Mois : juillet2018

From 9 to 13th July 150 participants from all over the world gathered at the “Kettering Foundation” in Dayton, Ohio, for the learning exchange “Deliberative Democracy Institute 2”. The aim was to explore a range of ideas able to improve public life at the community level and beyond by encouraging citizens’ participation and advancing knowledge on democratic practices.

The Delegate of LDA Armenia, Lusine Aleksandryan was present in order to join the discussion upon experiences and best practices in the methodologies used for framing issues and deliberations at the community level.
Furthermore, Aleksandryan, along with colleagues from DDI2, hold a lecture on “Citizens participation in the decision-making processes” based on the Kettering method. This is to raise problems, collecting concerns and suggest actions and drawbacks. Once back in Armenia, Ms Aleksandryan will continue to apply this method in the communities of Armenia in order to promote community experience of joint decision-making and problem solving.

Useful resources:
LDA Armenia website
Deliberative Democracy Institute

The international seminar titled “Open government: principles, methods, and ICT open source tools” was the first international event organized in the framework of the project RECOV – Rethinking Collaborative Values for public services. The objective of the event was to present good practices on the use of ICT tools for open government with a focus on new technologies.

The international seminar was held between 26 and 28 June 2018 in Skopje, the Republic of Macedonia. The event gathered around 60 international participants from 9 different European countries.

The European Association for Local Democracy – ALDA organized the event together with the Municipality of Centar, the lead partner of the project. The project is financed through the programme Europe for Citizens.

Conclusions and recommendations available ICI.

Liens utiles:

The Georgian Local Democracy Agency (LDA) has been particularly active during the last month organizing dissemination events on various sensitive themes, such as women’s participation in local administrations, local self-government and volunteering. Moreover, relevant personalities from the local and political scenes have been involved, making those meetings even more engaging.

The first happening took place on July 15th, 2018, in Kutaisi where the LDA Georgia, in collaboration with the East-West Management Institute (EWMI) and the Civil Society Development and Citizens Involvement Project (ACCESS), organized a regional conference entitled “Stronger Voice of Women in Local Self-Government”. The discussion aimed at informing the 12 municipalities of Imereti’s region and their local authorities on the principles of gender policy on the local self-government level. The attendance rate was satisfying, counting approximately 90 representatives of different sectors and the subjects covered during the debates mainly focused on the Georgian Parliament’s role in the institutional strengthening of the Gender Equality Council, prejudices and stereotypes on women’s Political Participation and the Importance of Gender Quotas in Georgia.

Just a week later, on June 22nd, The Georgian Local Democracy Agency, was once more engaged in the organization of “The Volunteer Forum”, hosted by the Akaki Tsereteli state University of Kutaisi. The meeting, led by the LDA Georgia, had the support of the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) and it took place within the framework of the Civil Society Development Initiative (2017-2020). 40 Organizations gathered together during the Forum, the latter being a liaison between people interested in volunteer opportunities and associations looking for candidates. The initiative aimed at improving the civil society’s environment in Georgia, by strengthening organizations and increasing their accountability to citizens.

To conclude, in July, the LDA Georgia’s executive director, Nino Khukhua, animated the conference “Open Governance at the Local Level – Cities Started Action” during the “Global Forum of open Governance 2018 – Tbilisi”. Nino Khukhua took the stage with a speech about citizens’ involvement in local self-government. The event, organized by the joint initiative of OGP, NALA and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, was held in Rustavi and saw the participation of representatives of Ukrainian local self-government, NALA executive council, members of the central government of Georgia and experts from the European Council.

Would you like to get more detailed information on those events? Read the dedicated articles on “LDA Georgia”’s website!
“More Women in the Local Self-Government” – Regional Conference in Kutaisi
Volunteer Forum
Conference “Open Governance at Local Level – Cities Started Action ” in Rustavi

At the World Forum Normandy for peace in June 2018 in Caen, a new education scheme was presented dedicated to the creation of a new international peace, freedom and human rights education scheme: the Freedom Prize.The Freedom Prize pays homage to all those who fought and continue to fight for the ideal of universal peace, created by the Normandy Region, in partnership with the academic authorities and the International Institute of Human Rights and Peace.
Focused on the meaning and values of the Allied landings, the Freedom Prize gives young people all over the world the opportunity to choose an exemplary public figure or organisation, committed to the fight for freedom. Just like those who risked their lives when they landed on the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944. 17 nations were involved in Operation Overlord to open up “Liberty Road” on which nearly 3 million soldiers travelled in their bid to save the world, the Allied landings remind us that freedom is a universal demand.

Today, many situations around the world testify to its fragility. The Freedom Prize aims at reinforcing and raising awareness on the individuals and associations who fight for World peace each day. The Freedom Prize is open to young people from around the world aged 15 to 25. It is an educational initiative in 3 stages which encourages young people’s involvement throughout the entire process, either as part of their education and training or in their own time.

As part of its educational aim, focused on remembrance, the Freedom Prize can also be part of teachers’ and trainers’ educational projects, responding to the various objectives of the school curriculum and adapting easily to multidisciplinary work.

This initiative consists of 3 stages: 1. A call for applications to nominate public figures or organisations from 6 June 2018 to 15 January 2019 2. A panel of judges to choose three finalist candidates 8 and 9 February 2019 3. A digital vote to choose the winner From 27 to 31 March 2019
Once the winner has been chosen, the Freedom Prize prize-giving ceremony will be held in Normandy in June 2019.

You can apply to the call for applications to nominate public figures or organisations from 6 June 2018 to 15 January 2019. More information on how to apply in the documents below as well as on the web page of the Freedom Prize.

On June 21st, SW-UP partners along with local stakeholders in the field of sport gathered for the SW-UP first multiplier event. The event took place in Bassano del Grappa, Italy with the support of the local municipality represented by Mr Oscar Mazzoccini, Councilor for Childhood Policies, Youth Generations, Education and Sports. This initiative in Bassano del Grappa was the first dissemination event of large scale aimed at strengthening the role of sport as a tool for social inclusion. About 60 organizations gathered for the circumstance, among which we signal 20 international participants, representing associations operating in the field of social inclusion, community development and sport, which had the opportunity to meet and share their experiences.

During the public conference, Mihaela Onofras, project manager at ALDA, presented the project and its main objectives. SW-UP project partners also presented their good practices in the field of inclusion through sports.  For instance, the Portuguese city of Guimarães joined the SWUP project and it is now promoting activities specifically designed for pregnant women. Invited guests from Slovenia, Mrs. Vernig shared her experience as a member of the handball team in Novo Mesto.
The meeting was a great opportunity to present as well the results of the SW-UP questionnaire on women’s experiences and needs to practice outdoor sport and recreational physical activities. “According to the survey results, women have many barriers due to social, safety and experience factors which don’t permit them to practice sport”, stated Vicky Dellas, researcher from Mullier Institute. She concluded by explaining that women are willing to practice outdoor activities, at least in theory, but they require certain conditions such as the creation of safe and well maintained facilities, better if close to their home or work place, with no or low costs, and for young women, to go with friends.

The conference was followed by a demonstration of “Baskin” game, open to all project participants. “Baskin” is a new sport invented in Cremona in 2003 whose objective is to be a highly inclusive activity everyone can practice – girls, boys, able and people with physical or mental disabilities. Baskin currently represents one of the most innovative sports, concretely promoting social inclusion.

The multiplier event in Bassano del Grappa was preceded by a coordination meeting in Milan, where project partners discussed the latest evolutions of the project and agreed on future activities.
SW-UP – Sport for Woman in Urban Spaces, is a one-year project started in February 2018, which aims at improving social inclusion of woman through participation in outdoor sport activities, thus creating equal opportunities and promoting gender equality. The project is funded by the European Commission Erasmus + Programme, Sports, Youth and European Aid Volunteers.

ALDA is glad to share this captivating interview to Mr. Andrey Pivovarov, representative of the organization “Open St. Petersburg”, ALDA’s first member in Russian Federation.

1. What is the mission of Open Russia (Open St. Petersburg), and why did you decide to join ALDA?

Our mission is to support local civic activism and provide political education all over Russia. There are thousands of active Russians who, in a normal political system, could get elected to local councils and parliaments. But nowadays there is no such opportunity in our country, and these people usually do not participate in political life. The Kremlin and our ruling party United Russia are controlling over issues at all levels. Instead of politicians, the system has brought up obedient bureaucrats. In such a system, after Putin is gone, there is a high probability of a new slip into authoritarianism with another president, even if he comes with democratic messages. Imagine: a country spanning 11 time zones, 10,000 km, ruled by a small group of people in the Kremlin, suddenly changes overnight. And the Kremlin says to the regions: now we stop interfering, now it’s up to you, it’s a democracy. Officials who got used to being soldiers of the system will have nobody to rely on and no idea how to manage the economy without a centralized power. In such a situation the region rulers will certainly prefer to return to the same old centralized model, inefficient but familiar, because they have no independence skills. Our work is to strengthen young leaders of civil society. Currently this work is not so visible, because it is not aimed at federal policies and instead focuses on local governance and activism. And we are very pleased to join ALDA and to be part of this large family. It will encourage us and our activists and give us the opportunity to share our experiences. We need to demonstrate the importance of local activism and it’s significance for our growing democracy. Very few people in Russia realize that. The results of our work will appear when there is both a need for politicians ready to take responsibility for decision-making and an opportunity for them to get into power.

2. In your view, how do hopes and fears of Russian and EU citizens differ, nowadays?

Europeans have an awareness of their influence on politics. Average Europeans decide much more about their life than average Russians. In Russia we still have the legacy of the Soviet period, when the state decided everything for the people: it attributed housing, distributed people to workplaces after the university, people had to ask permission to travel abroad and were expected to report on any communication with foreigners. There was no local goverance at all, entrepreneurship was a criminal issue, elections were a simple formality. Education, science, culture were all under the control of The Party. Therefore, we often hope for “a good tsar” who would come and solve all the problems. As for the opposition, it is often perceived as strange people who are always unhappy with the state. All these Soviet perceptions are changing slowly but it we take time and hard work. We live in a difficult time. Our society was the hostage of communists for 70 years and we need time to recover. Communication with colleagues from other countries is very helpful in understanding how democratic institutions should work correctly. 3. What is the hardest part of your work – and what keeps you doing it, day after day? Any public civic activity in Russia is risky, and although for most activists the real risks are low, any individual repressions cause fear. And the hardest part of our work is to convince active and talented people to join our projects. Next year we have elections to local councils in St. Petersburg. More than a thousand people will become deputies. We have already started recruiting candidates and got more than 500 applications. There could be much more of them, because basically people do not even know what local councils are. And independent politics is still perceived as something dangerous by most. But the success of the Moscow elections, when more than 200 democrats became deputies, inspires many. Russia is a large field for civic activism. It’s very interesting to work here, despite all the difficulties. We have more than 1200 activists, more than 100,000 supporters and 33 local organizations. Together we are “Open Russia” – a movement fighting for parliamentary democracy, for local governance and for the alternation of power.

3. What is the hardest part of your work – and what keeps you doing it, day after day?

Any public civic activity in Russia is risky, and although for most activists the real risks are low, any individual repressions cause fear. And the hardest part of our work is to convince active and talented people to join our projects. Next year we have elections to local councils in St. Petersburg. More than a thousand people will become deputies. We have already started recruiting candidates and got more than 500 applications. There could be much more of them, because basically people do not even know what local councils are. And independent politics is still perceived as something dangerous by most. But the success of the Moscow elections, when more than 200 democrats became deputies, inspires many. Russia is a large field for civic activism. It’s very interesting to work here, despite all the difficulties. We have more than 1200 activists, more than 100,000 supporters and 33 local organizations. Together we are “Open Russia” – a movement fighting for parliamentary democracy, for local governance and for the alternation of power.

Two years of work, collaboration, exchange and a great outcome, the interactive gamebook: all this led the ENLARGE crew toward the end of the journey.

The project closure event “Join ENLARGE adventure – Creating effective collaborative processes in sustainable energy”, will take place on 26 September in Brussels, at Maison des Associations Internationales, MAI (40, Rue Washington). The event is organized during the eGov Week 2018 coordinated by the European Commission.

The event will be the occasion to discuss the results of the project. ENLARGE, funded by the European research programme Horizon 2020, focused on the effectiveness, legitimacy, and institutional sustainability of collaborative processes in the field of sustainable energy. The project brought together over 70 participants from the enlarged Europe, who implemented real-life cases. We discussed their experiences, paying a particular attention to the factors that hindered or favoured their processes.

This exchange was the key to build our Choose Your Own Adventure Book, a gamebook about an hypothetical – yet realistic – scenario of a community embarking on collaborative processes. It will be the users, it will be you!, to take decisions, thus walking a path, reflecting on the consequences, and think of adaptive strategies to face challenges or unexpected events.

Are collaborative processes the way to go for policy-making in Europe?
Join the event, learn more about others’ experiences, share yours, and take home the gamebook for all communities interested in kicking-off a participatory process!

Thank you for registering online by 19 September via the online form.

FInd here the AGENDA of the event

Rejoignez l’événement de clôture du projet ENLARGE portant sur les processus collaboratifs efficaces autour des énergies renouvelables

Deux ans de travail, de collaboration, d’échange et une issue triomphale : la création du gamebook interactif.
L’événement de clôture du projet nommé “Rejoignez l’aventure ENLARGE – Créer des processus collaboratifs efficaces autour des énergies renouvelables” aura lieu le 26 Septembre à Bruxelles, à la Maison des Associations Internationales (MAI) située 40 Rue Washington. Cet événement se tiendra durant la eGov Week 2018 coordonnée par la Commission européenne.

Il offrira l’occasion de discuter des résultats du projet ENLARGE, financé par le programme de recherche européen Horizon 2020, qui donne la priorité à l’efficacité, à la légitimité et à la viabilité institutionnelle et des processus collaboratifs dans le domaine des énergies renouvelables. Ce projet a rassemblé plus de 70 participants originaires de nombreux pays européens (Etats membres de l’UE ou non), qui ont emprunté une approche très pragmatique. Nous avons parlé de leurs expériences en accordant une attention toute particulière aux facteurs qui ont entravé ou favorisé ces processus.

Cet échange a été un élément clé de la conception de notre gamebook, intitulé “Choisissez votre propre livre d’aventure” contenant un hypothétique scénario – quoique réaliste – qui traite d’une communauté déterminée à lancer des processus collaboratifs. Ce sera aux utilisateurs, ce sera à vous, de prendre les décisions – tout en réfléchissant à leurs conséquences – de réfléchir aux stratégies à adopter pour relever les défis et de gérer les aléas qui se présenteront.

Mettre en œuvre des processus collaboratifs rend-il la prise de décision plus efficace en Europe ?  Rejoignez l’événement, écoutez les autres raconter leur expérience, faites partager la vôtre, et repartez avec le gamebook afin que toutes les communautés ayant à cœur de lancer un processus de participation citoyenne en profitent !
Merci de vous inscrire d’ici le 19 Septembre via le formulaire en ligne.

Consultez l’AGENDA de l’événement

Partecipa all’evento finale del progetto ENLARGE sui processi collaborativi nel campo dell’energia sostenibile

Due anni di intenso lavoro, collaborazioni, scambi ed un grande risultato, il gamebook interattivo: tutto ciò ha condotto la squadra di ENLARGE alla fine di questa avventura.
L’evento di chiusura del progetto “Join ENLARGE adventure – Creating effective collaborative processes in sustainable energy” (Partecipa all’avventura di ENLARGE – Creazione di processi collaborativi efficaci in tema di energia sostenibile) si terrà il 26 settembre prossimo a Bruxelles presso la “Maison des Associations Internationales”, MAI (40, Rue Washington).

L’evento, organizzato in concomitanza con l’eGov Week 2018 coordinato dalla Commissione Europea, sarà l’occasione per discutere dei risultati del progetto.
ENLARGE è finanziato dal programma europeo di ricerca “Horizon 2020”, e si focalizza sull’efficienza, la legittimazione e la sostenibilità istituzionale dei processi collaborativi nel settore dell’energia sostenibile. Il progetto ha riunito più di 70 partecipanti dell’Europa allargata, i quali hanno condiviso le loro esperienze ed intavolato una discussione costruttiva nel tentativo di isolare i potenziali fattori in grado di ostacolare o favorire i processi collaborativi.

Questo scambio è stata la chiave per costruire il gamebook “Choose Your Own Adventure”, basato sull’ipotetico – tuttavia realistico scenario di una comunità che decide di intraprendere un processo collaborativo. Saranno i lettori (sarai tu!) dunque, a prendere decisioni, a riflettere sulle conseguenze ed a pensare alle strategie più adatte per intraprendere le sfide e gli imprevisti che si presenteranno lungo il percorso.

I processi collaborativi sono davvero uno strumento politico efficace in Europa?
Partecipa all’evento, scopri le esperienze altrui, condividi le tue, e porta a casa il gamebook, per tutte le comunità interessate a intraprendere un processo partecipativo!

Gli interessati sono pregati di registrarsi online via l’apposito FORME entro il 19 settembre 2018.

Consultate l’AGENDA dell’evento

Присоединяйтесь к мероприятию по завершению проекта ENLARGE как эффективных совместных процессов в области устойчивой энергетики

Два года работы, сотрудничества, обмена опытом и отличного результата, интерактивного геймплея: все это привело команду ENLARGE к концу путешествия.
26 сентября в Брюсселе в Maison des Associations Internationales, MAI (40, Rue Washington) состоится мероприятие по закрытию проекта ENLARGE «Присоединяйтесь к путешествию ENLARGE – Создание эффективных совместных процессов в устойчивой энергетике». Мероприятие организовано во время Недели eGov-2018, координируемой Европейской Комиссией.

Мероприятие станет поводом для обсуждения результатов проекта ENLARGE, финансируемого Европейской исследовательской программой Horizon 2020, сосредоточенного на эффективности, легитимности и институциональной устойчивости совместных процессов в области устойчивой энергетики. В проекте приняли участие более 70 участников из Европы, которые осуществляли реальные дела. Мы обсудили их опыт, обратив особое внимание на факторы, которые препятствовали или способствовали их процессам.

Этот обмен стал ключом к созданию нашего учебника «Выбери свою приключенческую книгу», о гипотетическом, но реалистичном сценарии сообщества, приступающего к совместным процессам. Это будут пользователи, это будете Вы!, принимать решения, таким образом, идти по пути, отражающимся на последствиях, и думать об адаптивных стратегиях, чтобы противостоять вызовам и неожиданностям.

Являются ли совместные процессы способными выработать политику в Европе?
Присоединяйтесь к мероприятию, узнайте больше об опыте других людей, поделитесь своими впечатлениями и возьмите домой учебник для всех сообществ, заинтересованных в начале процесса участия!

Зарегистрируйтесьонлайн до 19 сентябряс помощьюэтой формы.

Pridružite se završnom događaju projekta ENLARGE na temu efikasnih kolaborativnih procesa u održivoj energiji

Dve godine rada, saradnje, razmene i odličnog ishoda, interaktivni “gamebook”: sve ovo dovelo je ekipu projekta ENLARGE do kraja putovanja.

Događaj povodom završetka projekta “Pridruži se ENLARGE avanturi – Stvaranje efikasnih kolaborativnih procesa u održivoj energiji”, održaće se 26. septembra u Briselu, u Maison des Associations Internationales, MAI (40, Rue Washington). Događaj je organizovan tokom nedelje eGov 2018, koji koordinira Evropska komisija.

Događaj će biti povod da se razgovara o rezultatima projekta. ENLARGE, finansiran od strane Evropskog istraživačkog programa Horizon 2020, fokusiranog na efikasnost, legitimnost i institucionalnu održivost zajedničkih procesa u oblasti održive energije. Projekat je okupio preko 70 učesnika iz Evrope, koji su implementirali slučajeve iz stvarnog života. Razgovarali smo o njihovim iskustvima, posvećujući posebnu pažnju faktorima koji su ometali ili favorizovali njihove procese.

Ova razmena je bila ključna za izgradnju naše knjige – “Choose Your Own Adventure Book”, “gamebook” o hipotetičkom – a realističnom scenariju zajednice koja se bavi kolaborativnim procesima. To će biti korisnici, to ćete biti vi!, da donosite odluke, i na taj način hodajući putanjom, razmišljajući o posledicama i o adaptivnim strategijama za suočavanje sa izazovima ili neočekivanim događajima.

Da li su kolaborativni procesi dobar način kreiranja politika u Evropi?
Pridružite se događaju, saznajte više o iskustvima drugih, podelite svoje iskustvo, preuzmite “gamebook” i podelite sa svim zajednicama zainteresovanim za participativni proces!

Hvala vam na online registraciji do 19. septembra putom online forme.

التحق بالتظاهرة التي ستشهد اختتام مشروع إنلاردج (ENLARGE) حول المنهجيات التشاركية الفاعلة في مجال الطاقة المستدامة

سنتان من العمل والتعاون والتبادل ونسبة هائلة من المخرجات, إضافة إلى كتاب ألعاب يركز على المنهجية التفاعلية: هذه هي النتائج الجيدة التي احتفظ بها أعضاء فريق إنلارجدج مع اقتراب نهاية الرحلة لهذا المشروع.

ستنتظم التظاهرة التي تتزامن مع انتهاء المشروع “التحق برحلة إنلاردج – خلق منهجيات تشاركية فاعلة حول موضوع الطاقة المستدامة”, يوم 26 سبتمبر (أيلول) بالعاصمة البلجيكية بروكسل, وبدار الجمعيات الدولية تحديدا (40, نهج واشنطن). كما تتزامن هذه التظاهرة مع  تنظيم أسبوع الحوكمة الألكترونية 2018, وذلك بالتنسيق مع المفوضية الأوروبية.

كما ستوفر هذه التظاهرة فرصة سانحة لمناقشة النتائج التي تمخضت عن مشروع إنلاردج, الذي يمول من قبل برنامج البحث والتجديد للاتحاد الأوروبي “أفق 2020”, والذي يركز أساسا على الفاعلية والشرعية والاستدامة المؤسساتية للمنهجية التشاركية في مجال الطاقة المستدامة.  مكن هذا المشروع من تجميع أكثر من 70 مشارك من اوروبا الموسعة, والذين تولوا تطبيق حالات تنبثق من الواقع اليومي. كما قمنا بمناقشة تجاربهم مع إعارة أهمية خاصة للعوامل التي ساهمت في دفع هذه المنهجيات أو في إعاقتها.

كان لهذا التفاعل دور هام في صياغة كتاب حول مغامرة خاصة بك, تمثل في كتاب ألعاب حول عدد من السينارويات الافتراضية – حتى وإن كانت لها علاقة وطيدة بالواقع – تدعو المجتمع المحلي إلى اعتماد مقاربة تفاعلية. كما أن الأمر يعود لكم أنتم – بصفتكم مستعملين – لأخذ القرار- وبالتالي, الدخول في المغامرة والتفكير في النتائج المتمخضة عن ذلك والتفكير في الاستراتيجيات القابلة للتعديل بهدف رفع التحديات والاستعداد لمواجهة الأحداث الغير مرتقبة.

هل يمكن اعتبار المنهجيات التفاعلية أنها الطريقة المثلى لصياغة السياسات في أوروبا؟

التحق بالتظاهرة واكتشف المزيد عن التجارب الأخرى, وقم بتقاسم التجاربك الخاصة بك مع الآخرين, وعد إلى بلدك بكتاب ألعاب يتعلق بكافة المجتمعات المحلية التي ترغب في إطلاق منظومة منهجيات تشاركية !

نشكركم على القيام بالتسجيل عن بعد بحلول تاريخ 17 سبتمبر (أيلول) عن طريق الاستمارات الموفرة عن طريق الإنترنت

After having travelled to Malta, Greece, Ireland, Estonia, France and more EU countries, the ENLARGE gamebook made its next stop in Palma de Mallorca, Spain on July 10th 2018.