International Network Conference: inclusion and empowerment of migrants and refugees
3STEPS project network in Greece, Italy, Turkey, France, and Spain
The 3STEPS international conference, entitled “Social inclusion of (low-skilled) migrants and refugees in education. Join 3STEPS network” took place on 23 November 2022 in Strasbourg. Hosted by ALDA, partners and guests (both online and offline) actively joined the conference, grasping the most of it.
From a general perspective, the 3STEPS project is meant to support social inclusion of migrants and refugees by fostering two methodologies previously implemented – be they “Basic Education Methodology” and “Tandem Now”. Specifically, the project intended to increase the chances of migrants and refugees to remain within the educational and vocational system of their host country by providing them basic skills as well as a stable grounding for further personal achievements.
The first part of the conference was dedicated to insights on the implemented activities and the outcomes of the project based on the information collected by each partner. Here the main aspects:
- Caminos, Spanish association and leader of the project, provided an overview on the key aspects of the project, the “3 steps” to take:
- Basic education training to improve skills on literacy, numeracy and digital skills
- Vocational orientation and blended learning by role models mentors
- Social inclusion and mutual learning activities
- After having provided an overview on the Italian context, CESIE illustrated the work undertaken in terms of mentoring. The latter refers to the activities of orientation or information developed according to the needs of the mentees mentor with migrant background experienced from linguistic and cultural point of view
- Similarly, Mozaik recalled how, thanks to the 3STEPS project, the organisation has been able to create a space for young migrants/refugees in Turkey to contribute with their talents and strengths to the well-being of the whole society in the long-term. Hence, the training was a way to increase their motivation and envision their future paths
- A great insight both in terms of the Greek context on unaccompanied minors, and in terms of training of trainers. As also responsible for the working package, Symplexis shared with the audience the activities done, while introducing the concept of “mentors as role models”, through volunteering. In other words, mentors support youngsters in their career orientation, studies & strengthening their life skills.
In addition, as pointed out by participants, what is quite necessary when discussing “Inclusive Education” is the improvement of collaboration among the different stakeholders, thus requiring constant actions and the sharing of knowledge, tools and good practices through a solid network.
The latter is thus among the will behind the project: creating a group of people interested in the topic, so that to have an international collaboration, while also working to develop a policy brief, useful for further studies and improvements. A holistic approach that takes into consideration both educational and vocational development, focusing on individuals’ singularities are at the core of “Inclusive Education”: hence, having a network working to ease and to reflect around these hints will be of great value.
Overall, the International Networking Conference marked an important milestone in further localising the event, in engaging with organisations and citizens in Strasbourg, while further spreading awareness and exchange on Inclusive Education.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact: Anita Lugli, Project Manager
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Wroclaw Declaration: European institutions and Civil Society Organisations together for Ukraine
November marked an important milestone in developing cooperation for democracy. The high-level conference organised by Regional Representation of the European Commission in Wroclaw and the College of Eastern Europe, further testified the commitment not only of ALDA, but also of many international and multi-stakeholders in supporting Ukraine.
Held in Wroclaw and entitled “Development Cooperation for Democracy: the role of local governments and civil society. A multistakeholder tool to support Ukraine”, the conference gathered different actors, be they institutions or civil society organisations, to exchange and reflect on how to develop a holistic approach to respond to the crisis.
“Today, at the House of Europe in Wrocław, we are talking about development cooperation for democracy and support for Ukraine fighting for our common freedom”, said Mr. Jacek Wasik, Director of the Regional Representation of the European Commission in Wroclaw in his opening speech. The same spirit of cooperation and hope was also stressed by Laurynas Vaičiūnas, Chairman of the Foundation College of Eastern Europe
The added value of this conference was underlined by the representative of the city of Wroclaw as well; recalling the deep bond among noth only the two countries, but also among the Polish city with the two sisters-cities in Ukraine: Lviv and Kyiv.
Similarly, Oriano Otočan, ALDA President, shared the experience of the Association in the management of post-conflict situations. Thus, ALDA itself was initiated after the war in Western Balkans, bringing together both local and international stakeholders to ease the situation and provide solutions.
If on the one hand democracy is now under attack in Ukraine, on the other hand and especially for the Country of Kyiv, the decentralisation process is fundamental. As mentioned by Giulio Venneri, Team leader, Rule of law and Democracy Team, DG NEAR, European Commission, local leadership is the key element now also in order to guarantee future resilience.
"At the House of Europe in Wroclaw we are talking about development cooperation for democracy and support for Ukraine"
Furthermore, support should be given also in terms of finance, as well as “on-site” projects: the renovation of a school building is among the examples illustrated by Marcin Krzyżanowski Deputy Marshall of the Lower Siliesia Voivodoship.
A further insight on the local situation has been provided by Svitlana Yarova, Member of the City Council Vinnitsa, Deputy Head of the Institut for City Development, who presented the integrated development of Vinnystia. In addition, Yana Brovdiy, Officer – International Partnerships (U-LEAD), CEMR, illustrated the activities done not only in Ukraine but also in the EaP region, especially on digitalisation and gender equality. Another great voice from the civil society world came from Carlotta Besozzi – Coordinator Civil Society Europe – who stressed the importance of including CSOs in the instrument of Rebuild Ukraine; and Alexandru Coica, reporting on the successful examples of the Local Democracy Agencies, as testified by Anzhelika Pylypenko, Representative of LDA Dnipro.
The second panel was entirely dedicated to the key role of civil society organisations, precisely focusing on “Decentralised cooperation, multi stakeholder cooperation and city Diplomacy as a tool for development cooperation – practical recommendations”
Thanks to this moment of exchange, panellists and participants had the opportunity to work on a draft declaration. “The Polish democratic transformation was a strong success, it should be an export product and we should be more aware of that and adopt a strong narrative on this matter” expressed Bartek Ostrowski – ALDA Vice President.
Panellists joining this moment were all professionals and experts working closely with people and citizens; while transferring the need of the society to the institutions; bridging the two sides. “ Being a part of the international environment means being a part of a learning community. Solidarity is key to have a place in the global world”, emphasised Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA. The idea of CSOs as a bridge between people and institutions was also reiterated by Artem Zozulia, Chairman of the Ukraine Foundation; while Denis Schrey, KAS, Programme Director of the Multinational Development Policy Dialogue and Network Coordinator, European Network of Political Foundations (ENOP) stressed how “The multi-stakeholders approach is key to translate the cultural differences between countries”.
Similarly both Jan Wais, Deputy Director of the Office for International Cooperation, Wroclaw Municipality; and Krzysztof Latka, Chairman of the Foundation for the Central and Eastern Europe Development contributed by providing their own perspectives and insights so that to foster the collaboration and mutual understanding when working together for a common goal.
Overall, this conference not only proved the continuous commitment to peace and democracy of ALDA and the institutions and CSOs joining together in the event, but also demonstrates that collaboration and multilateral cooperation are key factors to provide concrete solutions to the current war that Ukraine is facing.
ELOGE : supporting good local governance in North Macedonia and Kosovo*, more strategies for the future
The importance of implementing the project “European Label for Governance Excellence (ELoGE)” both in North Macedonia and in Kosovo* has been further testified by the meeting among the Minister of Local Self Government of North Macedonia, Mr. Risto Pernov; the Minister of the Ministry of Local Government Administration, Mr. Elbert Krasniqi and ALDA President Oriano Otočan; ALDA Governing Board Member Emir Coric together with ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida.
Hence, on the second half of November 2022, the ALDA delegation gathered in Skopje – the capital city of North Macedonia – to capitalised on the successful commitment of the Association in implementing the ELoGE mechanism. From a general perspective, the latter is intended to support local self-government units to improve their standards and provide high-quality services within local self-government.
Meeting Minister Mr. Pernov and Minister Mr. Elbert Krasniqi to implement ELoGE and encouraging the participation of citizens to the community life
More in details, concerning North Macedonia, the local government units conducted self-assessment surveys among citizens, employees and councillors, while collecting documentation that allows to check whether the self-assessment is justified. Starting back in April 2021 with the preparation phase, the project then saw several phases, one of which was the workshop organised in March 2022 to illustrate and discuss on the ELoGE project.
Similarly, on 19 May 2022 in Pristina, representatives from 11 Municipalities attended a dedicated training focusing on the implementation and further understanding of the mechanism.
Furthermore, as also exchanged during the meeting with the Minister, Mr. Pernov, there is a fertile and common ground to further deepen the collaboration and partnership; while encouraging the participation of citizens to the community life; and strengthening the Self Government policy.
Both the ALDA office in Skopje as well as the Board are very much grateful for this meeting, and reiterate the will to implement ELoGE project in North Macedonia and Kosovo*, while enabling communities.
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The programme for supporting participative democracy in Algeria continues!
From 13 until 17 November, 2022, Ms. Antonella Valmorbida, ALDA Secretary General, was in Oran (Algeria) to deliver the fourth round of capacity building activities to Local Authorities on good governance and citizens engagement.
This time, the participants to these high-level trainings on participative democracy, around 30 Heads of Daira, had the great opportunity to exchange views and ideas on participatory budget with Mr. Zoran Jankulovski, Executive Director of the Association of Finance Officers of the Local Governments and Public Enterprises in Veles, North Macedonia, connected via Zoom.
The North Macedonian Association, with 25 years of experience in the field of budget, taxes and financial management, counts around 300 members among which financial workers from municipalities and public enterprises from over 2/3 of the total number of Municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia. Among the many services that the Association dispenses, it provides a forum for dissemination of information, good practices, knowledge and experiences on the above-mentioned topics.
Due to this, the discussion on participatory budget with Mr. Jankulovski, thanks to its extensive experience and professionalism, represented a unique moment for the participants of the training.
The discussion on participatory budget with Mr. Jankulovski represented a unique moment for the participants of the training
After having introduced participatory budget and its forms, Mr. Jankulovski highlighted the crucial importance of transparency and responsibility; “transparency of budget institutions is crucially important for the services given by Local Authorities to their citizens. The Municipality needs to deliver local services in an effective and equitable way”, he stated. The presentation was followed by a stimulating discussion among the participants on the topics covered.
Mr. Jankulovski’s insightful intervention concluded a fourth round of capacity building activities which are part of a bigger programme on supporting local participative democracy and social accountability, started back in 2017, financed by the European Commission and coordinated by the Algerian Ministry of Interiors.
The programme foresees the training of a total of 270 Heads of Daira by the end of 2022, and ALDA cannot wait for the next round of activities, to be scheduled in December!
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Places have a meaning: ALDA Governing Board in Poland for Ukraine
The last meeting of the Governing Board of ALDA for this 2022 took place in Wroclaw (Poland). Oriano Otočan – ALDA President – together with the other delegates reached the Polish city, on Thursday 24 November 2022.
Welcomed by the opening speeches of Mr. Jacek Sutryk – Mayor of Wroclaw – Mr. Bartek Ostrowski – Vice President of ALDA and Representative of the Mercury Foundation (Poland)- and Mr. Otočan, the Board dedicated the first part of the meeting to the structural aspects of the Association – be they the implementation of the 2020-2024 strategy; and the activities foreseen for the upcoming 2023.
In Wroclaw, to support the LDAs in Ukraine and develop a flagship initiative on models of migrants inclusion
In addition, great visibility has been given to the “proposal for a flagship initiative on models of migrants inclusion in our cities and territories” as well explained by the GB Member Mr. Andrea Rilievo.
As well mentioned at the very beginning, the Board gathered in Poland also in light of the current situation in Ukraine, which was the focus of the second part of the meeting. Hence, the GB Members discussed together how to further strengthen and empower the Local Democracy Agencies in Ukraine, so that to provide additional support not only to the colleagues working there, but of course to the population and the citizens living there.
Last but not least, the meeting ended with the analysis and discussion of the Gender and Equality document, upon which ALDA is also working.
Overall, this Governing Board meeting was a successful one, opening for a positive and more engaged 2023!
ALDA at the ELoGE award ceremony
Antonella Valmorbida – ALDA Secretary General
at the ELoGE award ceremony
Dear Ministers, dear Mayors, dear participants
I am pleased to be here today with all of you, as Secretary General of ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy, but also having a significant experience working with local authorities in Croatia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo.
ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy, in its over 20 years of existence, has the mission of promoting local democracy, citizen participation, and cooperation through work with local and regional authorities alongside civil society actors. It was created in 1998 by the Council of Europe. It is a global alliance that has undertaken many projects and initiatives, primarily on the local level, and is a key European player, particularly in the Balkans. It has developed a network of local institutions and civil society organizations that includes over 350 members from over 42 European and neighboring countries. ALDA cooperates with authorities on the European and local levels and provides support for them with these projects. We represent a unique organization in the working for and governed by local and regional authorities and civil society groups.
ALDA acts as a coordinator and supporter for a network of 15 Local Democracy Agencies. The coordination of this network of LDAs was the original purpose for its creation in 1998. We celebrate 30 years of activities in the region.
Antonella Valmorbida – ALDA Secretary General
at the ELoGE award ceremony
Dear Ministers, dear Mayors, dear participants
I am pleased to be here today with all of you, as Secretary General of ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy, but also having a significant experience working with local authorities in Croatia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo.
ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy, in its over 20 years of existence, has the mission of promoting local democracy, citizen participation, and cooperation through work with local and regional authorities alongside civil society actors. It was created in 1998 by the Council of Europe. It is a global alliance that has undertaken many projects and initiatives, primarily on the local level, and is a key European player, particularly in the Balkans. It has developed a network of local institutions and civil society organizations that includes over 350 members from over 42 European and neighboring countries. ALDA cooperates with authorities on the European and local levels and provides support for them with these projects. We represent a unique organization in the working for and governed by local and regional authorities and civil society groups.
ALDA acts as a coordinator and supporter for a network of 15 Local Democracy Agencies. The coordination of this network of LDAs was the original purpose for its creation in 1998. We celebrate 30 years of activities in the region.
Enabling community workers: interactive platform for inclusion and participation
The PIECE project: digitalizing and providing e-platform tools to the community
In the last couple of months, the project’s consortium has organized and implemented several initiatives to strengthen the dynamics of dissemination and, through the presentation of the Intellectual Outputs produced, reach more direct and indirect beneficiaries.
Right after the summer break, the partners met in Seville for the last Transnational Project Meeting where they discussed the development of the project’s activities and results, exchanged views on the situation in their respective home countries and talking together about the finalisation of intellectual outputs. Specifically, dissemination and communication issues were addressed. ALDA and the other partners created a plan for more efficient and effective dissemination of project outputs and management of the Facebook page.
Intellective outputs and interactive platforms for community workers
More recently, in the months of October and November, project’s partners have organized multiplier events in Italy (Lamezia Terme), UK (London) and Greece (Athens) to showcase the results produced. Moreover, the partners have hosted local pilot actions, with community workers, to test the effectiveness and the application of the Intellectual Outputs, in particular the e-Learning Platform for the Upskilling and Empowerment of the Target Group.
Lastly, on November 11th ALDA held an Interactive Webinar, with the collaboration of all partners, to present to a larger online audience the project itself and what has been produced in the last 2 years. The invite to the webinar was shared between ALDA’s and the other partners’ network. In this occasion the consortium was able to engage with associations working in similar fields and dealing with Erasmus+ projects.
The exchange of information and interaction between the participants made these experiences unique and useful for gaining further feedback and to implement the latest changes to the digital education platform.
The project is indeed coming to its finish line but given the great interest in the project we are trying to create all the conditions for a possible follow up and continuation of the collaboration.
COP27: ALDA’s active commitment to the planet, its species and people
The World Climate Summit, COP27, started in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt), and lasts from 6 to 18 November 2022. It’s the Conference of the Parties, all those who signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
United Nations climate change conferences are among the largest international meetings in the world.
Moreover, climate change and environmental damage are urgent issues across the globe, as their effects are already being felt. For this reason, there is a need to adapt more quickly and comprehensively, and achieve a better world for us all, through a strategy of sustainability and climate neutrality.
As the consequences of climate change are felt by everybody, but above all by the most vulnerable people, all citizens should engage and take action through initiatives that promote environmentally friendly and sustainable development policies. Therefore, civil society organisations (CSOs) play a primary role in raising awareness of citizens on climate change, approaching the green transition actions in a participatory process.
ALDA’s work in the field of environment and climate change focuses on specific topics, such as climate change in urban and rural areas, flood risk mitigation, environmental governance, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable agri-food systems. In this framework, ALDA contributes to enhancing environmental governance both at the local and international levels, through an intense process of dialogue and communication among policymakers, civil society actors and practitioners.
Following last year’s edition of the Conference, nations are expected to demonstrate at COP27 that they are in a new era of implementation by turning their commitments under the Paris Agreement into action. Within the Climate Action goals of the Conference, what is ALDA’s role and how is it contributing with its work?
ALDA’s commitment can be seen in the implementation of various projects!
ALDA’s initiatives and projects in line with COP27
Starting with “Climate Of Chage”, whose motto is “End climate change, start #ClimateOfChange!”, being a Pan European campaign to build a better future for climate induced migrants, the human face of climate change. The project engages young EU citizens in support of policies and development actions to tackle climate change as a driver of irregular migration and forced displacement worldwide.
Within the project, one objective was the collection of signatures for the petition, that was delivered to policy-makers during the COP27 by 5 Youth Ambassadors. The petition hitted the incredible number of 105.113 signatures, a result that was possible thanks to the thousands of people that joined the movement.
“READY” project aims to strengthen the socio-ecological awareness and capacity building of its young beneficiaries. Through the environmental issue, the young beneficiaries will develop skills in campaigning, project management, communication, advocacy etc.
The newly implemented project “SHARED GREEN DEAL”, moreover, aims to stimulate shared actions on Green Deal initiatives across Europe, by providing Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) tools to support the implementation of 8 EU Green Deal policy areas, at the local and regional level.
Moving on to another project, “LIFE BEWARE” focuses on the achievement of a global strategy for climate adaptation to flooding risk, increasing water infiltration and storage in urban and rural areas, by actively involving local communities.
Among the other projects, “NEVERMORE” is determined to support excellence in research on climate science and climate policy. It aims to develop an integrated common assessment framework, tailored to the needs of different stakeholders and end-users (public and private actors, decision-makers and citizens).
ALDA is active within the COP27 topics with many other projects and initiatives, all to be discovered. All of them are also directed to fulfil the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, each being focused on one or more SDGs, trying to turn them into concrete actions.
Useful links related to ALDA & COP27:
ClimateofChange ambassadors at COP27
NEVERMORE Project kick-off meeting
Embedding innovative teaching formats in higher education: Green Skills Online Exchange
Green Skills for Cities upcoming online exchange
Do you want to expand your skill set in transdisciplinary teaching and training for students on sustainable development in cities? Are you a head of studies, (inter-)national trainer and teacher in higher education or vocational education and interested in education for sustainable development?
Then this event is for you to:
- Gain expertise (learn from innovative concepts in the field)
- Get inspired (join and learn from discussion on do’s and don’ts)
- Share your ideas (bring in new aspects to broaden our views)
"Green Skills - Embedding innovative teaching formats in higher education” takes place on the 13 December 2022
The “Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development” (RCE) at Vienna University of Economics and Business and the Erasmus+ Project “Green Skills for Cities” invite you to an online exchange on best practice case studies and teaching formats: “Green Skills – Embedding innovative teaching formats in higher education” which is taking place on the 13th of December, 2022 from 16:00-18:00 (CET) on Zoom.
Professionals working in the field and interested students are welcome to join.
Sign up here and you will receive the Zoom Link via email.
If you have any questions, feel free to email the project team here or check out the project website
ReCAP - Recovering inclusion through Creativity After Pandemic: in November the Kick-off Meeting in Porto
The ReCAP project has officially started, and the Kick-off Meeting took place on 3&4 November 2022 in Porto (Portugal), where the hosting partner Rightchallenge welcomed the whole consortium in their headquarters.
The meeting has been a great opportunity for the ten partners to get to know each other in-person and work together to set the next steps of the project.
The ReCAP project has a valuable goal to reach: it aims at promoting social inclusion and civic engagement of youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who faced a further marginalisation from the socialisation places due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the project addresses young people with fewer opportunities, such as NEETs, people with a migrant background, minorities, youths from the LGBTIAQ+ community, and pays special attention to girls.
To face this challenge, the ReCAP project promotes the role of art and creativity as tools to face social exclusion, thanks to the great expertise of the participating organisations operating in the fields of art, creativity, social inclusion and gender issues.
The Kick-off Meeting has been a great opportunity for the partners to get to know each other in-person and work together to set the next steps of ReCAP
During this two-day meeting, ALDA, as project leader, introduced and explained the organisational, management and financial aspects of the ReCAP project, as well as the communication and dissemination strategy to be implemented. The partner Solidaridad Sin Fronteras (SSF) presented the first achievements obtained and the next steps of the Project Result 1 “Local context and needs analysis”, while La Piccionaia and CESIE introduced the main aspects of the second and third Project Results of ReCAP, which have to be carried out during the second phase of the action: the creation of a toolbox for youth workers and a roadmap definition of the local paths.
This Kick-off meeting represented a valuable experience for the whole consortium to share their ideas and discuss the next project activities, but also an opportunity to enjoy the charming city of Porto.