Strasbourg, 6 september 2011                                                              CDLR(2011)38

                                                                                        Item B.11. of the agenda

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY

(CDLR)

EUROPEAN LOCAL DEMOCRACY WEEK

For information

Secretariat Memorandum

prepared by the Directorate General of

Democracy and Political Affairs

Directorate of Democratic Institutions


This document is public. It will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy.

Ce document est public. Il ne sera pas distribué en réunion. Prière de vous munir de cet exemplaire.


Introduction

Since 2009, the Congress of Local and Regional authorities of the Council of Europe has responsibility for the implementation of the European Local Democracy Week.

The document appended has been established by the Congress Secretariat and aims at providing information on recent developments concerning the Week.

The CDLR is invited to the coordination meetings organised by the Congress secretariat. Mr Paul-Henri Philips is the CDLR representative invited to these meetings.

Action required

The CDLR is invited to take note of the information contained in the Appendix and to take any further decisions it deems appropriate.

 


APPENDIX

European Local Democracy Week 2011 – Ongoing developments

“Human rights at local level” is the leading theme of the 2011 edition of the European Local Democracy Week. Defending and developing human rights is the duty of the national governments but also of local and regional ones.

By linking the ELDW to the concept of “human rights”, one of the main values of the Council of Europe, the Congress aims to enhance the profile of the Week and to make European citizens aware of the role of the Council of Europe.

The communication campaign of ELDW 2011

The logo of the Week has been slightly reworked, while maintaining the image of the municipality as the home of all citizens. A poster with the slogan “Human rights? What about your backyard?” has been developed to help citizens and the wider public to identify with the leading theme “Human rights at local level”.

The ELDW website - www.coe.int/demoweek– has been completely renewed and enriched with an improved navigation and a new graphic charter. It provides key information on the Week. The event logo, leaflets and posters, can be downloaded in several languages.

The website offers guidance to facilitate the implementation of the Week on the leading theme of this year, with useful suggestions for activities focused on different aspects of local policies closely related to the safeguarding of human rights and their implementation.

The leaflet has been printed in the two official languages of the Council of Europe, as well as in German, Italian and Russian. Over the summer, it was widely diffused to all the members of Local Chambers with a letter from the Political Coordinator of the Week, John Warmisham, encouraging the members to organise events in their communities.

First figures and data

Some 27 municipalities from a wide number of member countries of the Council of Europe (as of 1 of September), have already signed up. Brussels, Namur (Belgium), Utrecht (Netherlands), Mugla (Turkey) and Strasbourg (France) have been the first cities to register as "12 Star Cities".

The activities that municipalities have planned to focus on this year are substantial and broach different aspects of human rights. They include debates on the right to vote for prisoners; interviews conducted by young people to citizens of different ages on human rights issues, and prizes to youth organisations for the best artistic activities on human rights.

Among educational initiatives already planned, we can report that awareness-raising activities are planned on the theme of local democracy for pupils with handicaps, the right of all citizens to take part in public life, mutual respect among citizens and anti-discrimination.