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.

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.

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 18^th 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!

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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 12^th 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.

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.

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To know more, visit EPIC website

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.

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Some useful data:

• 240 people trained
• 6 weeks
• 12 training sessions

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

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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]