DOCUMENTS

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The Economic, Social and SPatial INequalities in Europe in the Era of Global Mega-trends project (ESSPIN) funded by the Horizon Europe programme officially kick-off on the 13th and 14th of October online. It was dedicated to the assessment and plan of the project together with the presentation of the key roles and activities of each partner.

The ESSPIN project directly addresses European challenges with an aim to share actions, understandings, evidence, insights, responsibilities and benefits across stakeholders including policymakers and civil society. The goal of the project is to re-examine the nexus of social, economic and spatial inequalities in the EU in the light of emerging and highly interacting mega-trends and challenges, threatening to increase pressures and make policy choices even more difficult. 

The outputs of the project will be delivered across different partner  states, covering a variety of  both social science and humanities disciplines, with multi-stakeholder, practice-based and policy-science expertise. Besides, the consortium  of the ESSPIN project will organise several workshops, policy seminars and Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) as well as participate in national and international conferences.

ESSPIN examines the nexus of social, economic and spatial inequalities in the EU in the light of the interacting mega-trends and challenges

Concerning the role of ALDA, with the support of all the partners, the Association  is in charge of communication, dissemination and community engagement activities of the project which will assist the European Commission with its ambitions of a more equal and inclusive society.

Hence, during the Kick-Off Meeting Valeria Fantini, ALDA responsible PM of the project, presented the key roles of the Association in the implementation of ESSPIN, by highlighting the timeline and the main tasks. 

With great enthusiasm, ALDA looks for the next steps to take in the implementation of the project.

 Are you interested in the project? Follow it on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn or sign up for the newsletter.

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ESSPIN is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. The duration of the project is 3 years and its budget amounts to €2 674 000.00.

ESSPIN is a project bringing together 13 leading organisations from across Europe including eight universities and three research institutions. The partners cover core elements of the ESSPIN project cross-cutting priorities such as civil society, democracy, social and economic inclusion and equality.

DOCUMENTS

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[Joint appeal by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission] 

Civilian infrastructures, residential places have been the targeted of the recent Russian attacks: this means that Ukraine is now suffering from energy shortage, which, in other words, further affect people’s lives.

Winter is no longer at the doors; it is already in the streets of Kyiv and many other cities. People do not have enough electricity, heating and even water, thus making the humanitarian situation more sensitive and urgent. Hence, as recently reported in the letter from the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) “the energy network is only able to cover 70% of peak demand power”

Constantly in touch with the delegates from the LDAs in Dnipro and Mariupol, ALDA is very much aware of the on-going situation, and it calls its members and partners to further reiterate support for Ukraine.  Specifically in this context, ALDA has worked hand in hand with the City of Gdansk to stimulate a cohesive and united action to contribute to the Ukrainian cause.

“The energy network is only able to cover 70% of peak demand power” – letter from the European Committee of the Regions – CoR

By also being among the partner of the LDA Mariupol, the City Mayor, Ms.Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, holds now the position of Chair of the WG Ukraine, calling “once again, European local governments […] to show how solidary and determined they are to help in a just cause.”

Not only the CoR and the WG Ukraine, but also the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms; together with the Commissioner for Crisis Management Committee of the Regions, have launched a call to address the shortages of power and electricity. “I am convinced” – continued Dulkiewicz – “that our call will not remain unanswered, and we will once more show the strength of the European community. Let us offer our Ukrainian friends not only moral support, but also concrete help by providing generators and energy equipment to Ukraine to help them survive the winter.”

Overall, always committed to the restoration of peace, ALDA welcomes the creation of the “rescEU energy hub” in Poland, which is meant to receive and forward the donation to Ukraine; and support the European Commission, among the most prominent international actor in this framework, invitation for everyone to make its contribution and contact the ECHO Donation unit.

DOCUMENTS

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AT A GLANCE

This project proposal aims at strengthening role of regional CSOs (NGOs and CBOs) and their mobilisation for support to decentralisation.
The proposal is based on the rationale that no government itself will give up centralised power without well – organised popular demand from below. Development of Local democracy must be achieved by the Georgian society itself and therefore Local COs must play role of mobilisers and qualified advocates of Georgian society by facilitating bottom up pressure on the government at local and national level. To perform such and ambitious task, Georgian CSOs shall transform themselves from a narrow circle of grant hunters to a popular organisations based on membership and constituency, having potential to become real actors of change.
The proposal is based on the rationale that no government itself will give up centralised power without well-organised popular demand from below. Development of Local democracy, as any development, cannot be provided it must be achieved by by the Georgian society itself and therefore Local CSOs must play role of mobilisers and qualified advocates of Georgian society by facilitating bottom up pressure on the government at local and national level. To perform such an ambitious task, Georgian regional CSOs shall transform themselves from a narrow circle of grant hunters to a popular organisations based on membership and constituency, having potential to become real actors of change.

OBJECTIVES

To build capacity of regional CSOs to monitor local government reform and represent interests of local communities at the national level.

Specific objectives:

  1. Mobilise local CSO and build their capacity in community mobilisation and lobbyism;
  2. Establish horizontal networks for exchange of information and monitoring results of implementation LG reform;
  3. Elaboration of sets of recommendations for strengthening of local democracy in Georgia and presentation these recommendations to the committee on regional Policy and LG of the parliament of Georgia
  4. Organisation of media campaign for popularisation of LG reform

EXPECTED RESULTS

Overall results of this action are strengthened role of CSOs and community leaders in process of LG reform and advocacy of local interests, increased popularity for CSOs among local population.

Specific outputs of the action are:

  • 72 CSO representatives will obtain
  • skills for organising of training for community leaders.
  • Up to 1500 representatives of regional CSOs and community leaders,
  • Thematic network of regional SCOs will be equipped with modern technology of exchange and dissemination of information regional CSO of Georgia will have possibility to present their findings to European institutions.
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DOCUMENTS

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Five years have passed since the opening of the LDA Mariupol, and so much has changed since December 9, 2017. 

If you looked out the window there was another Ukraine. The buildings were intact, streets were crowded, life was flowing quietly. Today, after a tremendous and inhumane attack directed towards Ukraine and its citizens that has lasted for more than 10 months, we find a different nation. 

But there is something that has not changed: the mission, the vision and values of LDA Mariupol and its team, which continues, today more than ever, promoting democracy, good governance and citizens engagement, with an ever-increasing determination.

On this important anniversary we want to focus on what can be rebuilt through democracy, good governance and public participation

Since 2017, the LDA Mariupol has been implementing actions towards the promotion of these concepts, and has no intention to stop. To mention a few, the Ukrainian Local Democracy Agency participated  in the “Youth for democracy” project, which was aimed at training young people to participate in decision-making at the city level. Other projects like “Empowerment of local self-government and civil society in Ukraine and Moldova through participatory democracy tools” was aimed at finding effective mechanisms of interaction and solving problems relevant to the city of Mariupol, while the project “Participatory Democracy” had the goal of implementing 12 principles of good governance in the work of local self-government in Mariupol.

These are only a few examples to highlight that, on this important anniversary, we do not want to focus on what is no longer there, but on what can be rebuilt through these exact values. 

Said with the words of Tetiana Lomakina, Delegate of the LDA Mariupol  “After the victory, the revival of Mariupol awaits us. And we believe that those bases of local democracy, those approaches of good governance, those best practices of public participation that we have been implementing for the last 5 years, will be at the heart of all processes. And that our friends and partners such as the European Association of Local Democracy will be with us.”

ALDA will never stop promoting and working with the LDA Mariupol and the other Local Democracies Agencies, in support of Ukraine and its citizens. 

We wish the Ukrainian LDA a joyful 5th anniversary, with the hope that the next one will be surrounded by harmony and peace. 

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Useful resources:

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AT A GLANCE

ALDA has been active in Belarus since 2004 and has implemented several projects together with its main partner in Belarus the NGO Lev Sapieha Foundation. SPREAD is a complementary project to TANDEM and TANDEM II which both aim at strengthening an inclusive and empowered society in Belarus by supporting the development of local communities and strengthening their cooperation with local authorities (LAs).

OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of SPREAD is the contribution to poverty reduction in the context of sustainable development, including the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed targets.
SPREAD activities are aimed at strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations and LA as a pre-condition for a more equitable, open and democratic society through support to their “own initiatives” and to actions aimed at promoting an inclusive and empowered society in Belarus.
A further target is to increase the level of information and skills of citizens in the targeted regions in order to reinforce their awareness on available tools to enhance their participation in local decision making processes and to create better conditions for citizens and CSOs to defend their rights and with interaction local authorities.

ACTIVITIES

The main activity will be the creation of citizen centres in three Belarusian regions. These centres will be hosted by an NGO in each region and will create a strong network on local development with information and training activities for LAs and civil society organisations (CSOs).
International conferences with partners and associates will take place in order to exchange best practice examples between the European partners and the Belarusian regions.
Furthermore, there will be launched a monitoring system on the implementation of laws concerning communication and cooperation between citizens and their representatives as well as information on citizen participation at the local level will be spread.
SPREAD consists of elements of support to small citizens’ initiatives focusing on how to generate constructive and result-oriented activities between citizens and local authorities.

DOCUMENTS

AT A GLANCE

WTD – Working Together for Development is a multi-annual development project designed by the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA) in cooperation with 21 international partners and associates coming from 16 different countries of the enlarged Europe. The project lasts 30 months and involves both Associations of Local Authorities and NGO networks, and aims at improving their capacities to act as development agents in and outside Europe, in partnership with European and national institutions.
WTD is based on ALDA’s long term vision of development and the method of multilateral decentralised cooperation. The project uses a multi-stakeholder approach and focuses on creating strong partnerships between Local Authorities and NGOs. Local Authorities and NGOs have extensive knowledge of their local communities, and their joint activities and cooperation play an important role in the field of development.

OBJECTIVES

Local Authorities and Non State Actors play a relevant role – fully recognised as a fundamental principle – in the framework of the EC development policies, complementary to the roles of national governments and the Community.
It is of the utmost importance to support these actors, in order to ensure their ownership of the development strategies and to favor their full involvement in the policy making process, enhancing their capacities to act as development agents in and outside Europe.

In particular, it is fundamental to foster the role of LAs and NSAs as promoters of democracy, social justice and human rights, promoting and favoring a structured dialogue within and among all types of LAs and NSAs and between them and the European Institutions, in accordance with the principles of the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action on aid effectiveness.
A greater involvement of these actors in development aspects, both at the local and at the European level, strengthening their voice in the development process, will favor the construction of a more prosperous, equitable and stable societies in the whole world.
A significant specific role in this framework is assigned to local authorities associations and civil society networks. Their core characteristic of multi-actor bodies, as well as their capacity to reach a wide number of different stakeholders and to make LAs and civil society organisations working together in a concerted manner, contribute to their more efficient action in the field of development at all levels.
This project targets local authorities associations and civil society networks in 7 different Member States. It aims at fostering the role of local authorities associations and civil society networks in the field of development, enhancing their capacities to act as development agents in and outside Europe, partnering with the European Institutions in the implementation of the EC development policies.

Through strengthening the role of NSA and LA associations in the field of development, the present proposal also aims at:

  • strengthening their capacity to build trans-national alliances and to disseminate best practices;
  • increasing the number of multi-actor partnerships and consolidating exchanges between different types of LAs and NSAs networks, within their organisations and with Community institutions;
  • strengthening the capacity of Las and NSAs platforms in the new Member States (5 new Member States are involved in the present actions) in order to make them play an active role in their countries and at the EU level, including ensuring smooth integration of EU development policies;
  • providing to LAs and NSAs networks new capacities to act as “multipliers” agents in the field of development, especially through fostering the involvement of their members at the local, regional and national level.

PROJECT’S ASSOCIATES

Besides the partners, WTD enjoys the contribution of the following project’s associates:

  • Albanian Association of Municipalities – AL
  • Communities Association of Armenia – AM
  • Croatian Institute for Local Government – HR
  • NALAG – National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia – GE
  • New Israel Fund – Shatil – IL
  • Association of Kosovo Municipalities – KS
  • ZELS – Association of the Units of Local Self-government of the Republic of Macedonia – MK
  • BCSDN – Balkan Civil Society Development Network – MK
  • The Citizens’ Pact for South Eastern Europe – SRB
  • YÖNDER – Association of Local Government Managers – TR
  • Union of Municipalities of Marmara – TR

RELATED NEWS

DOCUMENTS

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AT A GLANCE

The project is designed to support intercultural education at school and in non-formal youth environments as a vehicle to foster social inclusion, cross-cultural dialogue, and active citizenship by promoting European values.
What is the methodological approach used by this project? GEM IN uses non-formal educational approaches in formal and non-formal fields. For example, GEM IN will be used in non-formal and youth educational environments, promoting intercultural education as a key lever to enhance the acquisition of social and civic competences and to promote the ownership of shared values.

OBJECTIVES

  • Support intercultural education at school and in non-formal youth environments;
  • Enhance the acquisition of social and civic competences;
  • Promote the ownership of shared values;
  • Promote critical reflection and innovative approaches to discuss citizenship education under an intercultural perspective.

Visit the project’s website: www.gem-in.eu/en/

DOCUMENTS

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AT A GLANCE

Nowadays European cities face a number of issues including fragmentation, stigmatisation of various groups, and social exclusion. The systemic meltdown of the late 2000s as well as the European migrant crisis and other societal issues, lead to degradation of certain areas in many cities, and the consequential marginalisation of groups of people living there.
The project is creating a network with a common strategy promoting social inclusion and decreasing marginalisation by the rehabilitation of depressed and abandoned areas of European cities through street art. Street art is seen as a form of social expression, which allows engagement of communities and the regeneration of neighbourhoods; it can increase local identity, mutual understanding and solidarity. Under this project, the street art will be realised in cooperation with citizens, artists, migrants, schools and local organisations.

OBJECTIVES

• Increasing citizens’ participation and solidarity;
• Connecting people of different backgrounds and cultures;
• Regenerating depressed and abandoned areas resulting in decreased marginalisation;
• Public awareness-raising activities to prevent discrimination and intolerance.

RESULTS

  • Increased knowledge about mechanisms for social inclusion and citizens’ participation among partners
  • Increased solidarity between citizens and marginalised groups though active participation and interaction with citizens pertaining to different walks of life, cultures, economic and/or social status in street art workshops
  • Regeneration of depressed and critical areas of European cities, by using the power of street art in order to promote the intercultural dialogue and solidarity
  • Increased awareness and engagement at the local level on social urban issues
  • Dialogue between citizens and vulnerable groups (such as migrants, women and children) is encouraged during common activities and workshops at local and international level.
  • Increased awareness on European values and the importance of strengthening the European integration process to share good practices related to face social exclusion and degradation, such as street art
  • Increased awareness about importance of social inclusion and citizens’ participation for future cities development
  • Regeneration of depressed and critical areas of European cities, by using the power of street art in order to promote the intercultural dialogue and solidarity

DOCUMENTS

AT A GLANCE

FOREST replies to the fragmentation of competences in forestry management at national and international levels, by giving rise to debate around the possibility to create a standard level of competences and skills of forestry workers and promoting innovation and professionalism by joint actions and initiatives.
Debates will be channelled into three levels: technical concerning the contents of training programmes and skills required to forestry operators; legislative to harmonise authorisations to emit diploma and certificate; innovation and sustainability.

OBJECTIVES

  • Map out, discuss and exchange knowhow about forest management, VET and standard of security;
  • Promote the exchange of good practices and techniques with other European countries;
  • Improve the level of professionalism and competitiveness of forest workers at cross-border level;
  • Raise knowledge and safety standards of workers as well as the quality of their interventions;
  • Discuss the creation of a standard level of competences and skills of forestry workers, valid across national borders.

DOCUMENTS

AT A GLANCE

The Rude Awakening project is designed to make technology part of museum visit experiences so that visitors feel more connected to World War I history and cultural heritage. With the support of digital and audio-visual contents, based on the stories of WWI soldiers, “The Rude Awakening” wants to lead a new educational and emotional perspective on war and peace. Visitors will learn by putting themselves in the shoes of a soldier throughout the visit to the museum, thus they will better understand war memories and soldier’s life.
An added value of the project? A videogame will be developed through it! This will be the core part of an innovative cultural tour that a visitor can experience, both physically and virtually, accompanied by one or more characters – Austro-Hungarian soldiers of WWI.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the project is to increase access and improving the fruition of sites of European historical and cultural heritage through an innovative approach based on digital and audio-visual contents installed or projected within the museums and historical sites. This will allow visitors to experience and emotional learn the themes of war and, consequently, the importance of peace.

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DOCUMENTS

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AT A GLANCE

The VALID project aims at building a strong network of towns committed to intercultural exchange, using a bottom-up approach and through promotion of cultural participation. Cultural participation is seen as a tool for improving social inclusion, active citizenship and intercultural dialogue, as well as fostering solidarity and respect for cultural diversity. The partnership involves Kosovo*, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia, Italy, Montenegro, France, Greece and Slovenia. Considering the emerging intercultural tensions and social disharmony, together with the raise of citizen’s discontent and their demand for more inclusion in policy making all over Europe, there is an evident need to invest in cultural diversity and dialogue. Therefore, VALID aims at reinforcing the integration of intercultural and social perspectives into a wide range of public policies, using them as a concept and as a policy tool basis for managing diversity and finally, for recognising European cities as key players in intercultural policy.
To cope with this new socio–economical and spatial changes, there is a need for cooperation and intercultural dialogue in order to reduce the risk of exclusion. Exclusion is nourished by economic shortages, cultural incomprehension and marginalisation of a growing part of the urban population. VALID pinpoints cultural participation as an effective tool for establishing and upholding this process, generating counter narratives and providing a more inclusive pathway for citizen’s participation in policy making while raising awareness on key social issues.

OBJECTIVES

The project aims at building a strong network of towns committed to intercultural exchange, using a bottom-up approach and the promotion of cultural participation. Cultural participation is seen as a tool for improving social inclusion, active citizenship, and intercultural dialogue, as well as fostering solidarity and respect for cultural diversity. In its bigger picture, the project openly aims at bridging the local and the European level, building cooperation from a grassroots approach, and at the same time constructing a European network creating a wider common intercultural frame. Go for it, VALID!

ACTIVITIES

  • Four international events over the course of two years -in Greece, Slovenia, Italy and Kosovo*- which will provide the occasion to share good practices and suggestions to improve intercultural dialogue in local policy making of EU Country Members, Candidate States and Potential Candidate States.
  • Working meetings among project partners during which a common methodology for the local paths development will be shared, in order to assure coherence to the activities to be developed in the different contexts and comparability of results.
  • In between the events, each partner will organise a series of local activities employing various working methods: coffee house meetings, interactive toolkits, community engaged art forms and street actions with citizens.

DOCUMENTS

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AT A GLANCE

3STEPS – Fostering Education and Inclusion of disadvantages refugee and migrant learners intents to scale up two good practices on inclusive learning invented on a local level. 3STEPS will introduce VMs special Basic Education classes from the concept of “Learning network for migrants” (Lernnetzwerk für MigrantInnen), which have been developed and well experienced by Multicultural Association at a local level in the Austrian region of Tirol since 2016.
The second good practice “Tandem Now” has been a transnational European project within Leonardo da Vinci Transfer of Innovation program starting in the year 2012. The “Tandem Now” approach involving Ethnic Role Model Mentors aims at helping young people with a migration background to develop social and professional skills and the support needed to stay in school. The project uses the motivating effect of ethnic role models combining it with a blended mentoring approach that was especially developed according to the needs of migrants.

OBJECTIVES

3STEPS-project intends to promote inclusive education and training as well as the education of disadvantaged learners. 3STEPS aim to achieve this by supporting teacher/trainers of educational institutions with the capacities and learning curricula to promote the social and professional inclusion of young refugees and migrants.

ACTIVITIES

Basic Education methods will be scaled vertically from the national level to a transnational level, while the Ethnic Role Model Mentoring approach of TANDEM NOW project will be scaled horizontally developing it to a broader target group (from the age of 15 to 25) and to more European countries.

Check the project’s website: www.3steps.eu

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DOCUMENTS

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AT A GLANCE

New technologies, and especially social media, facilitate democratisation by empowering citizens to express themselves directly towards policymakers, and by giving room to new forms and means of expression. All this makes democracy more representative and participatory. However, it also has more negative aspects, as demonstrated by the rise of fake news and disinformation. Antidemocratic forces can easier than ever distort information flows, and tech giants can benefit from users’ data mining. All these phenomena will considerably shake democracy rules, and have a negative impact on the future of Europe.

The project offers a collective space for policy makers and citizens from 15 countries to organise international events and other activities to stimulate democratic and civic participation across Europe, and to support democratic Union in digital era.

The project is going to answer these three main challenges:

Impact of digital culture on democracy

  • Helping policymakers and citizens navigate the digital media environment
  • Media and information literacy as critical elements in good governance

European and local elections in a digital age

  • Increasing societal resilience to disinformation and propaganda, and mobilising counter-forces.
  • Countering fake news and disinformation spread online in local and European elections.

Digital participation

  • Stimulating civic engagement through media and information.
  • Bridging digital divide and political participation.
  • Finding innovative ways to participate in political decision-making (e-consultation, e-decision-making, e-information sharing).

OBJECTIVES

The project priority is to debate the future of Europe and challenging Euroscepticism. That is why, the main objective of this project is to provide European local and regional policymakers and citizens with tools to support civic participation in a digital culture era.

ACTIVITIES

Within the project, a diverse group of 1400 citizens will contribute to design and implementation of five international events filled up with trainings, collaborative spaces, community workshops, and public debates.

The events will result in publishing policy highlights and collectively created Policy papers on how public institutions in Europe (including the Union’s institutions) can operate in face of digital transformation, and how to support democratic forms of bottom-up civic mobilization in digital era.

By facilitating exchange and policy learning among participants, the project will contribute to increase their resilience to disinformation and propaganda, and foster counter-actions, which is a fundamental value for the future of European democracy.

Check the project’s website: www.digitaldemocracy-network.com

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DOCUMENTS

AT A GLANCE

ACHIEVE aims to develop the EU identity starting from a reflection on the common history, art and religions among cities from Central and South-Eastern Europe as a tool to fight the growing Euroscepticism.

For these reasons, these are the topics at the challenges that ACHIEVE wants to face:
promoting knowledge about one’s own territory and then on the other countries involved
fostering discussion on the concepts of identity and Euroscepticism, whose causes will be investigated at local level in all the targeted countries and shared in occasion of international events. Thirdly, the network of cities will share tools and methods to create a counter narrative against Euroscepticism.
To this purpose, citizens will identify creative ways to develop substantial messages countering the growing distrust and disaffection for Europe, creating a “Global Citizenships’ map”. These contents will be used to develop an interactive website expected to be used as a didactical tool, beyond the project.

OBJECTIVES

  • Raise awareness to the common memory, history and values of EU countries and to the EU objectives (like peace promotion), its values and the wellbeing of its inhabitants through debates, reflections and networks
  • Encourage civic and democratic participation of citizens at EU level by developing their knowledge on the process of political elaboration of EU and promoting opportunities of civic, volunteer or intercultural engagement at EU level.

ACTIVITIES

  1. Erdut Municipality organizes the 1st international event aimed at publicly launching the event and sharing an overview on Euroscepticism in every partner’s country;
  2. Local paths phase 1: activities are organized by every partner to engage local citizens in deepening their knowledge on the history, art, religion of their territory and collecting material about it;
  3. Peje Municipality (Kosovo) organizes the 2nd international event, aiming at sharing the respective local findings and introducing the concept of EU citizenship;
  4. Local paths phase 2: activities are organized by every partner to engage local citizens in reflecting on EU citizenship and Euroscepticism;
  5. The House of National Minority (Prague, Czech Republic) organizes the 3rd international event, aiming at sharing the respective local findings and identifying methods to build a counter-narrative to Euroscepticism
  6. Local paths phase 3: activities are organized by every partner to engage citizens in discussing the methods to counter Euroscepticism that have been identified in the international event and in identifying the traces of European identity embedded in their local context. They will do this by collecting interviews, pictures, videos, stories that will feed the “Global Citizenship Map”
  7. Breganze Municipality and Rezzara Institute (Vicenza, Italy) organize the 4th and final international event “Bored of Borders” to promote EU identity and the crossing of mental and physical borders.
  8. Local paths phase 4: activities are organized by every partner to share with their local citizens the project experience
  9. Creation of the communication tools such as the Global Citizenship Map, throughout the all duration of the project.

DOCUMENTS

  • No documents available

AT A GLANCE

The proposal strives to turn sporadic experiments (e.g. a few cities in former Communist countries painting high-rise blocks in the frame of isolating projects, without any concepts behind colouring and targeting community engagement) into bottom-up initiatives driven by youth in a co-creation process aimed at urban and social sustainability of quarters. In other words, SPRAY believes in the opportunity to reconcile street art and urban and social regeneration through the empowerment of youths at the European level for them to act as multipliers of sustainability in their own communities.
SPRAY responds to the need of regenerating degraded quarters in both urban and social terms, by using art and, specifically, street art. Moreover, it empowers young citizens to take up the renewal of their own town through a bottom-up approach, while inverting the perspective associating graffiti with vandalism and the disfigurement of public spaces.
By capitalising on experiences, techniques and knowledge at the European level, the proposal aims at testing the interconnection between contemporary arts and social complexity of degraded quarters to transform them in sustainable urban hubs. Urban regeneration pursued through artistic and cultural participation by citizens can trigger a virtuous circle of local identities and public spaces rediscovery.

OBJECTIVES

  • Exploring and understanding street art as a form of art
  • Contributing to urban and social regeneration of suburbs
  • Boosting civic belonging and responsibility among young citizens towards livelihood of peripheral urban spaces
  • Offering an opportunity to learn street art techniques to start an artistic career for youth
  • Fostering intercultural competences, respect for diversity and EU values
  • Trigger active and responsible participation of local communities with respect to issues of urban and social regeneration.
  • Improving the level of key competences and skills of young people, including those with fewer opportunities.
  • Fostering active citizenship, intercultural dialogue and social inclusion, by increasing learning mobility opportunities for young people.

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Advance Planning Visit (27-28 May 2019) Bassano del Grappa, Italy
Prior the exchange, the leaders of the national groups will gather in Bassano for a 2 days meeting to define a well-structured agenda for the activities that will take place during the exchange and evaluate the feasibility of the Wall Experience (i.e. where to do it and how) and the modalities. Moreover, they will shoot brief videos of self-presentation called “Street art and me” that will be circulated among the selected participants through project partners, for the youngsters to get to know them in advance and smooth the team-working dynamics during the exchange.

Activity 2: Youth exchange – six days – 14-19 October 2019
The participants of the youth exchange will attend Street Art Masterclass and will reflect on the nexus between arts and urban and social regeneration of quarters, with art expert providing examples of successful experiments of the kind at the European level. Art experts will translate into a street art work the ideas developed by the youths during the week, on surfaces previously identified. Youths will also contribute, by working (painting or spraying) on blank canvas. There will be a final event to celebrate the street art work with the local citizenship, as well as the conclusion of the youth exchange.

Activity 3: GRAFternoon
Once back to its country, each national group will organise a “GRAFternoon” in its own community, a creative workshop open to the public where they will showcase the art works done in Italy. Youths will gift their city the canvas they have produced in Italy, deposing it in a public space that will have been previously chosen.
A Facebook group will be developed, so participants will be able to share contents, photos and impressions. An Instagram profile will be also opened, as a professional tool where to display the art works in Bassano and back home.

DOCUMENTS

  • No documents available

AT A GLANCE

ALDA will host 2 French volunteers for a period of 12 months in the office in Skopje, North Macedonia.

This project was inspired by young people as drivers of society and the hope for a better European future, the need to find new ways to reach out to them and motivate engagement, for given the proper encouragement youth can bring significant and needed change. With the development of new technologies, we also witness a creative approach proposed by youngsters in facing the problems that concern them and proposing innovative solutions

The project will give opportunity to 2 volunteers to immerse them-self in the Macedonian experience, improve their skills in communication, languages and youth work. They will contribute to the multi-cultural team of ALDA Skopje and will create different tools such as videos, photos, articles and interviews on the topics of the project as well as promotional materials used for “Erasmus +” programme.

ACTIVITIES

The project activities are covering 3 topics:

  • Youth social activism and regional cooperation
  • Intercultural understanding & European Citizenship
  • Youth development & Francophonie

Youth social activism and regional cooperation and Intercultural understanding & European Citizenship

These topics will be tackled through the activities of one of the main projects of ALDA Skopje conducted in the Balkan region and which is currently in its inception is the project “Youth Compact”. The project tackles the issues of rule of law, fundamental rights and economic and social issues from the perspective of youth, the idea is that across these issues young people accept and exercise European values and nurture common European identity, as well as recognise the potential of their own countries.

The volunteers will be included in the Raising awareness activities in the framework of this project, they will work mainly on the communication activities: news articles, photography, online campaign, video and audio campaigns, info graphics on relevant topics, website and internet platform management. A special highlight will be put on stimulation of creative communication tools and technics. They will also be present on the regional events organised in the country in order for them to engage and exchange with other youngsters from the region and thus will gain direct insight into the Balkan youth context.

Youth development & Francophonie

On this topic the volunteers will be engaged in activities in the framework of ALDA Skopje’s programme for decentralised cooperation between partners from Normandy and Macedonia. The volunteers will be engaged in the activities of the cooperation between Normandy and Macedonia on the topics of Remembrance, cultural heritage and youth, as many youth exchanges on these topics will be organised they will exchange with youth from Normandy and Macedonia. This activity will also include the topic of European remembrance through the discovery of the common history of European countries with a focus on the First World War.

Moreover, ALDA Skopje started, with the help of EVS volunteers, in 2016, the ALDA Youth Club around Francophonie where students from Skopje interested in French language and culture can join to learn more about French traditions and improve their French language skills or more technical competences, as animation, video or photography.

Finally, one of the main aims of this project is to promote intercultural dialogue through creative exchanges and mobility. In order to encourage creativity and personal development of the volunteers, they will be encouraged to develop their own ideas and initiatives for projects on this topic that could be implemented with the help of ALDA Skopje. Therefore, their activities will also involve project development, brainstorming and drafting project idea with the assistance of the staff.

Volunteers will also be encouraged to prepare and participate in activities on these topics, to share their experience, to promote youth mobility among our partners while presenting the possibilities of the European educational programmes.

DOCUMENTS

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AT A GLANCE

The project is conceived to create a network of European smart historic villages that enhances the citizens’ involvement and participation in the socio-economic life of their villages.
Through the project, social commitment actions are promoted as well as local development strategies based on the opportunities offered by the material and immaterial cultural heritage of the historic territories involved in this initiative. This heritage is an asset for the EU smart, sustainable, and inclusive rural growth.
Who will be involved in the project? Forty small rural municipalities with nearly 10, 000 inhabitants participated in the project #EuSAVE!

OBJECTIVES

  • Creation of transnational thematic working groups in the framework of the European historic network of villages;
  • Identification of local development strategies based on the assets, historical values and cultural heritage of rural areas;
  • Mapping and analysis of best practices and successful initiatives stemming from synergies between social innovation and cultural heritage;
  • Development of joint development strategies and action lines for smart historic villages;
  • Elaboration of a transferability and sustainability plan to ensure the continuity of the network beyond the duration of the project.

DOCUMENTS

AT A GLANCE

Today, we are facing increased growth of xenophobic attacks and rhetoric in Europe and with a new phenomenon in the Balkan states: as of 2018, the Balkan countries are experiencing a new influx of refugees from Africa and the Middle East and a corresponding increase in asylum applications. That is why through IMPACT project partners from EU and the Western Balkan countries strive to build a better understanding, tolerance and solidarity between refugees and European public to prevent radicalisation and the creation of “otherness” on both sides.

The main goal of “IMPACT – Inclusion Matters! using Performing Arts towards Cohesion and Tolerance” is to foster social inclusion by developing art strategies, techniques and methodologies which target refugees and citizens at local level. This project will contribute to foster social inclusion by promoting active participation, cohesion, tolerance and respect of human rights.

The project aims to develop an innovative pedagogy that uses art forms as a means to bring young refugees, asylum seekers and local communities together.
Within this project, by training artists who will develop new tools and methodologies on performing arts to work with refugees and citizens, youth, local, regional and international stakeholders will become multipliers of this project outputs, ideas and methodology.

OBJECTIVES

The project is designed to foster social inclusion by developing art strategies, techniques and methodologies which target refugees and citizens at the local level. The project will develop an innovative pedagogy that uses art forms as a means to bring young refugees, asylum seekers, and local communities together.

TARGETS

Target groups directly involved in the project activity

  • Artists
  • Refugees
  • Local citizens
  • Audiences
  • Local Authorities and other relevant stakeholders
  • Participating organisations

ACTIVITIES

The project consists of 3 actions: Transnational meetings and exchange of practices which aim to coordinate and implement well the activities as well as strengthen the competences of project partners as well as artists involved in the process. Multiplier events through local workshops, local events and international event which are key for dissemination of results. Intellectual outputs to be produced in coordination with all partners and are the main communication tools outputs. The local activities will be implemented in all partner countries.