ALDA Secretary General keynote speaker on decentralization in Togo

ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida was invited for the second time to Lomé, Togo by the Minister of territorial reform, of decentralization and of local power. She attended as a keynote speaker on decentralisation.
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The seminar on decentralisation builds up on the achievements of the Annual General Assembly of the Union of Municipalities of Togo held in September, and on the on-going efforts to decentralise the country.
“Why bother the state with a problem in a local school garden?” asked Mrs. Valmorbida, explaining the rationale behind decentralisation in a nutshell.
She pointed out that democracy and especially local democracy are not theoretical concepts. Fostering local democracy means improving local governance and decreasing centralisation.
Following her argumentation, several conditions are needed for a fruitful and balanced development of local structures:
- Political will to change at all levels
- A programme all can agree on, open to change
- The involvement of citizens, as the backbone of change and acceptance
- International support
- A spark initiating a driving force of decentralisation
“The challenge is that they are all priorities and must develop in parallel – reinforcing each other”, she added. “Decentralisation can be a big change. It is important to take away the fear and to show its benefits.” This could easily be made possible through participation, by developing shared solutions for shared problems.
Mrs. Valmorbida concluded her speech by emphasising that decentralisation is not a western concept – it is rather a choice to find the best solutions together, locally and together with civil society. “ALDA is there to help you, to find your initiating spark” reaffirmed Mrs. Valmorbida, well aware of the needed and long path of decentralisation.
Mrs. Valmorbida had been in Togo already in September 2016 to talk about challenges and opportunities of decentralization, on the invitation of the Union of Municipalities of Togo and the Delegation of the European Union.
روابط مفيدة:
Read about her participation at the Annual General Assembly of the Union of Municipalities of Togo held in September 2016

ALDA Secretary General Antonella Valmorbida was invited for the second time to Lomé, Togo by the Minister of territorial reform, of decentralization and of local power. She attended as a keynote speaker on decentralisation.
***
The seminar on decentralisation builds up on the achievements of the Annual General Assembly of the Union of Municipalities of Togo held in September, and on the on-going efforts to decentralise the country.
“Why bother the state with a problem in a local school garden?” asked Mrs. Valmorbida, explaining the rationale behind decentralisation in a nutshell.
She pointed out that democracy and especially local democracy are not theoretical concepts. Fostering local democracy means improving local governance and decreasing centralisation.
Following her argumentation, several conditions are needed for a fruitful and balanced development of local structures:
- Political will to change at all levels
- A programme all can agree on, open to change
- The involvement of citizens, as the backbone of change and acceptance
- International support
- A spark initiating a driving force of decentralisation
“The challenge is that they are all priorities and must develop in parallel – reinforcing each other”, she added. “Decentralisation can be a big change. It is important to take away the fear and to show its benefits.” This could easily be made possible through participation, by developing shared solutions for shared problems.
Mrs. Valmorbida concluded her speech by emphasising that decentralisation is not a western concept – it is rather a choice to find the best solutions together, locally and together with civil society. “ALDA is there to help you, to find your initiating spark” reaffirmed Mrs. Valmorbida, well aware of the needed and long path of decentralisation.
Mrs. Valmorbida had been in Togo already in September 2016 to talk about challenges and opportunities of decentralization, on the invitation of the Union of Municipalities of Togo and the Delegation of the European Union.
روابط مفيدة:
Read about her participation at the Annual General Assembly of the Union of Municipalities of Togo held in September 2016
Intense month across the Eastern Partnership for ALDA - supporting local democracy and citizens participation

The past weeks have been particularly intense for ALDA’s work in the promotion of local democracy and citizens participation in Eastern Partnership countries.
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ALDA’s Secretary General, Antonella Valmorbida and EaP Coordinator, Nino Tvaldvadze represented the organization on the occasion of the annual assembly of the Civil Society Forum for Eastern Partnership, that took place in Brussels at the end of November. The event gave the possibility to more than 200 civil society organisations from EU and from partner countries to highlight the problems but also the results achieved. In a high level panel, ALDA presented its role to support Local Governance and in particular the transversal work to be done in Public Administration Reform. Many members and partners of ALDA regularly attend the Forum, which represents also a unique opportunity to liaise with them. The Subgroup on Local Government and Public Administration Reform has been reconfirmed within the activities of the Working Group 1, and ALDA volunteered to be the coordinator.
Moreover, on 5 December, for the first time, the EEAS of the Platform 1 of the Eastern Partnership dedicated its session to local democracy and local governance. The topics were addressed by ALDA and its Secretary General, as well as by representatives of CORLEAP, the assembly of the Committee of the Regions, composed of EaP and EU local governments. The Platform 1 is the highest political instance in policy making, just before the Summit of Head of States, which will take place in November 2017.
The fact that focus of the meeting was such a crucial topic for ALDA has to be highlighted, as it paves the way for enhancing the role of local governments and civil society in the EaP programmes, heading towards the Summit. The whole session reconfirmed the importance of local democracy and citizens participation as as key components of the process for stabilisation and development.

The past weeks have been particularly intense for ALDA’s work in the promotion of local democracy and citizens participation in Eastern Partnership countries.
***
ALDA’s Secretary General, Antonella Valmorbida and EaP Coordinator, Nino Tvaldvadze represented the organization on the occasion of the annual assembly of the Civil Society Forum for Eastern Partnership, that took place in Brussels at the end of November. The event gave the possibility to more than 200 civil society organisations from EU and from partner countries to highlight the problems but also the results achieved. In a high level panel, ALDA presented its role to support Local Governance and in particular the transversal work to be done in Public Administration Reform. Many members and partners of ALDA regularly attend the Forum, which represents also a unique opportunity to liaise with them. The Subgroup on Local Government and Public Administration Reform has been reconfirmed within the activities of the Working Group 1, and ALDA volunteered to be the coordinator.
Moreover, on 5 December, for the first time, the EEAS of the Platform 1 of the Eastern Partnership dedicated its session to local democracy and local governance. The topics were addressed by ALDA and its Secretary General, as well as by representatives of CORLEAP, the assembly of the Committee of the Regions, composed of EaP and EU local governments. The Platform 1 is the highest political instance in policy making, just before the Summit of Head of States, which will take place in November 2017.
The fact that focus of the meeting was such a crucial topic for ALDA has to be highlighted, as it paves the way for enhancing the role of local governments and civil society in the EaP programmes, heading towards the Summit. The whole session reconfirmed the importance of local democracy and citizens participation as as key components of the process for stabilisation and development.
Erasmus Mundus Master Degree in Sustainable Terrotorial Development – Scholarships available
Civic participation: a key tool for the environment


ExploreZ Festival is taking place in Amsterdam!

We invite you to take part in ExploreZ Festival in Amsterdam at the ZID Community Theatre!
Dutch theatre makers will collaborate with makers from all over Europe to create theatre, dance and music.

We invite you to take part in ExploreZ Festival in Amsterdam at the ZID Community Theatre!
Dutch theatre makers will collaborate with makers from all over Europe to create theatre, dance and music.
Migration, urban fragmentation and intercultural dialogue: project URGENT launched in Strasbourg

More than 100 representative of local authorities, civil society organisations, European institutions as well as experts and ordinary citizens gathered together on 28-30 November in Strasbourg to share knowledge, experience and good practice on how to promote intercultural dialogue and build bridges in nowadays’ fragmented European urban environments.
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The event was a unique opportunity to promote a multi-stakeholder debate bringing together experiences from 12 different countries on a key topic affecting today’s Europe: intercultural dialogue and migrants’ integration. The activity took place within the framework of the Europe for Citizens’ co-funded project URGENT – Urban Regeneration: European Network of Towns. The initiative, through a bottom-up approach, aims to raise local awareness on the urgent need to establish new connections among inhabitants of marginalized neighbourhoods and those of central areas, and tackle the growing fear of immigration, which feeds Euroscepticist attitudes.
The event has been co-organised in cooperation with the City of Strasbourg as an opportunity to share the “Club de Strasbourg” initiative with all international participants. Ms Nawel Rafik-Elmrini, on her role of Deputy Mayor of the City of Strasbourg and first Vice-Chair of the Current Affairs Committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, opened the international seminar with Ms Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA. “Our message is that civil society actions – as for integration of migrants and cohesive communities – are more constructive when local governments are partner of the projects and processes. It is a community approach and response engaging all the spectrum of the local stakeholders, local authorities, CSOs, education and private sector, that we need to bring forward” was Ms Valmorbida’s final statement.
In the context of today’s challenges to tackle migrants’ stigmatisation, as introduced by Ms Giovanna Marconi, SSIIM UNESCO Chair at the University of Venice, key experiences were shared by Mr Michaël Moglia, President of the Network LIKE – European Cities and Regions for Culture and Mr Marco Cremaschi representing the “Cycle d’Urbanisme de Sciences Po Paris, Urban Planning and Design” who showcased the relationship between global and local in a specific context such as the one in Lampedusa, symbol of a situation that calls all European citizens. The Strasbourg community and its active civil society strongly contributed to the event and key experiences were shared by the University of Strasbourg and the associations Alsace terre d’accueil and Alsace-Syrie.
The three-day activity, besides the public session at the prestigious Salle des Marriages in Strasbourg, was also the occasion to define the methodology of the local process planned within the project. Partners identified conflicting areas in their cities and learned more about techniques of territorial analysis. The local path is now officially launched and as many as 10 local pilot projects will be developed through participative processes to tackle fragmentation and migrants’ stigmas while promoting intercultural dialogue.
روابط مفيدة:
Project URGENT webpage
Study visits:
Association Alsace-Syrie
Association CASAS

More than 100 representative of local authorities, civil society organisations, European institutions as well as experts and ordinary citizens gathered together on 28-30 November in Strasbourg to share knowledge, experience and good practice on how to promote intercultural dialogue and build bridges in nowadays’ fragmented European urban environments.
***
The event was a unique opportunity to promote a multi-stakeholder debate bringing together experiences from 12 different countries on a key topic affecting today’s Europe: intercultural dialogue and migrants’ integration. The activity took place within the framework of the Europe for Citizens’ co-funded project URGENT – Urban Regeneration: European Network of Towns. The initiative, through a bottom-up approach, aims to raise local awareness on the urgent need to establish new connections among inhabitants of marginalized neighbourhoods and those of central areas, and tackle the growing fear of immigration, which feeds Euroscepticist attitudes.
The event has been co-organised in cooperation with the City of Strasbourg as an opportunity to share the “Club de Strasbourg” initiative with all international participants. Ms Nawel Rafik-Elmrini, on her role of Deputy Mayor of the City of Strasbourg and first Vice-Chair of the Current Affairs Committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, opened the international seminar with Ms Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA. “Our message is that civil society actions – as for integration of migrants and cohesive communities – are more constructive when local governments are partner of the projects and processes. It is a community approach and response engaging all the spectrum of the local stakeholders, local authorities, CSOs, education and private sector, that we need to bring forward” was Ms Valmorbida’s final statement.
In the context of today’s challenges to tackle migrants’ stigmatisation, as introduced by Ms Giovanna Marconi, SSIIM UNESCO Chair at the University of Venice, key experiences were shared by Mr Michaël Moglia, President of the Network LIKE – European Cities and Regions for Culture and Mr Marco Cremaschi representing the “Cycle d’Urbanisme de Sciences Po Paris, Urban Planning and Design” who showcased the relationship between global and local in a specific context such as the one in Lampedusa, symbol of a situation that calls all European citizens. The Strasbourg community and its active civil society strongly contributed to the event and key experiences were shared by the University of Strasbourg and the associations Alsace terre d’accueil and Alsace-Syrie.
The three-day activity, besides the public session at the prestigious Salle des Marriages in Strasbourg, was also the occasion to define the methodology of the local process planned within the project. Partners identified conflicting areas in their cities and learned more about techniques of territorial analysis. The local path is now officially launched and as many as 10 local pilot projects will be developed through participative processes to tackle fragmentation and migrants’ stigmas while promoting intercultural dialogue.
روابط مفيدة:
Project URGENT webpage
Association Alsace-Syrie
Association CASAS
Committee for Development of Volunteering, Sisak


Training course in Strasbourg to combat hate speech through human rights education

The City of Strasbourg, a member of ALDA, and the Council of Europe are organizing the next training course to combat hate speech through human rights education and to disseminate the Movement Against Hate Speech in Strasbourg.
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Registrations can be made (within the limit of available places) by email at the following address: clement.dolisi@strasbourg.eu.

The City of Strasbourg, a member of ALDA, and the Council of Europe are organizing the next training course to combat hate speech through human rights education and to disseminate the Movement Against Hate Speech in Strasbourg.
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Registrations can be made (within the limit of available places) by email at the following address: clement.dolisi@strasbourg.eu.