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ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy, is a membership based organisation established in 1999 at the initiative of the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. ALDA works on the promotion of
* ALDA Europe: In the European Union ALDA works promoting active European citizenship, in tight cooperation with local authorities, civil society networks, and European institutions. The activities help raising citizens' understanding and sense of belonging to the European Union, and stimulate intercultural dialogue and civic participation. This is achieved by conducting its own and its members' projects, as well as through lobbying activities.
* ALDA Cooperation: ALDA also works in the Western Balkans and in the European Neighbourhood - Mediterranean area, Eastern Europe, and Southern Caucasus - to foster good governance, citizen participation, European integration, and decentralisation. It coordinates and supports the network of 14 Local Democracy Agencies and 3 Operational Partners in their activities. Most of the Local Democracy Agencies are located in the Western Balkans, but ALDA is becoming more and more active in the European Neighbourhood. Besides, ALDA is leading several projects and developing partnerships in other countries of the European Neighbourhood, including Belarus, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Algeria and Turkey.
* ALDA Plus: ALDA supports other stakeholders by providing a wide range of services, such as training and capacity building activities, technical assistance, and ''ad hoc'' consultancy on different topics, including: project development and implementation, project financial management and audit, EU institutions, EU funds and programmes, citizen participation (methods and techniques), and non-formal youth education. These services are provided with a tailor-made approach, thus target the specific needs of the partners involved.
ALDA Official website
ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy, is a membership based organisation established in 1999 at the initiative of the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. ALDA works on the promotion of good governance
Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...
and citizen participation
Public participation, also known as citizen participation or patient and public involvement, is the inclusion of the public in the activities of any organization or project. Public participation is similar to but more inclusive than stakeholder en ...
at the local level, focusing on activities that facilitate cooperation between local authorities
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
and civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
and its Neighbourhood.
The assumption underlying its importance, is that strengthen local democracy and local governance is a fundamental element for securing peace, equity, human rights and economic and social growth in the community. Therefore, supporting actions and policies towards local democracy is an essential part of the European Union approach to governance, democracy, economy and peace.
As a membership based organisation, ALDA gathers more than 180 members - including local authorities, associations of local authorities and non-governmental organisations
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
- from over 35 countries. It is funded through membership fees as well as project funding from the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
, the Council of Europe, and other public and private donors. What makes ALDA's work unique is that it is based on the method of multilateral decentralised cooperation. This method involves a multi-stakeholder approach, which focuses on strong partnerships between local authorities and civil society organinisations. These partnerships create positive synergy and ensure that common goals are reached jointly and successfully. In the framework of promoting good governance and citizen participation at the local level ALDA works in various themes, such as European integration, decentralisation, civic initiatives and volunteering
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serv ...
, human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
, and sustainable economic development.
Working Areas
The activities of ALDA are articulated around three main areas:
* ALDA Europe: In the European Union ALDA works promoting active European citizenship, in tight cooperation with local authorities, civil society networks, and European institutions. The activities help raising citizens' understanding and sense of belonging to the European Union, and stimulate intercultural dialogue and civic participation. This is achieved by conducting its own and its members' projects, as well as through lobbying activities.
* ALDA Cooperation: ALDA also works in the Western Balkans and in the European Neighbourhood - Mediterranean area, Eastern Europe, and Southern Caucasus - to foster good governance, citizen participation, European integration, and decentralisation. It coordinates and supports the network of 14 Local Democracy Agencies and 3 Operational Partners in their activities. Most of the Local Democracy Agencies are located in the Western Balkans, but ALDA is becoming more and more active in the European Neighbourhood. Besides, ALDA is leading several projects and developing partnerships in other countries of the European Neighbourhood, including Belarus, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Algeria and Turkey.
* ALDA Plus: ALDA supports other stakeholders by providing a wide range of services, such as training and capacity building activities, technical assistance, and ''ad hoc'' consultancy on different topics, including: project development and implementation, project financial management and audit, EU institutions, EU funds and programmes, citizen participation (methods and techniques), and non-formal youth education. These services are provided with a tailor-made approach, thus target the specific needs of the partners involved.
External links
ALDA Official website
References
{{Reflist Political organizations based in Europe 1999 establishments in Europe