LDA Moldova: welcome to the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
Since early 2018, the Local Democracy Agency Moldova has made efforts to become a full member of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum. Thus, on December 19, 2018, at the meeting of the members, LDA Moldova was accepted as a full member.
The National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum is a valuable tool for achieving the partnership objectives. It was created to ensure the active involvement of civil society in the country to improve cooperation with national authorities, to provide recommendations for a successful implementation of the Eastern Partnership projects, to establish lasting relationships with European Civil Society Organisations and to facilitate the communication with the European Institutions at the central and at the local level.
In the country it is also registered a strong presence of Non-Governmental Organisations open for discussion on issues related to European integration. Currently, at the Platform level, the LDA Moldova is working to share the ideas on the Eastern Partnership and the integration of Moldova into the EU, being interested in promoting reforms in the Republic of Moldova.
Since early 2018, the Local Democracy Agency Moldova has made efforts to become a full member of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum. Thus, on December 19, 2018, at the meeting of the members, LDA Moldova was accepted as a full member.
The National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum is a valuable tool for achieving the partnership objectives. It was created to ensure the active involvement of civil society in the country to improve cooperation with national authorities, to provide recommendations for a successful implementation of the Eastern Partnership projects, to establish lasting relationships with European Civil Society Organisations and to facilitate the communication with the European Institutions at the central and at the local level.
In the country it is also registered a strong presence of Non-Governmental Organisations open for discussion on issues related to European integration. Currently, at the Platform level, the LDA Moldova is working to share the ideas on the Eastern Partnership and the integration of Moldova into the EU, being interested in promoting reforms in the Republic of Moldova.
Enlarge project: Case-studies 2018
Case-studies synthesis and report: the two publications collects and summarize the findings and data collected during the project. The analysis focuses on 31 cases, based on a common template and, and,according to the ENLARGE methodology, the selected cases cover:
- A wide range of categories of sustainable energy, such as electricity production from renewable sources (e.g. wind, solar, etc), improving energy efficiency of housing or reducing air emissions from transport.
- Different types of initiatives, for example developing a policy (strategy) or a programme (a set of projects to achieve the policy goals) or a concrete project.
- Different kinds of collaborative processes and in particular co-design, co-production and co-evaluation processes
- Different tools and mechanisms to boost participation.
Case-studies synthesis and report: the two publications collects and summarize the findings and data collected during the project. The analysis focuses on 31 cases, based on a common template and, and,according to the ENLARGE methodology, the selected cases cover:
- A wide range of categories of sustainable energy, such as electricity production from renewable sources (e.g. wind, solar, etc), improving energy efficiency of housing or reducing air emissions from transport.
- Different types of initiatives, for example developing a policy (strategy) or a programme (a set of projects to achieve the policy goals) or a concrete project.
- Different kinds of collaborative processes and in particular co-design, co-production and co-evaluation processes
- Different tools and mechanisms to boost participation.
Projet d’ouverture de l'Agence de la Démocratie Locale Nord Maroc - Le formulaire de manifestation d'intérêt
L’Association Européenne pour la Démocratie Locale (ALDA) est une organisation internationale non-gouvernementale qui œuvre pour la promotion de la bonne gouvernance et pour la participation citoyenne au niveau local. Créée en 1999 à l’initiative du Congrès des Pouvoir Locaux et régionaux du Conseil de l’Europe, ALDA a pour objectif principal de coordonner et d’appuyer un réseau de 14 Agences de la Démocratie Locale (ADL), établi au début des années 1990 et ayant pour objectif principal de faciliter la coopération entre les collectivités territoriales et la société civile.
ALDA est active au Maroc depuis plusieurs années et, suite à un travail poussé d’analyse des besoins au niveau local et la récente réforme territoriale impulsée par le royaume du Maroc pour la mise en œuvre d’une régionalisation avancée renforçant la décentralisation et la démocratie locale et participative, elle a lancé un processus d’ouverture d’une Agence de la Démocratie Locale (ADL) au nord du Maroc, qui sera la deuxième ADL sur la rive sud de la Méditerranée.
L’Agence de la Démocratie Locale sera basée à Tétouan mais travaillera en coordination avec les points focaux des communes de Tanger, Larache et Chefchaouen. Ainsi, l’ADL Nord Maroc aura une portée sur toute la région Tanger – Tétouan – AL Hoceima. Les ADL sont autonomes financièrement grâce à l’appui de leurs partenaires et sont des ONG enregistrées au niveau local agissant comme moteurs de la bonne gouvernance et de l’autonomie locale. L’aspect le plus important des ADL est le processus de construction de partenariats. En effet, la coopération et le partenariat entre les acteurs locaux et internationaux, et entre des autorités locales et des Organisations de la Société Civile, apportent une valeur ajoutée essentielle au processus d’élaboration de projets et de mise en œuvre d’activités au niveau local.
Aussi, si vous souhaitez que votre association rejoigne le groupe des parties-prenantes qui lanceront la nouvelle Agence de la Démocratie Locale au Maroc et afin de compléter l’identification des partenaires qui constitueront la force de l’ADL Nord Maroc pour les années à venir, on vous prie de bien vouloir compléter ce formulaire au dessus et de envoyer la copie des statuts de votre association ainsi que toute documentation ou publication supplémentaire sur vos activités à Mme Sibel Tas, sibel.tas@aldaintranet.org
L’Association Européenne pour la Démocratie Locale (ALDA) est une organisation internationale non-gouvernementale qui œuvre pour la promotion de la bonne gouvernance et pour la participation citoyenne au niveau local. Créée en 1999 à l’initiative du Congrès des Pouvoir Locaux et régionaux du Conseil de l’Europe, ALDA a pour objectif principal de coordonner et d’appuyer un réseau de 14 Agences de la Démocratie Locale (ADL), établi au début des années 1990 et ayant pour objectif principal de faciliter la coopération entre les collectivités territoriales et la société civile.
ALDA est active au Maroc depuis plusieurs années et, suite à un travail poussé d’analyse des besoins au niveau local et la récente réforme territoriale impulsée par le royaume du Maroc pour la mise en œuvre d’une régionalisation avancée renforçant la décentralisation et la démocratie locale et participative, elle a lancé un processus d’ouverture d’une Agence de la Démocratie Locale (ADL) au nord du Maroc, qui sera la deuxième ADL sur la rive sud de la Méditerranée.
L’Agence de la Démocratie Locale sera basée à Tétouan mais travaillera en coordination avec les points focaux des communes de Tanger, Larache et Chefchaouen. Ainsi, l’ADL Nord Maroc aura une portée sur toute la région Tanger – Tétouan – AL Hoceima. Les ADL sont autonomes financièrement grâce à l’appui de leurs partenaires et sont des ONG enregistrées au niveau local agissant comme moteurs de la bonne gouvernance et de l’autonomie locale. L’aspect le plus important des ADL est le processus de construction de partenariats. En effet, la coopération et le partenariat entre les acteurs locaux et internationaux, et entre des autorités locales et des Organisations de la Société Civile, apportent une valeur ajoutée essentielle au processus d’élaboration de projets et de mise en œuvre d’activités au niveau local.
Aussi, si vous souhaitez que votre association rejoigne le groupe des parties-prenantes qui lanceront la nouvelle Agence de la Démocratie Locale au Maroc et afin de compléter l’identification des partenaires qui constitueront la force de l’ADL Nord Maroc pour les années à venir, on vous prie de bien vouloir compléter ce formulaire au dessus et de envoyer la copie des statuts de votre association ainsi que toute documentation ou publication supplémentaire sur vos activités à Mme Sibel Tas, sibel.tas@aldaintranet.org
LDA Dnipro awarded with a grant to enhance public e-services in Ukranian communities
The Local Democracy Agency Dnipro was awarded by the East-Europe Foundation Ukraine with a grant for the project “We are the e-community of Dnipro”. The project will aim at building skills and knowledge of 100 condominiums’ administrators for using e-services. Additionally, thanks to this initiative, community leaders will be trained in using electronic services within the Dnipro e-governance initiative. The services involved in the project activities and that will be accessible are: the booking of medical services, the request of different authorizations and confirmation documents, the creation of e-signatures, tax declarations etc. After an initial capacity building exercise, the beneficiaries will be encouraged to disseminate further the initiative, the benefits and use of e-services within their communities, acting as multipliers. The project will be implemented by LDA in partnership with the IT department of Dnipro city council.
The Local Democracy Agency Dnipro was awarded by the East-Europe Foundation Ukraine with a grant for the project “We are the e-community of Dnipro”. The project will aim at building skills and knowledge of 100 condominiums’ administrators for using e-services. Additionally, thanks to this initiative, community leaders will be trained in using electronic services within the Dnipro e-governance initiative. The services involved in the project activities and that will be accessible are: the booking of medical services, the request of different authorizations and confirmation documents, the creation of e-signatures, tax declarations etc. After an initial capacity building exercise, the beneficiaries will be encouraged to disseminate further the initiative, the benefits and use of e-services within their communities, acting as multipliers. The project will be implemented by LDA in partnership with the IT department of Dnipro city council.
2018 was everything but boring… While celebrating, let’s get ready to 2019 challenges!
Dear members, partners, friends,
While looking at the accomplishments of ALDA in 2018, I find myself in the difficult situation to choose what key achievements to put in the spotlight.
I am extremely pleased and proud that this year, ALDA was reconfirmed as a beneficiary of an operating grant from the programme Europe for Citizens, which aims at enhancing civic participation at EU level.
This gives us a big responsibility, few months ahead of the European Parliament election 2019: we need to get European citizens to go and vote, this time, and vote for Europe! We will not stop repeating that the European project is the best possible scenario, and all other options will just be worse, for all of us.
We need a united Europe, but also a Europe capable to grow, to adapt to the global world and to tackle more effectively the needs of its citizens, cities, regions and states. Today more than ever, Europe needs to be the stabilizing factor in the turbulent international environment, spreading the values of peace and democracy all over the globe.
Join the campaign YOU4EU, let’s get fellow citizens to cast their ballot!
Today, the three Local Democracy Agencies launched in 2017 (LDA Moldova in Cimișlia, Moldavia; LDA Mariupol, Ukraine; LDA Kairouan, Tunisia) are fully operational, paving the way for more resilient communities. The preparatory work for the establishment of the Local Democracy Agency of North Morocco is also very advanced, with the partner meeting hosted a few weeks ago by the Municipality of Tétouan. Further engagement is needed to ensure the continuity and sustainability of existing LDAs, and to get the ball rolling for future enlargement of our network.
I am particularly thrilled with the results of some projects we have run. The Horizon 2020 project Re.Cri.Re, led by ALDA in partnership with a number of EU universities, paved the way for a more cohesive Europe by producing guidelines for policy-makers, which give inputs regarding the cultural and social dimensions in order to implement effective policies.
Another research project ALDA was part of was ENLARGE, which developed an innovative online gamebook on collaborative processes in the sustainable field. It’s a truly useful playground for all stakeholders who want to test participation in a safe environment .
Have you played with it?
Our work, as usual, focused on the rights of citizens who might feel left out. European Mobile European citizens who struggle to be fully part of their welcoming cities will benefit from the project APProach. Women are the target of a number of projects, including GET UP!, tackling the stereotyping of educational and career choices, to PARFAIT, empowering Tunisian women to fully access the civic life, as informed citizens, voters, and candidates for the elections.
And of course migrants and refugees, who pay the price of fear-mongering and unethical governance on their own skin. We are very happy to be part of WEMIN project adventure, which while empowering migrant and refugee women living in Europe to be active part of their new cities sociocultural life, will fight stereotypes on both ends.
I thank all the members of ALDA, today more than 300 from the whole enlarged Europe, for your passion and dedication. I thank our Governing Board and our Secretariat, led by the tireless Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida.
There is no better alternative to the European project. There are no better societies, without respect for Human Rights.
We cannot give for granted the rights we enjoy today. Let’s continue to support the others in our daily life, anywhere and anytime our action can help building a better society. Let’s keep working together in 2019, for the Europe we want!
Merry Christmas to you and your families, and a truly participative New Year 2019!
Oriano Otočan
President of ALDA
Dear members, partners, friends,
While looking at the accomplishments of ALDA in 2018, I find myself in the difficult situation to choose what key achievements to put in the spotlight.
I am extremely pleased and proud that this year, ALDA was reconfirmed as a beneficiary of an operating grant from the programme Europe for Citizens, which aims at enhancing civic participation at EU level.
This gives us a big responsibility, few months ahead of the European Parliament election 2019: we need to get European citizens to go and vote, this time, and vote for Europe! We will not stop repeating that the European project is the best possible scenario, and all other options will just be worse, for all of us.
We need a united Europe, but also a Europe capable to grow, to adapt to the global world and to tackle more effectively the needs of its citizens, cities, regions and states. Today more than ever, Europe needs to be the stabilizing factor in the turbulent international environment, spreading the values of peace and democracy all over the globe.
Join the campaign YOU4EU, let’s get fellow citizens to cast their ballot!
Today, the three Local Democracy Agencies launched in 2017 (LDA Moldova in Cimișlia, Moldavia; LDA Mariupol, Ukraine; LDA Kairouan, Tunisia) are fully operational, paving the way for more resilient communities. The preparatory work for the establishment of the Local Democracy Agency of North Morocco is also very advanced, with the partner meeting hosted a few weeks ago by the Municipality of Tétouan. Further engagement is needed to ensure the continuity and sustainability of existing LDAs, and to get the ball rolling for future enlargement of our network.
I am particularly thrilled with the results of some projects we have run. The Horizon 2020 project Re.Cri.Re, led by ALDA in partnership with a number of EU universities, paved the way for a more cohesive Europe by producing guidelines for policy-makers, which give inputs regarding the cultural and social dimensions in order to implement effective policies.
Another research project ALDA was part of was ENLARGE, which developed an innovative online gamebook on collaborative processes in the sustainable field. It’s a truly useful playground for all stakeholders who want to test participation in a safe environment .
Have you played with it?
Our work, as usual, focused on the rights of citizens who might feel left out. European Mobile European citizens who struggle to be fully part of their welcoming cities will benefit from the project APProach. Women are the target of a number of projects, including GET UP!, tackling the stereotyping of educational and career choices, to PARFAIT, empowering Tunisian women to fully access the civic life, as informed citizens, voters, and candidates for the elections.
And of course migrants and refugees, who pay the price of fear-mongering and unethical governance on their own skin. We are very happy to be part of WEMIN project adventure, which while empowering migrant and refugee women living in Europe to be active part of their new cities sociocultural life, will fight stereotypes on both ends.
I thank all the members of ALDA, today more than 300 from the whole enlarged Europe, for your passion and dedication. I thank our Governing Board and our Secretariat, led by the tireless Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida.
There is no better alternative to the European project. There are no better societies, without respect for Human Rights.
We cannot give for granted the rights we enjoy today. Let’s continue to support the others in our daily life, anywhere and anytime our action can help building a better society. Let’s keep working together in 2019, for the Europe we want!
Merry Christmas to you and your families, and a truly participative New Year 2019!
Oriano Otočan
President of ALDA
With finance and accountancy to more efficient and transparent office!
Towards a less gender-biased society at the heart of GET-UP project's final event in Rome
At a first glance, contemporary society is usually considered “evolved”, developed and attentive to everybody’s needs. Despite these considerations are generally true, there is still a long way to go before reaching a balanced situation on gender issues.
Despite all, there is a lot of work in progress to amend this condition, “Gender Equality” also being one of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals forming the 2030 Agenda, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015.
It has been for two years that through the project “Gender Equality Training to overcome Unfair discrimination Practices in education and labour market” (GET-UP) ALDA and all the project’s consortium is trying to address the stereotyping of educational and career choices to promote gender equality in education, training, career guidance and workplaces.
In order to reach this objective, we conducted thorough researches and studies and consequently trainings, conferences, webinars were organized to raise awareness on the topic.
On December 5th, the high school “Liceo Classico Torquato Tasso” in Rome hosted the GET-UP final conference, where project’s results were presented and discussed.
The conference, organized by the project leader UIL – Unione Italiana del Lavoro, in cooperation with all partners in the guise of different associations and organizations promoting education, training and social growth coming from France, Bulgaria, Malta, Italy, Lithuania and Belgium.
GET-UP final event, entitled “A Gender Story. Travelling across gender discriminations and stereotypes in education and labour market”, enjoyed a broad involvement of stakeholders, local and European CSOs, and students.
Mihaela Onofras, ALDA project manager, presented one of the main results of these two years of coaction: the serious game “A Gender Story”, the journey through the life of the protagonist (Anna or Tom). The game articulates itself into 3 chapters, representing each one a different life-phase, so that you will have to deal with real-like obstacles and challenges, thus perceiving the impact of gender stereotypes.
The conference was not only to present the work done, but also to analyse what has left to be done. Debates focused on three main themes, being work-life balance, gender pay gap, and waste of talent, all covered by expert panellists from the international panorama.
In conclusion, all parties agreed that activities of GET-UP project have been really useful in stimulating interest and awareness on gender equality, since they brought to the draft of a fundamental document, the European Minimum Standard of Competences on Gender Equality (EMSC) and project partners expressed the will to continue this fruitful collaboration even beyond the project’s framework!
Useful resources:
See the Agenda of the conference
Get-up project website
Play with the serious-game “A Gender Story”
Go to GET-UP WEBINAR and learn more about the European Minimum Standard of Competences on Gender Equality (EMSC).
GET-UP Training Platform
At a first glance, contemporary society is usually considered “evolved”, developed and attentive to everybody’s needs. Despite these considerations are generally true, there is still a long way to go before reaching a balanced situation on gender issues.
Despite all, there is a lot of work in progress to amend this condition, “Gender Equality” also being one of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals forming the 2030 Agenda, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015.
It has been for two years that through the project “Gender Equality Training to overcome Unfair discrimination Practices in education and labour market” (GET-UP) ALDA and all the project’s consortium is trying to address the stereotyping of educational and career choices to promote gender equality in education, training, career guidance and workplaces.
In order to reach this objective, we conducted thorough researches and studies and consequently trainings, conferences, webinars were organized to raise awareness on the topic.
On December 5th, the high school “Liceo Classico Torquato Tasso” in Rome hosted the GET-UP final conference, where project’s results were presented and discussed.
The conference, organized by the project leader UIL – Unione Italiana del Lavoro, in cooperation with all partners in the guise of different associations and organizations promoting education, training and social growth coming from France, Bulgaria, Malta, Italy, Lithuania and Belgium.
GET-UP final event, entitled “A Gender Story. Travelling across gender discriminations and stereotypes in education and labour market”, enjoyed a broad involvement of stakeholders, local and European CSOs, and students.
Mihaela Onofras, ALDA project manager, presented one of the main results of these two years of coaction: the serious game “A Gender Story”, the journey through the life of the protagonist (Anna or Tom). The game articulates itself into 3 chapters, representing each one a different life-phase, so that you will have to deal with real-like obstacles and challenges, thus perceiving the impact of gender stereotypes.
The conference was not only to present the work done, but also to analyse what has left to be done. Debates focused on three main themes, being work-life balance, gender pay gap, and waste of talent, all covered by expert panellists from the international panorama.
In conclusion, all parties agreed that activities of GET-UP project have been really useful in stimulating interest and awareness on gender equality, since they brought to the draft of a fundamental document, the European Minimum Standard of Competences on Gender Equality (EMSC) and project partners expressed the will to continue this fruitful collaboration even beyond the project’s framework!
Useful resources:
See the Agenda of the conference
Get-up project website
Play with the serious-game “A Gender Story”
Go to GET-UP WEBINAR and learn more about the European Minimum Standard of Competences on Gender Equality (EMSC).
GET-UP Training Platform
Co-working in the spotlight - Can it help youth access the job market?
Co-working in the spotlight – Can it help youth access the job market?
The third international meeting of the project INCOME took place on 10-11 December in Schio (Italy), hosted by Megahub – Samarcanda. The event was an important occasion for all partners and local stakeholders to go through all what’s been learnt on co-working during the project journey, and think of future developments and potential cooperation.
***
The event gathered all nine project partners, a mixed consortium grouping civil society organizations, municipalities, co-working hubs, and coordinated by Färgfabriken, a leading actor in the field of contemporary cultural expressions. The inspiring two-day started with the visit of Megahub’s fablab and co-working space, where people can access physical spaces and technologies to create and exhibit their productions, receive training and tutoring, and get in touch with relevant peers for cross-contamination and cooperation.
Partners then discussed milestones and challenges of the project, which had an ambitious yet crucial objective — understanding if and how the multi-faceted phenomenon of co-working can support the access of European young generations in the job market. Partners experienced other partners’ co-working practices and experiences through in-depth job-shadowing activities. Their thoughts and reflections, together with the recommendations to make co-working work, will be included in the final publication, now in the making.
During a public event with local stakeholders interested in the topic, the main findings were presented. Then, all participants worked together in workshops aimed at analyzing co-working pains and gains in the fields of art and technologies, and strategies to make co-working experience and final products better.
In spite of the non-monolithic meaning of the concept of co-working, there is a wide agreement on the fact that it can be extremely used to tackle unemployment among youth and other social groups. ALDA is extremely glad to be part of this adventure, which is part of the Association’s efforts to empower young people in innovative ways.
Read more about INCOME project, funded by the European programme Erasmus+
Co-working in the spotlight – Can it help youth access the job market?
The third international meeting of the project INCOME took place on 10-11 December in Schio (Italy), hosted by Megahub – Samarcanda. The event was an important occasion for all partners and local stakeholders to go through all what’s been learnt on co-working during the project journey, and think of future developments and potential cooperation.
***
The event gathered all nine project partners, a mixed consortium grouping civil society organizations, municipalities, co-working hubs, and coordinated by Färgfabriken, a leading actor in the field of contemporary cultural expressions. The inspiring two-day started with the visit of Megahub’s fablab and co-working space, where people can access physical spaces and technologies to create and exhibit their productions, receive training and tutoring, and get in touch with relevant peers for cross-contamination and cooperation.
Partners then discussed milestones and challenges of the project, which had an ambitious yet crucial objective — understanding if and how the multi-faceted phenomenon of co-working can support the access of European young generations in the job market. Partners experienced other partners’ co-working practices and experiences through in-depth job-shadowing activities. Their thoughts and reflections, together with the recommendations to make co-working work, will be included in the final publication, now in the making.
During a public event with local stakeholders interested in the topic, the main findings were presented. Then, all participants worked together in workshops aimed at analyzing co-working pains and gains in the fields of art and technologies, and strategies to make co-working experience and final products better.
In spite of the non-monolithic meaning of the concept of co-working, there is a wide agreement on the fact that it can be extremely used to tackle unemployment among youth and other social groups. ALDA is extremely glad to be part of this adventure, which is part of the Association’s efforts to empower young people in innovative ways.
Read more about INCOME project, funded by the European programme Erasmus+
Workshop on local democracy in Santorso
In order to involve local citizens on the topic of local democracy, Municipality of Santorso offered a workshops on the 2nd December 2018. The event was a possibility for people could explore some of the root causes of conflict, polarisation and poverty. To do so, an interactive simulation on sustainable resource management from MIT (Boston), called “fishbanks simulation” was adopted.
During the activities, 27 participants learned how all our economic and social activities, like all other natural aspects, are based on a thermodynamic context, where the primary variables are energy and population. They also experienced firsthand the difficulty and complexity of making decisions with other people when things go out of control or it’s a life or death situation.
They also learned how the concept of democracy, based on competition between groups and by which the result depends by the majority of the votes and not by the pursuit of the best solution for all, could be one the biggest limit in our path towards sustainability and peace.
At the end of this two-day workshop, the participants:
- gained a much deeper awareness of the world global challenges (limits to growth, the tragedy of the commons, overshoot and collapse), and the insufficient capacity to manage them due to current organisational and decision making structures at the political and societal level.
- experimented different patterns of organisations, their characteristics and expected outcomes (hierarchical, flat and agile)
- experimented a relative new and developing agile methodology called “dynamic governance” (sociocracy30.org).
In particular, they learned how to use the “consent decision making” and the “election process by consent” patterns.
This activity is part of the project RECOV: REthinking COllaborative Values for Public Services, supported by the European programme Europe for Citizens.
For more information see the link HERE.
In order to involve local citizens on the topic of local democracy, Municipality of Santorso offered a workshops on the 2nd December 2018. The event was a possibility for people could explore some of the root causes of conflict, polarisation and poverty. To do so, an interactive simulation on sustainable resource management from MIT (Boston), called “fishbanks simulation” was adopted.
During the activities, 27 participants learned how all our economic and social activities, like all other natural aspects, are based on a thermodynamic context, where the primary variables are energy and population. They also experienced firsthand the difficulty and complexity of making decisions with other people when things go out of control or it’s a life or death situation.
They also learned how the concept of democracy, based on competition between groups and by which the result depends by the majority of the votes and not by the pursuit of the best solution for all, could be one the biggest limit in our path towards sustainability and peace.
At the end of this two-day workshop, the participants:
- gained a much deeper awareness of the world global challenges (limits to growth, the tragedy of the commons, overshoot and collapse), and the insufficient capacity to manage them due to current organisational and decision making structures at the political and societal level.
- experimented different patterns of organisations, their characteristics and expected outcomes (hierarchical, flat and agile)
- experimented a relative new and developing agile methodology called “dynamic governance” (sociocracy30.org).
In particular, they learned how to use the “consent decision making” and the “election process by consent” patterns.
This activity is part of the project RECOV: REthinking COllaborative Values for Public Services, supported by the European programme Europe for Citizens.
For more information see the link HERE.
