On 21 January ALDA and the Balkan Network for Local Democracy (BNLD) held a meeting with representatives from the European Commission. The staff of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) working on Western Balkans had the chance to get to know better the Projects ALDA and the Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs) are implementing in the Region as well as the feedbacks from the activities we have been carrying on at the local level.

Mrs. Stanka Parac, the President of the Balkan Network for Local Democracy, introduced the BNLD and our approach to support regional cooperation while emphasising the efforts BNLD and the LDAs are doing to promote EU integration processes. The creation of the BNLD itself was the result of EC support for networking and partnership building. When comes to EU accession, our main focus is the Public Administration Reform, economic and democratic governance, social questions and the rule of law. We are known in the Region for our work on peace and reconciliation in the last 20 years, especially with young people.

Mr. Colin Wolfe, Head of Unit for Regional cooperation and Programmes confirmed the importance for the local level to be part of the EU integration process. The local authorities are significant stakeholders responsible for the implementation of many EU policies in the respective countries. Democratic processes start from the local level and should be nurtured there. The European Commission is supporting the cooperation of civil society and local authorities with the regional programme RELOAD whose second phase has just started.

Moreover, during the meeting, the LDAs delegates had the chance to take the floor and share their views on the main issue of each Country, from the situation of democratic processes, to the status of democracy in the post-election period in Montenegro, the results from thelong-awaited local elections in Mostar, to bilateral issues and key reforms in North Macedonia…

Democratic processes start from the local level and should be nurtured there

The DG NEAR staff working on the different Western Balkan countries confirmed that the European Union is doing significant efforts in making EU accession processes more visible on local level, in every community. Indeed, in the next programming period the EU will put more emphasis on projects with local authorities.

The European Commissions, DG NEAR and the Delegations in all countries are making significant efforts to include civil society in policy making and programming. In that respect, ALDA and the BNLD took active part in the consultations for planning of the Instruments of Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) and the drafting of Guidelines for civil society in Enlargement Region 2021-2027.

This meeting, attended by more than 30 representatives from European Commission and ALDA, the BNLD and the LDAs delegates has proven how inclusive policy making should be and how important dialogue is. ALDA and the BNLD continue following attentively the European Commission policies in the Western Balkans and support the EU accession processes in the Region.

The beginning of the year is usually dedicated to take stock of the past and to plan the future. This January 2021 is full of uncertainties and we have to look at the upcoming months in a different way. However, the seriousness of the situation implies a different reaction than just panic and appalling reactions to whatever new happens in the World, from the mob assaulting the Capitol to the plane sinking in the waters of Indonesia.

The first thing to do is to act for stopping the diffusion of the pandemic with a careful behavior and understanding. At the moment, the vaccine has been identified thanks to an unprecedent cooperation of the whole scientific community. From a European perspective, the Union has not collapsed – as some could have expected, but on the contrary, it proved to be a fortress of coordination and unity.

Moreover, during its annual speech, the Italian President Mr Sergio Mattarella, repeatedly mentioned, for the first time, the key importance of a European unity. Such a global threat requires a global answer. Indeed, the European Union made a quantum leap in its own reaction and  in its way of functioning, with policies and funding programmes going far beyond what was thought to be possible before the pandemics. That is a good sign: if we want, we can do more. Democracies can manage crises and find solutions. We are expecting a lot from our European unity and we need to look at it as an added value of this global tragic situation. Our lives and businesses need to adopt a new rhythm and different ways of working and we are all required to cope with it, for the necessary time needed.

Everybody is longing for getting closer; nevertheless, for the time being, the only possible chance we have to get in touch with one another is through Zoom and other communication technologies, enabling us to stay in contact by maintaining social distancing and being cautious. We all might be tired, but we owe our sense of civic responsibility to all the people who lost their loved ones because of the virus and the incautious behavior of some. More, we owe this to all of those who are currently fighting in hospitals and intensive care units. We should not dare to complain about “another Zoom conference”.

“If we want, we can do more. Democracies can manage crises and find solutions”

The second aspect today is solidarity and care. Some of us are less well off than others. Economy and social difficulties are challenged and worsened by the situation and those who suffered before are even in deeper distress today. We need to emphasis social attention and take care of each other. As an example, the dramatic situation in the United States, in many ways, has a large importance in the global scene; nevertheless, the macroscopic attention which has ben given by our media may act as a sort of anesthetic, distracting us to what’s going on in our local dimension, namely our yard, building and in our city. It is another movie series proposed on the news. Let’s take care of our communities and find any way possible to remain a social community, working with local authorities, offering our contribution to volunteer centers, to what is the feasible extent to ensure and protect everyone’s health.

This amazingly serious situation is a wakeup call for Europeans and in general for the Western population, which is brutally realizing to be part of a wider dimension, understanding for maybe the first time how intrincsically connected is the whole globe in all its parts and that from a moment to another we are at the mercy of disasters and uncertainty, as it is the case for many people in the world.

ALDA and I have been working for more than 20 years now with those who saw their live turning upside down overnight, losing everything and waking up in a completely different World without knowing how the next day may look like. We have to learn from them now, from the Balkans, from Eastern Europe, from Africa, and learn how to be resilient and, basically, go on.

Happy new year to all and… join ALDA, working together with local communities for local communities.

Antonella Valmorbida

Secretary General of ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy

[Picture shot during ALDA General Assembly 2019 in Caen, France]

The online edition of the Regional Forum entitled “Remembrance and Intercultural dialogue” took place on 21 and 22 December 2020. The two days’ conference was organized entirely online using the Zoom platform to facilitate the interaction among participants as well as online presentations. Every session was broadcasted on Facebook Live which allowed a large participation to the event.

The program played a vital role in the Forum; in fact, it saw the participation of regional and international experts representing civil society organizations, academics, researchers, cultural and educational institutions, and for-profit corporations.

The goal of the Regional Forum was to examine the regional cooperation with a special focus on the question of remembrance and intercultural dialogue in the Western Balkans by approaching the dominant narratives and to give them a new perspective based on the narrative legacy.

The Forum aimed at examining regional cooperation focusing on remembrance and intercultural dialogue in the Western Balkans

The online meeting gathered 8 panel discussions and interactive workshops, including 40 speakers and around 60 participants from 14 countries. More than 720 minutes of online content was produced with high quality debate. In case you missed it, the presentation recordings are available online on the Balkan Network for Local Democracy Facebook page.

Inspiring stories and experience were reflecting on different topics such as EU integration as vector of peace and reconciliation, multicultural dialogue and the “Balkan route” of migrations, the role of the new digital world, dealing with the past through storytelling, cultural heritage and memorial tourism as potential for local development and cultural understanding, linguistic diversity and combating disinformation.

The virtual event was organized in cooperation with the Balkan Network for Local Democracy – BNLD, and financially supported by the Central European Initiative, the Normandy for Peace program, the Western Balkans Fund and the EU Commission under Regional Youth Compact for Europe project.

The report and conclusions will be available very soon! Stay tuned and keep following us on our social media for further information.

What a year for the LDA Kairouan, Tunisia!

In 2020, the LDA Kairouan, Tunisia, has been further developing its work and experience in the inclusion and empowerment of marginalized groups socially and economically. It has implemented several projects, and namely In City for Inclusive City, Starting from You for the inclusion of people with disabilities, AFAQ for supporting female artisans during the pandemic, and Zoomers for creating a platform for youth participation in public life.

Several activities, successful thanks to the wide participation of young people and the vital collaboration with various actors at regional, national, and international levels, were organized.

The agency demonstrated a remarkable resilience capacity and has shown a firm determination to work within the challenging period of COVID19. Moreover, the team ensured the continuation of its activities and solid relationships with its partners. In the framework of the organization of its workshops and conferences, the project’s team made sure that strict hygiene measures were maintained to ensure the safety of the attendees.

“Despite lockdown and curfew measures, the year 2020 was outstanding for the LDA Kairouan”

In times of curfew and mobility restrictions, the LDA Kairouan, resorted to online platforms to carry out its work: the shift to virtual space represented a golden opportunity as it allowed participants and associations from all over Tunisia to benefit from the agency’s online activities and courses. Consequentially, this has brought more visibility to the LDA Kairouan – Tunisia and has contributed to the increase of its network regionally, nationally, and internationally which will result in further promising future collaborations and projects.

In this vein, the LDA Tunisia successfully held online training courses regarding a variety of themes and with different partners. For example, the “Crowdfunding” training course tackled an innovative way of collecting funds through online campaigns. This way of funding hugely relies on creative and innovative communication techniques.

In addition, the “Techniques of public funds collection and associative governance” course was equally outstanding: the online attendance rate, as well as the number of participating associations, pointed out the success of the whole online experience.

Furthermore, the agency carried on the “Friendly Talk”, which was renamed “E-Talk”, aiming at pointing out the conversion from real to virtual space. Indeed, this activity became a platform of solidarity, exchange, and connection among citizens and mainly youth throughout the period of lockdown and social distancing.

Additionally, the agency has been organizing online conferences animated by academics and experts in history, democracy, and sociology to promote universal citizenship, local heritage, and local potential. These conferences created a platform for enrichment, sharing, understanding, and establishing a shared vision on regional development to strengthen economic, social, and cultural inclusion.

At the same time, the LDA Tunisia was also able to physically fulfill other activities such as workshops, meetings, and training courses whenever the government lifted restrictions. At this level, the agency organized awareness-raising meetings about the well-being of families of people having a handicap related to pertinent issues such as employment, public health, psychological health, participation in public life, and human rights. It also provided unconventional training courses for educators working in handicap care centers such as “Social theatre for inclusion” and “Psychometric activities adopted from the circus”. It also tackled multi-actor meetings to ensure the inclusion and the engagement of local authorities in its actions.

These actions are mainly portrayed in the presentation of a study on the economic and social rights of rural women working in the agricultural field. This activity was held in the municipality of Kairouan and saw the presence of the governor and the mayors, their consultants and representatives of public institutions to ensure their involvement and their engagement in the activity.

Social inclusion of different groups such as immigrants, people with disabilities, and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds was at the heart of many activities. For example, during the “Mama Africa” event, Tunisian and African youth met and had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge about their traditions and norms during the cross-cultural event.

Another turning point of the year was the campaign organized by the agency to sensitize citizens in Kairouan city about the necessary use of sanitary products and social distancing. Through this campaign, each sensitized citizen received sanitary pieces to encourage them to protect their health. It also organized an awareness-raising workshop in order to sensitize women and young girls about the importance of gardening both in their working place, in public spaces and at home so that they can contribute to creating a greener and safer environment.

In a nutshell, the year 2020 marked a significant increase in the LDA Tunisia activities and projects.

Moreover, the Association has also addressed various innovative local issues developing its expertise and skills in handling different types of highly important and serious issues.

LDA Tunisia’s commitment for 2021 is to carry out more promising multi-actor projects with other LDAs and to reinforce its growing network to ensure its contribution to the creation of a society valorizing cooperation, dialogue, and equality.

“Anna and I are the last ones in Döbbrick/Depsk speaking Wendish. As soon as we pass away, the Wendish language will slide into oblivion in our district,” relates Richard Šułśic (94) sunbathing on a bench with his wife outside his courtyard, only a few steps away from the Döbbricker church. Every time when the sun bestows its warming rays upon Döbbrick, you can see this senior couple greeting the people passing through. Anna is also a Wendish speaker, but she lets Richard translate for her from the weekly newspaper “Nowy Casnik”. She doesn’t understand some of the words from the so called “school Wendish”, which is very similar to Upper Sorbian (spoken in Upper Lusatia), which isn’t as endangered as Wendish (Lower Sorbian). Anna can often be seen wearing a colourful costume – a blue basis with flowery or whitish ornaments. It recalls the Wendish folk costumes. Anna isn’t the only one honouring the Wendish folk costumes. The folk costumes are one of the most prominent symbols of Lusatia. This formerly exclusive feature of the Sorbian/Wendish national identity has spread throughout the younger generations which also identify the costumes as a part of their (regional or Wendish) identity. The folk costumes got detached from the Wendish national identity and became a Lusatian regional feature. Specialised tailoring shops foster the Wendish folk costumes. They organise tailoring courses for beginners and show how to properly dress the folk costumes, because mistakes in dressing are a no-go.

In contrast to other regions of Europe, the very frequent wearing of folk costumes isn’t uncommon in Lusatia. Some old women still wear Sorbian outfits on a daily basis in the area between Hoyerswerda/Wojerecy, Bautzen/Budyšin and Kamenz/Kamjenc. Most women wear folk dresses during solemn festivities (award ceremonies), cultural manifestations (book readings, art expositions), folk customs (ex. Hahnrupfen/łapanje kokota) or folk festivals. School fests are also combined with folk costumes and dances and pupils are proud of wearing the Wendish outfits.

As the Wendish language is dying out, a dilemma arises among the Lusatians: Does the

Wendish folk costume suffice to save Wendish identity in (Lower) Lusatia? “Without the Wendish language, some people can start to talk again about a ‘German Spreewald costume’, just as in national socialist times. The Wendish language is the mean through which everything eventually becomes ‘Wendish’. The (Wendish) folk costume is beautiful and I know that it’s for many youngsters an incentive to the ‘Wendishness’. Hence, it has an important function. But it’s not enough, only to foster the folk costumes and traditions. The language should be revitalised, otherwise nothing but folklore would survive,” says the young Wendish writer, Jill-Francis Käthlitz. In contrast to Ms. Käthlitz, many in Lower Lusatia consider the Wendish language as obsolete. But still, Ms. Käthlitz points out that the beautiful costumes can animate someone to learn Sorbian/Wendish, which is true.

Although Wendish/Sorbian costumes are still part of the Wendish culture, they’ve gradually become a part of the regional (German) culture too. They are quite often commercialised in advertisements. They even get instrumentalised just as in some past dark times. The right-wing populist party AFD (Alternative for Germany) presented a poster with a Wendish lady together with a Bavarian dirndl lady and a Schwarzwald lady with a traditional bollenhut in its campaign in 2017 “Colourful diversity? We have much of it – Dare to do it, Germany” in order to present Wendish folk costumes as part of the German traditions, but also to give the impression that migrants aren’t welcome in Germany. As a poor region coping with the gradual withdrawal of the coal industry, young people leave Lusatia, since there aren’t promising job perspectives. The region around Cottbus/Chóśebuz is permanently stirred up by right-wing demonstrations. The southern part of Lusatia isn’t very different. This endangers the tourism and for instance the cooperation between the neighbouring Germany and Poland, which also dispute on small criminality and car theft at the border stripe.

At the end of the Second World War, as the maps were drawn again, there were plans of an autonomous Lusatia, that Czechs, Poles and South Slavs supported. There were also projects to create another republic (Lusatia) within Czechoslovakia. The independence ideas failed, so Wends/Sorbs remained in the German Democratic Republic. The Sorbian/Wendish matter hasn’t been reopened again. Sorbs/Wends are no object of discord today, although the Czech Republic considers Sorbs/Wends as compatriots. Historically Lusatia belongs to three countries: the largest part to Germany and the smaller ones to Poland and the Czech Republic.

In order to promote sustainable development in the new and old EU member states, the European Union has established various bordering regions such as the “Spree-Neiße-Bober” (Germany/Poland) or “Neiße” (Germany/Poland/Czechia). The NGO “Euroregion Spree-Neiße-

Bober” plays a key role within the cooperation project INTERREG V “A Brandenburg/Germany – Poland”, and is mostly specialised in cultural, economic and health care projects. This NGO aids financially projects from other NGOs, museums, culture centres and other institutions in Germany and Poland, and thereby creates new ties in the NGO sector, allowing the population in the border area to better interact. Since 2008 Sorbian/Wendish culture has also been the focus of projects supported and carried out by Euroregion Spree-Neiße-Bober.

“Since 2019 the Sorbian/Wendish culture is part of the intangible heritage of UNESCO”

For example, the regional association Niederlausitz (member of the umbrella organisation Domowina) organised in 2016 a meeting between traditional Wendish (Sorbian) and Polish wedding processions at the Festival of Wendish (Sorbian) culture in Jänschwalde/Janšojce, where Wendish folk costumes were shown too. The Lower Lusatian Sorbian Museum Bloischdorf/Błobošojce, being part of the network “Lusatian museum landscape”, has a partnership with the Polish city of Babimost. In this twinning supported by the NGO Euroregion Spree-Neiße-Bober, the Sorbian Museum’s association in Bloischdorf organised in 2018 a traditional custom care of autumn and winter traditions with their partners from Babimost. On the 22th of August of this year, representatives from the regional association “Niederlausitz”/Domowina took part in the Park festivity in the Lusatian Polish city of Żary. There, they presented the Wendish culture, folk outfits and cookery. The project was sustained by the NGO Euroregion Spree-Neiße-Bober and the Polish NGO Żaranin, also having the Sorbian/Wendish culture as one of its emphasis. The partnership between the Upper Sorbian municipality Nebelschütz/Njebjelčicy and the Polish city of Namyslów exists since 1997. It has been intensified after Poland became an EU member. A delegation of 40 members visited Namyslów during the 13. International Namyslów days and showed Sorbian culture, traditional costumes and dances. A workshop entitled “how to dress up in a Sorbian folk dress” has been offered. The International Folkore festival Łužyca has been taking place every second year in Bautzen/Budyšin and in Drachhausen/Hochoza. This international event organised by the Domowina invites folklore groups from different parts of the world such as Algeria, Peru, Georgia and from the region, Poland or the Czech Republic. Sorbian folklore groups strengthen their contacts with fellows from the EU member states, but also with those from third countries. The folklore group “Smjerdźaca” existing since 1964 participated more than 10 times at festivals in the Czech Republic and Poland. Smjerdźaca was also one of the participants at the folklore festival Łužica in July 2019 together with the folklore group Mirče Acev, which was shortly after in August 2019 the host of the international student folk festival in North Macedonia.

Since 2019 the Sorbian/Wendish culture is part of the intangible heritage of UNESCO. Brandenburg and Saxony can’t be imagined without the Sorbian/Wendish culture. Efforts aren’t only made to preserve the culture but also save the two Sorbian languages. Sorbs/Wends speak a

Slavic language similar to Polish or Czech, and are integrated in the German society. Therefore they often serve as a mediator between Germans, Poles and Czechs which haven’t always maintained the amicable relations they have today. The examples above focused on the folk costumes and their role in cross-border projects, but other aspects (language, songs, arts) also play a role in cross-border projects. Lusatian schools, where the Sorbian/Wendish language is taught as a subject, often foster partnerships with schools in Poland or the Czech Republic.

As a minority in a large and economically powerful country as Germany Sorbs/Wends are too small to make global changes. However, they do make a lot of difference on the Eastern outskirts of Germany and not only for the benefit of tourism. The minority perspective of Sorbs/Wends as mediators or as a focus of cooperation is maybe what other countries, for example North Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria, with contested history and shared culture can benefit from. To concentrate on small “uniting events” (i.e. folklore festivals, museum day or partnerships) with respect for the thoughts and beliefs of the other is what would certainly make a great deal of sense. The cross-border experiences of Sorbs/Wends with fellows from the neighbourhood show that the infrastructure supported by the EU, the NGO-sector in Brandenburg and Saxony, as well as the free movement of persons as one of the principles of the European Union facilitated the intensification of the cross-border friendships. But everything would have been futile, if there hadn’t been open-minded individuals, municipality workers, cultural workers, artists and museum workers, mostly speaking the language of the others, who undertook the role of bridge builders.

Viktor Zakar

***

The article is produced within the framework of the project “Shared or contested heritage”, implemented by ALDA Skopje and Forum ZFD. The aim of the project is to improve cross-border cooperation between North Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria. The project raises awareness of the role of contested histories and shared cultural heritage for the EU integration processes among heritage practitioners and cultural workers. The content of the article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not always reflect the views and attitudes of ALDA and Forum ZFD.

ALDA’s new path towards a wider spread of good governance’s principles and a deeper regional impact has officially started, thanks to the 4 online discussions to share our strategic views with local stakeholders.

These events took place between the 7^th and the 21^st December with the aim of unfolding ALDA’s new Strategic Plan for 2020-2024 adopted during the General Assembly of October to increase the impact and scope of our action, at the occasion of ALDA’s 20th anniversary.

“ALDA is not slowing down: despite the restrictions on movements, we stayed close to our members and we maintain a positive look on the future – underlined ALDA’s Vice-President, Mr Alessandro Perelli during the meeting on the Mediterranean area – We believe our work consists in promoting shared values of democracy, active citizenship and equal opportunities also, but not only, in African and Middle Eastern countries.”

Decentralization, subsidiarity and citizens’ participation are still the core of our strategy.

This represents an important milestone for the whole Association: after 20 years of activity and a network which has consistently grown, especially in the last decade, ALDA is now ready to expand its area of action, and this is happening in a historical moment where acting at the community level is a key priority to assure the sustainability of our communities. As also pointed out by Mrs Natasa Vuckovic, member of ALDA Governing Board, “next year is going to be a crucial year and the role of ALDA will be greater and more important than ever, mostly because of the pandemic, which has deepened the need of citizens to which ALDA offers services and different kinds of supports.”

All in all, the 4 webinars saw a good participation of members and partners, curious not only to discover the new priorities for 2020-2024, but also to start paving the way to future projects and collaborations according to such a strategy and our common goals.

With a specific regional focus, each webinar involved local stakeholders and members of ALDA’s new Governing Board active in the area of discussion.

“We are dedicated to EU values and this is strategic for us. We are working on decentralization, subsidiarity and citizens’ participation. This is still the core of our strategy”, highlighted ALDA President Mr Oriano Otočan during the first webinar focusing on Europe.

Moreover, ALDA’s Governing Board members contributed with precious insights and inputs, proving once again their deep commitment in being active actors in the implementation of the new strategic views.  “As a person who comes from the Western Balkans region, – stated the newly elected Governing Board member Mr Emir Coric –I think I can and I will help ALDA in increasing the cooperation with local authorities and I will directly support those municipalities in implementing good governance principles and citizens participation”.

From this moment onwards, the work to make this plan real has begun, but what is more important is to keep nourishing the conversation with our members and partners, reason why we encourage everyone to get in touch with us to join our mission, a shared mission.