Mjesec: prosinac2022

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”

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.”

Referring to the importance of participatory processes as a key factor in the development and stability of local democracy, Dženana Dedić, 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*, Antonelle Valmorbida,, 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”.

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“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.

24 organizacije civilnog društva iz okruga Cimişlia, Floreşti, Străseni, Řtefan Vodă i Teleneşti dobile su ugovore o dodjeli bespovratnih sredstava u okviru projekta „EU4Accountability“. Događaj je organizovala ALDA, u kafeu Evropa – EU informacionom centru, u Kišinjevu.

Projekat „EU4Accountability“ finansira Evropska unija i ima za cilj da unaprijedi društvenu odgovornost na lokalnom nivou i stvori održive mehanizme saradnje između lokalnih javnih vlasti u Republici Moldaviji i organizacija civilnog društva (OCD), kako bi bolje odgovorili na potrebe lokalnih zajednica.

„Finansijska podrška koju danas nudi Evropska unija omogućiti će organizacijama civilnog društva da ojačaju svoje napore za poboljšanje demokratskog učešća i odgovore na konkretne potrebe građana u okrugu Cimişlia, Florești, Străşeni, Řtefan Vodă i Telenesti“, rekao   je Jānis Mažeiks, ambasador Evropske unije u Republici Moldaviji, koji je pozvana na događaj.

„Ovo će uključivati ​​javne kampanje za podizanje svijesti o budućem procesu, građanski angažman u praćenju javne potrošnje i kreiranja politika, te participativne konsultacije o budžetu – sve kako bi građani i lokalne vlasti zajednički odabrali za investicije koje su najpotrebnije u njihovim zajednicama“ nastavio je ambasador „Želio bih da čestitam organizacijama civilnog društva koje su dobile grantove u okviru akcije EU4Accountability i da im se zahvalim na njihovoj posvećenosti promociji društvene odgovornosti u Republici Moldaviji. Sa novom ulogom vaše zemlje u procesu kandidiranja za EU, značaj civilnog društva u napredovanju na putu pristupa je još očigledniji.”

Slično, kolega iz ALDA-e Alexandru Coica, zahvalio je Evropskoj uniji na kontinuiranoj podršci Republici Moldaviji na njenom evropskom putu i razvoju zajednice kroz učešće i inkluzivni pristup. Osim toga, istakao je očekivano poboljšanje društvene odgovornosti u ciljnim područjima i pozitivan uticaj grantova za male projekte na skoro 140.000 građana sa 50 lokaliteta širom zemlje.

Treba napomenuti da 24 projekta odabrana za finansiranje imaju za cilj jačanje društvene odgovornosti lokalnih inicijativnih grupa i organizacija, te jačanje građanskog angažmana različitih ciljnih grupa. Projekti koje podnose lokalne OCD posebno su usmjereni na mlade, žene kao i osobe iz ranjivih grupa koje predviđaju: (1) uspostavu inicijalnih grupa, kampanja zagovaranja i konsolidacije lokalnih koalicija, (2) jačanje kapaciteta OCD-ova u regiji i implementaciju mehanizma participativnog budžetiranja, ( 3) jačanje građanskih i omladinskih organizacija i stvaranje informativnih centara za građane.

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Projekat „EU4Accountability“, koji traje od 2022. do 2024. godine, sprovodi konzorcij od tri organizacije: Evropska asocijacija za lokalnu demokratiju ALDA, Evropsko partnerstvo za demokratiju EPD i češka nevladina organizacija People in Need PIN, čije se djelovanje prostire preko 10 okruga (Cahul, Comrat , Cimişlia, Făleşti, Floreşti, Glodeni, Rîşcani, Străseni, Řtefan Vodă, Teleneşti), te predviđa ukupan budžet od 1,5 miliona eura.

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" 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.

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.

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, Oriano Otocan, President of ALDA, and Antonelle Valmorbida,, 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. 

" 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 demokratije i good governance in all cities involved in the process.

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Read more about the ELoGE programme

Od 1999. godine ALDA radi na promociji i podsticanju građanskog angažmana kao ključnog u stvaranju demokratske i participativne stvarnosti. Vodi ga Upravni odbor, čija je uloga da definiše buduće korake i put asocijacije.

U svjetlu svog velikog angažmana kako na lokalnom tako i na međunarodnom nivou, ALDA je sada objavila poziv za izražavanje interesa, upućen članovima, partnerima i vanjskim stručnjacima. Ovaj poziv se sastoji od identifikovanja i odabira pet kandidata za formiranje Savjetodavnog odbora. Njegova uloga je direktna podrška Upravnom odboru, davanjem tehničkih savjeta i dodjeljivanjem stručnog znanja.

Savjetodavni odbor će se fokusirati na sljedeća specifična područja, u skladu sa glavnim temama ALDA-e:

• Angažman građana
• Životna sredina i klima
• Rod, inkluzija i ljudska prava
• Osnaživanje mladih i obrazovanje
• Migracija
• Digitalizacija i inovacija
• Teritorijalni i lokalni razvoj

Savjetodavni odbor će odobriti Upravni odbor na sjednici početkom marta 2023. i tom prilikom bi se mogli održati mogući intervjui i razmjene. Kandidati će biti odabrani na osnovu njihovog iskustva i polja interesovanja. Oni će biti uzeti u obzir na osnovu ličnog kapaciteta. Njihovo učešće je pro bono dok će im troškovi biti nadoknađeni u slučaju sastanaka i putovanja. Sastanci Savjetodavnog odbora bit će samo na engleskom ili francuskom jeziku.

Napominjemo da poziv nije upućen samo članovima ALDA-e, već je otvoren za sve zainteresovane za poziciju i doprinos misiji ALDA-e.

To get more information, read the call for Interest  and apply by March 31st, 2023.

Za sve dodatne upite, pišite na: alda@alda-europe.eu

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