To ensure the progress of development of local self-government in Georgia and Bulgaria decisions and new laws must be turned into reality, because reforms don’t only remain de jure changes but also produce de facto changes.

This should be the goal of the reform process initiated in the two countries and strongly supported by the European institutions, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in the head, as shown during the seminar held by ALDA, the Association of Local Democracy Agencies, on April 19 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The seminar on “strengthening good governance and citizen participation at the local level” was supported by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and organised in cooperation with the National Association of Local Authorities in Georgia (NALAG) and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA).
The meeting took place at the Local Governance centre of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, with the participation of students of Local Governance and the head of the centre Mrs. Liza Soptomadze. During the seminar Dr. Ginka Tchavdarova, Executive Director of the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria spoke about local self-government in Bulgaria, examples of citizen participation at the local level in Bulgaria and other European countries as well as the Charter of Local Self-government and how it has been implemented in Bulgaria and discussed the implementation of the Charter in Georgia with the participants.
Ms. Tatiana Bokuchava from NALAG and secretary to the Georgian Delegation to the Congress of Council of Europe also participated in the seminar and spoke about NALAG’s work in the Council of Europe and NALAG’s cooperation with ALDA.

During the seminar there were active discussions with the participants regarding the progress of development of local self-government in Georgia and Bulgaria and the challenges to turn decisions and new laws into reality so reforms don’t only remain de jure changes but also produce de facto changes. Dr. Ginka Tchavdarova explained that Bulgaria has been successful in developing strategies for decentralisation, but that often the implementation of these strategies unfortunately has been less successful. The Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation and information about the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities were also discussed and distributed to the participants.

The challenges of how mobilise citizens to take responsibility and be active at the local level on issues that are concerning their own lives and the situation in their communities were also discussed. The idea of youth parliaments that have been used in Bulgaria was mentioned as an idea to activate youth at the local level in Georgia and a there was a discussion of how the participants themselves could become more active citizens.

To share best practices of good governance in European local administration for strengthening the development of the local government in South Caucasus.
This is the main objective of the international seminar that is taking place today (19th of April) in Tbilisi, Georgia, promoted by ALDA and Georgian Institute of Public Administration, in the framework of a Council of Europe’s programme.

The seminar is a fundamental event to identify the needs and the perspectives of the Association of Local Authorities to promote local governance and local democracy in these region and its countries which belong to the Council of Europe.
ALDA believe that the cooperation and experience it can offer through the network of Municipalities, NGOs and other partners it has throughout Europe can provide a great benefit for the development of Local governance in South Caucasus.
The seminar follow the international conference promoted by ALDA with the Council of Europe, GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit), NALAS (Network of Local Authorities Associations of South Eastern Europe) and LDA Georgia, that took place last December in Kutaisi.
This seminar will be repeated also in Armenia and in Azerbaijan in the next months.

Europe deaf, indifferent and lacking in solidarity on the migratory events that are interwoven in the Mediterranean or means of establishing a new concept of local governance in the countries of the Med? And how can local governments to become positive leaders in Sicily of this new governance, which from the bottom, try to give concrete answers to the causes of migration and the problems they bring to their communities?

One possible answer to this question will try to give tomorrow in Palermo Sicily Region, in particular the Department of Foreign Affairs in Brussels, led by Dr. Francesco Attaguile, and ALDA, Association of Local Democracy Agencies, with Director Antonella Valmorbida, who organised a meeting with the Sicilian municipalities.
Tomorrow (Tuesday 19th of April 2011, 9.30) at the conference hall of the Region, (via General Magliocco, 46) will discuss the theme « Active citizenship and participation for local governance in the Mediterranean”.
The Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA) is a non Governmental Organisation working throughout Europe and the Mediterranean for the promotion of governance and citizen participation as a means for strengthening local democracy and the protection of human rights. In recent years, Alda has become one of the most dynamic players in Europe and cooperates with the European Commission under the structured dialogue on Active Citizenship.

Together with the Sicilian Region has achieved, among other initiatives, a project for the entrepreneurial and managerial training of citizens of the Maghreb to « capitalise » their ability to develop new activities in their country of origin or to facilitate a full integration in the host countries.
In line with the « Palermo Declaration », signed by 50 institutions representative of 20 countries in May 2010 during the conference « United by the Mediterranean » organised by the Sicilian Region, ALDA is strongly convinced of the importance of strengthening the euro-Mediterranean partnership for the promotion of human rights and participation of all citizens in the life of local communities in which they live.

Many Sicilian municipalities have joined the meeting, which aims to promote the development of synergies between the activities of ALDA, Sicily Region and Sicilian municipalities interested in promoting local governance and participation of citizens in Europe and in the Mediterranean, sharing experiences and best practices among the actors involved. The ultimate objective of the meeting is to develop local projects, within the project guidelines and funding of the European Community, as an opportunity for stable cooperation for development and peace in the Mediterranean.

The team of the Youth Information and Counseling Center INFO SEGA, together with the Executive Director of SEGA, Member of the Council of the Local Self-Government Strumica and representative of the Local Self-Government of Shtip participated in study visit for the Network of youth information, Local partnership and its modalities of implementation in Lower Normandy, France.

The aim of this visit was to study the system and functioning of the Youth Information Centers in this part of France, representatives of the municipalities Shtip and Strumica in order to get familiar with the model of Youth Information Center, exchange of experiences and possibilities for further cooperation between North Macedonia and Lower Normandy.
This study visit is part of the Project for decentralised cooperation between Macedonia and Lower Normandy – France, supported by the Regional Council of Lower Normandy, the French Ministry for foreign affairs, the European House of Caen and the Coalition of youth organizations SEGA. These organisations cooperate on Component 2 of the project.
The Macedonian delegation had opportunity to visit Youth informative centers, Info points, municipalities and state offices, youth houses and youth cultural centers in Caen, Flers, Saint Lo and Oustreham.
Within this study visit both parties exchanged successful stories for the youth information centers, youth information, local partnership and the modalities of its implementation. Lot of fresh ideas will be implemented in the everyday work of INFO SEGA, and the opening of new youth information centers in Shtip and Strumica will be initiated.
For further information please consult the webpage of the Cooperation http://crbn-mk.courriers.info/ or contact Katica Janeva katica.janeva@aldaintranet.org .

The Association of Local Democracy Agencies strongly supports the demand for democracy and respect for human rights in the Southern Mediterranean countries and condemns in particular the violence in Libya. We are strongly concerned with the fate of migrants who are fleeing the countries in danger either by sea or through long and very risky journeys over land.

We consider that this is our role, as Europeans, supporting the future strengthening of European identity to promote peace and democracy within our borders but today even more so in our Neighbourhood. The unrests and uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya show that the request for citizenship and involvement and respect in the democratic process, at the borders of Europe, is an essential need.
ALDA and the LDAs have an extensive knowledge in post conflict areas, like in Western Balkans and in Southern Caucasus to restore peace and democracy, as well as paving the way for future development. We are convinced that it is possible only through real support to local authorities and civil society working together.
ALDA recommends to the European institutions to respond with one single voice in defence of democracy and human rights in this area of the world in these days and give full support to migrants in needs. It calls for support and commitments from local authorities and their associations as well as European Civil Society to be engaged in giving support and help in this moment and in the future.
We strongly recommend the inclusion of local governance and citizens’ participation as a cross cutting element of the European Neighbourhood Policies and programmes.
Being already involved in a programme for migrants in Algeria and initiatives in Morocco, ALDA confirms its interest in supporting local good governance and citizens’ participation in the Southern Mediterranean countries, drawing on our experience and commitment from Europe, in particular Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership.

The Association of Local Democracy Agencies was present for the second time this year to the 2011 South-East Europe School for Local Democracy in Sarajevo, from April 7 to 11.
The School is a training programme of the Council of Europe for locally elected representatives, local authorities administrators and members of the LDAs and their partners, in matters related to local good governance, decentralisation and leadership at local level. It is linked to the Network of the School of Political Studies and the Directorate General of Democracy and Political Affairs. The host for this second seminar was the Sarajevo School of Political Studies.

Eight members of ALDA s network were present to the seminar: Mirjana Ostojic, Public Relations Officer to the Municipality of Prijedor, Paula Rauzan, LDA Delegate in Sisak, Dzenana Dedic, LDA Delegate from Mostar, Danilo Cabric, Member of cabinet in Mayor of Subotica, Dibra Blendi, Technical director of LDA Shkodra, Oriano Otocan, Istrian Regional Government Member and Member of the ALDA Governing Board, as well as Biljana Zasova, Senior Implementation Coordinator.
Mrs Zasova was also member of the delegation of the City of Strasbourg headed by Mrs Nawel Rafik-Elmrini, Vice-Mayor of the Municipality of Strasbourg in charge with International and European Relations and Decentralised Cooperation. They had meetings with Prof. Dr. Alija Behmed, Mayor of Sarajevo and Dr. Mirsad Kebo, Vice-President of Bosnia and Herzegovina (on the photo).

The co-operation of civil society with local authorities is an important prerequisite of democratic governance that could contribute to further stability and sustainable development in the Western Balkan region, as demonstrated within the project “participation and intercultural governance at local level in the balkans: challenges and European perspectives”.
The leading applicant of the project was the city administration of Subotica; ALDA, the LDAs of Subotica, Mostar and Osijek and the Lighthouse Media centre of Wolverhampton (UK) were the partners of the project, equally involved.
In the opening session of the final conference of the project that was held in Mostar, (30th March – 2nd April 2011) the participants were addressed by Mr. Ljubo Beslic, Mayor of the city of Mostar.

In his welcoming speech, he stressed the importance of the events promoting intercultural governance in the city that has gone through armed clashes and destruction during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and whose remnants are still visible. However, efforts are constantly being made to alleviate and overcome the consequences of the recent past and the city is seeking the solutions in support to development oriented policies that would suit the needs of all the citizens. Mr. Slavko Parac, President of the City Assembly of Subotica, greeted the participants on behalf of the Lead partner, the city with the centuries long history of multicultural coexistence among local national communities in the border area connecting Serbia, Hungary and Croatia. The consequences of the recent conflicts in the region however imposed the need for the local government to open up new space for improving intercultural dialogue, multilingual education and promoting diverse cultural identities that are all incorporated in local development strategy. Mr. Jovo Jelic, greeted the participants on behalf of the Osijek/Baranja county-Croatia. He informed about the efforts aimed at overall economic reconstruction and interethnic confidence building in the war affected zones in the region, reiterating the need for intensified cross-border and regional co-operation links between different local communities. Ms. Suzan Arslan wished a successful work to the conference on behalf of DG Enlargement-Regional Programmes, and informed the participants about the P2P Programme and Civil Society Facility (CSF) developed in order to support the regional co-operation initiatives with the view of overall democratic transformation of the Western Balkan societies aspiring to EU integration. She also noted that the co-operation of civil society with local authorities, as demonstrated within this project, is an important prerequisite of democratic governance that could contribute to further stability and sustainable development in the region.
During the second part of the opening session, an overview of the project activities and some of the key results achieved was made by Ms. Stanka Parac Damjanovic, Project manager.

Main project outcomes and publications are available on: www.regionalicc.net

Thematic panels
The conference gathered more than 80 participants, representing CSO-s and local governments from Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, UK, Italy, Norway, Hungary and Moldova. Mr. Owen Masters, CoE expert was facilitating the Panel 1 on the participation of minorities, during which the case studies presented were from Hungary, Serbia, Moldova. Examples of activities of the Croat minority association in Szeged, efforts of the Roma education centre aimed at inclusion in Subotica, and confidence building measures initiated on both sides of the river Dnjestre in Moldova. Mr. Gunnar Mandt, Director of the European Wergeland Centre, Norway was the facilitator of the panel: From multicultural coexistence to intercultural governance, that provided an overview of innovative mechanisms and institutional structures in support to democratic governance at local level in culturaly diverse local communities. Examples from Norway, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia were presented, and comparisons made in regard with local governance models in traditional multicultural communities facing with the post-conflict reconciliation process in the Western Balkan region with cultural diversity as a result of migratory waves to EU member states taking place over the last sixty years. Specific attention in presentations was given to education (both informal and formal) and culture, as the areas falling within the scope of competencies at local tier of governance. The panel 3 facilitated by Ms. Jlenia Destito, Ipres Institute for socio economic researches, Italy, was devoted to municipal service provision with the case studies ranging from participatory planning process, education and public information provision in minority languages, preservation of cultural identities, financing policies and housing for migrants. Presentations included case studies from Devon (UK), Subotica, Kovacica (Serbia), Szeged (Hungary) and the host city Mostar.

During the session 4, which was facilitated by Mr. Vehid Sehic, Citizens’ Forum Tuzla (BiH) issues related with the role of civil society in intercultural dialogue and reconciliation process were discussed. The panelists, CSO representatives and experts from the three countries included in the action gave an overview of recent developments as regards the political, social and economic factors relevant for the progress made in regional co-operation initiatives. Specific attention was given to the potential role of civil society as the catalyst of the democratic change and an actor capable to bring EU integration values closer to the citizens and this way help reduce inter-ethnic distance in post-conflict societies. Therefore, education for democratic citizenship with particular emphasis on youth and opening of a new space for dialogue engaging widest possible actors in regional co-operation programmes could bring more tangible results in the long run.
During the concluding session, facilitated by Stanka Parac Damjanovic, ALDA Regional Programmes Coordinator, an overview of on-going programmes was made on TACSO regional co-operation and technical assistance to CSO-s in Western Balkan and Turkey, the potential role of Hungarian EU presidency in promoting EU enlargement, as well as other regional initiatives of interest for the CSO-s and local governments, such as the Danube strategy, functional euroregions connecting the countries of the Western Balkans and EU member states ( such as DKMT Euro-region).
BE-ME Perspective was designed as a thematic session facilitated by Mr. Frank Challenger and as an opportunity to view the documentaries on the three cities (Subotica, Osijek, Mostar) made during the project as an illustration of efforts made by the local governments to promote cultural heritage of national communities and support their participation in policy decision making process. Personal testimonies and narratives from different sections of local societies constitute the main background of the documentaries thus illustrating the present challenges and everyday problems of ethnic, religious minorities in the Westerna Balkan region and as a comparison, in the city of Wolverhampton as well.

Round Table in the city hall Mostar, 2nd April 2011
The delegation composed of the representatives of the city of Subotica and Osijek Baranja county paid a visit to the city hall Mostar, where they were addressed by Mr. Murat Coric, President of the City Council. He presented the local elected bodies operating since 2004., and also some of the main local policies in areas of social and economic development, considering the heavy legacy of conflicts and visible remnants of the destruction in the city. The local government is facing with large scale infrastructural works particularly in water supply and sewage system, while also there is an evident need for improvements in housing and agricultural development.
Much has been done in connecting the city with a wide range of international partners, including the cities in Europe and in the Western Balkans, while the good governance, citizen participation, promotion of cultural heritage of the national communities are among the priorities in these co-operation programmes. Good economic links have also been established with a number of cities, including Kragujevac in Serbia. There is certainly an interest to increase the scope of potential partner cities and establish co-operation with Subotica and Osijek. Therefore, as Mr. Coric reiterated, networking among the cities is the future of this region and will certainly contribute to stability, economic prosperity and improved outlooks for EU integration.

Study visit to Mostar, Saturday, 2nd April 2011
After the conference, a group of participants had an opportunity to visit the historic sites and cultural monuments in the downtown area of the city of Mostar.

The director of ALDA, Mrs. Antonella Valmorbida, presented the Code of Good Practices for Civil Participation, promoted by the Conference of the INGOs of the Council of Europe, at the Association of Municipalities of Sweden (SALAR) on the 31st of May.
The event was organised among the activities to promote citizens’ participation already taking place in Sweden.

Indeed, a framework agreement between the authorities and representatives of civil society working on social matters has been recently agreed and based on the Code of Good Practices. At the meeting, took part about 20 municipalities from Sweden interested to know concrete proposal about how to improve the participation of citizens in the decision making process at the local level.

The Code was also presented by one of its author, Mrs. Ariane Rodert, representative of the Social Forum Sweden and member of the European and Economic Social Committee.

For further information please visit:
http://www.coe.int/T/NGO/code_good_prac_en.asp
http://english.skl.se/activities

In cooperation with the French Cultural Center Nis and the Office for European Affairs of the City of Nis, with the support from the French Embassy in Belgrade, LDA CSS realised a series of screenings of films and debates on globalisation. The program aimed to introduce citizens of Nis with the phenomenon of globalisation in the areas of life most affected by it.

Debates and speakers, professors from the University of Nis, enabled the public to reflect on all the basic forms of globalisation – economic, political and cultural and their effect on their personal life and local communities where they live.

This programme has been organised by Camille DURAND currently studying as a Fifth Year Student at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in LILLE (France), as a part of her three-month internship in LDA.

The Centre for New Initiatives in Arts and Culture Lokomotiva and The Regional Centre for Ethnology Culture and Techniques from Lower Normandy – CRCET are organising an Analysis and Strategic planning workshop for cultural development in the Pelagonija region, in Bitola, from 04 until 07 April.
The participants will analyse the needs, weaknesses and potential in the cultural field in the municipalities of the Pelagonija region; together with the creation of regional vision and mission for cultural development as well as the creation of a methodology for strategic cultural development in the region.

Around thirty participants will be present at this workshops, together with the representatives of cultural sector of all nine municipalities from Pelagonija who are directly involved in the regional culture.
The programme of this workshop will be moderated by Biljana Tanurovska Kjulavkovski and Violeta Kakacova (Lokomotiva, Skopje) and Kristina Kujundzic (cultural expert from Serbia). The other participants and experts that will participate in Bitola are Mirjana Cvetkovic (Serbia), Pierre Schmit, Audrey Pulmier and Rimy Privat (France), Biljana Prentoska and Dragana Kjurcoska (The Ministry of Culture of Republic of Macedonia).

This workshop will be implemented in the Copmponent 4 of the Decentralised cooperation programme between the Region Lower Normandy and Macedonia.For further information please consult the webpage of the Cooperation http://crbn-mk.courriers.info/

The role of Local Democracy Agencies in the process of democratization in the Balkans and in the South Caucasus was underlined by the French Minister for Local Authorities and President of the Alsace Region, Philippe Richert, in his allocution to the 20th Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
The 20th session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe was held in Strasbourg in the last February.

At the top of the agenda there was debates on human rights issues at local level, in particular the situation of Roma in Europe. An urgent debate was dedicated to the role of the Congress in the context of the current reform process of the Council of Europe.

Congress members also examined several reports on territorial democracy in Turkey, Romania, Austria and Malta as well as the report on the observation of local elections in Ukraine, held in October 2010.
Among the other guest speakers, there were EU Commissioner responsible for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, Council of Europe Secretary General, Thorbjorn Jagland, and Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg.