From the 12th to the 18th of June 2022, a delegation of high level officials from national and Local Authorities (LAs) from Türkiye, participated in the cross-border study visit on local governance-related issues in Austria and Croatia.
Organized by ALDA + and UNDP Türkiye, and within the framework of LAR III Project, this third study visit enabled the participants to deepen their knowledge on local administration capacity of the two-above mentioned EU Member States; benefiting from several meetings with Austrian and Croatian high level representatives from Ministries, Regional and Local Authorities.
The visit began from Vienna. During the first day, the delegation was granted audience with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Service and Sport. The day after they were welcomed in the beautiful venue of the City of Vienna before moving to Graz.
Within LAR III project, the delegation from Türkiye visited Austria and Croatia institutions
There, for instance, the Turkish delegation had the opportunity to meet representatives of the City of Graz and of the Province of Styria. The latter shared examples of both best practices, and experience in the field of performance management; as well as Austrian lobbying activities in Brussels, while offering a guided tour through the streets of the medieval old town.
Moreover, to end on a high note, Pula hosted the final meetings with Croatian LAs. Hence, the Director of the Regional Coordinator of the Istrian County for European Programs and Funds and a representative of the Istrian Development Agency welcomed the LAR III Turkish delegation, providing good knowledge and tools on participatory local governance.
Finally, participants traveled to Zagreb where they exchanged experiences with representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Administration, the City of Zagreb and while meeting the President of Croatian-Turkish Friendship Association and visiting the exhibition for 30 years of Cooperation between Türkiye and Croatia.
Overall, it was a in-depth, very useful week and intense … but surely an enriching experience!
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