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It is with deep sorrow and profound sadness that we learnt of the passing of Mario De Donatis, yesterday April 2nd, 2023.

Mario was President of IPRES, our member, former member of the ALDA Governing Board representing the region Puglia (Italy), but above all he was a real friend and a great supporter of ALDA and our mission.

We will always remember him, and be grateful, for his commitment to the cause of local democracy. Indeed, long-lasting partner in many activities of ALDA, he was among the initiators of the Local Democracy Agency Mostar and the Local Democracy Agency Albania, providing precious support for the launch and development of the two Agencies.

Our deepest sympathies to his family, colleagues, friends and to all who knew and appreciated him.

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With the advent of spring, ALDA launched ALDA Italia APS – Association of Social Promotion, locally registered branch of ALDA, during the Press Conference held on March 21, 2023, at ALDA’s office in Vicenza (Italy). 

The Press Conference, which saw the participation of several regionally active journalists, was opened by Ms. Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA and President of ALDA Italia, who highlighted the strict link between ALDA and ALDA Italia APS “Since 1999, ALDA has grown a lot, not only at the level of implemented activities and established partnerships, but also from a structural point of view, without ever failing in its mission, values and objectives: to support municipalities and citizens in their initiatives aimed at improving the local environment”  – stated Ms. Valmorbida.

“After having grown from 2 to 6 offices in Europe and its neighbourhood, having built a solid network of more than 300 members and having developed and implemented more than 500 projects, we realised that the time had come to strengthen our roots and connections at local level, in the countries where ALDA has its offices. It is from the will to become actors of local change at 360 degrees that ALDA Italia was born, to be even closer to our territory and its community.” – continued Ms. Valmorbida.

ALDA Italia APS represents an additional tool to expand ALDA’s reach and undertake more targeted and coherent activities, becoming real actors of local change

The speech of ALDA Secretary General was followed by the words of Mr. Marco Boaria, Director of ALDA Italia APS, who explained to the journalists the structure and aim of the latter: “ALDA Italia APS represents an additional tool to expand ALDA’s reach and undertake more targeted and coherent activities, becoming real actors of local change” – said Mr. Boaria. “The Italian Association, is already active with a project on territorial regeneration, and many more activities are yet to come” – concluded. 

The Press Conference ended with a presentation of the H.I.L.L. project – Habitat in Living Landscape, of which ALDA Italia is a partner, by Ms. Luisa Dal Prà, Project Manager at ALDA Italia APS.

The opening of ALDA Italia APS  is only the beginning of a process that will see the launch of local branches in all the countries where ALDA is based, in order to strengthen its presence at local level and create a solid basis to stimulate the participatory process of citizens, from the roots of civil society.

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Summit for Democracy 2023 and Youth Democracy Cohort 

“The broad engagement and participation of young people at all levels of policymaking is the engine that drives strong and stable democracies forward. I am proud that we are joined by so many partners in launching together the Youth Participation Cohort” – stated Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships at the 2022 International Day of Democracy.

Possibly described as a multi-stakeholder platform, the Youth Democracy Cohort was launched on the occasion of the Year of Action of the Summit for Democracy. After more than a year, what is the state-of-the-art of this initiative? Definitely a milestone in the implementation of the actions within the Cohort, the Menu of Possible Commitments was presented in February 2023, collecting the 33 recommendations on how to foster youth engagement. As also reported in the document, “50% of the world’s population is under the age of 30”; however, political institutions and decision-making bodies lack their presence.

 50% of the world’s population is under the age of 30. However, political institutions and decision-making bodies lack youth presence. Youth Democracy Cohort addresses this issue

ALDA is a key stakeholder and contributes to enhancing youth participation and democracy on a worldwide scale. When it comes to the promotion of Human Rights amongst youth, the Cohort advocates for “ensuring gender equality in youth political participation especially putting in place mechanisms that encourage and facilitate young women’s participation”. With this in mind, the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) developed the “Women and Youth in Democracy Initiative” (WYDE) programme, in line with the mission of the Youth Democracy Cohort, and aiming to foster inclusion of youth in all levels of democratic participation – be it nationally, regionally and globally.

In order to respond to this urgent issue, several NGOs identified five main areas, within which an increase of youth participation may be essential: from enhancing youth voice in governance and government, to supporting youth freedom of expression. The latter aspect also includes the promotion of “youth access to voting by facilitating access to citizen ID and the inclusive registration of voters via digitized civil and voter registries, and systematizing the link between the two registries”, as recommended by the Menu.

Overall, as stated by Antonella Valmorbida – ALDA Secretary General and EPD President – on the occasion of the Global Democracy Coalition Forum: “youth are essential for ensuring respect for human rights and democracy in the future. We need to give the floor to young people in the defense of democracy and democratic values”.

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[In 🇬🇧]

Are you a young person (between 15 and 35 years old) who has migrated or returned, is unemployed, belongs to ethnic minorities/faces social, cultural and/or financial barriers? 

Join the H.E.Y! Project’s initiative “H.E.Y. Tell me your story!”, a narrative and storytelling workshop aimed at creating a collaborative documentary to collectivise common problems, desires and journeys. The workshops will focus on the following themes: education, employment, living conditions, physical and mental well-being, rights and political and social activism. 

The activity’s goal consist in empowering young people with fewer opportunities especially Returnees and NEETs, and improving the existing local youth work practices of youth leaders and operators at local level. 

The aim is to highlight the key attitudes, beliefs, values, vulnerabilities and approaches expressed by young people participating with regards to employment, education, mental well-being,rights and social activism.

Youngsters will be the voice of their own concerns and encourage them to inspire and engage other young people to take action in conducting the changes that they want to fight for.

📍Where? Strasbourg (France)

🗓️When? On 19&20 April 2023

Discover more and register here (form in FR) by 17 April 2023.

The workshop is addressed to French speakers only.

[In 🇫🇷]

Êtes-vous un jeune (entre 15 et 35 ans) qui a émigré ou qui est revenu au pays, qui est au chômage, qui appartient à une minorité ethnique ou qui est confronté à des obstacles sociaux, culturels et/ou financiers ?

Participez à la création du court-métrage documentaire “H.E.Y. Racontez-moi votre histoire!” 

“H.E.Y. Racontez-moi votre histoire!” est une initiative du projet H.E.Y.! Il s’agit d’un atelier de narration visant à créer un documentaire collaboratif afin de rassembler des problèmes, des désirs et des parcours communs. Les ateliers se concentreront sur les thèmes suivants : l’éducation, l’emploi, les conditions de vie, le bien-être physique et mental, les droits et l’activisme politique et social. Le projet se concentre sur l’autonomisation des jeunes ayant moins d’opportunités, en particulier les rapatriés et les NEET, et sur l’amélioration des pratiques de travail des animateurs et des opérateurs de jeunesse au niveau local.

L’objectif est de mettre en évidence les principales attitudes, croyances, valeurs, vulnérabilités et approches exprimées par les jeunes participants en ce qui concerne l’emploi, l’éducation, le bien-être mental, les droits et l’activisme social. 

Les jeunes seront la voix de leurs propres préoccupations et seront encouragés à inspirer et à inciter d’autres jeunes à prendre des mesures pour mener à bien les changements pour lesquels ils veulent se battre.

📍Où? Strasbourg (France)

🗓️ Quand? 19 et 20 Avril 2023

Si vous êtes intéressé(e) 👉 remplir le formulaire au plus tard le 17 avril 2023

L’atelier s’adresse uniquement aux francophones.

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Are you a Belgian or a Franch youth association or a small Civil Society Organisation who is sensitive to raising awareness on the effects of climate change and understanding the links with migration? We are looking for you! Lead the change and participate in our calls for proposals (one for Belgium and one for France) with your project idea!

What is the main objective of the call of proposal?

The project will support actions developed by youth organisations in Belgium or in France committed in the field of environmental awareness raising, especially climate change induced migration, and targeting young people (16-35 years old).

What is the main objective of each call of proposal?

Any submitted proposal must be of max 5.000 EUR. Each applicant will benefit from a financing of 70% of the total of the action up to a maximum of 3.500 Eur. The remaining 30% of the action (a minimum of 1.500 Eur) will be provided by each applicant as co-funding. The financing and co-financing % always remain the same even if the overall cost of the proposed action is lower than 5.000 EUR. The general action carried out by the Applicant can be higher than 5.000 EUR, but in this case the remaining budget of the overall costs of the proposal will be covered with the Applicant’s own financial resources.

Climate of Change: sub-granting calls (one for Belgium and one for France) will be open until 10 April 2023

Which is the thematic focus?

Each proposed action needs to address the nexus between climate change and induced migration! Different types of activities can be eligible for the sub grant: communication activities, promotion and dissemination activities, awareness raising activities, training and learning-by-doing activities, art projects and initiatives, etc.

Where can the project be implemented?

Activities must take place in Belgium/France.

How to apply?

Read the full call for proposals of Climate of Change to have more information about the call and how to apply! The call will be open until 10 April 2023.

🇫🇷 Read the call for France

🇫🇷 Annex A – Formulaire for France

🇫🇷 Annex B – Budget Template for France

🇫🇷 Annex C – FAQs for France

🇧🇪 Read the call for Belgium

🇧🇪 Annex A – Formulaire for Belgium

🇧🇪 Annex B – Budget Template for Belgium

🇧🇪 Annex C – FAQs for Belgium

Infos: All the questions related to the present call for proposals and the participation modalities must be addressed to the project managers Carine Akpoto or Nadia Di Iulio.

#ClimateOfChange!

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On March 29, 2023, the kick-off conference of the Media4EU project took place in Skopje, North Macedonia. The conference, which saw the participation of 30 representatives of international bodies, national and local media and Civil Society Organisations, formally marks the beginning of the project and its activities.

“Media4EU – Civil Society Program for the participation of media in North Macedonia’s EU membership negotiation” is a 3-year long project dedicated to improving the standards of journalism and the media sphere of North Macedonia. The one-day conference began with a presentation of the project and its executives by Mr. Dimitar Nikolovski, Executive director of EUROTHINK – Center for European Strategies, leader of the project. It was followed by presentations on the importance of media and CSOs in the EU negotiation process of North Macedonia, featuring Mr. David Geer, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of North Macedonia, and Mr. Bojan Marchic, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, who highlighted the support that the government offered to the project and the importance of this type of projects in the battle against misinformation.

The conference continued with a presentation of the project activities and the grant scheme by the project consortium, composed by EUROTHINK, ALDA and BIRC – Balkan Institute for Regional Cooperation and it concluded with a Q&A session, where the participants had the opportunity to engage in constructive discussions.

Mr. Marco Boaria, Head of the Development Department of ALDA, briefly introduced the commitment of the Organisation towards the media topic, underlining the importance of the freedom of speech: “ALDA has consistently advocated for years for engagement in media and freedom of speech. A principle followed is that a plurality of voices and more opportunities for dialogue leads to better local governance and more opportunities for the grievances of citizens to be aired out.” – said Mr. Boaria.

The Media4EU project aims at improving media and journalism standards of North Macedonia

The aim of the Media4EU project is to bring the journalism and media spheres of North Macedonia up to European standards, featuring trainings, workshops, and exchanges with European journalists to strengthen the capacities of journalism in North Macedonia and contribute to raising the attractiveness of the profession for the youth. The project recognises that stronger standards for media are necessary for the country’s EU accession process and aims to be a good source of information for journalists and constituents alike, as well as allow for opportunities for cooperation among media, civil society, and state institutions. Overall, this conference promoted the project and its activities and provided an excellent opportunity for exchanges and networking in the media sector of North Macedonia.

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On March 20, 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the Synthesis Report of its Sixth Global Assessment. The IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. Its objective is to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments on climate issues. Thousands of experts around the world contribute as authors and review editors.

The aforementioned Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) is the final instalment of a cycle lasting 6-8 years and it summarises the results of the three working group reports about climate change published in 2021 and 2022. Additionally, it includes some remarks on the three special reports published since the last assessment. This document contains a complete reviewof the scientific global knowledge of the climate to date. 

The report shows how despite the efforts of countries to reduce global warming, it is likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during this century. The AR6 states that limiting warming to well below 2°C by 2030 will be complicated to achieve in 7 years, yet achieving 1.5°C is still possible if we take action now considering that the current status is around 1.1°C of warming.

Human-caused climate change is already causing climate extremes across the world, intensifying environmental losses and damages that are affecting the most vulnerable populations by exacerbating poverty and increasing inequality. The current warming is already affecting almost half of the population who live in the danger zone of the climate impacts with extreme weather events such as flooding, drought, and destruction of the natural ecosystems. Experts warn that increasing to 1.5 °C warming will provoke high risks and irreversible losses. 

The IPCC suggests reducing emissions by at least 43% until 2030. To do so, the IPCC highlights the technologies already developed as opportunities to adapt and mitigate climate change focused on the areas of energy supply, adequate management of land, water and foods, settlements and infrastructure, health, society, livelihood, and economy. 

This final report is a call for governments, businesses, civil society, and individuals to act consciously about the present and future generations. This collaborative work involves mitigating the climate change impacts by aiming at climate neutrality. 

Due to climate change and its consequences, ALDA’s strategic plan (2020-2024) has prioritised environmental and sustainability projects

In line with these premises, ALDA’s strategic plan (2020-2024) has prioritised environmental and sustainability projects. In line with the European Green Deal, ALDA collaborates with key local, metropolitan, regional, and international stakeholders focusing on five main thematic areas: climate change adaptation and mitigation in urban and rural areas, flood risk mitigation and soil conservation, information and environmental governance, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable agri-food systems. 

Specifically, ALDA contributes to climate change mitigation through various projects, in line with the research process of the IPCC reports. In particular:

NEVERMORE (New Enabling Visions and tools for End-users and stakeholders thanks to a common Modeling approach towards a climate-neutral and resilient society) project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, aims to develop integrated models and tools for simulating and assessing the impacts and risks of climate change. The project was launched following the publication of the IPCC report ‘A code red for humanity’. Since then, the project has based its activities and policy scenario formulation on the intergovernmental body’s findings. In addition, it is expected that some of the project’s research will contribute to the Seventh Assessment Report.

The latest IPCC Assessment Report is a warning that solutions must be applied in real life to prevent worse impacts, and ALDA will continue to work at the forefront of good governance and participatory processes to promote decentralised cooperation in the common endeavor to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Do not miss two active calls for proposals carried out by ALDA that can help to put in practice the solutions in line with the IPCC report:

Climate of Change calls for proposals for Youth Associations based in Belgium and France – funding for the implementation of action on the nexus between climate change and migration. Call Deadline : April 10th

Respond Locally to Global Issues – Call for proposal for local actions on Sustainability – funding for EU based ALDA members implementing activities to promote sustainability and equality. Call Deadline : April 17th

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From 15 to 17 March 2023, the Transnational practical workshop “Training of Trainers” of the Sports4All project, took place in Volos, Greece. The event, hosted by the Center of Education and Innovation, consisted in developing new and more inclusive methodologies to counter Educational Poverty starting from the mapping of existing ones. 

During the 3-days long event, the project’s leader Cooperativa Sociale Kirikù together with the partners: InnovED, TPV Volley Novo Mesto, ALDA, and  Asociación Mar Violeta discussed the monitoring questionnaires results developed over the previous months, and together with the trainers, exchanged opinions and practices about:

  • the concept of educational poverty;
  • tools to better dialogue with families;
  • activities to better stimulate cooperation and relationship with peers;
  • tools to better dialogue and exchange opinions with colleagues;
  • activities to commonly define the respect of rules;
  • providing common tools for training and suggestions. 

The participants also focused on training sessions adopted according to children’s needs, and on cooperative games that help them to play together and stay focused. 

The workshop focused on developing new and more inclusive methodologies to counter Educational Poverty

According to the definition provided by Save the Children Organisation, Educational Poverty is “The impossibility for children and teenagers to learn, experiment, develop and freely foster their capacities, talents and aspirations.” 

The Sports4All project’s main goal is to foster the competencies of trainers and coaches to work with children and young people who lack opportunities in different fields, including the right to play and participate in sports activities. 

During the event, the project’s partners, coaches, professional pedagogists and educators specialised in sport and in working with youth, identified the existing inclusion methodologies and developed new ones. The results from this meeting will be gathered together and they will form the Sports4all method, which will be tested in each partners’ country.   

The next step will consist in disseminating the Sports4All method in sport clubs, and the final result will contribute to identify a common guideline to pave the way for disadvantaged youth’s inclusion in sport, at policy, relational and educational level. 

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In 2023, democracy in the European Union and globally is once again facing various challenges. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine made the defence of democracy in Europe a top geopolitical, security and normative priority, and the still lingering economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis and war-related economic uncertainties continue to test democracy on the socio-economic and political fronts. Recent attacks on the foundations of democracy, such as the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, clearly demonstrate the need for more transparency at the EU level. In light of these developments, as well as in view of the upcoming elections to the European Parliament in 2024 and beyond, the EU’s commitment to defending democracy is more important than ever.

ALDA and its network want to contribute in shaping the priority for the defence of Democracy by providing inputs based on its experience and its members’ best practices and opinions. We are therefore responding to the Call for interest launched by the European Commission and we want to include a broader point of view, thanks to our members’ contribution.

Thus, all ALDA members are invited to join the ALDA Talk and contribute to “Joint Priorities for the Defence of Democracy Package” on Wednesday, 5 April 2023, from 2:00 PM (CEST).

The debate will be introduced by Mr. Toma Sutic, Member of the Cabinet of the Vice President for Democracy and Demography, Commissioner Dubravka Šuica and Mrs. Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General. They will shed light on the ongoing efforts of the European Commission to defend European Democracy, explain what is at stake and what “protecting democracy” means.

Join the ALDA Talk and contribute to “Joint Priorities for the Defence of Democracy Package”

Then, all members online will be invited to share their view and their thoughts on the topic, especially answering to the following questions:

  • Foreign interference: how to protect democracy without prejudice to civic space?
  • How to strengthen citizens’ participation, notably at local level?
  • Civic and democratic space: how do we propose recommendations?

To join the ALDA Talk, Register HERE.

Please note that the webinar will be in English on Zoom platform. However, we will consider possible interpretations if requests are coming by the 30th of March. Moreover, the recording of the event will be later published on ALDA YouTube channel.

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Since 2015, with the opening of the first Local Democracy Agency (LDA) in Dnipro; followed two years later by the one in Mariupol, ALDA has become a constant presence and strategic partner in Ukraine. Recognised by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe as an instrument for promoting city diplomacy, LDAs testify the positive results of investing in decentralised cooperation and empowerment of local realities. 

Therefore, especially now under war conditions, where civilians are living, ALDA is committed to local government and civil society organisations’ support, to make them more resilient and to ensure services to people. Since the outburst of the war, the Association has worked with international and national stakeholders in order to build a fruitful network, aimed at collaborating with Ukrainian cities and  municipalities.

Recent meetings with international and national stakeholders took place to concretise the opening of 6 Agencies in Vinnytsa, Odesa, Kharkiv, Bucha, Mykolaiv and Rivne

Precisely, ALDA has been involved in “the Alliance for the Reconstruction of Ukraine of the Committee of the Regions”, in the “Ukraine/Europe Working Group of the Committee of the Regions”, while also visiting Bucha Municipality, and exchanging with Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, just to mention a few.

Hence, benefitting from European and extra European exchange, ALDA has been able to successfully liaise with potential partners at international level, with which to start a strong and fruitful collaboration for the opening of 6 new Agencies in Vinnytsa, Odesa, Kharkiv, Bucha, Mykolaiv and Rivne.

From a general perspective, the effort of the Association is testified by its “Flagship initiative of ALDA in Ukraine”, which also included the launch of the Open Call for LDAs in Ukraine. The latter set the tone for the future openings, and recent exchanges with partners, such as the one with Odesa, or the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with  the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils.

Overall, ALDA believes that common action, and bottom-up approach will lead to the reconstruction of Ukraine, and more resilient societies.

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ALDA works to encourage civic and democratic participation in liaison with gender equality and equity thanks to the creation of the Gender, Inclusion and Human Rights Hub (G,I & HR Hub). The latter develops projects devoted to the social inclusion of the most vulnerable categories, while leading the drafting of the internal policy on Gender and Anti-Discrimination. During the last few years, several projects have been developed to foster gender equality and women empowerment, such as GET UP and WEMIN. 

For this reason, ALDA is now closely following the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) decision to establish itself as the EU knowledge center for gender equality. Also stakeholders recognised this position thanks to the EIGE gender-sensitive policies, case studies, evaluation toolkits and the Gender Equality Index. 

From a general perspective, the EIGE Gender Equality Index is published every year and reports in percentage the gender segregation in Europe, taking into account important fields such as work, money, knowledge, time, power and health. The European overall score for 2022 was 68.8 out of 100; however, some countries performed better than others. Considering the importance of EIGE data and their relevance, ALDA continues to develop projects aimed at gender inclusion with an intersectional approach, taking into account the different social identities of the individual. 

Gender Equality is one of ALDA’s priorities, and through the new Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Policy, ALDA aims to eliminate bias creating a positive workplace

Besides, if one is willing to further dig into this topic, Spain represents a positive example within the European context. Hence, it had an outstanding performance, achieving almost 92 per cent in the health sphere. Surely Spanish score for 2023 will be even higher thanks to the comprehensive law enacted last February. It has been positively welcomed by UN experts thanks to its favorable insights: 

  • It allows anyone over 16 years old to change their legally registered gender
  • Ease abortion limits for those aged 16 and 17
  • Introduce paid menstrual leave. 

As already mentioned, Gender Equality is one of ALDA’s priorities, and through the new Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Policy, ALDA aims to eliminate bias creating a positive workplace. The Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Committee, in synergy with the G, I & HR Hub, drafted this new policy willing to shape the actions of all individuals directly dealing with ALDA, starting from the Governing Board to the project partners and visitors. It is meant to promote equal participation through programs and initiatives that reduce gender inequality, disseminating those objectives in ALDA’s public sphere. 

Overall, the latest initiative against stereotypes is the MOVING-ON project that aims to improve the participation of kids from the Roma Sinti and Travellers community and travelers in the world of sports by going to understand what are the biggest physical or social barriers they face every day.

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In 2015, the World Countries committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 6 entitled “Clean Water and Sanitation”, as part of the 2030 Agenda. Since 1993, the aim of World Water Day (22 March) is to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle the hydro challenges; hence, this year it aims at accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.

Within this realm, and in order to localise the above-mentioned SDG, ALDA has a strong commitment towards the environment, with a focus on climate change adaptation and sustainability. Moreover, a specific thematic hub has been designed to address the “Green” challenges; thus gathering all the expertise in order to maximise the efforts and the impact of the several projects on this topic.

Specifically, ALDA works in this field mainly through two EU-funded projects.

The Life Beware (Better Water-management for Advancing Resilient-communities in Europe) project, funded by the LIFE programme, is an EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action.

ALDA commits to the preservation of the environment, and its water assets, by advocating for a more sustainable and conscious use of natural resources

It focuses on the achievement of a global strategy for climate adaptation to flooding risk, increasing water infiltration and storage in urban and rural areas, by actively involving local communities. The project aims to increase knowledge, benefit, and real implementation of NWRM (Natural Water Retention Measures) both in the territory of Comune di Santorso and Comune di Marano Vicentino (Vicenza, IT) and other EU municipalities.

The second project, called Water’s Experts, is funded by the Erasmus+ programme and it addresses students attending the last year of vocational schools, aiming at raising awareness on the protection of hydro resources among young people. Climate change has a huge impact on blue resources (droughts, floods and rivers’ transformation), so it is necessary to create suitable methods to monitor the main issues of rivers, especially in hydro-rich areas where agriculture and nature-based tourism are highly dependent on climate. Through a specific training course, students from 4 European countries acquire knowledge and skills in water resources management and climate change adaptation.

Overall, ALDA will further commit to the preservation of the environment, and its water assets, by advocating for a more sustainable and conscious use of natural resources.

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The digital transformation has changed our society and our economy with increasingly tangible implications in our everyday lives, highlighting the need to ameliorate the digital capacity of our education system, our institutions and our work environment. 

Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend towards online and hybrid learning, highlighting major shortcomings concerning digital tools, technologies and capabilities. 

For the above-mentioned reasons, the European Union is promoting and supporting the development of the European digital ecosystem by enhancing the digital capacities of citizens and by providing them with innovative and engaging digital instruments.

The P-CUBE project(Playing Public Policy), is one of them. 

Join the first ALDATalk 2023 on digital education in Europe and discover the P-CUBE project!

P-CUBE is a project financed by the Erasmus + programme of the European Union and it consists in the development of an educational digital game aimed at teaching the theory and practice of public policy to different target groups, among which Higher Education students, Civil Society Organisations and more, in an innovative and engaging way. 

If you are interested in these topics, join us on March 30, 2023, from 2pm to 3pm (CEST)! 

ALDA will be hosting the first webinar of the ALDATalk 2023 webinar series, and we will discuss digital education in Europe, with a specific focus on the P-CUBE project. 

The webinar is open to all via link registration, is held in English and lasts for about an hour including an allotted time for open debate.

Register HERE to join the discussion of ALDATalk!

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Democracy is a global concept, which can potentially find fertile ground in every world corner. The Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy 2023 proved exactly the “power of independent, people-centered independent institutions for protecting and extending democracy in nations from Latin America to Ghana”, as underline online within the presentation of the forum.

Together with two selected ALDA Members – be they the City of Valongo and Labsus – Nadia Di Iulio, Coordinator of both the Civic engagement Hub and the Europe area at ALDA’s, were among the speakers at the Forum, addressing the core topic of direct democracy through:

  • Tools for citizens to be actively involved
  • Participatory processes within key sectors such as health, food and security
  • Digital era and accessibility to digital tools

“Democracy is a system of peaceful decision” stated Mr. Jose Manuel Ribeiro, Mayor of City of Valongo – within its panel on the “tools of direct democracy”, which highlighted the necessity of including children and young people in the building of democracy, since these processes affect everyone.

Global Forum to exchange on citizens’ participation, and on the new tools of modern direct democracy to further engage with CSOs

Exchanging with representatives of Civil Society Organisations and institutions coming from different countries to the Global Forum, from Mexico to France; from Austria to Korea; stressed how not only democracy is a global value, but also practices adopted in certain states may be valuable and efficient, in some others.

Hence, considering this holistic approach towards democracy, ALDA Colleague Nadia Di Iulio shared the positive example of empowering local organisations and actions through the sub-granting scheme. The latter supported grassroot initiatives and street actions in the field of climate-friendly food consumption behaviours, fostering citizens’ participation in the civic space.

As noticeable, democracy can be unfolded in several different way, one of which is also digitalisation and these new participatory and direct democracy tools. Within this realm Daniela Ciaffi, Vice President of Labsus and Professor of Urban Sociology stressed the added value of an horizontal approach to democracy, as also implemented through the cooperation agreement, at the Global Forum Plenary  Conference entitled “Democratic resilience in the 21st century: What are the best ideas for using participation to strengthen democracy?”.

Overall, this international event allowed ALDA to exchange on citizens’ participation, on the new tools of modern direct democracy and to engage with CSOs at global level.

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🇦🇲 Read the news in Armenian

🇬🇪 Read the news in Georgian

🇷🇴 Read the news in Romanian

🇺🇦 Read the news in Ukrainian

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Established in 2015, the Local Democracy Agency (LDA) in the Dnipropetrovsk Region represents the very first LDA in the Country, as a platform for dialogue and regional development in terms of culture, society and economy. Yet, the current Russian invasion of Ukraine urged a further push for international cooperation in support to local actions, as also emerged in the online meeting, that took place among ALDA, the LDA Dnipro Representative and the Chairman of the Regional Council.

As stressed by Mr. Mykola Lukashuk – Chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council – and considering the geographical location of the region, the latter welcomes 400,000 Internally Displaced People (IDP) without counting those unregistered so far. Besides, the region is also serving as a supply hub for those on the frontline. Therefore, coherently with the circumstance above-mentioned and aiming at providing support, Anzhelika Pylypenko, Director Local Democracy Agency of Dnipropetrovsk region, illustrated the current initiatives, such as “PHOENIX” project, which are addressing the IDP especially as far as the psychological and social rehabilitation assistance concerns, as well as support to servicemen and families.

“I am grateful to our partners for their help. It would be advisable to hold a large conference and invite both representatives of Dnipropetrovsk communities and foreign partners” – Mykola Lukashuk

Backing up to the LDA actions, Antonella Valmorbida – Secretary General of ALDA – further stressed the commitment of the Association in strengthening the existing LDAs in Ukraine (both Dnipro and Mariupol), while working for the opening on new ones in Vinnytsia, Odesa, Kharkiv, Bucha, Mykolaiv and Rivne. Furthermore, precisely, three European regions, namely Nordrhein Westfalen (Germany); Hautes de France and Normandie (France), are interested in joining a coalition to support the LDA Dnipro, since “your country is now defending the entire democratic world” – stressed Ms. Valmorbida, and “European partners are planning to help Dnipropetrovsk Region and other regions of Ukraine both now and in the post-war reconstruction”.

Overall, this latter possibility of international cooperation was welcomed by the Council, as expressed in the positive word of Mr. Mykola Lukashuk: “I am grateful to our partners for their help. This is just the beginning. To expand cooperation, it would be advisable to hold a large conference and invite both representatives of Dnipropetrovs’k communities and foreign partners”.

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The meeting took place online on 09.03.2023, with:

  • Mykola Lukashuk – Chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council
  • Arina Pustova – Member of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, humanitarian aid coordinator for the DP Region
  • Anzhelika Pylypenko, Director Local Democracy Agency of Dnipropetrovsk region
  • Antonella Valmorbida – Secretary General of ALDA
  • Alexandru Coica – EaP and Central Asia Coordinator ALDA
  • Bartek Ostrowski – Consultant for LDAs development in Ukraine ALDA

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After a preliminary phase to identify the schools and the students to be involved in the Water’s Experts project, the training activities started in Italy and North Macedonia.

On 14th February 2023 the training course started in the school I.I.S.S. Lombardo-Radice in Bojano (Molise, Italy), held by the geologist Vincenzo Amato, researcher at the Department of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise. The next day, on 15th February, it was the Medical High School “Nikola Stein”, in Tetovo (North Macedonia), to start the training, held by the biology teacher Sasho Markovikj.

The students involved in the Water’s Experts project, attending the last year of vocational schools, have the chance to enhance their scientific knowledge and acquire technical and professional skills in the field of water resources management. At the end of this 4-month training course, students will be capable of understanding the geographic and biological specificities of the watercourses and able to identify and handle the critical issues.

Enhancing students’ scientific knowledge and technical skills in the field of water resources management

Moreover, the training course aims to raise awareness about climate change adaptation and the importance of water resources. It was conceived as an interdisciplinary activity promoting professional development but also social participation among youth, enhancing cooperation and team working among students.

The training course is structured into 4 different modules covering the following topics: river geomorphology, cartography and basics of GIS tools, river ecology, alteration of river environments and hints of river rehabilitation. It includes both theoretical and practical activities, in order to let students put into practice the knowledge acquired during the theoretical part. 

The training is about to start in Portugal and France also, where the project partners have been proceeding setting the preparatory activities.

Read more about the project on Paese dell’Acqua website

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As of the 1st of March 2023, the “Media4EU” project has officially started. The latter is meant to improve the quality of the journalism and media sectors in North Macedonia, as well as the general information environment in the country. This includes activities such as working directly with journalists in capacity building workshops, facilitating exchanges of expertise between less and more experienced journalists – be they Macedonian and EU journalists – and aiming for European media standards.

More in details, one loophole targeted by the project is the lack of youth interest in journalism, largely due to a lack of trust. Therefore, “Media4EU” seeks to provide answer to the above-mentioned issue, with activities to encourage greater participation, and education on specific skills and how to use instrumental tools in the field.

From a general perspective, North Macedonia has a good legislative backing for a productive media sphere and freedom of expression; thus the Constitution guarantees the rights of freedom of speech, thought, expression, and public access to information, as well as protection of journalists and blocking of censorship. However, there are numerous issues that hold journalism and the media back. For instance, frivolous lawsuits, such as “Strategic lawsuit against public participation” (SLAPP) suits, and pressure from publishers in the television industry are commonly used as an instrument to intimidate the media and induce self-censorship.

Media4EU contributes to a good relationship between the media and civil society

Yet, lacking journalism and media sector may bring many potential challenges – among them:

  • allowing anti-factual ideas to spread more easily,
  • weaken responsiveness to the problems of the constituency,
  • greater distance from Europe – considering the specificity of this project.

On the contrary, a better media sphere has a plethora of benefits including the opportunity to have a more informed decision making from the constituency, greater access to accurate information, and greater participation.

Overall, this project is another way of testifying the commitment of ALDA to build up the capacities of the local sphere in the Balkans and ALDA Skopje commitment to the process of Europeanization and EU presence in the Balkans. Unfortunately, North Macedonia’s Europeanization process is notably quite troubled, and in the areas of media and freedom of expression not many improvements have been done.

With rising Euroscepticism and the slowing of progress, it is essential for the project to contribute to an environment where North Macedonia facilitates a good relationship between the media and civil society, as well as combats disinformation and reactionary ideas. The youth are not only the future of the profession, but they are also the future of the country, and this project will help further stake their place in society and help improve the information sphere.

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The 3-year “Media4EU” project will be implemented by a consortium of partners lead by EUROTHINK – Center for European Strategies in partnership with ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy and BIRC – Balkan Institute for Regional Cooperation.

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In this publication, readers can find 27 good practices to fight unemployment through social economy; based on the experiences in Italy, Spain and Greece. Hence, the latter three countries represent the hosting places of the RECRUIT project partners; which benefitting from their expertise and the activities done within the project, have collected them in this publication.

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