Today, ALDA is a key stakeholder in the field of local democracy, active citizenship, and cooperation between local authorities and civil society. ALDA is dedicated to the promotion of good governance and citizen participation at the local level, focussing upon activities facilitating cooperation between local authorities and civil society. They believe that engaging citizens in all aspects of the life of their community and making their voices heard through peaceful and legal forms of participation is also an antidote to populism and anti-democratic movements that are nowadays raising up across Europe.
What they do
In the framework of promoting good governance and citizen participation at the local level ALDA focuses on various themes, such as European integration, decentralisation, civic initiatives and volunteering, human rights and sustainable community development. Activities across the European Union focus in particular on the promotion of Active European Citizenship. ALDA is also becoming more and more active in the European neighbourhood. In the Eastern Partnership countries, Local Democracy Agencies have been established in Kutaisi (Georgia), in Gyumri (Armenia), in Dnipro (Ukraine), and in Cimișlia (Moldova). The first LDA in the Mediterranean Area was established in 2017 in Kairouan (Tunisia), as well as the LDA Mariupol in Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey.
Amongst many other helpful resource, ALDA has produced a Toolkit of Good Practices for Citizen’s Participation. Local authorities across Europe are called to increase their transparency and accountability as well as to develop mechanisms effectively involving citizens in the decision making process. Civil society organisations also play a key role, they being a unique link between citizens and their local and regional governments. Together they can provide the needed mechanisms towards participatory democracy, and strengthen democratic institutions at the local level.
This toolkit aims at providing local authorities and civil society associations
with a set of tested practices promoting the participation of citizens in the
public and political life of their community.
http://www.alda-europe.eu/newSite/good_pratices.php
Make your participatory practices known all around Europe!
To include your community good practices on citizens’ participation in ALDA’s toolkit,
please fill in this template and email it to
Mihaela Onofras: mihaela.onofras@aldaintranet.org
