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MI20, MIICT and FACE Projects joint webinar about innovation and social inclusion

At the occasion of the final event of the Mind Inclusion project, celebrate inclusion and innovation during the 4th Mind Inclusion Webinar!

Inclusion is a daily challenge, strengthened once more by the current global health crisis. The need to talk about the struggles of those that are unheard and to reflect on actions to take in order to “leave no one behind”, becomes stronger every day. It is with this purpose that the three European projects Mind Inclusion 2.0, MIICT and FACE come together in one joint event to talk about innovation and inclusion: Shaping inclusive societies: the promising path of innovation.

The 6th of May at 15:00 CEST, three experts involved in the development of services fostering inclusion will hold a panel discussion about how innovation can bring new opportunities and perspectives in the fight for inclusion. Departing from their own experiences and the lessons learnt through their work, the experts will focus specifically on three groups: people with disabilities, migrants, and youth.

The event will provide the participants with the opportunity to reflect about and to learn from the expertise of the three panellists and from the best practices developed in the framework of the three projects. In this way, each of us can make a step forward in this daily challenge, towards a more inclusive society!

SPEAKERS:

  • Andrea Giaretta, Project Manager, Cooperativa Margherita
  • Kurt Abela, Service Coordinator, kellimni.com
  • Florian Huber, Project Manager, SYNYO GmbH

JOIN THE WEBINAR:

Register and Join us to these great talks!

MI2.0, MIICT and FACE Projects joint webinar about innovation and social inclusion

#MI20Webinar

About the projects :

MIICT – ICT Enabled Public Services for Migration is a project funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 program and addressing the challenge of migration integration through ICT-enabled solutions.Through a co-design approach with multidisciplinary stakeholders, MIICT project aims to provide migrants and refugees access to key public services, public agencies and NGOs with ICT enabled services and the necessary agency to take advantage of those services; as well as to promote inclusion and to reduce the potential for discrimination and bias. More information: https://www.miict.eu/

Started in November 2018 and funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission, the Mind Inclusion 2.0 project aims to find sustainable and inclusive solutions that help caregivers improve their skills, on one hand, and allow disabled individuals to participate in social life on the other hand. The APP that the project is developing wishes to help the People with Disabilities to have access to public spaces and to exercise their rights. The project consortium gathers lead partner Margherita: Società Cooperativa Onlus (Italy) together with Polibienestar Research Institute, INTRAS Foundation (Spain), Social IT Software & Consulting Srl (Italy), Lietuvos sutrikusio intelekto zmoniu globos bendrija «Viltis» (Lithuania) and ALDA (France). More information: https://www.mindinclusion.eu/

The FACE project is a project funded by the European Commission through the ERASMUS+ program. Based on the recognition that there is a lack of knowledge and tools on how to handle the increasing phenomenon of cyberbullying amongst teens and children the project aims at developing guidelines, materials, networks and innovative methodologies combining multidisciplinary artistic approaches to tackle this important issue. FACE is designed to involve the following different target groups (youth workers, students, parents, local authorities and other stakeholders) to design together tools to prevent and fight cyberbullying among youth. More information: https://face.oonion.eu/

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The Agency for Local Democracy (LDA) in Tunisia has just successfully held part Ⅱ of the training Psychomotor Activities Adopted from the Circus for Social Inclusion. This activity, carried out in partnership with COPE Italy, is within the project  Je Repars de Toi (I Restart from You), which aims to reinforce rights of people with disabilities in Tunisia and promote a culture of inclusion.

While part Ⅰ lasted for 9 days in September 2020, part Ⅱ took place for 11 days from March 24 to April 07, 2021, for the benefit of 25 participants who were educators in specialised rehabilitation centres for people with disabilities and young sportspeople. During the course, the participants explored innovative, unconventional, and flexible exercises that they could employ in various contexts with different disabilities.

It was essential to provide a tolerant non-judgmental space where participants could express themselves, be creative, and develop their capacities

Thus, Tommaso Negri and Leonardo Variale – both instructors in circus arts – presented a plethora of teaching methodologies and techniques. Under their careful supervision, participants explored the importance of creating an engaging, amusing, and safe environment, in which learners acquire confidence to participate without the fear of being judged or labeled. It was essential to provide a tolerant non-judgmental space where participants could express themselves, be creative, and develop their capacities. Collaboration and cooperation among learners and educators were highlighted as key pillars to successfully carry out these activities. Indeed, the educators reinforced their competencies on a learner-centred approach that is based on the premises of teamwork, integration, progression, adaptation, and communication.

The materials used in activities – be they juggling, acrobatic, and balance  – were affordable, simple, and recycled: from cans, handkerchiefs, and tennis balls; to sticks, barrels, wooden boards, and pedals. In so doing,  the rehabilitation centres could get them and adopt the exercises in their syllabus. Furthermore, using these tools testifies how creativity and innovation could be realised in our environment with already-existing objects.

It was thrilling that a total of 30 students from rehabilitation centres for people with deaf, motor, and mental disabilities visited the training. The young visitors were enthusiastic and delighted to participate in the diverse activities designed by the educators. This was also possible thanks to a prior lesson planning, thanks to which good organisation and coherence were ensured.

By the end of the training, the participants made an outstanding development in organising, adapting, and managing the sessions thanks to their commitment and motivation. It was extremely encouraging to receive their positive feedback and witness their engagement and dedication to their work.

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Last March 29th, took place, by videoconference, the “European Stakeholders’ Platform of the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at the Local Level” – an important session organised by the Council of Europe to review the state of the democracy and good governance in the CoE-member countries. Such an assessment has been carried out according to the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) and the 12 principles of Good Governance.

ALDA has received the accreditation to implement ELoGE in Croatia and North Macedonia until June 2023

More in particular, the meeting was the occasion for ALDA, and other European Oganisations, to presents the accreditation and renewal requests to implement ELoGE in targeted territories.

We are thus proud and excited to announce that ALDA, has received the accreditation to implement ELoGE in Croatia and North Macedonia until June 2023.

Similarly to our past actions in Moldova and Ukraine, during the next 2 years ALDA will deliver specialised trainings to local and regional authorities, civil society organisations and citizens of around 15 Croatian and Macedonian municipalities. Such courses will provide those stakeholders with an in- depth knowledge of democratic processes and tools, enabling and monitoring the implementation of the 12 principles of good democratic governance at the local level.

We look forward to continue our mission of empowering local communities all over the Enlarged Europe, working side by side with the Council of Europe and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, by means of our strong partnership and shared vision.

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On Tuesday, April 13th – ALDA Secretary General Secretary Antonella Valmorbida has been invited, with other experts, to take part in the Committee of Ministers’ hearing session at the Council of Europe. This is the first time that Civil Society Organisations have been invited to join; thus this occasion gained particular relevance in the process of making citizens’ voice heard at European level.

Entitled “Elections during the Covid-19 crisis: the role of civil society organisation”, the informal exchange of views was structured on two rounds of questions. ALDA Secretary General was among the representatives of CSOs invited to the first moment of discussion, together with:

  • Mr Ken Godfrey, Executive Director, European Partnership for Democracy;
  • Ms Tanja Hollstein, Senior Election Adviser, Westminster Foundation for Democracy;
  • Ms Ana Rusu, Senior Election Adviser, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Warsaw.

CSOs can play an essential role […] in ensuring “that electoral processes are efficient, trusted and in line with international standards”

During the “Question A” panel, experts and professionals got the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience as far as the work of CSOs concerns, in light of the current health crisis. More in depth, guest speakers discussed how Civil Society Organisations, in general, have been able to keep contacts with  their public, to continue their work, while adapting their methods. Besides, experts reflected on how the election processes have been managed, also to ensure voter information, education and outreach.

The second half of the session was dedicated to the “Question B” panel, investigating if the Covid-19 pandemic favoured both the use of new digital technologies in electoral processes and awareness raising campaigns. Besides, guests speakers reflected on both the advantages and risks of technological tools (e-registration, e-voting, counting) themselves.

Finally, as reported in the Concluding Remarks, the role of CSOs in acting in an “unbiased and impartial way” was underlined, especially  as far as the promotion of “trust in the electoral processes” concerns. Furthermore, it has been noted how, Civil Society Organisations can play an essential role, together with authorities, in ensuring “that electoral processes are efficient, trusted and in line with international standards”

ALDA is motivated to keep its commitment both at local and international level in promoting democracy and citizens’ participation; welcoming and boosting for this initiative of mutual-share among CSOs and institutions.

***

Useful links:

Read Antonella Valmorbida’s full speech

To further read on the Concluding Remarks click on this link

To know more on the speakers please visit the CoE Agenda

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Members’ participation and active involvement are two cornerstones of ALDA’s work and the basis of our strength and added value. 

This is not only a programmatic and theoretic approach, but also concrete actions taken by the Association, whose democratic life is relaunched and refreshed every 4 years, concurrently with the appointment of the Governing Board of ALDA, that has now approved as one of their first actions the activation and animation of the new ALDA Working Groups (WG). 

As you can read in our Strategic Plan the importance of sharing and exchanging knowledge and expertise with professionals is crystal clear, as well as the importance of boosting the democratic and participatory life of our association.

Thus, the intention is to create seven Working Groups which will be focused on the main areas of interests for ALDA and its members, as  reported below:

  1. Democracy and Local Development;
  2. Environment;
  3. Digitalisation;
  4. Cooperation between CSOs and the Private Sector;
  5. Eastern Partnership/Russia and Central Asia cooperation;
  6. South-Eastern Europe Cooperation and
  7. Middle-East, Africa and Turkey Cooperation

To participate  fill in this form

More in detail, each group will be animated and supported by a staff member, and co-chaired  by either a Governing Board or an Advisory Board Member appointed to that specific area and a willing member taking part in it. The objective is to set a fruitful exchange (mostly “digital”), while collaborating with ALDA Staff and among the members to turn the seven areas into events, meetings, and of course exchange opinions, cooperation, projects and expertise on that.

How to join? If you are already an ALDA Member and you are willing to participate do not hesitate to fill in this form, made specifically for you! Beside, this opportunity will be included in the Application form for new members. 

Apply by May 15th 2021. Please note: in case you are still interested in joining a WG, you can still contact us after the dealdline by email: membership@alda-europe.eu

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ALDA joins the Earth Day 2021 as a partner! Within the LIFE Metro Adapt project we will celebrate the Earth Day with the exclusive screening of the theatre performance “Pale Blue Dot” with the participation of the director and actor Andrea Brunello and the theater company Arditodesio.

On April 22nd, a month and a day after the spring equinox, the world celebrates the Earth Day, the largest environmental event that represents an extra opportunity to remind ourselves about the importance of protecting the planet, providing insights and essential information on the most urgent environmental issues such as global warming, deforestation, extreme weather events, air pollution. This year’s theme is “Restore Our Earth”, which “focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems. In this way, the theme rejects the notion that mitigation or adaptation are the only ways to address climate change. It is up to each and every one of us to Restore Our Earth not just because we care about the natural world, but because we live on it. We all need a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health & survival, and happiness. A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity”.

April 22 at 8:15 pm: Celebrate the Earth Day with us!

More than 1 billion people in 192 countries join the Earth Day activities each year, with thousands of events organized both online and in presence. The Metro Adapt project, funded by the LIFE programme of the European Union, joins this initiative in collaboration with the theater company Arditodesio, projecting a unique and moving theater show “Pale Blue Dot” which aims to inform and create awareness on climate change.

This incredible initiative aims to explain the risks associated with climate change (e.g. extreme weather events, flooding, thermal anomalies, etc.) and the urgent need to regenerate urban areas that are increasingly affected by the extreme weather phenomena.

The story tells of the space probe Voyager 1 whose destiny entwines with that of its suicidal creator, that of his dreamer son and that of the Planet Earth. As the spacecraft gets farther away from the solar system, everything falls into perspective, it becomes painfully clear that our little Pale Blue Dot, the Earth, is the most precious spaceship and it needs to be protected with no hesitation and no compromise. What will happen?

The show aims to question each one of us on our duty to protect the planet, and wonders if we are really ready to do so.

The show will be broadcasted Legambiente Youtube Platform and Metro Adapt Facebook page.

  • Duration: 80 min
  • The play is by and with Andrea Brunello.
  • Directed by Christian Di Domenico.
  • Music by Enrico Merlin.
  • Promoted within the LIFE Metro Adapt Project.

Registration is mandatory at this link: https://bit.ly/39y93Tj

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XlAarfwEVE

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Re-conceptualising  tourism can be a solution for improving the sector while promoting the local economy and sustainable development. In this regard, the Co.Co.Tour project is doing a great job on safeguarding and promoting smart inclusive and sustainable growth of the Coastal Communities in the Mediterranean. 

In this purpose they have been working on the implementation of a common strategy based on community participation in the target areas. The establishment of a cross border eco-museum network has allowed the creation of a tourist package, the design of a smartphone application for visitors, and the improvement of the accessibility and participation of local workers and communities. This project represents a new phase of tourism in the region, which has already been proven to be a success in the cities of Himara (Albany), Herceg Novi (Montenegro) and Tricase (Italy), Corfu (Greece) and Messolonghi (Greece).

Co.Co. Tour has great potential to continue changing the tourism model in the entire Mediterranean region.

Co.Co. Tour has great potential to continue changing the tourism model in the entire Mediterranean region. By taking into account the specificities of rural hinterlands of the coastal communities, the project can provide matching resources for the potential applicants to the program. Local authorities have already recognized the importance of the implementation of the eco-museums model to support the sustainable development of tourism in the region. 

Within the PANORAMED initiative, a governance platform that supports the process of strengthening and developing multilateral cooperation frameworks in the Mediterranean region, the Co.Co.Tour project has been considered as the ideal example of how tourism can be transformed and developed in a sustainable way. Furthermore, benefiting from the above-mentioned initiative, the project is able to keep working on creating new opportunities and developing solutions to common challenges in the area. 

More information on:
LDA Nikšić
PANORAMED – Interreg 
Our previous news on Co.Co Tour

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From 1 to 17 the UN has defined sustainable development goals, which should guide our actions and become our compass. Yet, how can we turn those goals into actions, making them tangible and understood by all of us? Of course it is a great challenge, but with a little bit of effort everything is possible. Hence, when developing its projects, ALDA has those SDGs in mind and designs its activities in order to not only raise awareness on them, but also to stimulate a change and promote concrete actions for their success. Let’s have a closer look!

For example, SDG 4 stands for “quality education”, which goes from inclusive learning to guarantee good education as well as supporting lifelong learning. ALDA’s Piece project, just to mention one initiative, is intended to understand and react to the needs of different communities in Europe through trainings and education. In other words, empowering people, by giving them tools and knowledge to become a valuable resource for local societies. Hence, by designing this project, and by including different partners, the final outcome will be the promotion of positive and long-lasting change, while making SDG 4 as a tangible concept.

ALDA has SDGs in mind and designs its activities in order to promote concrete actions for their success

But let’s continue with other goals. The SDG 16 tackles “peace, justice and strong institutions”, concepts which are pretty often used and discussed,especially the fist and the second, but how we can really address them is a different matter. Following the example above-mentioned, starting from the Schumann Declaration, the DESIRE project is willing to raise awareness on this milestone in European Union history. In detail, the project will stimulate participants to reflect on EU values – be they peace, justice and solidarity – by using different artistic and visual tools. 

As the case of the two previous projects, also EPIC project is directed to understand and address the challenges posed by the integration of migrants in medium-sized realities. And how is this connected to SDGs? Here we come: not only SDG 10 but also 11 and 17 are taken into account. SDGs are in fact strictly related to one-another spurring an holistic approach, a circular action that involves all of these goals. In fact, EPIC project aims at “reducing inequalities” (SDG 10), by supporting and developing “sustainable cities and communities” (SDG 11), within which migrants will settle and actively join. Furthermore, by including different actors – from municipalities, to universities and CSOs, EPIC has turned goal 17 on “partnership for goals” as a concrete and successful reality.

Finally, our projects also focus on the environment and planet. Here we would like to introduce to you FOREST project. It goes without saying that the aim of this initiative is within the forestry sector.  Thus, it is willing to increase and unify the fragmented knowledge as far as forestry management concerns, both at national and international levels. In this case, the project has been tailored having SDGs 13 and 15 in mind. The former is intended to fight climate change, while the latter focuses on “life on land”, that means acting in order to protect ecosystems and biodiversity. By improving the level of professionalism and competitiveness of forest workers at cross-border level for example, the idea of the project is to safeguard these green realities which are the habitat for different species and are essential for actors as far as climate concerns.

These are a bunch of examples of ALDA projects, but if you check our page you will find plenty of projects, each of them related to specific SDGs.

We are also delighted to share with you the latest issue of the SDG Watch Europe Newsletter, on which you can find several articles from which to draw inspiration, including news on our projects!

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How to turn the relationship among European societies and migrants more inclusive? In order to answer this question, we would like to share with you reliable documents which have been published within MIICT project. Thus, the latter already presented recommendations to various stakeholders – be they decision makers, lobbying groups and other interest groups. Released in March 2020, the first policy brief highlighted nine key policy areas to be addressed in the context of integration of migrants in Europe: starting from employment, social inclusion and anti-racism, to housing, health, education, human trafficking, legal issues as well as information and communication technology. In addition, besides expressing several suggestions regarding these areas, it also underlines country-specific recommendations for Spain, Italy and Cyprus.

Nine key policy areas to be addressed in the context of integration of migrants in Europe

More recently, in March 2021, the MIICT project issued a second policy brief  to present further recommendations on existing policies around migration issues. It is by capitalising on the findings from its first policy brief as well as on those of the Joint Migration Policy Roundtable that the latter has been organised by MIICT in cooperation with H2020-“sister”-projects (REBUILD, NADINE, MICADO, EASYRIGHTS and WELCOME). The roundtable discussions occurred between the 14th and the 16th of October 2020 and led to the publication of a Joint Migration Policy Whitepaper.

The MIICT second policy brief builds on the Whitepaper and expresses further MIICT-related recommendations. It emphasises:

  • the relevance of the cooperation and coordination among stakeholders and organisations rather than individuals;
  • the momentum of digitalisation of public services related to COVID-19 pandemic.

It focuses on how digital transformation and existing technological solutions (e.g. translation services) could result in multi-faceted ICT solutions that respect cultural diversity among final users. In this context, it also addresses the issue of funding and other options for the sustainability of solutions. The document concludes that the European Commission needs to play a pivotal role for supporting the sustainability and roll-out. Finally, the second policy brief mapped out possible obstacles and challenges that have to be taken into consideration for further policy development.

The next step will focus on the distribution and dissemination of the policy recommendations. Future local and European Policy Roundtables will be implemented during 2021 for revising and extending the recommendations against the background of the extended ICT-solution piloting.

To know more on the Policy Paper, read our previous news

Find out more: https://www.miict.eu

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Our members, partners and followers know very well how “active involvement of citizens” in the development and maintenance of democracy is a crucial aspect in ALDA mission. Nonetheless, ALDA is very conscious of the challenges that every citizen, every local community has to face. That is why, when developing its projects, it has a clear vision on which objectives have to be achieved in order to sow seeds of change. 

In light of this, the growing presence of technology has an undeniable impact in our lives and affects the way of living of each of us, citizens of the so-called digital era.

Therefore, on March 18th, our Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida actively joined the online event promoted by the Metropolitan City of Milan: Milano Digital Week, so that to share ALDA experience and vision in this realm. 

It comes by itself, that when discussing technology and digital tools one cannot forget to mention the APProach project. Lead by ALDA and in partnership with the city of Milan, APProach is a pilot project targeting European mobile citizens, i.e. EU citizens resident in another EU country, to help them have better communication with their welcoming city. Among the main project’s achievements, we have to mention the development of a digital ecosystem aimed to assist and support EU mobile citizens in getting acquainted with their new city and have access to fundamental services. Such a platform has been developed following a participative approach, thanks to the active participation of EU mobile citizens and our partner cities, namely Etterbeek (Belgium), Milan (Italy), Nea Smyrni (Greece), Paris (France), Vejle (Denmark), Lisbon (Portugal), Amsterdam (Netherlands) & Warsaw (Poland). (more in the project here).

“The development of democracy is the development of the city itself”

Entitled “APProach: European Citizens, digital and participation”, the Milano Digital Week panel took place virtually last Thursday. At the very beginning, Mr. Lipparini, Councillor for Participation, Active Citizenship, Open Data; together with Mr. Maurizio Molinari, Head of the European Parliament Office in Milan and Mrs. Roberta Cocco, Councillor for Digital Transformation and Civic Services gave their opening remarks, while highlighting the great example of the APProach project when discussing digitalisation on a broad scale.

Furthermore, Mrs. Emanuala Vita from the City of Milan also recalled the importance of dialogue among the six cities involved in the project,as well as citizens’ participation for the success of APProach. Similarly, Mr. Paolo Sabatini mentioned how the European motto “united in diversity” is an inspiring guide in making the lives of the many internationals in Milan more accessible: the city is boosting the digitalisation of services so that to be closer to its citizens.

Finally, this event served as a great platform for sharing ideas, perceptions and experiences on the relationship among city, citizens and local realities. As mentioned by ALDA Secretary General, is it important to underline that “the development of democracy is the development of the city itself and as well as its participation”. These three aspects are interrelated and as shown by the APProach project, being part of the city may be facilitated by the digital tools. This is why such projects are today essential for the development of an active and participatory society.

Precious food for thought was also given by:

  • Anna Lisa Boni (Segretaria generale di EUROCITIES)
  • Leda Guidi (Fondazione Innovazione Urbana Bologna)
  • Edoardo Montenegro (Creative Business Cup)
  • Jacopo Rangone (PC4U)

To watch the online event click here (italian only)

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On the 5th, 11th and 25th of March 2021, the European project APProach has hosted 3 webinars and invited great speakers and experts to have interesting and enriching debates on citizenship, the impact of COVID19 on digital tools, new forms of civic participation as e-voting and the place of civic participation in this digital era.

Thank you to all the participants and the panelists: Simon Delakorda, Director – Institute for Electronic Participation; Edoardo Guglielmetti, Adviser urban development – Brussels Commissioner for Europe and International Organizations; Jean-François Maljean, Chef de Projet – Contrat de Quartier Durable – Municipality of Etterbeek (Administration communale Etterbeek); Dr. W. Lewis Johnson, Chairman of the Board, CEO and Co-Founder – Alelo;  Vincent Morel, DSIN /STIN – Municipality of Paris (Ville de Paris); Francesco Pala, Head of the Secretary General Department – European Association for Local Democracy; Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General – European Association for Local Democracy; Daniela Vancic, European Programme Manager – Democracy International; Emanuela Vita, Project coordinator – Municipality of Milan (Comune di Milano)

A 3-day event of great debates and discussions for the final conference of the APProach project

Were you not able to participate in the webinars? Do you want to re-watch the webinars? The webinars will be available online on the  Facebook page of the APProach project and on the Facebook and Youtube account of ALDA.

***

Starting in April 2018, the APProach project is co-funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) programme, aiming to facilitate the circulation of information towards EU mobile citizens for them to effectively exercise their rights in their welcoming city. The APProach project is working to fill an existing gap that limits the exercises of citizens’ civic rights by co-creating an online platform, the APProach platform. This digital ecosystem was designed with the active participation of EU mobile citizens and our partner cities: Etterbeek (Belgium), Milan (Italy), Nea Smyrni (Greece), Paris (France), Vejle (Denmark), Lisbon (Portugal), Amsterdam (Netherlands) & Warsaw (Poland).

For more information about the APProach project

Contact email: approachproject@aldaintranet.org 

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In a period of great challenges and new global orders, some of the oldest questions for humanity come back to our mind: “where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?”

Especially the last inquiry is a fundamental one: What is our future going to be? And more specifically, concerning the European Union: how the future of Europe will be, and how to shape it?  

The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) has a specific and strategic function in answering those questions and in building up our further steps. 

As also recalled in the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, in light of the impressive number of citizens voting in the 2019 European election (more than 200 million), the message is pretty clear: Europeans are asking for greater participation and want a more active role in shaping the European Union’s future. Thus, the CoFoE has to be the perfect occasion to allow citizens to be part of it, to be – in other words – actively involved. 

So far, the agenda of the Conference is everything but empty, hence is already full of crucial issues such as: fight against climate change, an economy that works for people, promotion of EU values, social fairness, equality and inclusiveness, as well as institutional matters related to the democratic process and the establishment of transnational lists for elections.

In order to reach sustainable, effective and long-lasting  goals, having citizens involved is extremely important

It comes every time clearer that, in order to reach sustainable, effective and long-lasting  goals, having citizens involved is extremely important, and in this sense the Civil Society Convention on the Future of Europe plays a fundamental role. As already mentioned in our previous news (here), ALDA has been not only actively involved since the very beginning, but it has also been an unresting promoter and key actor in joining the Civil Society Convention. Hence, Civil Society Europe, in cooperation with pan-Europeans organisations and associations and ALDA among those, is “working towards regenerating the European project around the shared values of Equality, Solidarity, Inclusiveness and Democracy”,  aiming at making the above-mentioned Convention into “the civil society interlocutor for the EU institutions”. Clearly, this happens at the right moment and it is perfectly responding to the overall intentions of the Commission to encourage a stronger partnership between European policy-makers and European civil society. 

Once again, ALDA is very honoured to be part of this great moment of change, taking actions for the best of Europe’s future, by making its long-lasting expertise at disposal, while being inspired by the European Commission contribution.

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This February – from 22nd to 26th – ALDA joined the “The Nature of Cities” – a virtual festival to engage stakeholders from the whole globe into  discussions on the future of our cities, as more sustainable, fair and just places to live.

During the myriad of workshops and roundtable sessions, participants had the chance to listen to great speakers tackling different topics: from ecosystem to urban nature and economic growth; and from strategies to raise awareness and help city governments, to the impact of Natural based solution on health.

“There is a need to build up awareness among our communities as far as this topic concerns”

Within the framework of our project METRO ADAPT (Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Measures in the Metropolitan City of Milan) , ALDA played an active role in the festival. More precisely, our Secretary General – Antonella Valmorbida – together with Mary Rowe – President of the Canadian Urban Institute, got virtually together in the session “Participation, Local Democracy and Sustainable Cities” to talk about the role of local communities as key actors for cities and urban areas’ sustainability. This webinar not only was a fruitful occasion of sharing; but it also served as good food for thoughts. Hence, as suggested by our Secretary General, “there is a need to build up awareness among our communities as far as this topic concerns”. Furthermore, our project manager Marta Arosio actively contributed, giving sharp hints during her “micro-talks” on “enhancing climate change adaptation strategies and measures” referring especially to the Metropolitan City of Milan.

The TNOC Festival was organised all around the globe, in different languages so that to allow participants to fully embrace this experience. Art workshops, virtual field tours have been specifically designed for this occasion, also encouraging the use of imagination to shape the cities of the future. A virtual “city of future” has been created, so that people could meet online with the event organisers; talk to each other, while walking around the imaginary city.

Read more about the Metro Adapt within the Festival

To walk around the city, please visit: Topia

To know more about the Festival, visit: The Nature of Cities Festival website

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The just-ended year marked the 30th anniversary of the EU cooperation programme “Interreg”, after five programming periods, hundreds of projects implemented and changes in the life of over 170 million European Citizens. But what does it stand for? Well, the whole name would be “European Territorial Co-operation” but among Europeans, everyone calls it “Interreg” and is one of the fundamental instruments that the Union has in order to support cross-border cooperation for tackling common challenges, while working together to find common solutions.

Projects developed within “Interreg” are targeted to promote cooperation in different fields: from sustainable energy and environment to research, health and sport. Going a little bit further in details, “Interreg” has three main types of projects: cross border, transnational and interregional. It also represented one of the two goals of the EU Cohesion Policy for the programming period 2014-2020, and it aims to tackle three main goals for EU research and innovation policy, summarised as Open Innovation, Open Science and Open to the World in the next programming period.

Projects developed within “Interreg” are targeted to promote cooperation in different fields: from sustainable energy and environment to research, health and sport

To celebrate this important anniversary, “Interreg” has focused on three main topics neighbours, green and youth. Especially latter’s ideas have been collected in the Manifesto for Young People by Young People to Shape the European Cooperation Policy. This work illustrates perceptions as well as expectations that young people have when talking about European Territorial Cooperation.  

From a general perspective, young people express five main concerns and will:

  1. Equal opportunities to learn;
  2. fair access to decent employment opportunities;
  3. more digitally attractive access to information;
  4. serious actions on climate change implemented by Local Authorities 
  5. involvement in the decision making processes

Building up on these five key messages, Interreg strategies can be adapted, for example:

  1. Offering intercultural learning opportunities;
  2. Helping in spreading job opportunities across borders;
  3. Using more youth-oriented calls
  4. Prioritizing online meeting to physical ones so that to reduce CO2 emissions 
  5. Financing “people-to-people” projects

If you want to know more about it, check this news weekly! We are going to find out more about them step by step.

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Great news from Kutaisi “the city of roses”

We are delighted to hear that Mr. Ioseb Khakhaleishvili, who has been our delegate from LDA Georgia, has been elected as major of Kutaisi.

Last week ALDA, together with Governing Board Member Ms. Shorena Khukhua, met Mr. Khakhaleishvili to congratulate him on this great new position.

Sharing stories of success and reciprocity

ALDA has always had a great and long-lasting cooperation with the city of Kutaisi, and we are more than motivated and glad to keep on working together, while sharing stories of success and reciprocity.

We wish him best of luck and we are looking forward for future projects together.

If you are willing to know more about the promotion of local democracy in Georgia, please visit  LDA Georgia

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From the 22nd to the 26th of February 2021, Metro Adapt joined The Nature of Cities Festival, a virtual festival that engaged 2300 people from 72 countries. 18 plenaries, 180 seed sessions and field trips engaged stakeholders from the whole globe into discussions on the future of our cities.

The Metro Adapt project joined the international event as one of the main co-organizers, proposing a wide variety of activities and sessions, disseminating the project results and generated knowledge and establishing linkages and synergies with stakeholders from all over the world. Participants were able to visit Metro Adapt exhibitor booth, where it was possible to consult the project outputs and information, interacting and learning with the project partners.

This has been our line-up within the Festival:

  • February 23rd at 10.15 CET Metro Adapt organized the first workshop
  • February 24th at 10.15 CET Metro Adapt organized a second session “Nature Based Solutions in urban areas: a virtual field trip in the Milan Metropolitan Area”.
  • February 24th at 15.20 CET, the conversation, during a Plenary session, “Participation, Local Democracy, and Sustainable Cities” between Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA’s Secretary General, and Mary Rowe, President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute.
  • February 25th at 15.30 CET Metro Adapt organized a third session “Covenant of Mayors: The Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan in Metropolitan Areas”. Workshop released in Italian.
  • February 25th at 18.00 CET, the last Metro Adapt session “Science Communication through theatre and the arts: The example of Pale Blue Dot” a talk with Andrea Brunello, actor and Director.

All sessions have been very participative and with full engagement

All sessions have been very participative and with full engagement. The first workshop, “Nature Based Solutions as a mean to boost urban climate change adaptation” created a space of dialogue among the key stakeholders which could be potentially involved in the implementation of sustainable strategies to limit the impact of climate change. The workshop counted on the participation of Goncalo Canto Moniz, project coordinator of the Horizon 2020 URBINAT Project, who shared the project generated knowledge about nature-based solutions benefits and social, economic and environmental challenges.

On the following day, participants had the chance to travel 360° inside the Metro Adapt project using a google earth map, with a focus on the pilot interventions implemented in Masate and Solaro municipalities. On February 24th at 15.20 CET, ALDA’s Secretary General – Antonella Valmorbida – together with Mary Rowe – President of the Canadian Urban Institute, got virtually together in the session “Participation, Local Democracy and Sustainable Cities” during a Festival’s Plenary session to talk about the role of local communities as key actors for cities and urban areas’ sustainability. The following day, Metro Adapt organized a third session “Covenant of Mayors: The Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan in Metropolitan Areas”. The workshop was released in Italian and it was the occasion for a positive exchange of ideas and reflections between representatives of different metropolitan areas about the implementation of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP).

The last Metro Adapt session “Science Communication through theatre and the arts: The example of Pale Blue Dot” took place on February 25th. The workshop was joined by Andrea Brunello actor and director from Arditodesio Theatre Company who talked about the Pale Blue Dot show, a production by the Jet Propulsion Theatre that aims at spreading the message about climate change through theatre and art. During the session, participants had the chance to interact with the director, asking questions about the show, reactions from the public and further projects of the company related to the connection of scientific data and theatre.

Thanks to everyone who joined us!

Read more on Participation, Local Democracy and Sustainable Cities event

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ALDA interviewed the Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

ALDA interviewed Mr. Andreas Kiefer – Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe – earlier this week. It goes without saying that this online exchange was of great interest, and inspired us to pursue our mission and daily commitment in supporting citizens’ participation and local democracies.

Those more familiar with our world will notice, by reading this interview, how many common key aspects and guidelines there are between the work of the Congress and the one of ALDA. Not surprisingly, given that ALDA is an emanation of the Council of Europe (CoE) itself, and its mission in supporting citizens’ initiatives and local authorities can be anything but far from CoE’s activities and consequentially also from Congress’ commitments.

At the outset of the conversation, Mr. Kiefer gave us a general overview on the role of the Congress. The latter is based on five main pillars: from being a forum of exchange and discussion among members; to having a consultative and advisory role for the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Furthermore, the  Congress has  a monitoring function for the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in the 47 member states, including citizens’ participation and  observation of local and regional elections. On a more practical side, the Congress acts as an operational secretariat on the ground, implementing concrete projects: a shared aspect with ALDA’s work. Finally, the Congress contributes to the distribution of Council of Europe policies and campaigns, like on gender equality, preventing corruption, and promoting ethical behaviours, among others.

Going deeper into the Congress’ strategic plan for 2021, Mr. Kiefer explained five further areas to be discussed later this year. All of them have a key word in common: society. In fact, the latter has been tackled from different angles so that to respond to its complexity and multiple dimensions. Beginning with resilient societies, the will is to define concrete and effective responses to the current crisis, while also drawing lessons for the future. In addition, the present situation has – to some extent – made inequalities come to the surface, highlighting how essential is the need of creating more cohesive societies. Moreover, the Congress has noticed how, in order to have a higher impact in facing inequality, local authorises have to be included into the policy-making process: from analysis, to drafting and implantation.

The Congress is working in order to safeguard the “quality of representative democracy and citizens participation”, spurring also for a further development of an education to democratic citizenship

Moving towards another facet of society; during the last couple of years especially, underlined Mr Kiefer, we have been experiencing an increased awareness of environmental issues. In this way the Congress – within a multilateral approach of CoE – is also working towards the constitution of sustainable societies, encouraging people to take responsibilities, while working together to make an impact in this realm. In addition, considering the era of technology in which we are, the Congress is addressing its commitment to digital societies, proposing itself as a platform of exchange and support of local authorities within this sector, without forgetting to focus on the meaning that digitalisation has for the citizens as well. Mentioning citizens leads us to the fifth aspect: democratic societies. On that feature, the Congress is working in order to safeguard the “quality of representative democracy and citizens participation”, spurring also for a further development of an education to democratic citizenship.

Listening to Mr. Kiefer’s words one will easily notice how many common and recurring words there are also within the work of ALDA – be they democracy, resilience or citizens’ participation – guiding us daily, and linking us to the European level perspective.

Discussions about Europe go hand in hand with the ones concerning the European Neighbourhood. Thus, in the wake of the recent opening of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Ukraine, a country where we both are very active, Mr Kiefer cherished ALDA’s active role on the field and the Local Democracy Agencies’ grassroot actions in supporting local authorities and organisations in the decentralisation process.

Talking about the LDAs, and in line with ALDA’s plan to develop the network, we highly appreciated Mr Kiefer’s words saying that he, and the Congress “hope there will be future ones, [wishing] to extend our existing cooperation in the framework of what the Congress does, trying to get young people on board, trying to get women on board, trying to further involve the population”.

Finally, in the light of the new ALDA strategic views – which focus on achieving a full empowerment of local resilient communities in a long-lasting sustainable and inclusive way in the whole Europe and beyond, by strengthening the capacity of local authorities and the level of citizens participation – we asked the Secretary General about the Congress’ expectations and main plans for the involvement of the civil society in a sustainable development of communities.

First of all, Mr. Kiefer recalled the importance of the European Local Democracy Week as a forum of participatory democracy, while suggesting how “including citizens in taking responsibilities for their own activities but also to demand to put democratic pressure on those who have the responsibilities to decide” is fundamental. Then he illustrated the Congress’ plan to increase a proactive role of young generations in their initiatives, for example through the establishment of “Youth Delegates”, who participate in all  47 national delegations. In addition, special attention is given to children. The Congress is thus preparing a “handbook for children on how they can take their future into their hands and contribute to the discussion on sustainable development”. Last but not least, together with other actors within the Council of Europe, the Congress is working on a digital platform on which NGOs, regions and cities interested in participatory process can find useful information and inspiring good practices. As mentioned by Mr. Kiefer: “we think no theoretical concept can be as convincing as a good project that has been implemented with all the good and bad experiences made. […] This inclusive and concrete hands-on approach”, he further explained, “complements our political work”.

Thankful to Mr Kiefer and the whole Congress’ availability, ALDA is more motivated than ever to take up the challenges and proposals to increase our cooperation in Europe and its neighbourhood, strong of our shared values and also motivated by Mr. Kiefer’s final remarks: “the message was clear: yes, we are complementary; yes, we can work together. […] We are looking forward to continuing a very good cooperation”.

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Urban walking tour focusing on eco-museum/community museums

The House of Ivo Andric, the only Nobel Prize winner for Literature from Yugoslavia, is now available for visitors through a guided tour. As partner in charge for promotional activities, Local Democracy Agency Montenegro established partnership with one of the most prominent touristic agencies in Herceg Novi – Trend Travel, specialised in organising thematic tours in Herceg Novi and surroundings.

Tours start from Andric’s house: there, visitor can appreciate the permanent exhibition about his life, while getting more information on the house itself thanks to the electronic totem. Besides, they can also find out other Points of Interest within the eco-museum/community museums. The latter represent the cultural/historical, natural and immaterial heritage.

The “magic atmosphere” of Herceg Novi still inspire its citizens

The “magic atmosphere” of Herceg Novi that attracted the famous writer and his wife, as well as artists and creative people such as: Zuko Dzumhur; Branko Copic; Mihailo Lalic; Petar Lubarda and Vojo Stanic, still inspires the citizens of Herceg Novi to create beautiful things for the community and for the visitors. Being surrounded by culture, architecture, colourful nature, sea and mountains spurs people in crafting artistic products, paintings and handcrafts while producing great pieces of literature; without forgetting the culinary and sporting side.

This package is available as a two-hours guided walking tour, and will be promoted via social networks and, considering the COVID-19 situation, one can find on-line tourist fairs. In the upcoming future, the service will be offered via touristic sub-agents’ network and online.