Month: August 2021

The steering committee meeting (COPIL) of the project AUTREMENT (Urban Planning of the Territory to REinvent Mobility and ENgage Tunisians), held on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, marked the end of the first year of the project.

The AUTREMENT project aims to promote sustainable urban development in the Tunisian cities of Kairouan and Mahdia in order to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants and the attractiveness of the region’s economy and tourism.

The second meeting of the COPIL was an opportunity to review the first year of the project. Ms. Lysiane Humbert, Administrative, logistical and financial manager of the project, and Mr. Younes Aggoun, AUTREMENT head of mission, presented the progress of activities and discussed the project’s prospects at a time when the pandemic is severely hampering the implementation of the action plan.

This conference was marked by the virtual presence of representatives of the three local authorities’ partners of the project: Mr. Radhouen Bouden, Mayor of Kairouan, Ms. Julia Dumay, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg in charge of international relations, Ms. Loubna Zouari, Deputy Mayor of Mahdia in charge of international partnerships.

Although disrupted by an unstable health context, this period allowed the coordination office in Kairouan to consolidate its presence on the ground, to launch its collaboration with the local and regional CSOs and to develop a cooperation with local authorities. One of the flagship events of the project, “the bicycle parade”, organized last May, has rightly demonstrated the dynamism of this network by gathering several dozen participants. The video of the parade, viewed more than 600 times on social networks, also reflects the enthusiasm of Tunisians for this type of event.

However, the pandemic has not been without impact on the conduct of activities. The postponement of field missions, workshops and citizen consultations, as well as events in Kairouan and Mahdia, limited the action of the AUTREMENT project. The teams had to be creative in adapting to the health situation while carrying out as many of the planned activities as possible. For example, a training on cycling policies for agents and elected officials, scheduled for July 12 and 13, 2021 in face-to-face, took place instead in virtual format due to the deterioration of the health situation in Tunisia.

During the COPIL, the Mayor of Kairouan, Mr. Bouden, praised the resilience of the project teams in the face of the pandemic. Enthusiastic about the year to come, he recalled his commitment to the energy transition and announced the creation of a department of urban mobility in collaboration with the Tunisian Ministry of Transport. He expressed his wish to see AUTREMENT follow this dynamic through concrete actions.

Ms. Zouari, Deputy Mayor of Mahdia, was pleased with the success of the project among the citizens of her city. “The project is beginning to gain visibility in Mahdia and raises expectations,” she said.

Ms. Dumay, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg, praised the adaptability of the teams and recalled that the project is fully in line with the priorities of ecological, social and democratic transition of the current mandate of Strasbourg and in the logic of sharing experiences and cooperation between municipalities.

For the coming months, capacity building and public space development are the guidelines of the course of action.

The project “AUTREMENT” involves the realization of 7 micro-projects in Kairouan and 3 soft circuits in Mahdia, in addition to the creation of a bike house in Kairouan.

In connection with the developments, awareness-raising activities and citizen consultations are scheduled, responding in particular to the wishes expressed by the elected officials of Kairouan and Mahdia.

From the 24th to the 26th of September 2021, the municipality of Lavarone will welcome European partners of the project DESIRE and the Rude Awakening. These 2 projects have similarities and differences that make them interesting. The first one is focusing on raising youth awareness on what the EU means and around the Schuman Declaration. This is done through a co-creative methodology by using art to speak about the EU.  The second one aims to make the museums more attractive for the younger generation. With this aim, a video game on the topic of WW1 has been created. The trailer has been released. (Find it out here)

It will be the first meeting in person for both projects which have started during the COVID19 pandemia. This meeting is a great opportunity to network, exchange best practices and create links between the partners. Lavarone and its peaceful nature is the right place for that. The ambition of the event is above all to start a strong-enlarged network of active and committed realities, linked together by past, present and future projects.

It will be a pleasure to share what we have done. So, stay tuned to discover what’s happened during the meeting!

→ About the DESIRE project

DEclaration of Schuman: Initiative for Revitalizing Europe (DESIRE) is a Europe for Citizens funded project. The project aims to raise people and especially youth’s awareness on the historical importance and the meaning of the Declaration of Schuman for the EU. The objective is to actively involve youth in approaching history in a proactive way. Through the co-creation of artistic tools, as videos, theatre, games, audio narratives, partners will accompany groups of youth citizens in re-discovering history and in debating on EU values as intercultural dialogue, peace and solidarity. The consortium is leading by Comune di Lavarone (Italy) and composed by Fondazione Belvedere-Gschwent (Italy), Union of bulgarian black sea local authorities (Bulgaria), Municipio de Valongo (Portugal), Danube 1245 (Serbia), Zdruzenie Institut za razvoj na zaednicata (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Administration Communale de Grez-Doiceau (Belgium), Fundacio de la Comunitat Valencia de Patrimoni Insdustrial i (Spain), Kulturni centar Osijek (Croatia), ALDA (France).

→ About “The Rude Awakening” project

“The Rude Awakening – a multimedia journey in the footsteps of frontline soldiers’ everyday life”, is a European project that aims to raise the awareness and interest of younger generations (between 13 to 20 years old) on the topic of war and peace. With the support of digital and audiovisual contents based on the stories of WWI soldiers, “The Rude Awakening” wants to lead a new educational and emotional perspective on war and peace, whereby visitors will learn by doing as they fill the shoes of a soldier all along the museum visit, thus better understanding war memories and soldier life thanks to technology. It’s a co-funded project by the European Union MEDIA programme, a sub-programme of Creative Europe, which gathered Fondazione Belvedere-Gschwent as the lead partner, and as project partners: Comune di Lavarone, ALDA, 101 Percento, Mémoire pour la vie, Gornjesavski Muzej Jesenice, Danube Connect, World of NGOs and the Macedonian Center of Photography. 

For more information on the project and how to join it, please contact the artistic Director, Mr Renzo Carbonera: progetti@fortebelvedere.org

ALDA looks forward to this great event, which serves as a great occasion to discuss together about our common past and history.

ALDA is pleased to invite you to participate in the final LIFE METRO ADAPT meeting, entitled: “Strategies and measures for adaptation to climate change in the Metropolitan City of Milan”.

The event will take place over several days from 21 to 28 September 2021 in the framework of “All4Climate-Italy2021“, which gathers all the events dedicated to the fight against climate change. Take place in Italy,  it aims at promoting an active and constructive dialogue on the challenges of the climate crisis and at fostering the achievement of the objectives of the Paris Agreement. All4Climate is an opportunity for all those involved in the fight against climate change to make a concrete contribution to the debate preceding the Pre-COP hosted in Milan in September and the COP26 hosted by the UK in November.

The initiative “Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Measures in the Metropolitan City of Milan” has to be understood within the  framework of the project Metro Adapt – Strategies and Measures for Climate Change Adaptation in the Metropolitan City of Milan. The latter is intended to promote the creation of a sound climate change governance common to all local authorities (LAs); while producing tools that allow LAs to implement efficient adaptation measures.

The event will be a mix of moments of knowledge exchange with national and international experts as well as moments of entertainment. Guided visits to the project’s pilot sites will also be on the agenda. Overall, the final objective is to drive the attention on climate change and climate change adaptation strategies closer to public decision makers, municipal technicians, citizens, young people and students.

The first scheduled event will take place on 21 SEPTEMBER 2021 from 9.00 to 10.45 am.

It is an international workshop (online): “Climate change adaptation strategies in European metropolises”. The workshop is addressed to national and international local and regional authorities and, specifically, to European metropolitan areas, with the aim of creating a space for dialogue and exchange of good practices on climate change adaptation in urban areas. Moreover, starting from the climate change adaptation strategy designed by LIFE Metro Adapt, it will boost a co-creation process leading to the co-design of a sustainability plan and the creation of synergies and future collaboration opportunities among participants. The meeting will be conducted online in English. Registration required at this link.

Looking forward to see you there!

Summer 2021 marked a great moment as far as regional cooperation in the Balkan Region concerns., especially in regard to “Open Balkan” initiative. Thus, Prime Ministers, Rama and Zaev –  from Albania and North Macedonia respectively – and Serbian President Vučić agreed on abolishing border control among the three countries by 2023.

“Open Balkan”, this is the name of the regional cooperation initiative, is considered by Prime Minister Zaev as a key and fundamental action in order to develop both the economy and the everyday life of citizens living in this area. Zaev’s position is backed by the Albanian PM, who believed that “ all countries should be part of this process, because it is a benefit for them and their citizens”.

Similarly, underlined the importance of having all countries involved in the process “because it is a benefit for them and their citizens”. From a general perspective, “Open Balkan” is intended to serve as a way to boost economic growth, foster free movement of people among the countries while supporting and promoting the tourist sector. 

Finally, this initiative was firstly discussed already in 2019, when the three representatives of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia met in Novi Sad, setting the base for the “Mini-Schengen” agreement. The latter took inspiration from the European “Schengen Agreement” – both as far as the name concerts, and – more importantly – in regard to the overall aim of this regional project.

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This article has been written based on information found at the following link

Let’s enter the universe of The Rude Awakening project and put our feet in the shoes of the First World War soldiers!

The European project, The Rude Awakening, is presenting the video trailer of the main output of the project: a video game about life during the First World War. Indeed the project was created with the purpose of narrating a serious theme such as the First World War from a different perspective, merging a unique and light drawing style inspired by Valiant Heart with real-life stories, in a single player experience of 4-5 hours of gameplay.

→ The first World War from a new perspective

Differently from other wargames, The Rudes Awakening retraces the historical events from a completely new perspective: from the claustrophobic situation inside the forts, to the devastated everyday life of small towns near the front, to the collapse of the hospitals caused by the Spanish flu pandemic. 

→ Unique historical material

The collaboration with 9 European partners gave the creative team the opportunity to draw on historic materials belonging to different museums in 4 different countries, inaccessible elsewhere.

→ Learning at the core of the project

The video game is composed of 4 episodes in 4 different places and explores the various aspects of the war, not only the war taking place in the front line but also the people working behind the lines. 

Check the Press Kit and the Explanatory Kit

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About “The Rude Awakening” project

“The Rude Awakening – a multimedia journey in the footsteps of frontline soldiers’ everyday life”, is a European project that aims to raise the awareness and interest of younger generations (between 13 to 20 years old) on the topic of war and peace. With the support of digital and audiovisual contents based on the stories of WWI soldiers, “The Rude Awakening” wants to lead a new educational and emotional perspective on war and peace, whereby visitors will learn by doing as they fill the shoes of a soldier all along the museum visit, thus better understanding war memories and soldier life thanks to technology. It’s a co-funded project by the European Union MEDIA programme, a sub-programme of Creative Europe, which gathered Fondazione Belvedere-Gschwent as the lead partner, and as project partners: Comune di Lavarone, ALDA, 101 Percento, Mémoire pour la vie, Gornjesavski Muzej Jesenice, Danube Connect, World of NGOs and the Macedonian Center of Photography. 

For more information on the project and how to join it, please contact the artistic Director, Mr Renzo Carbonera: progetti@fortebelvedere.org

Let’s close the JOURNEY project with the final conference of the project and gather online to celebrate the work done by the consortium on 8^th of September 2021.

After 3 years of implementation of various activities we can say that this initiative was worthy; having a huge impact on delivering an innovative approach in the field of entrepreneurial potential development in rural youth of the Eastern partnership (EaP) countries.

During the online final conference, the JOURNEY project will present the results of its work . At the same time, project partners will share their experiences while illustrating the main output of the project, be they: the launch of the project website, the deliver of trainings and online courses for youth entrepreneurs. In addition, activities targeted the preparation of mentors, the definition of  capacity building workshops for mentors and young people, as well as the creation of Clubs of Young Entrepreneurs, Youth Exchange.

This day will be also the occasion to gather experts: The latter will share their knowledge and experience in the field of entrepreneurship, while dialoguing with mentors, youth from Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan who have been involved in the project.

If you are interested in joining this event, please register here. The conference will take place on September 8th 2021 at 10h30 (CEST time).

Follow JOURNEY project on Facebook to stay up to date!

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About the “JOURNEY” project

The project “Joint Organization to Unite Rural Networks of Entrepreneurial Youth – JOURNEY” is a 36-month project, which was launched in May 2018 and it proposes an innovative approach in the field of entrepreneurial potential development in rural youth of the EaP countries – Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Rural youth employment in the countries of the Eastern Partnership is one of today’s most discussed topics. These countries need innovative solutions to reduce the level of youth unemployment in rural areas and develop entrepreneurial potential in the green economy for a sustainable development.

Rural youth have few opportunities for self-realization and employment in rural areas, therefore the project is intended to raise the level of knowledge of young people, adopting experience from the countries of the European Union.

It is implemented by 8 partners from 6 countries: Foundation PUBLICA FIDES from Poland, Ganja European Youth Capital 2016 from Azerbaijan, Vinnitsa Regional Development Agency from Ukraine, ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy from France, Kutaisi City Hall from Georgia, FORMA.Azione Srl from Italy, LDA Georgia, Vinnitsa Regional Association of Local Self Government Bodies from Ukraine.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission and co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

→ For more information about the Journey project, contact Viorica Bulat at:  viorica@alda-europe.eu