their weaknesses when providing public services to the local community and exercising public authority. To improve the quality of local governance, local authorities can use various tools developed by the Centre of Expertise and take inspiration from their colleagues’ best practices.

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Partnerships are stronger than the distance!

On Monday, December 13^th, 2021, a very special event took place, sealing a new valuable partnership between ALDA – the European Association for Local Democracy and IRDP – Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace.

The event, livestreamed on ALDA’s Facebook page, involved ALDA Secretary General, Antonella Valmorbida and the Director of IRDP, Eric Ndushabandi, engaged in a dialogue moderated by Afaf Zaddem, Delegate of the Local Democracy Agency Tunisia, culminated with the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Organisations.

After setting the framework for the event, Ms Valmorbida described ALDA’s actions and strategy for the African continent, having the Associations a growing number of partners and projects active in the region. Afterwards, Ms Valmorbida retraced the history of ALDA’s relations with IRDP, which goes back to July 2021, when Antonella Valmorbida was invited by the International Association of Francophone Mayors to attend their General Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda.

There, she had the pleasure the meet Mr Ndushabandi and a fruitful exchange had started, in light of the many characteristics which are shared by ALDA and IRDP in terms of values, mission and common goals, this event wanted to materialise the already existing cooperation with a Memorandum of Undestanding.

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Let’s partner: ALDA and IRDP e-signed the Memorandum of Understanding

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The event was also important to introduce IRDP to the whole network of ALDA. As described by its Director Mr Ndushabandi, IRDP is an organisation based in Kigali, Rwanda, initiated in 2001 as an Institute to contribute to peacebuilding efforts in the aftermath of the 1994’s Genocide against Tutsi. IRDP is an independent and neutral space where critical and sensitive issues challenging peace are debated with a participatory approach in order to influence positive behaviour change at the community and national levels.

As stated in the partnership’s convention, ALDA and IRDP agreed to “work together in the future and join their efforts to achieve complementary results in the shared geographical areas of intervention”, working on common themes, such as:

• support local democracy and citizen participation;
• support civil society empowerment;
• support media and freedom of expression;
• support to displaced people and refugees;
• integration of minorities.

If you wish to get to know better ALDA and IRDP and learn more about the terms of the partnership agreement, watch again the event, available at this link!

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During the last meeting of the Governing Board of ALDA, held on Thursday December 2^nd2021, all members agreed upon a strategic document concerning a more reasoned and effective action to be implemented by the Association and its network in the Balkan Region.

Being the Balkans the birthplace of ALDA, the Region where everything has started back in that December 1999, ALDA has always paid a particular attention to the Western Balkan region, through the continuous implementation of initiatives aimed at supporting and empowering local authorities and Civil Society.

At present, ALDA is an organisation deeply rooted in the Balkan area, with ongoing activities and projects in all the Western Balkan countries, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Furthermore, counting 36 member municipalities and associations, 8 Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs), the Balkan Network for Local Democracy (BNLD) as well as a wide network of partners, ALDA is well placed and ready to develop and implement local driven initiatives while sharing international best practices and support actions.

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ALDA is ready to develop and implement local driven initiatives while sharing international best practices and support actions

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Let’s unfold ALDA’s new Strategy in the Western Balkans

Goal: ALDA’s main goal in Western Balkans is to support regional cooperation and EU integration processes in the Region as well as to promote local democracy and citizens participation as a precondition for local sustainable development.

Actions: The Strategy foresees a set of action lines to be implemented, each one addressing a key area, important for the achievement of the overall objective in a sustainable and effective manner.

• Be a global alliance of civil society and local authorities engaged in local democracy and community engagement in the region with a regional approach
• Support dialogue between EU and the Balkans
• Support and development of the Local Democracy Agencies as agents for change for local democracy and citizens’ participation
• Implementation of country-based strategies and strengthening of the cooperation with relevant national institutions and local stakeholders

The whole ALDA and its Governing Board are very proud of the elaboration of this strategy which will surely bring benefit to the whole Western Balkans Region, as always happens when reinforcing internal relations among local and regional stakeholders, decentralised cooperation and dialogue with key institutions.

While widening its scope, ALDA will remain a key player in the Balkan region, reinforcing its actions and establishing new profitable relations with stakeholder at a global level.

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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 18^th 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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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