ALDA Director running for the Board of CIVICUS
The Director of ALDA Antonella Valmorbida is among the 26 candidates for the election of the Board of CIVICUS. Mrs Valmorbida is part of the board of the alliance since 2012, when she was welcomed as a co-opted member.
In September, the voting members of CIVICUS will elect the 13 members of the new board, which will meet for the first time on 9-10 November 2013 in Johannesburg.
CIVICUS, World Alliance for Citizen Participation, is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. It has worked for nearly two decades especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizens’ freedom of association are threatened.
CIVICUS has a vision of a global community of active, engaged citizens committed to the creation of a more just and equitable world. This is based on the belief that the health of societies exists in direct proportion to the degree of balance between the state, the private sector and civil society. CIVICUS provides a focal point for knowledge-sharing, common interest representation, global institution-building and engagement among these disparate sectors. It acts as an advocate for citizen participation as an essential component of governance and democracy worldwide.
The Director of ALDA Antonella Valmorbida is among the 26 candidates for the election of the Board of CIVICUS. Mrs Valmorbida is part of the board of the alliance since 2012, when she was welcomed as a co-opted member.
In September, the voting members of CIVICUS will elect the 13 members of the new board, which will meet for the first time on 9-10 November 2013 in Johannesburg.
CIVICUS, World Alliance for Citizen Participation, is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. It has worked for nearly two decades especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizens’ freedom of association are threatened.
CIVICUS has a vision of a global community of active, engaged citizens committed to the creation of a more just and equitable world. This is based on the belief that the health of societies exists in direct proportion to the degree of balance between the state, the private sector and civil society. CIVICUS provides a focal point for knowledge-sharing, common interest representation, global institution-building and engagement among these disparate sectors. It acts as an advocate for citizen participation as an essential component of governance and democracy worldwide.
Conference "Building a Global Citizens Movement" - 11/12 November, Johannesburg, South Africa
The global conference “Building a Global Citizens Movement” will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 12 and 12 November. It is organised by DEEEP/CONCORDIA, CIVICUS e GCAP, and will bring together over 200 of the world’s most influential civil society members alongside individuals from grass-roots civil society protest movements.
There is growing evidence that the current economic and political system cannot provide the solutions to ensure a sustainable future for our planet and humankind. There is a need for radical reform, from a system which favours growth, consumerism, bigger markets and increased competition, to one which puts the wellbeing of people and human rights at its core. Although many civil society organisations (CSOs) are working hard to achieve a fairer world, there is a need to reflect on the extent to which their work addresses the underlying structural causes of the world’s most pressing issues.
Furthermore, citizens are mobilising themselves around the world and speaking out on issues of justice, rights and sustainability but these struggles are often geographically or thematically limited. The aim of this Global Conference is to link emancipatory struggles and the related activists, educators and campaigners, with the broader global citizen’s movement. This is an opportunity which is particularly important and timely given the on-going discussions in the role that citizens’ participation, democracy, human rights and accountability has to play in the post-2015 global development framework.
The conference will address three urgent questions of our time:
1. What is our vision for the planet?
2. How can we link local people’s struggles to a global movement?
3. How can we reinvent approaches to emancipatory learning and take more people on this learning journey?
During the conference, the “Johannesburg Declaration for the Establishment of a Global Citizens Movement” will be developed.
The global conference “Building a Global Citizens Movement” will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 12 and 12 November. It is organised by DEEEP/CONCORDIA, CIVICUS e GCAP, and will bring together over 200 of the world’s most influential civil society members alongside individuals from grass-roots civil society protest movements.
There is growing evidence that the current economic and political system cannot provide the solutions to ensure a sustainable future for our planet and humankind. There is a need for radical reform, from a system which favours growth, consumerism, bigger markets and increased competition, to one which puts the wellbeing of people and human rights at its core. Although many civil society organisations (CSOs) are working hard to achieve a fairer world, there is a need to reflect on the extent to which their work addresses the underlying structural causes of the world’s most pressing issues.
Furthermore, citizens are mobilising themselves around the world and speaking out on issues of justice, rights and sustainability but these struggles are often geographically or thematically limited. The aim of this Global Conference is to link emancipatory struggles and the related activists, educators and campaigners, with the broader global citizen’s movement. This is an opportunity which is particularly important and timely given the on-going discussions in the role that citizens’ participation, democracy, human rights and accountability has to play in the post-2015 global development framework.
The conference will address three urgent questions of our time:
1. What is our vision for the planet?
2. How can we link local people’s struggles to a global movement?
3. How can we reinvent approaches to emancipatory learning and take more people on this learning journey?
During the conference, the “Johannesburg Declaration for the Establishment of a Global Citizens Movement” will be developed.
Cooking show in Verteneglio-Brtonigla, Croatia
European Endowment for Democracy now accepts applications for support

On December 2011, European Member States and institutions unanimously agreed to establish the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) with an aim to promote the values of freedom and democracy with a particular focus on the European Neighbourhood. The EED was subsequently created as an independent private law foundation with its seat in Brussels. Since July 1, the EED has become operational with a fully-fledged team working in the EED Secretariat.

On December 2011, European Member States and institutions unanimously agreed to establish the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) with an aim to promote the values of freedom and democracy with a particular focus on the European Neighbourhood. The EED was subsequently created as an independent private law foundation with its seat in Brussels. Since July 1, the EED has become operational with a fully-fledged team working in the EED Secretariat.
AMO calls for fellows from Belarus and Ukraine
AMO – the Association for International Affairs in cooperation with other partners has announced the call for applications for research fellowships in Visegrad countries, 2 from Belarus and 2 from Ukraine.
The fellowships are within the project Public Administration Reform in Visegrad Countries: Lessons Learned for Belarus and Ukraine, supported by the International Visegrad Fund. The goal is to provide fellows with an opportunity to get deep insight into public administration reform (PAR) in Visegrad countries (V4) and to point out on examples of good practices while not avoiding the qualified and well-informed discussion about the obstacles of the reform process.
The internship has two parts:
1) Prague, Czech Republic /or/ Bratislava, Slovakia /or/ Warsaw, Poland /or/ Budapest, Hungary: September 29 – October 19, 2013
2) Prague, Czech Republic: October 20 – October 25, 2013 (in the second part, all 4 fellows will gather in Prague).
AMO – the Association for International Affairs in cooperation with other partners has announced the call for applications for research fellowships in Visegrad countries, 2 from Belarus and 2 from Ukraine.
The fellowships are within the project Public Administration Reform in Visegrad Countries: Lessons Learned for Belarus and Ukraine, supported by the International Visegrad Fund. The goal is to provide fellows with an opportunity to get deep insight into public administration reform (PAR) in Visegrad countries (V4) and to point out on examples of good practices while not avoiding the qualified and well-informed discussion about the obstacles of the reform process.
The internship has two parts:
1) Prague, Czech Republic /or/ Bratislava, Slovakia /or/ Warsaw, Poland /or/ Budapest, Hungary: September 29 – October 19, 2013
2) Prague, Czech Republic: October 20 – October 25, 2013 (in the second part, all 4 fellows will gather in Prague).
Cittanova d'Istria marks the accession of Croatia to the EU
Among the several ceremonies marking the accession of Croatia to the European Union, a particularly significative one was held in Cittanova d’Istria on 30 June, supported by the region Friuli Venezia Giulia with the project AGROWINE. During the ‘white night’, hundred people gathered at the premises of the Italian Community.
ALDA President Oriano Otočan and the President of the Regional Council of the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia Franco Iacop attended the event. During their speeches, they highlighted how “achieving the result of an European Croatia happened thanks to the will of the Croatian population to adhere to the ideals of freedom, democracy and free trade which are the basis of Europe. The Istria Region in the past years shined for its politics of coexistance and common work, which saw the Italian community as a protagonist”.
In the picture from right to left: Alessandro Perelli, Vice President of ALDA; Anteo Milos, Mayor of Pula; Silvia Acerbi, President Informest; Oriano Otočan, President of ALDA; Franco Iacop, President of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Among the several ceremonies marking the accession of Croatia to the European Union, a particularly significative one was held in Cittanova d’Istria on 30 June, supported by the region Friuli Venezia Giulia with the project AGROWINE. During the ‘white night’, hundred people gathered at the premises of the Italian Community.
ALDA President Oriano Otočan and the President of the Regional Council of the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia Franco Iacop attended the event. During their speeches, they highlighted how “achieving the result of an European Croatia happened thanks to the will of the Croatian population to adhere to the ideals of freedom, democracy and free trade which are the basis of Europe. The Istria Region in the past years shined for its politics of coexistance and common work, which saw the Italian community as a protagonist”.
In the picture from right to left: Alessandro Perelli, Vice President of ALDA; Anteo Milos, Mayor of Pula; Silvia Acerbi, President Informest; Oriano Otočan, President of ALDA; Franco Iacop, President of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
How to motivate citizens to be active?
Tackling Illegal Economies: Libera organised the kick-off event in Marsala

As one of the main organisations within the partnership, ALDA participated in the kick-off event of the European project TIE – “Tackling Illegal Economies”, funded by the Prevention of and Fight against Crime programme of the DG Home Affairs of the European Commission.

As one of the main organisations within the partnership, ALDA participated in the kick-off event of the European project TIE – “Tackling Illegal Economies”, funded by the Prevention of and Fight against Crime programme of the DG Home Affairs of the European Commission.