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	with the support of

This project is implemented by the Association of the Local Democracy Agencies, a non-governmental organization supported by the Council of Europe and the European Commission, together with its member Region Istria, Croatia.

The aim of the project is promoting the participation of citizens through their involvement in "citizens' panels", groups of "ordinary" people who have hardly the opportunity to be in touch with the European institutions. The project is implemented in Italy, Malta, Croatia, Bulgaria, Spain, Slovakia and Denmark and constitues a follow-up of the pilot project "EURaction: Citizens acting for Europe" implemented in 2007.

The role of CEE Citizens Network in this project is to help with the dissemination and visibility of the project's actions and outcomes through our network in Central and Eastern Europe.

It is a common belief that Europe should promote the participative democracy as one of its characterizing values and should offer to its citizens and to civil society instruments to exchange ideas on the future of the European Union. The promotion of trans-national projects and trainings can undoubtedly contribute to get Europe closer to its citizens.

ALL.4.EU is a project consisting in the setting-up of citizens' panels (groups of ordinary citizens, not spontaneously involved in European issues) in 7 different places in Europe. This specific methodology is used to give the opportunity to people to be involved and play an active role in the construction of Europe.

The main overall objectives of the project are:

• to encourage the participation of European citizens in the construction of Europe and in the debate about the further integration of Europe;
• to enhance the relation between European citizens and EU institutions;
• to promote a "two-way process" (information and feedback) between EU Institutions and citizens;
• to encourage a bottom up approach to allow citizens to express their views;
• to develop innovative methods to enhance participation.

The specific objectives of the project are :

- to create and support citizens' panels to promote active European Citizenship at the local level;

- to collect the opinion of citizens on some key European challenges for the future, focusing mainly on active European Citizenship and new institutional developments;

- to consolidate and improve, starting from the pilot project developed by ALDA, a method for stimulating active interaction and discussion between citizens on their participation at the European level;

- to create mechanisms that enable European citizens to develop civic competences, to formulate their views and opinions on the role of citizens and civil society in Europe in the form of recommendations for policy makers at European level;

- to encourage the dialogue between European citizens and the institutions of the EU, empowering citizens as regards EU policies and their impact, and ensuring appropriate follow up of citizens' opinions by the EU institutions.

Direct target groups:

• Citizens, especially those who would not have spontaneously participated in projects of a European nature, paying attention to involve people of different demographic, social and professional background;
• Specific target groups: young people;
• Local authorities;
• Civil Society.

Indirect target groups:

• The whole network of ALDA, to promote the creation of "citizens panels" in other countries;
• Local communities in Europe belonging to networks or platforms which partners belong to;
• National and Regional Governments.

In the different activities (citizens' panel at the local level, international events, final conference, etc.) the project aims to involve directly about 695 persons from 14 different countries. Moreover, it's estimate to involve other 5.000 people as indirect beneficiaries of the action.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Steering committee in Pula, 18th March 2009

The Steering Committee of the ALL.4.EU project was held in Pula on the 18th March 2009. This was an opportunity for all the partners (from Slovakia, Denmark, Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta, Italy and Spain) to meet and discuss the methodology and the planned activities.

As the project ALL.4.EU is designed to contribute addressing how to bridge the gap between citizens and the European Union, the partners challenge is to develop - on the basis of the achievements of the pilot project entitled "Eur-action" implemented by ALDA - and to further promote the use of the "citizens' panels" to assure interaction between citizens and decision makers at all levels, fostering at the same time their active participation in the life of their communities and in Europe.

Click here to see more documents.

ALL4EU_en_SC_18.03.pdf

Swot analysis at the local level

At the beginning of the project each partner run a SWOT analyses at the local level to assess the situation of citizens participation in each community involved. The main aim of the analysis was to identify existing practices, tools, models in the field of citizens' participation in order to "profit" of the best practices and to promote synergies between the project and the on-going experiences.

Citizens' panels activators

6 partners for 6 different countries are in charge of the supervision of the local activities. To support them, 3 citizens' panels activators were selected by each partners among civil society and local authorities representatives who were already active at the local level, from different walks of life, paying attention to involve leading citizens of different demographic, social and professional background. These "leading" citizens" are playing an active role in the setting-up of the citizens' panels and in the management of the research activities and the drafting of the position papers and recommendations.

In order to facilitate the process and give them the necessary skills to play their role, they were invited to take part to a 4 days training in Strasbourg/Kehl in April 2009 and to attend a International workshop on Best Practices on Citizens' Participation.

Training for citizens' panels activators, Strasbourg/Kehl, 20^th - 24^th April 2009

The training aims at providing participants the opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills and competencies concerning:

• knowledge of the concept of "active citizenship" and "active European citizenship"
• knowledge of different tools in the field of active citizenship (including the Europe for citizens Programme)
• understanding of the concept of non-formal education
• intercultural competences
• skills to motivate others
• skills to gather, select and give information
• skills to present the specific relevant information, ideas and opinions to others, including to the local, regional and European decision makers
• skills to discover, analyse and adequately address needs
• skills to draft of recommendations and position papers to be addressed to decision makers at all levels

During the training, the selected theme - "New institutional developments: a new momentum for active European citizenship" - was presented in details to the participants.

The training was split in 3 different phases:

• phase A: the first two days were focused on training and providing to participants the necessary and adequate information, knowledge, skills and competencies to act as "citizens panels activators" at the local level;
• phase B: the third day the programme foreseed the "International workshop: best practices for citizens participation";
• phase C: the last two days were focused on sharing a common understanding of citizens panel, defining its characteristics and functioning in order to adopt the same "methodology" in all the communities involved.

Participants: 3 leading citizens for each community involved (6 communities)

International workshop: Best Practices in Citizens' Participation,Strasbourg, 22^ndApril 2009

The International workshop was an opportunity to present and exchange the different models and the best practices (i.e. citizens panels, civic forums, civic committees, etc.) in the field of citizens participation.

The main aim was to provide to participants of the training and to the other external participants the opportunity to get acquainted with the existing models of direct and indirect citizens' participation at European level, and to know the best experiences and practices, in order to help them to define the characteristics and the functioning of their new citizens panels.

The international workshop also aimed at:

• presenting the whole project to the general public and to the main stakeholders, especially focusing on the innovative participatory methods proposed;
• making partners know each other and making them meet relevant stakeholders;
• promoting the action, especially through media on an extensive basis, involving local, national and international "channels".

Participants: representatives of the different partners; experienced citizens' panels representatives (involved in the previous pilot project "Eur-action" promoted by ALDA); participants of the training ("leading" citizens), selected by partners at the first stage among the already active civil society groups and local authorities at the local level; local authorities representatives; journalists and media; representatives of the Directorate for Education and Culture of the European Commission, experts.

Set-up of local citizens' panels in Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, Malta and Slovakia, May and June 2009

At the local level, each partner promoted a 1-day event, focusing on the selected theme, with the aim to present the project and its methodology in order to select the participants of the new citizens' panels to be established.

The main aims of the event are:

• to encourage the participation at the local level;
• to raise awareness about the importance of actively participating in the construction of Europe;
• to provide first relevant information on the topic to be addressed;
• to launch the citizens panels building process, presenting their mission to be carried out both at the local and at the European level;
• to present the "tasks" of citizens' panels, focusing in particular on the research to be developed at the local level.

Citizens panels methodology.pdf

The event was promoted by "citizens panels activators" trained at the beginning of the project, in strict cooperation with all project partners. Participants were selected on voluntary basis;

• through the "activators", who were asked to invite and involve 10 persons each, for a total number of 30 persons (the participants involved through the activators were mainly local authorities and civil society representatives who would not have spontaneously participated in projects of a European nature);
• through an "open call", publishing the event on an extensive basis at the local level, trying to involve at least 40 "ordinary" citizens on a voluntary basis (the participants involved through the open call were expected to represent "ordinary citizens", with different walks of life, who would not have spontaneously participated in projects of a European nature).

Click here to see the results of the Set up of citizens' panels

ALL 4 EU_Panels reports.pdf

Research activity at the local level

During the event establishing the local citizens' panels, a research activity involving directly the panels was made. The content of the research may be linked to the Lisbon Treaty, the European elections foreseen in 2009, possibilities offered to European citizens to get involved in the decision making process...

The research was realized directly by the citizens panels, with the support of a facilitator provided by the each partner.

The different panels decided on their own the best organization for the research activity, as well as the way through which they intend to get prepared - and to prepare and organize the outcomes of the research - for the International meeting of citizens panels in Sofia.

International meeting of citizens' panels in Sofia, 7th and 8th July 2009

After the last european elections in June, distance between citizens and Europe was brought back to the forefont of the debates and concerns about European Union. ALDA beleives that encouraging citizens' active participation can bring europeans closer to their institutions and therefore foster a stronger European Citizenship.

The meeting aims at:

• exchanging the information collected through the research carried out at the local level;
• exchanging ideas, practices and experiences related to the citizens' panels;
• setting up a trans-national citizens' panel;
• developing partnerships among citizens' panels;
• drafting common "position papers" to be submitted to European decision makers;
• coordinating common activities-outputs among partners (i.e. websites, communication issues, etc.).

On the 7th and 8th of July 2009, representatives from the different citizens' panels met in Sofia in order to present the first results of the panels' work and to elaborate common opinions and recommendations through the constitution of a transnational citizens' panel.

Info-days at the local level

At the local level, each citizens' panels, in strict cooperation with the local partner, will promote in September 2009 a 3-days workshop structured as follows:

• day 1: presenting the results of the local research and of the outcomes of the international meeting (information sharing) and providing information through experts and meetings with relevant stakeholders (information providing);
• day 2: production and drafting of recommendations on the topic addressed to be submitted to decision makers at the European level (opinion building);
• day 3: open public event, addressed to the whole community, fostering the participation of local authorities and civil society representatives to communicate the results to local and regional decision makers (interaction with local and regional decision makers).

The main aim of the local workshop is to share and provide information to the citizens, to provide them new knowledge, skills and competencies to better interact with local and regional decision makers, with the European Institutions as "ordinary" citizens, and thus to better play the role of active European citizens.

During the workshops, trainers and experts will focus on the methods of building individual and collective opinions and on the way to address them to the decisions makers at all levels, especially focusing on the Institutions of the EU.

The workshops will last 3 days

Expected participants: 80 each workshop

Locations: partners' communities

Production phase

During the local workshops and the International meeting of citizens' panels, local and international working groups will be set up to finalize the recommendations to be submitted both to the local and regional decision makers and to the European ones.

Working groups will employ different working methods which may include the use of ICT. Each working group will be facilitated, both at the local level and at the European one, by an expert/facilitator provided by project partners.

The main aim of this phase is to realize an integrated hand-book including all the recommendations to be presented to the European Commission during the final event.

International final workshop

At the end of the project, an international final conference Development of European active citizenship through the citizens' panels methodologies was held in Pula on the 4^th of November 2009 in order to:

• submit a set of recommendations on the topic addressed by the project, drafted by citizens' panels, to the European Commission;
• present the final results of the project and promote its outcomes;
• present to relevant international stakeholders (including local and regional authorities and representatives of EU Institutions) the citizens' panels as relevant "actors" in the field of European citizenship;
• increase the visibility of the action;
• draft a follow-up of the action, directly involving partners, citizens' panels and main stakeholders (including EC representatives);
• strengthen the transnational cooperation among citizens' panels.

The final conference, which is promoted and organized with the direct involvement of citizens' panels - in cooperation with project partners - in all its phases, focused mainly on the submission of the recommendations to European decision makers.

Proposals, opinions and position papers drafted by the citizens' panels, both at the national and at the European level, will be submitted to the European Commission.

Final Publication

The final publication, realised at the European level by all the partners with the direct involvement of citizens' panels, will aim at:

• increasing the visibility of the action;
• raising awareness about the role of European citizens;
• disseminating information about the activities of citizens' panels;
• demonstrating how the democratic and participatory nature of European construction can be enhanced by engaging citizens;
• promoting the method of "citizens' panels".

The publication will include reports of the activities implemented and the documents (position papers, opinions, recommendations, proposals, etc.) drafted both at the local and at the European level by the citizens' panels.

It will be printed in 2.000 copies in 3 different languages and disseminated Europe-wide through the different networks (including ALDA network, encompassing more than 300 members and partners in the enlarged Europe) the partners belong to.

Evaluation and folow-up

At the end of the project, an evaluation meeting will be organised in order to evaluate the whole proposal and to draft the follow-up of the action. The evaluation meeting will directly involve all the project partners and representatives of the different citizens' panels created during the project.

PARTNERSHIP AND COORDINATION OF THE PROJECT

The partnership has been built involving organizations that are already working on participation issues and have, therefore, a significant background about the topics addressed.

Furthermore, partnerships have been defined according to a geographical criteria, trying to involve partners and participants from Member States which joined the EU before 1 May 2004 - Denmark, France, Italy, Spain - and those which acceded from that date - Bulgaria, Malta, Slovak Republic - including also Croatia as a pre-accession country, "crossing" thus the whole Europe from the west (Spain) to the east (Bulgaria), from the north (Denmark) to the south (Malta).

Finally, in the partnership building process it has been also aimed at involving different types of organizations, therefore contributing to "cross-fertilization" between the different stakeholders and promoting a rich and profitable exchange between partners of different nature. The partners are:

1. regional authority
2. international umbrella organization
3. development agencies
4. associations of local authorities
5. local authority
6. foundation for civil society

The project also foresees the involvement of "associates", which have showed a relevant interest in the methodology of the citizens' panels and wish to gain experience in this specific field, taking part to the international activities and playing the role of "observers" in the whole process.

PARTNERS

Istarska županija / Region Istria www.istra-istria.hr

The Region of Istriawas established by the Law on the Territory of Counties, Towns, and Municipalities in the Republic of Croatia as a unit of regional self-government, one of 21 Croatian counties/regions. The constitutive meeting of the Assembly of the Region of Istria was held on 16 April 1993 in Pazin. The Region of Istria is independent in deciding about activities in the self-governing domain. Within its limits the Istrian Region coordinates interests and undertakes activities for a balanced social development of municipalities and towns as parts of the Region and, as a part of the Region as a whole, coordinates standpoints of the municipalities and towns on issues decided by bodies of state administration, and coordinates the regulation of issues of common interest, decides and provides conditions for regional planning and zoning, planning settlements and housing, communal activities, infrastructure, the protection and the improvement of natural environment, and the health of its population, decides about and provides for conditions for the development of childcare, social welfare, culture, physical culture, sports, and technical culture, and coordinates the development and the network of educational, cultural, health, social, communal and other institutions. Performs the works that the municipalities and the towns transferred from their self-governing domain to the Region, establishes public institutions and other legal persons with the purpose of realizing common objectives, encourages feasible economic development, especially the development of tourism, agriculture, and other branches of economy that do not damage and pollute the environment, regulates other issues of common interest for the municipalities, towns, and the Region as a whole.

The Istrian Region promotes social, physical, ethnic, cultural, and other characteristics of Istria. The Istrian Region promotes Istrian national customs, marking national holidays, protection of autochthonous thoponyms and the preservation of local dialects through education about the homeland and other contents. The Istrian Region encourages the manufacturing and the production of autochthonous Istrian products and services, and it promotes them in the Croatian and international markets, as well as protects them with the special trademark of the Region.

The Region of Istria has developed in the last 10 years about 34 international and EU projects as well as through its Department for international cooperation and European integrations has developed many tools toward citizens with the objective to make the EU closer to Istrian citizens. The Region of Istria is member of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies from 2003, becoming also, thanks to the good relations, in 2008 member of the Governing board. It has also established the Foundation for Partnership and civil society development in 2006 creating and giving support for the development of the Istrian civil sector.

Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA) www.alda-europe.eu

The main activities of the Association of Local Democracy Agenciesconsist in developing the network of twelve Local Democracy Agencies operating in four countries of Southern and Eastern Europe and in Georgia (Caucasus) with support of local authorities and NGOs from the whole Europe (today more than 200 members and partners), based on the concept of decentralised cooperation of local authorities and NGOs and their active participation in the decision making process at the local level.

The Statute mentions as well:

• the promotion of a democratic transition and the European integration of local and regional authorities, in particular these in Central and Eastern Europe, through exchange of experience and know-how and co-operation between partner local and regional authorities;
• the strengthening of a democratic process, in line with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and to put in hand confidence-building measures (in accordance with the scheme devised by the Council of Europe) through intercultural activities, human rights and peace education;
• to combat racism, intolerance and xenophobia by implementing non-violent solutions;
• to actively promote a pluralist society and protect multicultural and multi-religious societies;
• to encourage the development of unbiased and pluralist information;
• to encourage local development projects and, if case arises, reconstruction of local infrastructures;
• to favour partnerships between local and regional authorities in greater Europe;
• to build up a network of LDAs capable of meeting the requirements of local partners and acting as a relay for a number of the international community's activities, in particular those of the European institutions;
• - to promote LDA activities in order to develop a new form of decentralised, international co-operation based on inter-municipal, interregional and intercommunity relations in Europe.

ALDA has the role of scientific and technical support of the coordinator of the project (Region Istria). It is also in charge of the scientific help-desk for local citizens' panels and of the organization, facilitation and coordination of the international activities (training, international workshops). In addition, ALDA is in charge of the relation with EU institutions and with media contacts at the European level, responsible as well for the dissemination and visibility of the action Europe-wide.

Сдружение Болкан Асист / Balkan Assist Association, Bulgaria www.balkanassist.bg

The Balkan Assist Association stimulates and supports direct citizen participation at local and central level by implementing initiatives and projects in partnership with citizens, community groups, organizations and institutions. The projects of the Association are mainly directed at direct citizen participation in decision making and development at local, regional and central level.Balkan Assist is a prominent member of the international networks of organizations working for the sustainable development of society and its structures.

Zaklada za poticanje partnerstva i razvoja civilnog društva / Foundation for partnership and civil society development

www.civilnodrustvo-istra.hr

The Foundation for partnership and civil society development has been founded on October 4th of 2006, with seating in Pula by the Region of Istria, Croatia. The main goal is to offer informational, professional and financial support for various programs that promote sustainability of the non-profit sector, cooperation, citizen initiatives, volunteering and society development. The Foundation has three main functions: Financial - it entails publishing tenders and support for various organizations; Informative - offers basic information about civil society and its function; Educational - organization of various workshops, lectures and seminars.

Municipality of Vejle, Denmark

Videnscentre for Integration is an institution under the Municipality of Vejle, whose mission is to help facilitate the integration of migrants into the Danish society. Its purpose is to collect, adapt, develop and disseminate best practices on migrant integration. It conducts researches and surveys on language learning, employment and cultural integration of migrants, as well as workshops and courses on adult education and integration. It also implements several EU partnership projects under the LLP program, social fund and DG-Justice programs. VIFIN has 15 fulltime staff, and a reach of over 5000 migrant students, accessed through its current projects and trough its network of local and national public and private organizations, learning institutions, NGOs, and other organizations involved in migrant integration.

Consvipo, Italy www.consvipo.it

The Consortium for Development of Polesinehas been established in 1963 promoted by the Province of Rovigo, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Artisanship, Agriculture and all the Municipalities of the Province of Rovigo. Territorial Agency for programming, coordination and animation of the social and economic development, it operates as Agency for the development of the territory of the province of Rovigo. The Consortium operates in synergy with public and private bodies, company associations, companies, labor unions with the aim to provide harmony and homogeneity to the initiatives for the growth of the "Polesine System". It assists and supports consorted municipalities to programme and implement projects. It promotes activities to favour the realisation of financed initiatives for social and economic development of the area.

Local Councils Association, Malta www.lca.org.mt

There shall be a Local Councils Associationrepresenting all the Local Councils with the aim of protecting and promoting the common interests of all the Local Councils and to represent, solely for the purposes of these regulations, all Local Councils in Malta and overseas, and on international associations of local government authorities. The aims of the Association shall also include those of protecting and promoting the common interests of Local Councils as well as offering consultancy services, training on its own initiatives and in conjunction with any other Council or Councils. The Association is a juridical body having a distinct legal personality. It represents all 68 Local Councils in Malta and Gozo.

Centrum komunitneho organizovania, Slovak Republic www.cko.sk

CKO's mission is to support and ensure the active participation of citizens in the public decision making process. It helps citizens to formulate and advocate for their natural interests. It creates the space for effective cooperation among the citizens, government and business sectors when dealing with the development of communities. CKO has a twelve year successful history in Slovakia of bringing citizens together to identify and solve problems in their communities.

Obcianska Siet Strednej a Vychodnej Europy / Central and Eastern European Citizens Network, Slovak Republic www.ceecn.net

The main aim of the CEECNis to ensure democratic systems through citizen participation. General aims of the Network are to increase awareness of the general public throughout CEE on the potential and actual impact of citizen initiatives; and to increase skills and capacities of citizens to more effectively participate in local, regional and national development. The Network follows an annual work plan that includes but is not limited to activities such Citizen Participation Week, Annual training for citizens activists, Experience and best practice exchanges and Joint activities of grassroots initiatives.