Month: December 2020

“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.

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.

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.

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.

We finally reached to the end of a year which tested us from various perspectives, placing each of us in front of personal, social and economic challenges.

From our side, ALDA did its best to stay close to all each members and network and accompany them through this difficult period.

“On behalf of the whole team of ALDA, – stated our President Mr Oriano Otocan – we are deeply convinced that 2020 proved like never before the value and the power of belonging to a united and resilient community. ALDA’s network itself could be compared to such a community, or better, a community of communities: a strong and consolidated entity, where no one is left behind. Indeed, we are very proud of the twenty years of our existence and successful work and cooperation with hundreds of non-governmental organisations, cities, municipalities and regions.”

“The year behind us has not been easy and many have suffered – continues Mr Otocan –Problems related to the Covid-19 pandemic may have slowed us down but definitely not stopped us. Above and beyond, my wish for the year approaching is to see ALDA’s network grow and become a global example and point of reference of good governance and participation. Shall the spreading of values such as peace, solidarity and civic engagement serve to avoid the repeating of conflicts and human rights’ violations we have been witnessing in 2020.”

“Lastly, but not less important – concludes our President – may 2021 be the year we all get to gather, together, again! I wish everyone all the best!  I wish you a better, calmer, safer and happier 2021!”

A special wish to the whole network of ALDA has been recorded by our Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida: choose your language of preference among English, Italian, French or Russian and play the video!

Article by Stanka Parac

Beautiful event last night. Culture came back to life with a great spectacle! Thanks to everyone who made it possible for all of us – music and art lovers but also all the citizens. We are very happy and proud that we have this chance to host and enjoy the music of such a fantastic Orchestra and watch our favourite movies outdoor.

This is one of the comments by the audience in Novi Sad and Subotica (Serbia), Ilok and Vukovar (Croatia) after four concerts by the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra held in open air in September and October this year, taking due care of safety measures during the Covid 19 pandemics. This event was not just an ordinary concert. The musicians from both sides of the border selected a shared cultural topic: Charlie Chaplin’s films, one of the most famous and recognisable figures in movie history to celebrate his birthday. In its outdoor location, at the beautiful “Trg slobode”, FILMHarmonia delighted thousands of spectators of all ages who sat not only on chairs, but also on concrete paths, bikes, roofs of cars, or watched the programme from nearby windows.

The FILMHarmonia is an exact representation of how creative artists visualise a new cultural product that brings together not only films and music but also the music performers and the audience from two neighbouring countries with a long history of bilateral conflicts. Rita Kinka, one of the renowned pianists from Novi Sad who joined the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra in this amazing cultural venture said after the concert: It was a great pleasure for me to incorporate the sound of the piano, under my fingers, into a joint sound. It was also a great challenge in every sense. This project is a place where ethnic and cultural borders are erased in the name of shared creation. Music is beyond all borders. Music brings people together. This project strongly confirms shared cultural values in our neighbourhood. 

Art on the River brings together the curators from eight countries of the Danube basin: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria whose main role is to select up to four artists from their countries to represent two (old and young) generations of artists: artists aged over 50 years and artists younger than 30, who grew up before and after the fall of the Berlin wall. Eight cities along the Danube river bank serve here as the main open stages and exhibition halls, while the touring exhibition “Art on the River” brings forward a continuous inter-generational dialogue. It takes place without any preconceptions or clichés not only about the artistic neighbourhoods of formerly divided countries in the Danube region, but also celebrates the existent diversities of cultural identities. The exhibition provides a deep insight into traditional and out of the box artistic expressions and positions across different generations who share the same need for crossing the boundaries in the search of beauty. This ongoing travelling exhibition will be on the move in 2020 and 2021 and will also connect the two European Capitals of Culture, Novi Sad 2022 and Timisoara 2023.

As early as 2007, the Hungary-Serbia border region has seen a plethora of inter-cultural exchange and cooperation projects connecting local people, local communities and a wide range of organisations and institutions located at the distance of some 8-10 km, but divided by the borderline between the EU and Serbia. In many ways, it was exactly the borderline between the two countries that inspired the people living in this neighbourhood to seek ways for cross-border communication and keep the shared cultural heritage alive as well as to promote it in order to make it better known on both sides of the border. Theatre art as a regional hub for children’s socialisation connects children’s theatres from Subotica and Szeged provides an innovative learning and exchange tool for the purpose of education, information, promotion and experience exchange in the field of theatre art for children. However, this project is about more than engaging children in artistic creative workshops on both sides of the borderline. It is also about interactive learning of Hungarian and Serbian as neighbouring but very different, not so easy to learn, languages.

Our Borderless Art Nouveau Culture project connecting the culture of twin cities Szeged and Subotica, shows how important this architectural heritage is at the border area of Hungary and Serbia (and in particular for the multicultural region of Vojvodina). The architectural style was most prominent between 1890 and 1910 during Austro-Hungarian times often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. The most outstanding architects Jakab Dezso (1864–1932) and Komor Marcell (1868–1944), designed the synagogues, nursing homes, public buildings, and private villas which today are a significant part of urban architectural heritage in this region. Their major projects include the Synagogue and the City Hall of Subotica (considered as the most beautiful city administration hall in Southeast Europe), the municipality building of Tirgu Mures, Romania, and a concert hall in Bratislava. Therefore, the preservation and promotion of this distinctive cultural heritage makes the cities of Szeged in Hungary and Subotica in Serbia unique cultural tourist destinations. Art Nouveau buildings and the heritage of the two twin towns form a complementary local and regional attraction that serves also as the solid basis for a joint tourist destination in the border region of Hungary and Serbia.

Three strongly trending activities among modern holiday makers in Europe today are: visiting cultural monuments, authentic nature experience and physical activity. Therefore, it comes as no surprise, that cycling tourism has the strongest growth of all the tourism segments, thus becoming one of the priorities within a number of Interreg Cross-border cooperation programmes connecting countries in the Danube region. In many way, cycling and the cycling routes along the Danube River, across large Pannonian plains connects the desire to pursue sport activities with the discovery of natural and cultural heritage in a unique way. Veloregio or Pannonian 8 are some of the successful stories that utilise this cross-border potential, so that the natural and cultural heritage combined with cycling tourism also help increase overnight stay and enables mobility of workforce. The famous bicycle path along the Danube leads as far as from Germany through Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and northern Serbia. This is one of the illustrations how the Danube river cooperation programme connects people and cultures and helps improve the quality of life in both urban and rural communities in this large region.

The above mentioned examples of connecting people and local communities in border areas of many countries and along the Danube River are made possible owing to Interreg CBC Programmes and EU Danube Macro Regional Strategy (EUSDR). Since 2007, the majority of the countries in the Danube region are EU countries, and it was in 2011 that the EU Council recognised this potential by endorsing the Communication and the accompanying Action Plan on the EUSDR revised according to identified priorities in 2019-2020. Good neighbours creating common future, development of tourism and preserving cultural and natural heritage, cooperation beyond borders are some of the key messages conveyed across communities in respective border areas engaged in making their overall quality of life better, through people-to-people and economic cooperation, while cherishing the common identity and shared European values and by promoting the richness of cultural and historical heritage.

***

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 interview is the sole responsibility of the interviewee and does not always reflect the views and attitudes of ALDA and Forum ZFD.

How to give an innovative boost to social inclusion, fight against poverty, youth and women employment in the Mediterranean area?

This will be possible, thanks to MY SEA, a ground-breaking project, launched on October 15^th, 2020 and running until April 2023, supported by the ENI CBC MED programme of the European Union.

Standing for “Mediterranean Youth, NEETs and women advancing Skills, Employment and Awareness in the blue and green economy” – MY SEA is a project led by CIES Onlus and implemented in partnership with organisations from Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and Greece.

The project will implement activities in Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Greece and Italy in order to promote social inclusion and fight against poverty, improve the employment of youth (18-24) and women, as well as NEETs (“Not in Education, nor in Employment, or Training” up to 30 years old) in the agricultural waste management sectors.

To do so, MYSEA will develop trainings oriented to both sectors, empower local governance as well as the alliance and the exchange of competences among stakeholders from the economic sector and technical and professional training institutions (TVET) with the aim of improving compatibility between curricula and professional requirements.

The first milestone of the project will be an online press conference, planned on February 2^nd, 2021, more details about which will be disclosed soon. Meanwhile, to get further information about the project’s activities, outputs and outcomes you can visit MYSEA website or write to mysea.communication@cies.it 

ALDA continues its commitment to local communities and to support of local democracy

Ten years have passed since the spark that set off the phenomenon later renamed the “Arab Springs”, a popular revolutionary movement carried out mainly by young people and civil society. Their core claim was for greater freedom and democratic and civil rights, good governance, citizen participation, values also at the heart of the activities of ALDA, which continues to be present with its support and its projects.

The flames of the widely mediatized suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire to protest against the abuses of the authorities beyond Tunisia, ignited protests in many countries in North Africa and the Near East such as Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan and Djibouti, but also, to a lesser extent, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sudan, Somalia, Morocco and Kuwait.

From 25^th November to 18^th December 2020, three online and free workshops were organised and carried out by the Theatre Production Center La Piccionaia (Vicenza, Italy).

The workshops were dedicated to young people of all nationalities, between 16 and 35 years old, to get to know themselves and “others” in the name of cultural exchange and theatrical play.

The first workshop, focused on the topic “Theater and language”, took place on 25^th November and 2^nd December. It was led by Rosella Pizzolato, a teacher of Italian language for foreigners who has gained many years of experience in conducting intercultural theatre workshops.

The starting point was an object broughtby every participant in order to tell others something about themselves: from here, a path through the use of words and linguistic invention, passing through the basics of theatrical communication (voice, posture, gaze, relationship with the group and with space), up to the construction of simple theatrical moments integrated by moments of reflection and exchange.

The second workshop was dedicated to “Body expression”, conducted by the dancer and actress Valentina Dal Mas (who won the Scenario Infanzia 2017 Award for the play “From where you look at the world”) and took place on 9^th and 11^th December, 2020.

It consisted in a journey into self-expression through the languages ​​of a dance-theater, writing and drawing, focused on the topic of colors and based on the body as a vehicle for the expression of emotions and thoughts. During the workshop, each body discoverswhich gestures, words and drawings can be created by experiencing a certain colour on their own skin and inside it. Everyone was encouraged to share a different point of view, according to their own culture of origin.

Finally, the third workshop was conducted together by Rosella Pizzolato and Valentina Dal Mas. It was dedicated to the topic “Theater, language, body”, on 16^th December and 18^th December.Two meetings integrating the tools of language, body and color for the construction of a short performative restitution, which took place online on 18th December.

The initiative is part of the project IMPACT (Inclusion Matters: using Performing Arts towards Cohesion and Tolerance), funded by the European Union programme Erasmus+ and implemented by a consortium made up of 8 partners, including, in addition to La Piccionaia, the lead partner Vifin – Videnscenter for Integration (Denmark), ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy (France), LDA AgencijaLokalnuDemokratiju (Montenegro), LDA – UdruzenjeAgencijaLokalneDemokratijeMostara (Bosnia Herzegovina), SEGA – Coalition of Youth Organizations Association (Macedonia), Association for Developing Voluntary Work Novo Mesto (Slovenia) and Urban Development Center (Serbia).

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’s20th 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.”

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 NatasaVuckovic, 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 MrOrianoOtočan 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.

On December8^th, 2020 took place the Final Performance realised in the framework of theproject IMPACT – Inclusion Matters! organized by the Coalition of Youth organizations SEGA from North Macedonia.

The local event’s main purpose was to share the results of the project and to raise awareness about the richness and the importance of diversity, thus fighting racism and intolerance and promoting mutual understanding.

During the final Performance, the Coalition of Youth organizations SEGAshared with the public themethodology developed by the project in anexhibition arranged by local artists:a great opportunity for the local public to get familiar with the project outcomes, in a playful and interactive way.

To have an idea of the general atmosphere of the event, have a look at the pictures of the event!

**

The project IMPACT is funded by the Erasmus+ programme and is implemented by the Coalition of Youth Organizations SEGA in cooperation with VIFIN – Videnscenter for Integration – Denmark, as lead partner, ALDA – France, La Piccionaia – Italy, LDA – Montenegro, LDA – Bosnia & Herzegovina, Association for Developing Voluntary Work – Novo Mesto and the Urban Development Center – Serbia.