DEmocratic Compact: Improving Democracy in Europe (DECIDE)

DEmocratic Compact: Improving Democracy in Europe (DECIDE)

Donors: European Commission - Education, Audiovisual and Communication Executive Agency (EACEA)

Programme: Europe for Citizens, Action 1 – Active Citizens for Europe, Measure 1.2 Network of twinned towns

Timespan
30 May 2013 – 29 May 2015

The project at a glance DECIDE aims at developing, through the establishment of a thematic network of towns and by adopting a bottom-up approach, a democratic compact, namely a set of measures that are needed in Europe to increase the quality of democracy and citizen participation.

These measures will be identified, exchanged, further elaborated and tested by all the project partners. The partnership is composed of 24 partners from 14 countries: 4 countries of the “old” EU15, 6 countries accessing the EU between 2004 and 2007 and 4 IPA countries. This will allow an enriching exchange among partners with different track record in the EU and will contribute to develop a sense of belonging to a common “house”.

The main final outcomes of DECIDE will be:
1. the establishment of a thematic network of towns committed to increase the quality of democracy and citizen participation in the enlarged Europe
2. the democratic compact, a set of measures which have been tested and that can be further disseminated and implemented.

Objectives
DECIDE envisages to achieve the following objectives:

  • Empowering citizens to play a full part in the democratic life of the EU;
  • Developing a sense of European identity, based on common values, history and culture;
  • Fostering a sense of ownership of the European Union among its citizens;
  • Promoting intercultural dialogue;
  • Fostering citizens' participation through volunteering;
  • Promoting equal opportunities;
  • Developing a thematic and long-lasting cooperation between towns;
  • Raising awareness, reflection and debate on the relevance and implications of EU policies on citizens' daily lives

Activities
DECIDE foresees 6 steps, having impact both at the local and at the European level.

Activity 1: Launching International Event
Objectives:

  • To duly promote and launch the project
  • To promote the first exchange among the partners on the addressed topics
  • To define and agree on standard methodological tools
  • To strengthen partners' and participants' ownership of the project
  • To promote peer-to-peer multiplying effects (through participants)

 Activity 2: Identification: collection of measures to be included in the “democratic compact”
Objectives:

  • To create and share on line country based lists of proposed measures for the democratic compact.
  • To launch open polls: related results collected and systematised.
  • To strengthen communities and partners' ownership of the project
  • To activate networks of citizens (peer-to-peer multipliers) at the local level
  • To promote and valorise citizens' role in the construction of a better governance (at the local and at the EU level)

Activity 3: Mid-term International Seminar
Objectives:

  • To exchange and debate the proposed measures for the democratic compact
  • To create a first draft of the "democratic compact"
  • To define a concrete action plan and subdivision of roles for the testing phase
  • To exchange, define and agree testing methods and standard tools
  • To further enhance partners' competencies on participatory mechanisms
  • To duly launch and promote pilot testing phase
  • To further strengthen synergies and partnerships with other stakeholder

Activity 4: Pilot Testing Phase - Local Implementation Processes
Objectives:

  • To test the measures included in the democratic compact at national level
  • To draft and share reports on the impact of each tested measure
  • To further enhance partners' competencies and skills in managing and measuring participatory actions
  • To draft and disseminate the updated version of the democratic compact
  • To strengthen the cooperation among partners (through the mobility of the observers)

Activity 5: Final International Seminar
Objectives:

  • To assess the testing phase
  • To draft the final version of the democratic compact
  • T promote and disseminate the democratic compact
  • To further strengthen the involvement of decision makers in the process
  • To create the basis for the development of the DECIDE network (follow-up ideas shared and action plan developed)
  • To widely promote the final overall outcomes of the project
  • To enhance partners' skills and role as actors promoting democracy and citizen participation (also as implementers of EU policies)

Activity 6: Evaluation and Follow-up
Objectives:

  • To agree upon and formalise a follow-up action plan
  • To further enlarge and strengthen the DECIDE network
  • To elaborate project drafts
  • To activate fund-raising campaigns
  • To foster partners' - and other stakeholders' - sense of belonging to the network DECIDE.

Partners
Lead partner

  • Association of Local Democracy Agencies – ALDA, France

Other partners
“National” partners

  • Comune di Reggio Emilia, Italy
  • Vejle Kommune, Denmark
  • Municipality of Santa Eulalia de Gallego, Spain
  • The Mountain Community Iezer Muscel Association, Romania
  • Primaria Godeni, Romania
  • Primaria Comunei Domnesti, Romania
  • Association for Developing Voluntary Work Novo Mesto (ADVW Novo Mesto), Slovenia
  • Birgu Local Council, Malta
  • Union of Bulgarian Black Sea Local Authorities, Bulgaria
  • Municipality of Balchik, Bulgaria
  • Municipality of Nessebar, Bulgaria
  • Center for Community Organizing, Slovakia
  • Municipality of Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
  • Town of Petrinja, Croatia
  • Local Democracy Agency Sisak, Croatia
  • UG Agencija Lokalne Demokratije Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Municipality of Zavidovici, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Local Democracy Agency Zavidovići, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • City of Skopje, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  • Bashkia Shkoder, Albania
  • Local Democracy Agency Albania, Albania
  • Mórahalom Városi Önkormányzat, Hungary

Dissemination partner

  • International Development Alliance (IDA), Bulgaria

For more information, please contact:
Aldo Xhani,
Project Manager – Strasbourg office
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +33 (0)3 90 21 45 93

On 9-11th June 2015, the final event of project DECIDE took place in Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Active Citizenship Project Manager, Aldo Xhani, was in charge of this important event. The project DECIDE – DEmocratic Compact: Improving Democracy in Europe focused on developing the set of measures to improve the quality of democracy and citizen participation in Europe through establishment of thematic network of towns and by adopting a bottom-up approach. To the International Conference, Promoting citizen participation in democratic local policy-making in Western Balkans: status and perspectives?, held on 9th June 2015, were present several speakers who discussed…
Promoting citizen participation in democratic local policy-making in Western Balkans: status and perspectives? The international conference “Promoting citizen participation in democratic local policy-making in Western Balkans: status and perspectives?” will be one of our main initiatives in 2015 in Western Balkans as an occasion to capitalise the work developed in the field of citizen participation at the local level since the establishment of the first Local Democracy Agency (LDA) in Subotica. The event will take place in Prijedor (BiH) on 9 June and will gather together key European and local stakeholders in order to assess the achievements and challenges ahead…
Public discussion on Sisak Voluntary Policy Public discussion on Sisak Local Voluntary Policy hold on the 21 May 2015 in the premises of the Home for elderly and dependence persons in Sisak, gathering 35 interested citizens. Sisak deserves voluntary policy on which basics strategy for development of volunteering to be created! – said participants at the public discussion. Sisak Voluntary policy is created by the Working group composed of 20 organisations and institutions from Sisak area with the purpose to develop local instruments for promoting development and advocacy of volunteering as positive value that contributes to local community development. The…
LDA Zavidovici organized local event on the topic “Local youth councils as a form of citizens’ participation”. The event took place in the Municipality of Zavidovici on the 27th November 2014. During the workshop there have been presented existing forms of citizens participation in the process of decision making with particular attention of the possibility to establish Muncipal youth council in Zavidovici as such bodies already exist in some municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, experience in establishing Local Youth Council of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and discussed ways for young people through these and similar bodies can establish cooperation with local…
LDA Zavidovici, in cooperation with ALDA – Association of Local Democracy is implementing the project DECIDE - DEmocratic Compact: Improving Democracy in Europe. The project will run until May 2015, it will be co-ordinated by ALDA. Representatives of LDA Zavidovici were present on the mid-term conference of the project, held in Nessebar, Bulgaria, in the period of 11th to 13th of June 2014. There, the course of the project by now has been evaluated, and also, one of the goals of the conference was to determine the following steps and activites for all of the local partners. Local democracy agency…
U okviru projekta DECIDE - (Demokratski kompakt: Unaprjeđivanje demokratije u Evropi), LDA Zavidovići provodi istraživanje kvaliteta postojećih vidova građanske participacije u Općini Zavidovići. Konačni cilj istraživanja je uspostava kvalitetnog seta mjera koji bi omogućio sveobuhvatno uključivanje građana u demokratske procese. Doprinesite poboljšanju inicijativa za učešće građana u procesu donošenja odluka u vašoj općini. Izrazite svoje mišljenje ispunjavanjem ovog online upitnika: Građanska inicijativa Građanska inicijativa je u Statutu Općine Zavidovići navedena kao jedan od vidova učešća građana. Općinsko vijeće ima zakonsku obavezu da razmotri inicijativu, a inicijativa mora ispunjavati određene uslove da bi bila uzeta u razmatranje. Građani imaju pravo da…
On 8 - 9 November the kick off event of the project DECIDE, funded by the Europe for Citizens programme, was held in Reggio Emilia, at the Loris Malaguzzi Centre. DECIDE aims at developing, through the establishment of a thematic network of towns and by adopting a bottom-up approach, a democratic compact, namely a set of measures that are needed in Europe to increase the quality of democracy and citizen participation. ALDA leads the project, involving 24 partners from 14 countries, among them are LDA Zavidovici and Municipality of Zavidovici. More than 150 people attended the event and listened to…
ALDA – Association of Local Democracy has launched the project DECIDE - DEmocratic Compact: Improving Democracy in Europe. The project will run until May 2015, it will be co-ordinated by ALDA, and it will be launched by an international event in Reggio Emilia, Italy in November 2013. Local democracy agency Zavidovici is one of three partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina in this project, which also includes the Municipality of Zavidovici and Local democracy agency Prijedor. The project, within the Europe for Citizen Programme, will foster the creation of a network of towns committed to increase the quality of democracy and…

Where we are

Agencija lokalne demokratije
LDA Zavidovici

Omladinska 10
72220 Zavidovici, Bosna i Hercegovina
Tel/fax +387 32 877 008
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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