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MCL-16(2009)4d

                  Council of Europe Conference

of Ministers responsible

for Local and Regional Government

                “Good local and regional governance in

              turbulent times: the challenge of change”

                16th Session, Utrecht, 16 - 17 November 2009

Report on the European Local Democracy Week


Introduction

Citizen participation is essential for dynamic local democracy. At the Council of Europe this issue is taken seriously. Several initiatives have been undertaken at the instigation of the ministerial conference, to encourage higher participation in local public life by all citizens and foreigners alike. From Recommendation Rec(2001)19 of the Committee of Ministers to the additional protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government (2009), through the CLEAR tool (2007) and its dissemination via Recommendation Rec(2009)2 and the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local Level (2008), the tools available to member states have multiplied over the past few years.

But citizens are the core of democracy. Getting them to know how local government works and what it delivers is crucial if we want to promote the feeling of belonging to the community that makes local democracy a living concept.

In 2007, the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy, in co-operation with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, launched the idea of the “European Local Democracy Week” as an opportunity for local authorities across Europe to open up, to invite citizens to the official premises of the municipality and get them more acquainted with the “mechanics” of local government.

In October of the same year, at the 15th session of their conference, in Valencia (Spain), the European ministers responsible for local and regional government endorsed the idea and officially launched the “Week”. Since then, the Week has been introduced in numerous European states and hundreds of municipalities have started to feature it. This report aims to give ministers an overview of the actions taken in member states and at the Council of Europe in order to promote this initiative and make local democracy more “citizen friendly”.

I.         The organisation

In 2007, a small joint steering group was established with the participation of members of the CDLR and the Congress. It developed the “concept” of the Week and established the contacts with the associations of local authorities of member States that would operate as “relays” to disseminate the idea and secure the participation of local authorities. A “start up kit” for local authorities was prepared (in English and French) and an active communication campaign launched. With the decisive support of the Congress, a logo, a website (www.coe.int/demoweek), a poster and a number of gadgets were developed.


The concept is to encourage European municipalities to organise during the same period of the year – indicatively set for the week around the 15th of October, the anniversary of the European Charter of Local Self-Government – events aimed at attracting the inhabitants of the local community to enter into contact with their local councillors and mayors. This can be done in a variety of forms: “open door” days at the city hall, mayors and councillors taking part in public debates and answering citizens’ questions, mayors interacting with panels of specific groups of citizens (the young, the elderly, etc.), “mayor of the day” events in which ordinary people have a stint at the helm of the community, etc.

In 2007, approximately 20 events took place in different countries. Albeit limited in number, the feedback was very positive, and the steering group could confirm to the CDLR and the Congress that the Week could “fly”. The European Ministers then adopted the Week at their Valencia conference, in October 2007.

II.       The events

In Spring 2008, the Week was celebrated at the International conference on “Improving governance at local level: tools and strategies” organised by the Slovak chairmanship of the Council of Europe (Piest’any, 16-18 April) and at the Forum for the Future of Democracy held in Madrid from 15 to 17 October. In the meantime, a number of cities (Madrid, Brussels Capital Region, Odessa and Varna) were selected as “pilots” to project the image of the Week by hosting special events whilst providing cross-references to the action of their participating sister-cities around the continent.

The network of associations and organisations supporting and promoting the implementation of the Week was strengthened by the addition of about fifteen national or regional associations of local authorities and of such bodies as the Central and Eastern Europe Citizens Network (CEECN), the Capital Cities of the European Union, the Training and Learning for Community Development Network.

The circle of the pilot cities has been enlarged to include Bradadesh (Albania), the region of Brussels Capital (Belgium), Kutine (Croatia), Strasbourg (France), Ierapetra (Greece), Finlyandskiy district of Saint-Petersburg (Russian Federation), Iasi (Romania), Podowka Leszna (Poland), Salford (United Kingdom) and Boriyspil (Ukraine).

In some countries (Ukraine), the Week is officially recognised as a public event to be celebrated in all municipalities. In others (Hungary) the traditional “local government days” are organised in such a way as to coincide with the Week or adopt a European dimension too.

In 2008, an estimated 3000 municipalities in 25 member states undertook to organise events labelled “European Local Democracy Week”.


Taking advantage of the “intercultural cities” programme of the Directorate General IV (Education, Culture, Heritage and Youth) of the Council of Europe, the “intercultural cities 2009” have also been invited to take part in the Week: Reggio Emilia (Italy), Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Lyon (France), Patras (Greece), Neukölln (Germany), Izhevsk (Russian Federation), Lublin (Poland), Oslo (Norway), Subotica (Serbia), Melitopol (Ukraine) and Tilburg (the Netherlands).

In October 2009 the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe made the Local Democracy Week a key event of its plenary session in Strasbourg.

III.      Assessment and prospects

The Week is slowly but surely taking off as a relatively simple and easy-to-adopt European initiative that brings citizens closer to local government. It is the occasion for raising local councillors’ and local civil servants’ awareness of democratic participation. It enables them to meet their fellow citizens in an informal, entertaining and sometimes festive setting. It is an excellent opportunity for debates on issues of local interest, so as to assess citizens’ needs more accurately, to establish a relationship of confidence and to pass on a message of mutual responsibility. The ELDW also serves as a reminder of the European context in which towns and cities operate and of the common values that unite their destiny in full respect of human rights, democracy and social cohesion.

Participation in the Week is entirely voluntary but the idea is catching on and the hallmark of the Council of Europe – and in particular the promotional efforts of the Congress – act as a powerful encouragement to join in.

Through the Week, the Council of Europe is having a significant impact on member states’ populations in favour of the values and principles of the Organisation.

At national level, associations of local authorities and NGOs remain very instrumental in the promotion and organisation of the Week.

Organising the Week  is among the actions that contribute to greater openness and transparency  of local authorities. In this way, the Week is a full part of the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local level and a pillar for its implementation.

On the occasion of the Utrecht conference, the European ministers could – having taken note of the information on the Week – reiterate their support for the initiative (at the European level) and envisage promoting it actively ant national/regional level.