Month: September 2020

On September 9th, 2020 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the Media Dialogue project announced the winners of grant competitions for media monitoring and producing parliamentary elections related materials for voters. It was a wonderful occasion to reward the hard work and ambitious projects of eleven media organizations in the country, which will now focus on monitoring hate speech and controversial, inflammatory narratives by key electoral actors.

“I’m very excited about the caliber of grantees for both social media monitoring and media production projects“, commented ALDA Eastern Partnership coordinator Alexandru Coica, who is closely following the developments of Media Dialogue. “We are looking forward to seeing the results of the implementation and the positive effect it will have on ensuring free and fair elections in Kyrgyzstan“.

The project is implemented by ALDA together with a consortium of four other organisations: the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), Media Policy Institute, ARTICLE 19 and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. In the words of EPD’s Vittoria Zanellati, who participated to the ceremony, “We are glad to be able to engage in achievements of the media’s objectives, for ensuring a democratic process during the election in Kyrgyzstan; I congratulate this success and I hope your projects will come to life soon“. ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida likewise congratuled all winners and applicants, and expressed her gratitude for the interest, on which Kyrgyzstan relies to remain “the most open and democratic country of Central Asia“.

All awarded projects are indeed extremely interesting and are expected to be very fruitful and helpful to citizens in improving the free press, free speech, and related legislations.

***
The Media Dialogue project is funded by the European Union and runs until late spring 2021. Its objective is to harness the power of the media in safeguarding conflict-free elections, hence its consortium has been delivering training and capacity-building activities to help media actors supply accurate and trustworthy election-related content to the citizens of Kyrgyzstan so that they can make informed choices.

The Mind Inclusion project wishes to help intellectually disabled persons to have access to public spaces and exercise
their rights. While project partners strongly believe that a more inclusive society is possible, it is a fact that, currently, public
places such as bars, libraries, parks, and shops are not always designed for people with disabilities.
Based on the common conviction that everyone should be free and comfortable in the places they frequent, hence,
there was born the Mind Inclusion application: a practical, useful, simple, easy-to-use tool that helps people with both
cognitive and physical disabilities find and reach different spots in a city; as well as give them an understanding of the offer of
those places, from services to opening hours, exact location, how to reach it and what the neighbourhood is like. In other
words, the Mind Inclusion app wishes to help its users know more about a place in just a few clicks, for everyone to enjoy a
better social life in an inclusive environment!
The app, indeed, wants not only to improve the inclusion in society of people with disabilities, but also to connect with
managers of public places and make them more aware of the theme of social inclusion. In a time like this, spreading the
seed of solidarity and attention to the other is more important than ever.
If you are the manager of a public space and you are interested in becoming part of this great initiative, watch this
video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8B5QGHqBO0&feature=youtu.be ) and find more information on this flyer
(https://www.alda-europe.eu/public/doc/MindInclusionApp_Businesses.pdf).

If you want to use the app

, download it from the

Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?

id=com.mindinclusion.socialit.mindinclusion&hl= )

store in English, Lithuanian, Spanish or Italian (soon in French aswell) and find more information on

this flyer (https://www.alda-europe.eu/public/doc/MindInclusionApp_Users.pdf)

, too.

What are you waiting for? Create your Mind Inclusion app account!

Started in November 2018, the

Mind Inclusion 2.0 (https://www.alda-europe.eu/newSite/project_dett.php?ID=133)

projectaims to find sustainable and inclusive solutions that help caregivers improve their skills, on one hand, and allow disabledindividuals to participate in social life on the other hand –

with the goal to help people with disabilities overcome obstacles,thanks to technology, when accessing public places. Funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission, theproject consortium gathers lead partner

Margherita: Società Cooperativa Onlus (http://www.cooperativamargherita.org/)

(Italy) together with

Polibienestar Research Institute (https://www.polibienestar.org/)

,

INTRAS Foundation

(https://www.intras.es/)

(Spain),

Social IT Software & Consulting Srl (http://www.socialit.it/)

(Italy),

Lietuvos sutrikusio intelektozmoniu globos bendrija «Viltis» (http://www.viltis.lt/lt/)

(Lithuania) and

ALDA (https://www.alda-europe.eu/newSite/).

BRIGHT’s Community of Interest is coming together. Three European actors have joined the community so far – there are
still two spots available!
With its Community of Interest, BRIGHT is creating a wide network of local stakeholders across Europe for the protection of
the rights of women seasonal workers employed in agriculture in the hosting communities. The members of the Community
will have the chance to participate in the most interesting activities organized by the project partners, such as technical and
awareness-raising webinars and capacity building training.
–> Want to join us? There are two spots left. To join the BRIGHT Community of Interest it is necessary to share the project
goals and mission by signing a Memorandum of Understanding.The participation is free of charge. For more information:
martina@aldaintranet.org
COMMUNITY MEMBERS: LET’S INTRODUCE THEM!

URBAN2020, Romania

URBAN2020 is a Bucharest-based NGO which stands up for the improvement of the citizens’ qualityof life in Romania and across Europe, by supporting good governance and promoting sustainability and equity in partnershipcreation between public, academic and private sectors. URBAN2020 strives to reduce the gaps between Romania andWestern Europe and between rural and urban dimensions by fostering the development through urban planning andarchitectural services. It also encourages the active participation of citizens and youth in decision-making, city life and theredevelopment of urban spaces and the integration of disadvantaged groups through training and educational services. Theinvolvement in the BRIGHT project represents a new challenge, an opportunity to expand its action’s range to cover anincreasingly topical social problem and try to find a connection with urban and territorial politics and strategies that can helpbetter understand the phenomena and develop the right policy toolkit to face it. URBAN2020 expertise may prove useful forthe elaboration of innovative strategies for the creation of local-based partnerships between citizens, private entities andmunicipalities to promote community-based initiatives in the Romanian cities most affected by the phenomenon and raiseawareness on it. (http://urban2020.org/) 

IPRES, Italy

The Apulian Institute of Economic and Social Research (IPRES) was founded in 1968 as anAssociation between public bodies, expression of the local and functional Autonomies’ system of the Puglia region. In July2018, IPRES was transformed into Foundation: the Puglia Region, the Municipalities of Bari, Taranto and Brindisi, theUniversity of Bari, the Chamber of Commerce of Bari and ISPE Association are members of IPRES. The Institute mission,firstly, aims at supporting the designing, adoption, implementation and evaluation of regional development policies and themultilevel institutional relationships. The Puglia Region is involved in promoting participatory governance systems, under theregional law n. 28/2017. As a technical body, supporting the formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of theregional policies, IPRES Foundation is strictly concerned in training to support participatory processes and in recognition ofbest practices on participation methods. (https://www.ipres.it/it/) 

Bolyarovo Municipality, Bulgaria

Bolyarovo Municipality is situated in Southeastern Bulgaria, Yambol District. The municipality consists of 20 settlements, of which one city – the municipal center of Bolyarovo and 19 villages. The goals of Bolyarovo Municipality are to develop the conditions for economic development, to improve the quality of life, healthcare, educational, and social services, to improve the quality of administrative services and to create conditions for improvement of the climate.

BRIGHT’s Community of Interest is coming together. Three European actors have joined the community so far – there are still two spots available!

With its Community of Interest, BRIGHT is creating a wide network of local stakeholders across Europe for the protection of the rights of women seasonal workers employed in agriculture in the hosting communities. The members of the Community will have the chance to participate in the most interesting activities organized by the project partners, such as technical and awareness-raising webinars and capacity building training.

–> Want to join us? There are two spots left. To join the BRIGHT Community of Interest it is necessary to share the project goals and mission by signing a Memorandum of Understanding.The participation is free of charge. For more information: martina@aldaintranet.org

COMMUNITY MEMBERS: LET’S INTRODUCE THEM!

 URBAN2020, Romania

URBAN2020 is a Bucharest-based NGO which stands up for the improvement of the citizens’ quality of life in Romania and across Europe, by supporting good governance and promoting sustainability and equity in partnership creation between public, academic and private sectors. URBAN2020 strives to reduce the gaps between Romania and Western Europe and between rural and urban dimensions by fostering the development through urban planning and architectural services. It also encourages the active participation of citizens and youth in decision-making, city life and the redevelopment of urban spaces and the integration of disadvantaged groups through training and educational services. The involvement in the BRIGHT project represents a new challenge, an opportunity to expand its action’s range to cover an increasingly topical social problem and try to find a connection with urban and territorial politics and strategies that can help better understand the phenomena and develop the right policy toolkit to face it. URBAN2020 expertise may prove useful for the elaboration of innovative strategies for the creation of local-based partnerships between citizens, private entities and municipalities to promote community-based initiatives in the Romanian cities most affected by the phenomenon and raise awareness on it.

 IPRES, Italy

The Apulian Institute of Economic and Social Research (IPRES) was founded in 1968 as an Association between public bodies, expression of the local and functional Autonomies’ system of the Puglia region. In July 2018, IPRES was transformed into Foundation: the Puglia Region, the Municipalities of Bari, Taranto and Brindisi, the University of Bari, the Chamber of Commerce of Bari and ISPE Association are members of IPRES. The Institute mission, firstly, aims at supporting the designing, adoption, implementation and evaluation of regional development policies and the multilevel institutional relationships. The Puglia Region is involved in promoting participatory governance systems, under the regional law n. 28/2017. As a technical body, supporting the formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of the regional policies, IPRES Foundation is strictly concerned in training to support participatory processes and in recognition of best practices on participation methods.

 Bolyarovo Municipality, Bulgaria

Bolyarovo Municipality is situated in Southeastern Bulgaria, Yambol District. The municipality consists of 20 settlements, of which one city – the municipal center of Bolyarovo and 19 villages. The goals of Bolyarovo Municipality are to develop the conditions for economic development, to improve the quality of life, healthcare, educational, and social services, to improve the quality of administrative services and to create conditions for improvement of the climate for the development of the local economy, accompanied by increasing employment and income of the population.

Nelle ultime settimane la Bielorussia ha suscitato, e sta suscitando una grande attenzione mediatica. Dal 9 agosto, infatti, il
popolo bielorusso non si arrende e continua a scendere in piazza per chiedere una maggiore trasparenza politica.
Si tratta di migliaia di manifestanti che invocano libertà e democrazia: diritti che ai nostri occhi sembrano scontati ed
inalienabili. Ecco perché vale la pena fermarsi a riflettere su quello che sta accadendo in Bielorussia, come in altre parti del
mondo: basteranno le proteste o sarà necessario agire in altro modo? Che ruolo dovrebbe assumere l’Europa?
Per chi vorrà unirsi e contribuire al ragionamento, l’invito è per mercoledì 9 settembre, alle ore 18 per parlare di

“Processi di Democratizzazione: il caso della Bielorussia (https://www.alda-
europe.eu/public/doc/casobielorussia.pdf)”

Ad animare il dibattito saranno Ulad Vialicka, fondatore dell’organizzazione Eurobelarus, Enrico Peroni, Segretario della
sezione di Vicenza del Movimento Federalista Europeo e Antonella Valmorbida, Segretario Generale di ALDA. Il tutto
moderato da Federico Cazzaro, membro del Movimento Federalista Europeo di Vicenza.
Grazie all’intervento di Mr. Vialicka, fondatore di Eurobelarus, un consorzio internazionale pro-europeo per lo sviluppo della
Bielorussia, avremo l’opportunità di ascoltare una testimonianza dal campo, che ci aiuterà a capire i meccanismi dei processi
di democratizzazione come quello in atto.
Vi aspettiamo, mercoledì 9 settembre, dalle ore 18:00.

– Su Zoom, tramite registrazione al link: http://bit.ly/casobielorussia (http://bit.ly/casobielorussia)
– Tramite la diretta Facebook trasmessa dalla pagina del Movimento Federalista Europeo – Vicenza
(https://www.facebook.com/MFEVicenza) (@MFEVicenza)
– Negli uffici ALDA di Vicenza, in Viale Milano 36. Evento gratuito con prenotazione obbligatoria, chiamando Elisabetta allo
0444.540.146. Solo 15 posti disponibili, affrettatevi!

In recent weeks, Belarus has attracted, and is still attracting, a great deal of media attention. Since August 9, in fact, the Belarusian people do not give up and continue to take to the streets to demand greater political transparency.

Thousands of demonstrators are calling for freedom and democracy: rights that to our eyes seem taken for granted and inalienable. That is why it is worth stopping to think about what is happening in Belarus, as in other parts of the world: will the protests be enough or will it be necessary to act in another way? What role should Europe take?

For those who want to join and contribute to the reasoning, the invitation is for Wednesday, September 9, at 18 to talk about “Processes of Democratization: the case of Belarus“.

To animate the debate will be Ulad Vialicka, founder of the organization Eurobelarus, Enrico Peroni, Secretary of the Vicenza section of the European Federalist Movement and Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA. All moderated by Federico Cazzaro, member of the European Federalist Movement of Vicenza.

Thanks to the intervention of Mr. Vialicka, founder of Eurobelarus, an international pro-European consortium for the development of Belarus, we will have the opportunity to hear a testimony from the field, which will help us to understand the mechanisms of democratization processes such as the one underway.

We look forward to seeing you, Wednesday, September 9, from 18:00.

Where?

– On Zoom, via registration at the link: http://bit.ly/casobielorussia
– Through the Facebook live broadcast from the page of the European Federalist Movement – Vicenza (@MFEVicenza)
– In the ALDA offices in Vicenza, Viale Milano 36. Free event with compulsory reservation, by calling Elisabetta at 0444.540.146. Only 15 places available, hurry up!

On September 3rd and 4th, 2020, ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida was honoured to participate to the Annual
Federalist Training Seminar of the Spinelli Institute for Federalist Studies (http://www.istitutospinelli.org/en/) in Ventotene
(Italy), together with the European Federalist Movement Italy (http://www.mfe.it/sito39/) and Europe. While she was an
observer on the first day, she took the floor at the seminar on “European Solidarity vs Nationalism: towards political
union” on the second day.
“Federalism in Europe and in the world. From the Monetary Union to the United States of Europe” was the title of this 39th
edition of the event on the island where the Manifesto that inspired European Unity was written. Mrs Valmorbida’s
intervention focused on solidarity being at the very heart of the European project and needing to be given priority not just in
Covid-19 times or more generally in times of emergency, but rather as a matter of habit and constance.
“It is a question of individual wellbeing within a wider context”, she reminded; “institutional and political work must go hand in
hand with a sense of citizenship, of culture and of common destiny and identity”. She proceeded to detail how the European
project should be interpreted at the local level, too, and brought closer to citizens’ common sense, which can be distant from
the great political dynamics but still very important. Such common sense of destiny, in fact, should be based on a series of
micro-actions that, together, become macro: “ALDA works on a citizen dimension, of diffusion and information. Promoting
citizenship, involvement, an idea of collective home through concrete practices: this is what we do together with local entities,
municipalities and communities that share the same values”.

Of course, finding unanimity on complex topics is never easy when you involve masses of people, but after all “a citizen
who’s active in their community is a citizen who’s active in the growth of Europe”. So on we go, with the strong belief that it is
in the intimacy of local communities that each citizen’s vote is elaborated.

Read more on the event on the Spinelli Institute’s website (http://www.istitutospinelli.org/en/2020/08/25/domenica-30-agosto-
si-apre-il-seminario-di-ventotene-2020/).

On September 3rd and 4th, 2020, ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida was honoured to participate to the Annual Federalist Training Seminar of the Spinelli Institute for Federalist Studies in Ventotene (Italy), together with the European Federalist Movement Italy and Europe. While she was an observer on the first day, she took the floor at the seminar on “European Solidarity vs Nationalism: towards political union” on the second day.

“Federalism in Europe and in the world. From the Monetary Union to the United States of Europe” was the title of this 39th edition of the event on the island where the Manifesto that inspired European Unity was written. Mrs Valmorbida’s intervention focused on solidarity being at the very heart of the European project and needing to be given priority not just in Covid-19 times or more generally in times of emergency, but rather as a matter of habit and constance.

“It is a question of individual wellbeing within a wider context“, she reminded; “institutional and political work must go hand in hand with a sense of citizenship, of culture and of common destiny and identity“. She proceeded to detail how the European project should be interpreted at the local level, too, and brought closer to citizens’ common sense, which can be distant from the great political dynamics but still very important. Such common sense of destiny, in fact, should be based on a series of micro-actions that, together, become macro: “ALDA works on a citizen dimension, of diffusion and information. Promoting citizenship, involvement, an idea of collective home through concrete practices: this is what we do together with local entities, municipalities and communities that share the same values“.

Of course, finding unanimity on complex topics is never easy when you involve masses of people, but after all “a citizen who’s active in their community is a citizen who’s active in the growth of Europe“. So on we go, with the strong belief that it is in the intimacy of local communities that each citizen’s vote is elaborated.

Read more on the event on the Spinelli Institute’s website.