This years’ EPD’s General Assembly has been a special one, for the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), for all its network of members, and for ALDA.

Indeed, held on June 19th 2023, this General Assembly not only saw the discussion of internal issues important for the running of the Organisation, but also included the renewal of the Presidency.

Thus, after 6 years, Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General and President of EPD until that day, handed over the presidency to Thijs Berman, Executive Director of NIMD – Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.

Since 2017, Antonella Valmorbida has been the Chair of EPD, guiding the organisation through a challenging yet transformative period, together with the Board members, the Executive Director Ken Godfrey and the whole EPD’s staff.

Among the several challenges encountered during her mandate, we recall the Brexit, the worldwide pandemic and the more recent war in Ukraine that has shaken Europe and the entire world.

We are proud of our Secretary General’s constant dedication and commitment to local democracy and we congratulate the new Chair, Thijs Berman!

In her speech, Antonella Valmorbida recalled achievements and challenges of the last 6 years, with a focus on EPD’s mission and commitment for a better and more responsive Democracy in Europe:

“We managed to get bigger but our determination to remain a lively and inclusive partnership has also been fulfilled. – stated Antonella Valmorbida in her speech – We were able to survive to our own success. We are a strong community and an instrument putting together our experiences and knowledge as strong and effective practitioners. We know how much effort democracy requires and how it must be multilevel and holistic. – continues Valmorbida – Democracy is more than elections, it is more than political parties, it is more than local governments, it is more than good and free media, it is more than civil society. Democracy is the interaction and empowerment of all these elements and this why EPD is unique and has been so effective in these last years.

As ALDA, we are proud of our Secretary General’s constant dedication and commitment to local democracy, which she pursues in ALDA and outside our organisation, confident that she will continue her appointment into the EPD Board with the same commitment, to accompany the organisation in its future endeavours.

Moreover, we congratulate the new president, Thijs Berman, who we are sure will successfully lead the organisation in the years to come!

The mission of this year’s ALDA General Assembly was to state that Local Democracy will save democracy. In this light, the Middle East & Africa Department organised on June 9th in Etterbeek (Brussels) a roundtable titled “Stronger together: exploring EU’s contribution to local democracy around the globe” in collaboration with the most relevant institutions, donors and partners working together with ALDA in the area.

The roundtable delved into the topic of the European Union and the French State as global agents boosting democratic values in Third Countries exploring three specific areas: the African continent, Türkiye and the Euro-Mediterranean area. The aim was to highlight the main challenges affecting local democracy in the communities bordering the EU as well as the initiatives taken by institutions and civil society organisations to address them, through concrete examples.

With the support of the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission (DG INTPA), introduced by its Head of Sector in Democratic Governance Tom Millar, the first focus of the roundtable was given on how the EU can support local democracy in the African continent. The main priorities identified by the EU in that sense lie on youth as target beneficiaries and main actors for change, as well as country-level work. Along this line, DG INTPA is funding the WYDE – Civic Engagement project, led by EPD – European Partnership for Democracy where ALDA is managing the Cluster 1, dedicated to regranting directed to youth organisations in the whole continent. The project has been presented by the ALDA project coordinator Abdelaziz Bouslah, together with the ALDA Grants manager Faty Babou, and Cluster partners Elbarlament’s Managing director Sebastian Bloching and People in Need’s Youth Civic Engagement Advisor Kristýna Sosnovcová.

The roundtable analysed challenges affecting local democracies in the communities bordering the EU and how to adress them

In the case of Türkiye, the floor was opened by the Deputy Head of the Türkiye Unit of DG NEAR – Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission Katarzyna Marzec. In her opinion, the strength of Turkish local democracy lies in the dedication of citizens and civil society organisations, who need to be supported by EU institutions in their activities. An example of engagement at the local governance level was given by Özge Sivrikaya, Senior International Affairs and Projects Expert of the Marmara Municipality Union, one of the most important Union of Municipalities of the country, behind, among many other things, the organisation of the renowned MARUF – Marmara Urban Forum. In preparation for the next local elections in 2024, the EU Delegation to Türkiye funded the WE ACT project, presented by ALDA’s Project Coordinator Apolline Bonfils, which aims to strengthen women participation by providing capacity building related to politics and media as well as subgranting to civil society organisations. As a further way to support EU-Turkish cooperation at the local level, Sinan Erensü, Chair of the Board and Hüseyincan Eryılmaz, Project coordinator of MAD – Mekanda Adalet Derneği (Centre for Spatial Justice) have presented THE:PLACE programme. This initiative, funded by the Mercator Foundation and co-managed with ALDA, seeks to reinforce the collaboration among civil society actors and local authorities on top of cross-border cooperation.

As a third but equally relevant dimension where ALDA is active, the roundtable then focused on the Euro-Mediterranean area. An overview was given by Thibaut Lespagnol, Deputy delegate for Civil society, civic engagement and youth (DGM/CIV), who highlighted the most pressing issues affecting local democracy in the area: visa restrictions, informality of the third sector, political instability among others, and gave examples on how civil society support can be provided by French cooperation actions.

In this context, the role of the Anna Lindh Foundation has been presented by its Liaison Officer in Brussels Alessandro Lamonica, who explained how two initiatives such as the award for Mediterranean Capital for Culture and Dialogue and the Med Youth in Action programme can contribute through the promotion of good practices of governance and youth empowerment.

The roundtable was closed by Sam Khebizi, President of Les Têtes de L’Art, with whom ALDA is co-leading the French Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation. He reminded that, as the title of the roundtable said, we are stronger together in supporting local democracy: as co-leaders, as donors with beneficiaries, as civil society organisations with local authorities, as Europeans with neighbours, as people believing in democracy.

The ALDA General Assembly 2023, which took place on June 8, was the occasion to present to ALDA members’ representatives, partners and friends gathered in Etterbeek (Belgium), the newly constituted ALDA Advisory Board. The Advisory Board is a selected team of people with different qualities and expertise who will closely follow the work of the organisation by acting on geographical areas. 

During the ALDA General Assembly 2023, the group met with the members of the Governing Board in order to exchange views on future ALDA activities and to lay the foundations for a solid and fruitful collaboration.

The Advisory Board will remain in office for one year. Regarding the European area, the people who will be part of the group are as follows;

Ms. Kirsi Verkka, Participatory budgeting development manager at the city of Helsinki, who will cooperate with the HUB on citizens’ participation and territorial development. 

Ms. Maite Arrondo, freelance consultant and researcher on urban innovation, specialised in housing policies, who will follow the Working Group on Social Inclusion, cooperating with the Thematic HUB on Gender, Inclusion and Human Rights. 

Ms. Maddalena Alberti, LDA Zavidovici, who will be part of the Working Group on Social Inclusion, collaborating with the Thematic HUB on Migration. 

Ms. Joelle Gerber, Director of Maison du jeune citoyen et du Service Enfance Jeunesse in the city of Schiltigheim, who will also be part of the Working Group on Social Inclusion, cooperating with the Thematic HUB on Youth. 

To conclude the with European Area, Ms. Claire Breschard, Institut Français du Monde Associatif, will stay in the Working Group Civil Society Organisation Capacity Building and Mr. Aurelio Escobar, Consultant at Expert at Covenant of Mayors, who will join the Working Group on Environment, taking part of the Environment Thematic HUB. 

Concerning the Middle East & Africa area, Mr. Ahmet Allouch, Director at the Tunisian People’s Representatives Assembly and Project Manager and trainer at “Youth Without Borders – Tunisia” will closely follow the work implemented by ALDA in Tunisia. 

Ms. Elif Avci, Participatory processes and Youth Engagement Advisor at the Istanbul Development Agency, will cooperate with the Association for the activities carried out in Türkiye.

Lastly, Dr. Ibrahim Ndagijimana, One Mainstreaming Coordinator in GIZ Rwanda/Rights Based Programme, will cooperate with ALDA for the activities in Rwanda. 

Ms. Senida Mesi, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Albania, expert on civil society local governance, will be the point of contact for the Western Balkans area. 

While Ms. Inna Volkova, member of the Odesa Rayon Council and Ms. Tamara Ehs, expert on civil society and local governance will closely follow the activities implemented in the Eastern Partnership region. 

ALDA Festival and General Assembly 2023, which took place in Brussels (Belgium), offered space for strategic discussions on the importance of local democracy in the EU integration processes of the Eastern Neighbourhood candidate countries. Several roundtables and debates were held as part of the ALDA Festival 2023 from 6 to 9 June, 2023.

In recent years, the Eastern Partnership region has faced several new challenges related to migration, defence and security, enlargement and international threats from Russia. This topic has been the focus of the panel discussion moderated by Mr. Alexandru Coica, Head of ALDA’s Eastern Partnership Unit, which took place on June 9, 2023.

The panel was opened by ALDA Secretary General, Mrs. Antonella Valmorbida; “Local democracy will save democracy, and the Eastern Partnership is not just a region, it is much more. It is important that we extend democratic values over a wider area.” – stated Mrs. Valmorbida, introducing the topic.

The discussion continued with an intervention of Mr. H.E. Dirk Schübel, EU Special Representative for the Eastern Partnership, who stated: “The EaP was designed to help each country achieve its goals and, first and foremost, to prepare Moldova and Ukraine for the start of negotiations with the EU and, hopefully, for the not too distant future for Georgia and the other countries.” – stated Mr. Schübel.

“We want to maintain the Eastern Partnership and, just to tell you, we are working closely with Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan.” Mr. Schübel concluded, adding that the European Union is moving fast and counts on a number of wonderful programs to support the cooperation process, local policies, EU for Integrity and anti-corruption programs, for EaP countries.

The panel discussion highlighted the importance of local democracy in EU integration processes and the promotion of European values at the local level

Ms. Tania Marocchi, Policy and Advocacy Manager, EaP Civil Society Forum followed “The involvement of civil society remains highly dependent on the willingness of the government to commit to inclusive transparency – Moldova and Georgia are good examples of inclusive and exclusive ways, but we saw another way in Belarus, and Azerbaijan, where civil society does not function. I think the Eastern Partnership multilateral policy is a great opportunity to engage in particular Belarus and civil society with democratic forces.” – stated Ms. Marocchi.

The “Local Democracy in the context of a renewed geopolitical framework in the Eastern Partnership Countries” panel follows a similar exercise held in November 2022 in Wroclaw (Poland) and updates on the state of the 3 countries: Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia, discussing the implications for the region and emphasising the crucial importance of good governance and stakeholders in addressing future challenges.

In this context, the panel discussion highlighted the importance of local democracy in EU integration processes and the promotion of European values at the local level. The Local Democracy Agencies of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia, who were present at the panel, brought their testimonies, presenting their expertise, needs and challenges.

The event also focused on the role of participatory mechanisms and citizen involvement in making communities more resilient and strong to overcome multiple crises.

ALDA’s presence in Ukraine dates back to 2015, when the Local Democracy Agency (LDA) in Dnipro was opened, followed by LDA Mariupol in 2017, thus representing, for almost 10 years, a strategic partner in the country.

Today more than ever, ALDA’s presence in Ukraine has increased and keeps doing so, committing to support local government, civil society organisations and the Ukrainian population as a whole.

On 7 June 2023, within the framework of ALDA Festival General Assembly, the event “Challenges for local communities in the face of migration of Ukrainians during the war“ took place. Partners and stakeholders met in Brussels (Belgium) to discuss recommendations for actions to support local communities in Ukraine that adopt Internally Displaced Persons. LDA Dnipropetrovsk, indeed, is a great example of this.

Since the very beginning of the war in Ukraine, ALDA has supported the country and its people by implementing different actions, among which the “Flagship initiative of ALDA in Ukraine”, aimed at establishing further LDAs in Ukraine as instruments of peace, cohesion and democracy. During the ALDA Festival, partners from Ukraine, EU and representatives of other LDAs met and discussed the creation of these LDAs, thus bringing together a big group of cities, regions and NGOs ready to commit.

One of the key priorities emerged during the roundtable concerned the support to the integration and activation of IDPs in local communities, through the new LDAs to be opened.

The meeting represented a valuable moment of exchange and served to plan strategy for future actions on the opening of the new LDAs in Ukraine

During the first part of the meeting, ALDA Secretary General, Mrs. Antonella Valmborbida, welcomed the participants and gave an overview of ALDA’s work in Ukraine, presenting the Flagship Initiative in Ukraine, together with Mr. Bartek Ostrowski, Consultant for LDAs development in the country. 

After that, Ms. Inna Volkova, ALDA Advisory Board member and Councilor of Odesa Rayon Council presented the LDAs partners from Ukraine. 

The session envisaged the presence of representatives: Ms. Anzhelika Pylypenko, ALDA Governing Board member and delegate of LDA Dnipro and Ms. Anastasiia Diakova from LDA Mariupol, who talked about actions undertaken to support IDPs, and further steps. 

The event unfolded with working groups for each LDA and potential LDA present, namely LDA Mariupol, LDA Dnipro, LDA Vinnytsia, LDA Odesa and LDA Rivne, for partners to discuss an action plan and next steps in the cooperation. 

The event was organised with the support of European Endowment for Democracy (EED), an independent, grant-making organisation and strategic partner that is sharing our values and mission, and working with us towards the same goal: rebuilding the country by operating to guarantee to the Ukrainian population a free, democratic and peaceful future.

This year ALDA celebrates the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the first Local Democracy Agency in the Balkans, LDA Subotica. This special occasion has been at the core of ALDA Festival and General Assembly 2023, within which the event “30 Years Local Democracy Agencies in the Balkans” took place on 9 June, 2023. 

Key speakers had the chance to connect the recent past with the present and future work of ALDA in the region, linking the past struggles with the current realities while envisioning a European future. The panelists addressed pressing topics for the Western Balkans, offering unique perspectives on democracy work and the challenges that lie ahead. Moderated by Ms. Katica Janeva, Director of Skopje Office and Head of the ALDA Western Balkans Unit, the audience had the pleasure to listen to the contributions of some of the most relevant local and institutional stakeholders in the Balkans. Among them, Ms. Dusica Davidovic, Deputy Mayor of Nis and Member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Council of Europe, who underlined the absolute relevance, especially in the Balkans, of transparent institutions and availability of information in order to build a strong local democracy; “Local democracy is key to building a secure and stable society” – stated Ms. Davidovic.

Afterwards, Ms. Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel, Member of the European Parliament took the floor remarking that local deliberative democracy is essential to create a community in which everyone feels integrated and no one is left behind. As Ms. Von Cramon-Taubadel stated; “I would like to emphasise the importance of local democracy, which is the foundation on which our democratic systems are built. The Local Democracy Agencies act at the local level, and over the last three decades they have worked to create a more inclusive and cohesive society”. 

Later on, Ms. Dragica Martinovic, Vice-president of the EESC‘s Western Balkans Follow-up Committee, contributed by stressing the importance of an effective advocacy action in order to enhance civil dialogue together with social and economic cohesion among the Balkans, which is meaningful in the entire process of EU integration. Furthermore, she dwelt on the importance of young people in the Balkans as key actors of cohesion, so that the EU institutions pay more attention to the needs of civic and local CSOs.

Local democracy as the key to European integration in the Balkans

Lately, the newly elected vice president of ALDA and Director of the Center for Democracy Foundation Ms. Natasa Vuckovic took the floor and stated: “It’s vital to keep reinvigorating the values contained in the EU-Western Balkans Summit Thessaloniki everyday. (…)Taking care of minorities and vulnerable groups, such as LGBTQ+ needs, should become a priority in every Balkan’ Government Agenda in order to make everyone feel part of their own community”. – Ms. Vuckovic concluded. 

The Minister of Local Government Administration of the Republic of Kosovo*, Mr. Elbert Krasniqi, gave then his own valuable contribution as he is trying to be “a minister from another perspective, the one of local government” – Mr. Krasniqi stated. He emphasised the work that the Government of Kosovo* is doing in investing in digital transformation, as a push for the spread of participatory democratic processes among the Kosovar population to improve citizens’ civic engagement.

To conclude, ALDA Governing Board Member and representative of the Municipality of Centar, Mr. Emir Coric underlined the significance of citizens’ decision-making and the increasing need along the Balkan area to strengthen participatory processes such as civic forums; “If we don’t encourage these kind of democratic participatory procedures, the Balkans risk losing the transformative power that every government should have: it’s a threat to future EU integration, and ALDA knows it very well. LDAs in this sense have a key role in gathering communities to encourage participation” – stated Mr. Coric. 

The event represented a valuable occasion to look back together on the road built so far and discuss tomorrow’s commitments and next steps. “There still is an open path that needs to be developed” – stated Mrs. Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General – “ALDA is looking forward to working everyday more to join forces in promoting democracy at all levels, especially the local one” – stated Mrs. Valmorbida.

“Democracy faces many challenges and the EU is not new to these challenges.
We cannot take democracy for granted. We must close all the gaps, block authoritarianism, and all the threats. That is why we are working on the defence of the democracy package.
We need to build democratic resilience.”

This is how Dubravka Šuica, Vice President of the European Commission, addressed members and partners of ALDA, during the opening ceremony of the Association’s General Assembly, on Thursday June 8th, 2023.

With her words, she endorsed ALDA’s Festival and Assembly’s main theme “Local Democracy will Save Democracy”, this being probably the biggest challenge European institutions and civil society will have to work for in the upcoming period. A mission that needs to be pursued through the strengthening of participation, democratic values and dialogue.

“We cannot take democracy for granted. We must close all the gap. […] We need to build democratic resilience”

In her inspiring speech, the Vice President went back on her career path, recalling that she herself began her political career as mayor of her hometown and that “once a mayor always a mayor, ‘cause all politics is local in the end”.

Then, the discussion was extended to the hall, where the audience had the chance to interact and ask questions to the Vice President. For instance, a point was raised on the follow-up of the Conference on the Future and on how citizens’ input was taken into account. Here, Šuica, reaffirmed how 80% of European Commission’s initiaitves are directly drawn from recommendations gathered during the CoFoE.

Šuica’s presence was a powerful signal of the stronger and stronger links connecting ALDA and the EC, as well as of how the Commission considers ALDA’s action important for the democratic advancement and the empowerment of local communities, in Europe and in the Neighbourhood.