As ALDA – the European Association for Local Democracy – and MAD – Mekanda Adalet Derneği, with the support of the Mercator Foundation, prepare the new edition of THE:PLACE, we take a moment to look back at the achievements of the programme’s first cycle and celebrate the work of the community organisations that shaped it.
Over the past year, 18 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), paired into nine Turkish–European partnerships, implemented meaningful initiatives that connected local priorities across borders. Their work reflects the core mission of THE:PLACE: empowering CSOs and Local Authorities (LAs) to play a central role in local development through capacity-building, peer learning, and collaborative project design.
A Programme Built on Partnership
Following a rigorous pre-selection and matchmaking phase, each CSO found a partner whose expertise and community needs aligned with their own. Together, these pairs co-designed projects rooted in the realities of their respective territories—whether in Turkey or in EU Member States.
Supported by their Local Authorities, each partnership spent a full year implementing activities, strengthening organisational capacities, and visiting each other to exchange methods, test tools, and co-organise events. This hands-on approach enabled teams to explore shared challenges and devise context-sensitive solutions.
Themes That Moved Communities
Despite working in varied social, economic, and political settings, the nine partnerships converged on themes that are increasingly critical across Europe and its neighbourhood:
- Responsible production and the impact of fast fashion
- Cultural accessibility and inclusive urban spaces
- Strengthening migrant and refugee communities
- Youth participation and local civic engagement
- Sustainable community development
- Social cohesion and shared local challenges
Their initiatives demonstrate how local actors—when enabled to collaborate—can identify overlapping issues and design innovative responses.
Cross-Roads, Exchanges, and a Celebratory Conclusion
Midway through the programme, a cross-roads event brought together both cohorts of THE:PLACE, creating space for the two editions to learn from one another. New connections emerged, and participants built a broader network of peers committed to locally driven development.
The programme concluded in Kosovo, where partners gathered to reflect on their achievements, discuss lessons learned, and celebrate the values that have guided their journey: cooperation, community ownership, and local democracy.
Discover Their Stories
To share these experiences more widely, MAD collaborated with Postane Productions to create a series of animated videos featuring each partnership’s journey, challenges, and achievements.
Watch the stories on MAD’s Instagram page: the collection is available HERE, with the first video starting HERE.
These videos not only highlight the power of collaborative local action, but also give visibility to the voices and ideas of the organisations that made this first edition of THE:PLACE truly impactful.
Looking Ahead
Stay tuned: the second edition of THE:PLACE will be launched in the first half of 2026.
With new CSOs, new partnerships, and fresh opportunities for cross-border collaboration, the next cycle promises to build on the strong foundation laid by this first generation of changemakers.
