Mois : octobre2019

The Local Democracy Agency (LDA) of Kosovo is organizing a Network Training Workshop et par Regional Youth Forum in Prishtina entre the 4th and the 7th of November 2019. This training and youth forum are part of the project “Regional Youth Compact for Europe”, its main topic is: Youth in the region: Seeking strategic responses to meet the challenges of demography and labor market trends 2019. The goal of the training is to deepen the common understanding of the accession negotiation process with particular focus on the Chapter 19: Social Policy and Employment.

The topics of the training are: Labor Market Reforms; Decent work standards and Social Cohesion; Employment opportunities and regional mobility. The Network Training Workshop and Regional Youth Forum are expected to be attended by 70 participants, including members of the Project Management Team, Members of the Regional Youth Working Group, CSOs and youth organizations from the World Bank countries (prominent in the areas of youth policy design, youth inclusion and participation in the stakeholders’ structured dialogue frameworks), local regional policy/decision makers, local authorities, experts, NGO practitioners and media.

The training will be facilitated by experts from the World Bank, International Labour Organization (ILO), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and other organizations, working throughout the region.

The project “Regional Youth Compact for Europe” is implemented by the Center for Democracy Foundation, European ALDA network and the ALDA – Western Balkans Network for Local Democracy, CRTA, Youth Act and Sodem. This project is funded by the European Union and the Balkan Trust for Democracy, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

In a time when nationalistic policies have been thriving, the value to be a Union may appear antiquated. The session “Let’s unite! Reconciling Europe with its citizens to build a more democratic and closer Europe”, which took place on 8th October from 11.30 to 13.30, proves this belief to be wrong.

A successful international conference on the topic of “Innovative and sustainable financial instruments for local governments” was organized from the 21st to 23rd of October 2019 in Lisbon. This 3rd international event was part of the project “RECOV – REthinking Collaborative Values for public services". 

Different approaches to Innovative Financing for Sustainable Local Development were presented during the public event which gathered around 100 participants representing local authorities and civil society organizations. A field trip on the topic was organized in order to present a concrete case study on public financing. Public financing remains vital for local sustainable development, especially to meet the needs of the of vulnerable population.

Innovative finance tools require efficient institutions and financial expertise as well as networking among international partners.

The project partners had the opportunity to share their experience presenting their one innovative financial instruments, and to discuss innovative ideas regarding future common projects.

The Conference was organized by the Clube Intercultural Europeu, Amadora – Portugal. RECOV: Rethinking collaborative values for public services is a 2-year-long project coordinated by European Association for Local Democracy – ALDA. The lead partner of the project is Municipality of Centar. The project is supported by Europe for Citizens Programme. 

The seven partners of the LIME project (Labour Integration for Migrants Employment) from Italy, France and Spain met in Madrid on 21st and 22nd October for their First Coordination Meeting to review together the main points of the project, discuss the results obtained so far and the future steps.

The LIME project aims to promote the rapid integration of young third country nationals (TCNs) between 18 and 29 years old into the labour market, by fostering the application of the Migrants Economic Integration Cluster (MEIC) methodology throughout Europe. The MEIC is an innovative and participatory approach based on the creation of a partnership of socio-economic multi-stakeholders, including public and private actors.Through the definition and implementation of the MEIC model, we intend to create a long-term strategy to strengthen policies and tools for the integration of young migrants into the labour market in the territories of intervention, adapting them to their needs.

During the first day of the meeting in Madrid, each partner presented the results that have been achieved so far in the implementation of the first phase of the project, exposing the problems encountered and analysing the results of the first training courses carried out.

On the second day, the participants were divided into two groups: researchers and project managers from LUMSA, CIES and Pinardi analysed the cluster networks in Italy and Spain, while the financial and administrative managers discussed the financial instruments to be used and the distribution of the budget.

Finally, the meeting ended with the illustration of the action plan for the next few steps of the project, and the development of two pilot actions in Italy and Spain. All partners have hence now returned to work to realise the following actions for the LIME project:
– Workshops, programmes and materials for self-employment;
– The continuation of L2 language courses and professionalizing courses;
– Creation of customised integration plans and reports on the progress of Third Country Nationals in the labour market;
– Support for the definition of a cooperative business plan.

The Second Coordination Meeting will be held in Rome in early 2020 – stay posted! Subscribe to the LIME newsletter and follow us on our website and social media channels (@LIMEproject2019) to keep up to date.

Les Association française du Conseil des communes et régions d'Europe (AFCCRE), a member of ALDA, organized the 5th European University in Antibes Juan-les-Pins, in southeastern France, on October 17th and 18th, 2019. This 2-day event was structured in a series of debates, conferences, roundtables and workshops designed specifically to stimulate the exchange of ideas, foster dialogue and facilitate the comprehension of European issues having a tangible impact on local communities. While during the first-day topics like equality, the socio-occupational integration of youths, investments and public services, the following day the attention was drawn to the relations between French territories and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.

Within this context, our Secretary-General Antonella Valmorbida presented the work of ALDA in the Mediterranean area, ever more widespread, with several projects and micro-projects ongoing, and the presence of two Local Democracy Agencies, in Tunisia and Morocco. All the speakers which contributed to the session agreed that the Mediterranean area and the Neighboring countries are essential partners for both France and the Union, especially in view of the current geopolitical framework, which reinforces the attention that EU leaders give to the said area.

Last but not least, this conference established the partnership between AFCCRE and ALDA, whose convention will be officially signed by the Presidents of both parties next January 2020.

Wouldn’t it be great if migrant and refugee women could become protagonists of the communities they live in, while acting as multipliers within their families and social circles?

In the framework of the WEMIN project, ALDA and other WEMIN partners have worked on the development of innovative digital learning material with this aim in mind, and the ALDA team has designed a presentation on “Multilingualism and family” which will be made available on WEMIN’s website for its interested public alongside all other material created.

ALDA then adapted this digital resource and delivered lorswo workshops on Tuesday, September 24th and Thursday, September 26th in Strasbourg. The workshops were held on the premises of the local organisation Plurielles, and attended by migrant and refugee women. It was a safe environment suitable for discussion, which encouraged proactive participation on the part of the women despite their difficulties with the French language.

The exchange that ensued was very enriching and allowed participants to share and understand how each family organizes around the notion of multilingualism. The women realized that speaking several languages is an asset, not a weakness. They agreed that learning the language of their host country is essential for successful integration and for their autonomy: for a doctor’s appointment, for parent-teacher appointments without the need for a translator, etc. However, this session awoke their awareness of the importance of keeping their native language alive as well, and of multiculturalism as a richness; and they concluded that they should continue to speak their own language at home, too, in order to keep this connection with their children.

The participants were also extremely interested in attending a creative workshop about upcycling organized by ALDA as part of the WEMIN project, thanks to which migrant and refugee women can meet women from the local community in a fun and creative environment.

WEMIN is a two-year project aimed at the integration and empowerment of migrant and refugee women funded by the European Union’s AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) program. The consortium is composed by 9 partners, and ALDA is the coordinator of the communication and dissemination activities. In the framework of WEMIN, ALDA has implemented as well other local activities for migrant and refugee women such as empowerment and mentoring sessions or language and culture courses.

Let’s think about our needs in daily life from the point of view of an EU citizen and a migrant person: going to work, taking the children to school, learning French/Dutch, cleaning home, assembling furniture, mowing the lawn, learning a foreign language, understanding the bureaucratic procedures, finding a house and so on.

How would our life change if somebody from our community helped us with the necessities of our daily life and if we helped them with their needs?

This is the main challenge to which ALDA, partner of the Project FromMEtoEU, will try to respond during the second of a series of Local Workshops that will be held at La Serre on Saturday, 16th November 2019 from 3pm to 6pm.
The event will see the participation of Caroline Donnelly, a professional actress and trainer, who will guide participants in a unique workshop aimed to identify the needs of EU citizens and migrants in Brussels and to suggest in which ways local people can collaborate and help one another.

Les theatre training will be organized in three phases:

1. Ice-breaking game and theatre exercises: let’s get to know one another!
2. Fiction time: acting and interpreting another identity – let’s improvise!
3. I need (E)U, (E)U needs me: what will change if we help each other.
   We are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday, 16th November for this unique opportunity to learn theatre exercises in order to act better in our daily life.

This event is free of charge.
Registration through the online form is recommended; check out the Facebook event!