Ukraine: focusing on Mariupol today, member of ALDA and host city of a Local Democracy Agency
In lights of the tremendous days in which people of Ukraine are living in, ALDA is constantly in touch with friends and colleagues in Mariupol, Dnipro, Kiev, the district of Odessa, Vinnitsa and other parts of the country. Thus, ALDA Secretary General, Ms. Valmorbida and Mr. Alexandru Coica, the head of Eastern Partnership Unit had today a call with the two Local Democracy Agencies located in Ukraine.
Following the Association’s statement, released right after the Russian invasion, the commitment of ALDA’s Governing Board Members and staff is constant and concrete. Hence, the Association is in touch not only with the LDAs in Mariupol and Dnipro, but also with the respective municipalities. The city of Mariupol is now experiencing a very hard situation and conditions, which forced people and the whole team of the LDA to move West in search of a safer place. For Mariupol, they call for a humanitarian corridor to bring food and medicines and to be protected from airstrikes. The city is badly hit, house by house in the outskirts.
ALDA is working on an emergency mode, specifically dedicated to closely follow all the aspects and updates of the war in Ukraine
Therefore, the General Management office of ALDA has decided to define and emergency unit, specifically dedicated to closely follow all the aspects and updates of the war in Ukraine. ALDA regional office in Chisinau is on the front line, providing news, help and support..
#ALDAforUkraine
BRIGHT final conference: an outstanding chance to share ideas
On Wednesday 23rd February 2022 ALDA was in Rome at the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies to discuss the outcome of the BRIGHT project with local and national authorities, NGOs and the civil society!
The final conference of the project was an outstanding chance to share ideas and encourage the authorities to adopt more sustainable systems of governance, while explaining the methodology used in the project to co-plan welfare public services.
The final conference of the project was an outstanding chance to share ideas and encourage the authorities to adopt more sustainable systems of governance
Several high-level speakers took part in the BRIGHT conference, as well as the women leaders, who described their experience and they stood out the results obtained in the South of Italy.
The BRIGHT’s final conference gave the possibility to highlight the outcomes of the project, while being an opportunity to think about the next steps and what is still yet to do to tackle the challenges for women inclusion in decision making processes.
Statement on Ukraine - Russia
It is a sad day.
Despite all the escalation in the recent months, it is still hard to contemplate that a full-scale war started in the middle of the European continent.
As ALDA, we deplore many lives that are already lost, and all the suffering generated by aggressions against Ukraine in the past years.
We call for the EU to continue having an even more engaged role to end the military invasion of Ukraine and start a peace process.
It is a sad day.
Despite all the escalation in the recent months, it is still hard to contemplate that a full-scale war started in the middle of the European continent.
As ALDA, we deplore many lives that are already lost, and all the suffering generated by aggressions against Ukraine in the past years.
We call for the EU to continue having an even more engaged role to end the military invasion of Ukraine and start e peace process.
Platform for policymakers and first-line practitioners working with migrants
In January 2022, the PERCEPTIONS web platform, directed both at policymakers and first-line practitioners working with migrants, was launched. The platform provides these target groups with key outputs of the PERCEPTIONS project in the form of knowledge articles summarizing main project findings, policy briefs including policy recommendations, tools such as the PERCEPTIONS Handbook and creative materials, as well as external resources which include a social media dashboard.
In the next months, this web tools will be continuously updated and modified according to the target audiences’ feedback and further content will be integrated, in particular sections on best practices, a mapping of organisations as well as experts to foster knowledge exchange, a collection of external resources and a bibliography.
Last but not least, project partners have also launched an instagram page! Take a look at the first post here
→ About the PERCEPTIONS Project
The PERCEPTIONS project is funded by the Horizon 2020 programme and brings together 25 partners from twelve different European regions, as well as three non-European countries. PERCEPTIONS examines how Europe and the EU are seen by people who have immigrated there or intend to do so. It examines what perceptions of Europe exist among migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, how they are formed, whether they correspond to reality and how they influence migration decisions. We also examine how the flow of information could be distorted and whether inaccurate information could lead to a threat to the security of migrants (e.g. through dangerous border crossings) or even national security (e.g. through radicalisation).
Memorandum of Understanding: ALDA and CEI strengthening their partnership
On March 4th, the city of Trieste will host the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ALDA – the European Association of Local Democracy – and CEI – the Central European Initiative.
President of ALDA, Mr Oriano Otocan, together with Secretary General of the CEI, Mr Roberto Antonione, and Secretary General of ALDA, Ms Antonella Valmorbida will attend the ceremony. Moreover, Mr Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the “Friuli Venezia Giulia” Autonomous Region will also be among the keynote speakers at the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding.
ALDA is looking forward to this signing ceremony, testifying the fruitful collaboration with CEI
Thus, the capital city of the “Friuli Venezia Giulia” Autonomous Region will be the scenario of this institutional moment, which marks the formalization of this long-lasting collaboration between these two actors. Particularly focusing on the the work of the two organizations in the Balkans region, the Memorandum will further spur the harmony among the two organizations, as already happened within the “WELCOMING project”, aimed at discussing the issues related to migrations and to exchange the best practices and experiences in this field.
ALDA is looking forward to this signing ceremony, testifying the fruitful collaboration with CEI.
ALDA officially signed the declaration of Strasbourg
On Monday 14th March 2022, ALDA officially signed the declaration of Strasbourg for the Conference on the Future of Europe: Appel de Strasbourg.
During few months, ALDA worked alongside others local organisations on this specific declaration that aim to demonstrate the European commitment of the territory, by setting up concrete recommendations allowing to make the city of Alsace the emblematic place of the democracy and the European citizenship.
ALDA officially signed the declaration of Strasbourg for the Conference on the Future of Europe: Appel de Strasbourg
The official restitution took place in Strasbourg City Hall where the document was presented to the press and signed by the Mayor and the members involved into the writing process.
For the occasion, Guy Verhofstadt (Co-Chair of the CoFoe Executive Committee) was present, delivered an inspiring speech on Europe links with Strasbourg and how the CoFoe marks a turning point in the institutions history. Then, he received the document.
To read and sign the Appel de Strasbourg, please click here
The Ministry of Agriculture building in Rome will host BRIGHT final conference
The BRIGHT Project is coming to an end. After finishing the last Capacity Building workshop dedicated to Greece, on February 25th a meeting will be held to share the results achieved in Italy, and where all citizens can participate. The meeting will take place in the charming Normanno Svevo Castle, in the municipality of Mesagne (Brindisi) starting from 4pm.
During the conference, ALDA and the project partners (ActionAid & Labsus), will collaborate with the territorial institutions and ISBEM, the European Biomedical Scientific Institute, to raise awareness on the capacities of local actors and to encourage European countries to adopt governance systems that allow female citizens who migrate for work to actively participate in the decision-making processes. Eventually, they will illustrate the Collaboration Pacts, used as a meta-model in the BRIGHT project.
In particular, the aim of the meeting is to help territorial institutions adopt the participation processes designed and developed by the project to involve women workers in the agricultural sector, as well as in the care and assistance sector, to co-design innovative welfare services.
The final conference of BRIGHT will take place in Rome on the 23rd of February in the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture
In the end, there will be a debate in which participants will have the chance to share their reflections on practices and tools to increase participation and access to services for community citizens.
The conference of Mesagne will be two days after the final conference of the project, which will involve all the partners with whom ALDA has collaborated to promote the social inclusion of Romanian and Bulgarian women employed in agriculture, care, and assistance sectors in Southern Italy.
The final conference of BRIGHT will take place in Rome on the 23rd of February in the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture. Again, the event is open to anyone wishing to attend and will take place in a hybrid format, both online and in-person.
💻To take part at the final conference online: register here
📔 Read the agenda of the final conference here
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ALDA’s engagement in Libya: decentralisation, trainings and women empowerment
ALDA has been active in Libya since the start of the Nicosia initiative, that the Association has closely followed and in the framework of which its work is ascribed. This engagement takes place through various forms of actions, including technical assistance and research, and is now managing activities with a direct impact on the population. In particular, ALDA is engaged in two projects on women empowerment and capacity building for local authorities.
The first project, called “Dialogues et échanges autours de la place de la femme au sein de la société civile en Libye” (Dialogues and exchanges around the place of women in the Libyan civil society), is a part of the FAIR II initiative. The latter is managed by REF – Réseau Euromed France and funded by Agence Française de Développement (AFD). ALDA, in partnership with ASODH, a French NGO active in Libya, is at the lead of the project.
This project comprises two main activities: the first one consists in psycho-social coaching of 50 women and recreational needs of around 100 children (DPIs, war violence…) in Tarhouna. This activity was accomplished by the local NGO Fatima Zohra and included conferences on mental health, training sessions on crisis response for women and economic empowerment for girls, as well as recreational activities through drawings and games for children. The second activity is a webinar entitled “Être femme entre Libye et Tunisie: partageons les défis!” which was organized on 17th February. The webinar had 6 speakers from Libyan and Tunisian civil society and local authorities, sharing their journeys, obstacles, and keys to success for women’s empowerment.
In Libya, ALDA is engaged in two projects: on women empowerment and capacity building for local authorities
The second project, “REBUILD – Research and Education Building Urban Institutions for Local Development“, is funded by the European Commission (DG DEVCO). The main focus of the project is to strengthen local public services in Libya through a permanent training mechanism delivered by Libyan universities to Libyan municipalities. This project is directed by the “Provincia Autonoma di Trento” (Autonomous Province of Trento) – Italy – together with “Centro di Cooperazione Internazionale” (Centre for International Cooperation) and 10 Libyan Municipalities.
In the framework of this project, ALDA is a subcontractor and is designing and delivering a training module to 10 Libyan universities which will train 10 Libyan local authorities. ALDA’s module will be held both online and in-person in September 2022. For this project, ALDA will also contribute to build a “Community of practices” on territorial sustainable development.
What ALDA works towards, concerning the Libyan context, is part of its Middle East & Africa and global strategy: it advocate for stable institutions, decentralisation, and capable local governments that fully involve citizens and civil society in decision-making processes, as well as women empowerment. With these projects, ALDA really hopes to give its sound contribution to these aims, and it is looking forward to further support new initiatives in the country.
Read the article on the role of CSO-LA collaboration in the framework of the decentralisation process in Libya.
“EU Project-Cycle Management Training” with Hangar Teatri in Trieste
With much enthusiasm ALDA+ is organising, together with Hangar Teatri, a brand-new course training on: “European Project-cycle management”
Considering its competences and knowledge, gained throughout its 20 year experience, professional trainers from the Association will be in Trieste (Italy), to deliver the above-mentioned training on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 March 2022, from 09:00 to 17:00 and on Sunday 13 March 2022, from 09:00 to 13:00.
Participants, will tackle several and essential aspects when it comes to European project-cycle management, such as:
- Identify European funding opportunities of interest
- Draw up a logical and coherent project proposal
- Draw up a successful budget
- Manage a project financially and administratively
- Understand what elements are needed to optimally coordinate an international partnership
- Understand how to communicate with the actors involved in the project and how to effectively disseminate the activities carried out
ALDA+ expert trainers will be in Trieste to deliver a training on "EU project-cycle management"
Thanks to the Logical Framework Approach, participants will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge. This methodology will guide attendees on how to avoid most common mistakes related to project-cycle management – be they not knowing how to identify and respond to real problems and needs, or not respecting the logic that should guide each project.
Practical information:
REGISTRATION:
- To participate, simply send a short motivational letter to info@hangarteatri.com
- Registration open until 12:00 PM on Saturday 5 March 2022
COST:
- The cost is € 400.00 (excluding membership card. Membership fee € 10.00).
- By 21 February 2022 the cost is € 339.00 (excluding membership card. Membership fee of € 10.00).
CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION:
- At the end of the course will be delivered a certificate of attendance issued by ALDA, strategic partner of the European Commission and the Council of Europe
Please note that the course will be delivered in Italian.
Check the Agenda (in Italian)… and register now!