Europe and its Next Steps - ALDA for the Conference on the Future of Europe
Since the very beginning, ALDA has taken an active part in the process for the Conference on the Future of Europe, by mobilising its members and partners and joining the Civil Society Convention for the Future of Europe, with the aim to stimulate civil society participation in such a unique bottom-up process and take forward all inputs to European Institutions.
This brochure summarises all actions ALDA and its partners carried out during this unprecendent exercise.
Since the very beginning, ALDA has taken an active part in the process for the Conference on the Future of Europe, by mobilising its members and partners and joining the Civil Society Convention for the Future of Europe, with the aim to stimulate civil society participation in such a unique bottom-up process and take forward all inputs to European Institutions.
This brochure summarises all actions ALDA and its partners carried out during this unprecendent exercise.
دخول العام الجديد بطاقة متجددة وأمل: مع الأعضاء والشركاء لحماية الديمقراطية المحلية
"إن الحرب غير الإنسانية والظالمة ، التي يخوضها الشعب الأوكراني الآن ، تحثني على التأكيد على التزام ALDA اللامتناهي بالسلام وإعادة الإعمار", بهذه الكلمات خاطب Oriano Otočan ، رئيس ALDA الأعضاء والشركاء والأصدقاء في رسالته
كالعادة ، يخصص السيد أوتوجان في شهر ديسمبر من كل عام وقته لتذكر إنجازات الجمعية والتحديات المطروحة على نطاق عالمي والتزام ALDA للتغلب على تلك الصعوبات ، بجانب الأشخاص والمجتمعات والمؤسسات المحلية.
كان عام 2022 عام حزن وألم. ومع ذلك ، فقد كان عامًا من الشجاعة والوحدة: أظهر الشعب الأوكراني للعالم مدى قوة القيم: إن قضيتهم في حماية الحريات والديمقراطية هي أيضًا قضية أوروبية. "أوكرانيا بحاجة إليناكانت هي الحملة التي وحدت جميع مبادرات ALDA بالتعاون مع الشعب الأوكراني ومن أجله. من خلال التواصل المستمر مع المندوبين من وكالات الديمقراطية المحلية ، أثبتت الرابطة دورها كبناة سلام ، مع أصحاب المصلحة الآخرين والمؤسسات.
ومن ثم ، فإن ضرورة تنفيذ الإجراءات المحلية ، مع المجتمعات المحلية أثبتت مرة أخرى أنها حجر الزاوية في نشر الخير: "عززت ALDA دورها في علاقة بالديمقراطية والسلام والإنسانية . يصادف عام 2023 الذكرى الثلاثين لتأسيس أول محلي وكالة الديمقراطية في البلقان: تدعونا هذه المناسبة للتفكير في ثلاثة عقود من العمل في منطقة البلقان ، حيث عملنا بلا كلل لدعم المجتمع المدني نحو التوسع الأوروبي. هذا الأمر يحفزنا على الاستمرار بطاقة متجددة و استراتيجيات جديدة عملنا "مع" و "من أجل" شبكة دائمة الاتساع من LDAs الموجودة اليوم في جميع أنحاء الجوار الأوروبي. في هذا الإنجاز القوي ، سندخل عام 2023 بروح من التعاون والازدهار المتبادل. نتطلع إلى بناء إنجازات مهمة جديدة معًا. أتمنى أن تجلب عطلة الشتاء لحظات من السلام والفرح ، وتدعم المحتاجين ، وتواسي المحزونين. " - شدد السيد Otočan.
يرغب رئيس ALDA والأمين العام للأعضاء و
وبالمثل ، أنتونيلا فالموربيدا ، الأمينة العامة لـ ALDA "تتمنى أن يكون العام القادم عام سلام وانبعاث وطاقة متجددة [...] تعمل مع الأعضاء والشركاء وكل واحد منكم في أوروبا وخارجها"
شاهد الفيديو التالي للاستماع إلى الرسالة كاملة
***
شغّل الفيديو واستمع إلى تحيات السيدة فالموربيدا الشتوية بالإيطالية أو الفرنسية
👀 To read the full new years’ message by ALDA President, click on the languages below
In English – In French – In Italian – In Russian – In Serbo/Croatian – In Arabic – In Armenian – In Georgian – In Romanian – In Ukrainian
EuSave - Activity Report Template
Take a look at the Activity Report of «#EuSAVE- EU Citizens’ Action for Smart Historic Villages» project, funded with the support of the European Union under the Programme “Europe for Citizens”
Public services for efficient and responsible management in Prijedor
Within the framework of the “LINK4 Cooperation" project funded by the European Union, the second Forum for sharing best practices of CSOs and LAs cooperation was held in Prijedor on 9 December 2022, gathering over 60 participants.
In addition to representatives of the international community the Forum was attended by representatives of local authorities and CSOs from:
- Berkovici, Jablanica, Kostajnica, Maglaj, Mostar, Nevesinje, Novi Grad, Prijedor, Ravno, Trebinje, Zavidovici and Zepce
who jointly identified specific challenges of cooperation and expressed readiness to find optimal solutions to strengthen cooperation. Moreover, as the key tools in the context of joining the European Union an assessment of the impact and importance of the ELoGE process and the Leadership Academy (LAP) program of Council of Europe was also carried out.
Slobodan Javor, Mayor of the City of Prijedor and one of the hosts of the Forum, emphasized the importance of commitment to continuous improvement of public services and achieving more efficient and responsible management:
”The very fact that we are part of such an important project testifies how important it is to us to strengthen local participation and cooperation with the non-governmental sector. Also, through the segments and opportunities provided by the project, we strive to take into account the recommendations, all with the aim of improving local self-government, openness and transparency towards citizens.”
"The reform of local government in Bosnia and Herzegovina must achieve a high degree of direct participation of citizens" Dzenana Dedic at the second forum in Prijedor
Referring to the importance of participatory processes as a key factor in the development and stability of local democracy, دينانا ديديتش, director of the Local Democracy Agency Mostar, emphasized: “The reform of local government in Bosnia and Herzegovina must achieve a high degree of direct participation of citizens, which is in accordance with current strategies and recommendations of international organizations“
Bearing in mind ALDA’s experience in launching the ELoGE program in Croatia, North Macedonia and Kosovo*, ملتزمين جدًا بالتحدث عن, ALDA Secretary General, addressed the participants of the Forum, saying: “Good governance is the foundation of a functional and lasting democratic system. ALDA is honored to receive accreditation for the ELoGE – European Label of Excellence in Governance. An important program that, thanks to the partnership with the Council of Europe, contributes to the strengthening of democracy around the world and the establishment of a closer relationship between local authorities, civil society organizations and European institutions.”
A detailed presentation of the ELoGE process in BiH was conducted by the project partners. The findings from the benchmarking process were used as a base to detect most recurring weaknesses in municipalities that finalized the ELoGE process and were evaluated. The findings were presented by Ivana Velkova, project manager from ALDA Skopje, during the Zero document session and the participants were then asked to propose ideas on how to overcome those weaknesses during the World Cafe session “Moj grad, moja ulica”.
***
“LINK 4 Cooperation” project aims to strengthen the capacity of local authorities and civil society organizations in conducting participatory processes in order to jointly identify specific problems of communities and, thanks to a participatory approach, find the best solutions. The project consortium consists of the Local Democracy Agency (LDA) Mostar, the Local Democracy Agency (LDA) Zavidovici, the Local Democracy Agency (LDA) Prijedor, the Center for the Development of Herzegovina (CRH), the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA), and associate partner ALDA Skopje. Implementation began on January 1, 2021 and will last until December 31, 2023. Its value is over 540,000 EUR, of which the European Union provided over 490,000 EUR in grants.
تمكين 24 منظمة من منظمات المجتمع المدني لزيادة المساءلة الاجتماعية في مولدوفا
تلقت 24 منظمة مجتمع مدني من مقاطعات Cimișlia و Florești و Străseni و Ștefan Vodă و Telenești عقود المنحة بموجب مشروع "EU4Accountability". تم تنظيم هذا الحدث من قبل ALDA ، في مقهى أوروبا - مركز معلومات الاتحاد الأوروبي ، في كيشيناو.
يتم تمويل مشروع "EU4Accountability" من قبل الاتحاد الأوروبي ويهدف إلى تحسين المسؤولية الاجتماعية على المستوى المحلي وإنشاء آليات تعاون مستدامة بين السلطات العامة المحلية في جمهورية مولدوفا ومنظمات المجتمع المدني ، من أجل الاستجابة بشكل أفضل احتياجات المجتمعات المحلية.
قال جانيس ماييكس ، سفير جمهورية مالدوفا: "سيسمح الدعم المالي الذي يقدمه الاتحاد الأوروبي اليوم لمنظمات المجتمع المدني بتعزيز جهودها لتحسين المشاركة الديمقراطية والاستجابة للاحتياجات الملموسة للمواطنين في مقاطعات Cimișlia و Florești و Strășeni و Stefan Vodă و Telenesti".
"أود أن أهنئ منظمات المجتمع المدني التي مُنحت منحًا في إطار عمل EU4Accountability وأشكرهم على تفانيهم في تعزيز المسؤولية الاجتماعية في جمهورية مولدوفا" يانيس Mažeiks
"سيشمل ذلك حملات عامة لزيادة الوعي بعملية الميزانية ، والمشاركة المدنية لمراقبة الإنفاق العام وصنع السياسات ، والمشاورات التشاركية للميزانية - كل ذلك لجعل المواطنين والسلطات المحلية يختارون بشكل مشترك الاستثمارات التي تشتد الحاجة إليها في مجتمعاتهم" تابع السفير “أود أن أهنئ منظمات المجتمع المدني التي حصلت على منح في إطار عمل EU4Accountability وأشكرهم على تفانيهم في تعزيز المسؤولية الاجتماعية في جمهورية مولدوفا. مع دور الترشيح الجديد لبلدك في الاتحاد الأوروبي ، أصبحت أهمية المجتمع المدني في المضي قدمًا على طريق الانضمام أكثر وضوحًا ".
وبالمثل ، شكر زميل ALDA ألكسندرو كويكا الاتحاد الأوروبي على دعمه المستمر لجمهورية مولدوفا على مسارها الأوروبي وتنمية المجتمعات من خلال المشاركة والنهج الشامل. بالإضافة إلى ذلك ، أكد على التحسن المتوقع في المسؤولية الاجتماعية في المناطق المستهدفة والأثر الإيجابي لمنح المشاريع الصغيرة على ما يقرب من 140 ألف مواطن من 50 محلية في جميع أنحاء البلاد.
وتجدر الإشارة إلى أن المشاريع الـ 24 المختارة للتمويل تهدف إلى تعزيز المسؤولية الاجتماعية لمجموعات ومنظمات المبادرة المحلية وتعزيز المشاركة المدنية للمجموعات المستهدفة المختلفة. تستهدف المشاريع المقدمة من منظمات المجتمع المدني المحلية بشكل خاص الشباب والنساء والأشخاص من الفئات الضعيفة وتنص على: (1) تطوير مجموعات المبادرات وحملات المناصرة وتوطيد التحالفات المحلية ، (2) تعزيز قدرات منظمات المجتمع المدني في المناطق وتنفيذ آلية الموازنة التشاركية ، (3) تطوير المنظمات المدنية والشبابية وإنشاء مراكز معلومات للمواطنين.
***
يتم تنفيذ مشروع "EU4Accountability" ، الذي يمتد من 2022 إلى 2024 ، من قبل مجموعة من ثلاث منظمات: الجمعية الأوروبية للديمقراطية المحلية ALDA, ، و الشراكة الأوروبية من أجل الديمقراطية EPD والمنظمة التشيكية غير الحكومية People in Need PIN, ، ويمتد إلى 10 مناطق (Cahul ، Comrat ، Cimișlia ، Fălești ، Florești ، Glodeni ، Rîșcani ، Străseni ، tefan Vodă ، Telenești) ، وتوفر ميزانية إجمالية قدرها 1.5 مليون يورو.
🇦🇲 Read the news in Armenian
🇬🇪 Read the news in Georgian
🇷🇴 Read the news in Romanian
🇺🇦 Read the news in Ukrainian
The importance of water: an Erasmus+ project to train students to become water experts
تم عقد اجتماع Erasmus+ Water’s Experts project represents a valuable opportunity to underline the importance of water resources and raise awareness among young people and citizens on their role on the planet.
Climate change has a huge impact on water resources, causing droughts, floods and rivers’ transformation, then endangering the ecosystems and human life. Hence the need to create suitable methods to monitor the main issues of rivers, especially in hydro-rich areas where agriculture and nature-based tourism are highly dependent on climate.
The project aims to create a new professional profile, the Water Expert, capable of understanding the geographic and biological specificities of the watercourses and able to identify and handle the critical issues. Thanks to a 4-month training course, students attending the last year of vocational schools will acquire specific knowledge and professional skills in water resources management.
Students will acquire specific knowledge and professional skills in water resources management
Together with ALDA, four partners are involved in the project, and the activities have been taking place in four European countries (Italy, Portugal, North Macedonia and France). The project partners met on the occasion of the Kick-off Meeting in Portugal on 3 and 4 September 2022, that has been an essential moment to coordinate and set the following step in the project activities.
In the last few months, the project partners have been in touch with schools to present the project and identify the students who will attend the training course. Many schools have shown interest in the project and are already onboard. In the meanwhile, they have been working to finalise the training course contents and identify the experts who will train the students in each country.
ALDA is enthusiastic to contribute to such an interesting project, and is looking forward to sharing the upcoming news on the training courses.
Europe and its next steps: ALDA for the Conference on the Future of Europe
As emerged from all the initiatives, ALDA is strongly advocating not only for a closer collaboration between CSOs and institutions but also for a greater citizens’ involvement. Hence, the Association will further stress the importance of participatory democracy; while urging for an electoral reform as well as accountability assurance as resulted from the surveys undertaken within the CSOCoFoE.
ALDA is very much in favour of this bottom-up democratic approach, and it congratulates all the institutions, organisations, partners and members which also actively participated in the CoFoE
ALDA is very much in favour of this bottom-up democratic approach developed within the CoFoE
ELoGE Award Ceremony: a success of good governance and democracy together with our members
November 22, 2022, marked a milestone for the the implementation of the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) in Croatia, North Macedonia and Kosovo*.
On this date the Award Ceremony of ELoGE took place in Skopje (North Macedonia), and with all the activities and evaluations finalised, ALDA presented the label to the achieving municipalities on behalf of the Council of Europe.
The crystal dodecahedron engraved with the 12 principles of Good Democratic Governance was presented to 9 municipalities from North Macedonia, 6 from Kosovo, and 3 from Croatia who earned the label and will hold it for one year.
65 mayors and representatives from the various participating municipalities attended the event. The ceremony was opened by a speech from Risto Penov, the Minister of Local Self-Government of North Macedonia, Elbert Krasniqi, the Minister of Local Self-Government of Kosovo, A Otocan Oriani ،, President of ALDA, and ملتزمين جدًا بالتحدث عن, ALDA Secretary General.
The event continued with an in-depth discussion on the importance of the European Label of Governance Excellence, led by Niall Sheerin of the Center of Expertise for Good Governance. It was followed by brief interventions on the ELoGE experience from the representatives of each participating country and it concluded with the handover of the awards.
The success of the ELoGE implementation is mostly due to the fundamental cooperation and partnership between ALDA and its members
The success of the ELoGE implementation is mostly due to the fundamental cooperation and partnership between ALDA and its members.
تم عقد اجتماع Municipality of Novaci, a long-term partner and member of ALDA, took part in the project and successfully finalised the ELoGE process. The municipality showed a high level of good governance and Stevce Stevanovski, Mayor of Novaci, received the crystal dodecahedron during the award ceremony. ALDA’s partnership with Novaci stays strong, and will continue to further nourish in the future.
Another member which was directly involved in the project was the Association of financial officers (AFO) from Veles. Their director, Zoran Jankulovski, was a valuable member of the Evaluation Committee and assessed the dossiers of Macedonian municipalities. AFO’s experience in cooperation with local authorities proved to be fundamental in the process.
In addition, the Municipality of Gjilan took part in the implementation of the European Label of Governance Excellence in Kosovo. After showing a strong level of good governance it was awarded with the label. The Mayor of Gjilan, Alban Hyseni, received the crystal dodecahedron during the ceremony.
The ELoGE project represented a great opportunity to further enhance the cooperation between ALDA and its members and contributed to the strengthening of democracy و good governance in all cities involved in the process.
***
"Impariamo il Domani": environment and technology; courses for the over 65s
“Impariamo il Domani” aims to propose and promote inter- or intra-generational training with the participation of the over-65s in the role of teachers or learners through the involvement of teachers and training interventions to be implemented at schools or in local training courses. The project, by means of specific courses, made it possible to learn more about the world of new technologies, bridging the intergenerational digital divide.
“Impariamo il Domani” has been a great success; and now the project partners have the pleasure of sharing with you the stages of this 2022…
1️⃣ The first meeting: the greenhouse
“But how is it possible to create a greenhouse with digital tools?” “But how can a computer design a greenhouse?” There were many questions from participants at the first meeting on building a greenhouse, but gradually, thanks to professionals and lecturers, each question was answered. Using new technologies to unite two worlds that at first seemed so distant: the environment and the digital.
From the basics of electronics to the use of the open source Arduino board, these were two of the topics addressed during the course, which was held at Megahub’s fablab.
"Impariamo il Domani" has been a great success; and now the project partners have the pleasure of sharing with you the stages of this 2022...
2️⃣ The second meeting: “digital garden”
They are increasingly taking shape: digital greenhouses are now something real and tangible. It seems impossible, yet it is true: look at this orchid how lush it is!
The course on 3D printing and electronics for people over 65, the project’s target audience, attracted a lot of interest among the participants, who smiled and were amazed at how environment and technology are not so distant worlds.
3️⃣ The third meeting: smarphone
“Turn off the Bluetooth, and turn on the Wi-FI”.
“I don’t understand why this app doesn’t give me notifications”
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, App… so many new terms but what do they mean. Now entering the common vocabulary, these neologisms are the order of the day. How to use them, and what their function is, is not always so straightforward, which is why targeted training on the subject of smartphones was organised as part of the “Impariamo il Domani” project.
Thanks to the lecturer’s explanations and advice, the participants were able to find out more about the different functions possible within their mobile phones and thus optimise their use.
***
“Impariamo il Domani” saw the five partners (ALDA+, Fabcube, Verona fablab, Megahub Association, Marano solidarity) engaged in various activities aimed at promoting inter- or intra-generational training for the over-65s. This year’s events focused on two major themes: green and digital, through interactive and participatory courses; from the creation of ‘digital greenhouses’ to the use of smartphones.
The activities organised at MegaHub in Schio, are free training opportunities, organised in collaboration with Samarcanda Cooperativa Sociale Onlus وأجندة Veneto Region
مجلس ALDA الاستشاري: تقدم لتصبح خبيرًا داخليًا لدينا
منذ عام 1999 ، تعمل ALDA على تعزيز وتشجيع المشاركة المدنية كمفتاح لخلق واقع ديمقراطي تشاركي. كما أنها تسترشد بمجلس إدارتها ، الذي يتمثل دوره في تحديد الخطوات المستقبلية ومسار الجمعية.
أطلقت ALDA الآن دعوة للتعبير عن الاهتمامات موجهة إلى الأعضاء والشركاء والخبراء الخارجيين على ضوء مشاركتها الهامة على المستويين المحلي والدولي. تتكون هذه الدعوة من تحديد واختيار خمسة مرشحين لتشكيل مجلس المستشارين الذي يتمثل دوره في تقديم الدعم المباشر لمجلس الإدارة من خلال تقديم المشورة الفنية وتبادل المعرفة المهنية.
سيركز المجلس الاستشاري على المجالات المحددة التالية ، وفقًا للموضوعات الرئيسية لـ ALDA:
- مشاركة المواطنين
- البيئة والمناخ
- النوع الاجتماعي والإدماج وحقوق الإنسان
- تمكين الشباب والتعليم
- الهجرة
- الرقمية والابتكار
- التنمية الترابية والمحلية
سيتم اعتماد المجلس الاستشاري من قبل مجلس الإدارة في دورته في أوائل مارس 2023 ويمكن إجراء المقابلات والتبادلات المحتملة في هذه المناسبة. سيتم اختيار المرشحين بناءً على خبرتهم ومجال اهتمامهم. سيتم اعتبارهم بصفتهم الشخصية. ستكون مشاركتهم مجانية بينما سيتم سداد تكاليفهم في حالة الاجتماعات والسفر. سيتم انعقاد اجتماعات المجلس الاستشاري باللغتين الإنجليزية والفرنسية فقط.
يرجى ملاحظة أن المكالمة ليست موجهة فقط لأعضاء ALDA ، ولكنها مفتوحة لأي شخص مهتم بالمنصب والمساهمة في مهمة ALDA.
To get more information, read the call for Interest and apply by March 31st, 2023.
لمزيد من الاستفسارات ، يرجى الكتابة إلى: alda@alda-europe.eu
🇦🇲 Read the news in Armenian
🇬🇪 Read the news in Georgian
🇷🇴 Read the news in Romanian
🇺🇦 Read the news in Ukrainian