European Local Democracy Week - Annual Co-ordination meeting

Strasbourg, 30 January 2017

Introduction by Andreas Kiefer, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Dear ELDW partners,

Thank you all for your active participation and commitment which is the condition for making the ELDW a true pan-European event.

The ELDW was initially launched in 2007 hence 2017 is the 10^th anniversary of this initiative. The Week annually takes place around 15 October – the date on which the European Charter of Local Self-Government was opened for signature in 1985.

It is important to remember this because the Week is an occasion to remind of core values and European standards contained in the Charter, to celebrate the fact that the Charter is now ratified by all 47 member states and to illustrate its practical implications at local and regional levels.

The ELDW is a tool for making local democracy more “accessible” and understandable for all citizens, allowing and facilitating their direct implication in the decision-making process of matters that concern them. Therefore, local elected authorities and national associations of local and regional authorities are the main partners of the Week.

During the Week, cities, regions and their associations across the 47 member countries of the Council of Europe are invited to organise events and activities related to the main theme of the Week and with a suggested annual specific theme. In turn, the Congress offers co-ordination of the Week (contacts, information and resource material etc.) as well as publicity and visibility at the European level.

I hope you agree with me that it would be good to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary and have a special 2017 edition re-focused on our core message and core local democracy values promoted by the Congress – which, by the way, is also celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Looking at the future, the main challenges ahead are to increase the number of partners involved in the Week each year (we had between 22 and 30 member states involved in the past few years and we hope that more of the 47 member states will participate) and to have local authorities involved from all our 47 member states.

To achieve this goal, Vice-President Doganoglu and the Congress Secretariat count on you: Please spread the word and disseminate the information about the ELDW around you.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to stay with you very long, so Maria Ochoa-Llido, who will moderate your meeting, will now tell you about the aim of the meeting and the practicalities of your day in the Council of Europe premises.

Once again thank you for taking the time to come for this meeting, thank you in advance for your input and commitment.