The European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) is an initiative of the Council of Europe and its Congress, launched in October 2007 in Valencia, Spain, during a conference of Ministers responsible for the Local and Regional Governments from 47 Council of Europe member states. Year on year, the “European Local Democracy Week” is, to a larger extent, becoming a pan-European event. It is an annual event created to raise local authorities’ awareness of their own day-to-day responsibility for boosting democratic institutions, increasing the knowledge of local democratic institutions and processes amongst citizens and strengthening links between populations and their local representatives. The week of the 15^th of October has been chosen for holding this event as a tribute to the European Charter of Local Self-Government, opened for signature on that date in 1985.

The Congress, as the assembly of elected members in communities, is the body responsible for the co-ordination of this event in the Council of Europe.

Considering the relevant decentralisation process that all the European countries have known during the last decades – also thanks to the political action of the Council of Europe through the application of the European Charter of local self-government - it is essential to raise European citizens’ awareness on how local authorities operate and on the opportunities available in their community for taking part in decision-making. On the other hand, through the Week, the Congress wants to remind local authorities of their responsibility, as members of democratic institutions, about enhancing participation in local democracy. Citizen’s involvement in local affairs tells us a great amount about the vitality of local democracy and the accountability of their local elected officials.

Furthermore, the “Week” creates the opportunity to inform the wider public about the fact that the Council of Europe is still the major institutional reference in Europe for universal and overarching values such as democracy and human rights from more than 60 years and also about the role of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in developing and strengthening local democracy.

2. The European Local Democracy Week in 2010

The leading theme

“The impact of sustainable communities in fighting climate change” was chosen as the main issue of the ELDW 2010 edition, after the failure of the international climate conference in December 2009 in Copenhagen. The Congress’ idea was to highlight that local communities can play a major role in tackling crucial challenges related to climate change at local level, while world powers are still trying to broker a deal.

A set of thematic ideas for local initiatives to be undertaken in the framework of the European Local Democracy Week was published on the ELDW website focusing on five main issues: transport and mobility, waste management, renewable energy, saving water and biodiversity. The aim was to provide local communities with ideas and guidance enabling them to organise - at the occasion of the ELDW - events, competitions, conferences and exchanges of views; situations conducive to boosting relationships and spot-lighting the important role that local communities play. Local authorities were also invited to pay special attention in involving youth, so as to get tomorrow's adult citizens closer to local institutions and to play a part in local democratic life.

The participants

Despite the contingent factors such as the overarching financial crisis that provoked financial cuts in most of the community budgets, as well as local elections in Ukraine and Poland in October, we recognize that participation in the European Local Democracy Week rose in 2010[1].

Around 115 municipalities and other local authorities organised events and initiatives in 2010 in the framework of the European Local Democracy Week from 24 member countries of the Council of Europe. The data give us a picture of an initiative that was more successful than in previous years, in terms of numbers of the participant municipalities and member countries’ provenance. But the most interesting aspect is the size of the municipalities which took part. The number of big cities (more than 100.000 inhabitants) doubled, totalling 50 as opposed to 24 in 2009, (43,5% of the total amount of the overall 2010 Week participants). The population represented by the full number of the participant municipalities surpassed twenty-three million which represented a huge increase from the thirteen million represented by the participant municipalities of the previous year.

Other peculiarities of the 2010 edition lay in its qualitative aspects; new member countries joined the family of the ELDW partners; the action carried out by the “12 Star cities” was impressive, (well structured initiatives, covering different domains, thousands of citizens involved, media campaigns, youth participation, etc.) European organisations and networks played a role in raising participation, as well as some of the National associations; thus enabling the Week to reach a stronger profile.

Some countries who did not take part before joined the ELDW in 2010 totalling this year 24 countries instead of 22 of the previous year. It was the case of Portugal, Turkey, and Switzerland, Estonia, Germany and the Former Republic of Macedonia,. Unfortunately though, no participants were registered in 2010 from Norway, Hungary, Slovenia and Moldova who took part the year before. The EU and non-EU countries are now equally represented (half from each category). Countries such as France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Belgium took part in the Week 2010 with a growing number of municipalities, while Bulgaria, Romania and Azerbaijan and Greece decreased their participation.

The issues discussed during the events promoted during the Week were, for the most part, the ones related to the general theme of “climate change”, thus drawing the attention of the citizens to the environmental policy measures undertaken by the municipality, calling on them for an active co-operation and participation.

The “12 Star city” concept: an added value

In 2010, ELDW has received fresh impetus with the launching of the “12 Star city” concept. Local authorities wishing to participate in the ELDW have been given the opportunity, this year, to register in two different ways: as simple partners of the Week, or as a “12 Star city”. The latter was chosen by those municipalities who were willing to give special prominence to their participation in the European Local Democracy Week.

Five conditions were to be respected: devoting a specific budget to the ELDW activities; making a promotion campaign using the graphic visuals provided by the Council of Europe; carrying out a number of specific activities linked to the theme of “climate change”; involving different groups of citizens in the initiatives, in particular young people through municipal youth councils, schools and colleges. The last point was to organise an event with a European or pan-European dimension, so as to highlight the role of local authorities in building a democratic Europe.

Many cities showed great interest in participating as a “12 Star city”. They were mostly capital cities or larger cities, which are used to dealing with European initiatives, international cooperation activities and also to involving their citizens in local initiatives as a part of their institutional task. The municipality structures more concerned by the ELDW coordination and organisation of events belong to different areas, mainly the local democracy internal offices (in the UK and France), or those of European and international affairs (Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Turkey), or even environmental departments, due to the leading theme of the 2010 edition of the Week (Italy, Amsterdam, Tartu).

All the “12 Star cities”[2] organised a huge number of activities, mainly on environmental issues, but also related to the participation of the citizens in the decision making processes and in public life to a larger extent. The examples of Strasbourg and Paris are concentrated in this field. As regards to youth involvement, almost all the “12 Star cities” held several interesting activities. In Candelaria, Spain, where the ELDW lasts for two months, all of the schools and youth associations played an active role. Similarly, in each of the 9 municipalities of Unione Terre di Po, the City Councils and the youth councils, as well as all the schools, were actively involved in public debates, conferences with academics, leisure activities related to eco-friendly behaviours and a healthy life-style.

The “12 Star cities” prepared their events in close co-operation with the ELDW team of the Congress, as they wanted to be sure to fulfil the conditions required. Participating as “12 Star city” was a decision taken at political level and the Mayor’s commitment was expressed by the statement that each of them was asked to draft on the ELDW website. This had the following effect; it served to give some examples, on the ELDW website, of events that were taking place across Europe and this in turn helped to raise public awareness of the political engagement of their mayor and the benefits of wide visibility for their municipality brought about by this pan-European initiative.

One of the major effects of the “12 Star city” concept consists in having raised awareness about the ELDW initiative and the Council of Europe’s role in supporting local democracy for a great number of European citizens. The 17 cities who put themselves forward as “12 Star cities” represented around 8 million inhabitants in total. The European capitals of Paris, Brussels and Tbilisi or large cities like Odessa totalled more than 5 millions inhabitants. Cities from 775.000 to 300.000 inhabitants such as Antalya, Belgrade, Katowice and large size towns from 270.000 inhabitants to 100.000, such as Strasbourg, Liege, Amadora, Aix en Provence, Lausanne and Mugla (Turkey) added another 3 million inhabitants to the total. Similarly, small municipalities under 30.000 inhabitants such as Mola di Bari and Unione Terre di Po in Italy, Ierapetra in Greece and Candelaria in Spain were very committed and enthusiastic in taking part in the European Local Democracy Week. They invested resources, created a variety of initiatives, involved young people, schools and municipal councils, so as to develop common thoughts and ideas concerning not just the environmental aspects, but more in general, the engagement of the community as a whole in its long and medium-term policies.

As the short self assessment questionnaire filled in by the “12 Star cities” points out[3], during the ELDW, municipalities and cities chose to develop initiatives and activities integrated into their own political agenda. The added value was to concentrate in at least a three day meeting a set of initiatives and events able to capture the interest of different categories of citizens and residents, thanks to a press and media information campaign, thus encouraging the participation of the citizens and interacting with them on issues which are closer to the community life. The European event was an additional opportunity for underlining the Council of Europe’s and the Congress’ role in favour of local democracy.

Most of the “12 Star cities” recognized that their participation in the ELDW was a very helpful participatory exercise that got people closer to the local governments and increased the interest of different categories, especially young people, in interacting with their councillors and local politicians. Many of the “12 Star cities” pointed out that a representative from the Congress would have given a more distinctive institutional character to their initiatives. Unfortunately the Congress could not meet all of the demands for representative speakers from the Congress. A video message from the Secretary General of the Congress, Andreas Kiefer, was sent to the cities, addressed to the Mayor and the citizens, congratulating them for their commitment and wishing every success to their initiative.

3. ELDW attains an outstanding visibility

During 2010, the Congress, as coordinator of the European Local Democracy Week, contributed in enhancing its image in different ways: by presenting this yearly initiative in different European events, and by organising events in cooperation with other Municipalities.

§ On the 4th of May, the ELDW stand was held at the exhibition of the Committee of the Regions during the annual Conference of the Covenant of Mayors for energy and climate change, due to the general theme of the Week 2010.

§ On the 28-30 of May, the Week was presented at the ICLEI global Conference on “Resilient cities” where different good practices in protecting the environment from the consequences of climate change were discussed with cities from all over the world. One of the main points was the citizens’ participation in the process.

§ On the 13th of October in Den Haag, a presentation of the ELDW was given in a European conference organized by the Associations of the Netherland’s local authorities (VNG) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), on a challenging issue for most modern democracies: increasing the “trust in government” of their citizens. The Week was presented as one of the useful tools.

Co-operation meetings held in Strasbourg during the Week

In order to give a direct impulse to the European Local Democracy Week 2010, two conferences were co-organised by the Congress on the 15^th and 16^th of October 2010: the first on integrating foreign residents into local public life, and a meeting of young Europeans and elected representatives on water services in disadvantaged areas in different countries. The events involved respectively Strasbourg and Schiltigheim municipalities.

Furthermore, the “Strasbourg Club”, a network of more then 40 cities from 14 European countries initiated by the City of Strasbourg, met in the framework of the Week by organising a conference on the situation of the Roma people in Europe.

The conference on “Integrating foreign residents into local public life: challenges and prospects”, organised in co-operation with the City of Strasbourg, brought together municipalities which are actively pursuing local integration and intercultural relations policies and other partners who were willing to join forces in the promotion of these. It provided a forum to discuss different forms of citizens’ participation, in particular, foreign residents’ councils and identified common problems and solutions. The main outputs of the event were the launching of the first-ever network of foreign residents’ consultative councils of French cities and a political Declaration calling on Council of Europe member states to develop policies to ensure all residents have the same opportunities to act and participate, at local level, as fully-fledged participants in local life. Furthermore, the conference participants called on member countries to ratify and put into practice the European Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level, allowing all citizens, whether they be from the European Union or not, to fully participate in their local community.

During the youth meeting on 16 October at the European Youth Centre of Strasbourg, organised in co-operation with the Municipality of Schiltigheim and Solidarity Water Europe, local politicians and members of youth councils from Croatia, Latvia, Moldova and Russia exchanged views and shared experiences with their associates from France, their local authorities and some of the Congress’ members and experts. The aim of the event was to increase the European youth exchange on environmental issues and boost their links with local authorities. They also had the opportunity to experiment both these activities, building on their common interests. The two initiatives had a relevant echo in media and press.

4. The role of other partners

The National Associations

Around 32 Associations from 18 member countries of the Council of Europe, played an active role during the preparation of the 2010 edition of the European Local Democracy Week.

As a result of their supportive activities, the European Local Democracy Week became more visible in those countries and encouraged the participation of municipalities. Some of the Associations organised preparatory meetings (the operational team of the ELDW was invited to some of them – such as those of France and Italy – and many municipalities raised awareness of their events, such as Turkey). Others addressed letters to their associated Municipalities (such as in Portugal and Germany); others provided information by means of their website, internal communication systems and newsletters and by publishing the ELDW logo.

Most of them also maintained contacts with the ELDW coordination team throughout the year, providing information on the implementation of the Week in their countries and on municipalities interested in being involved in the initiative (Belgium, France, and Italy).

Regional Associations of Municipalities as well as European offices of some National Associations were also very active in inciting their associated members to take part in the ELDW.

The European institutions, organisations and networks

The ELDW had the support of several European institutions and other organisations and networks.

The Committee of the Regions in its monthly newsletter of June and September published the news concerning the ELDW and its initiatives. A link to the ELDW was also provided.
EU Mayors, the website of the Covenant of Mayors of the European Commission published the news concerning the general theme of the ELDW 2010 on “climate change” and the info to participate with the logo of the ELDW, which was also published.
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) published for several months on their homepage, the news concerning the Week and the invitation to the association members to take part in it. They also created a link to the ELDW website. The aforementioned Conference on “trusting in government” was organized by the CEMR in co-operation with the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), under the banner of the ELDW and materials of the Week were distributed and presented.
ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, a prominent International Agency for Environment, published in its newsletter the information on the ELDW 2010, due to “climate change” being a relevant issue for them.
The Union of the Baltic Cities showed also its interest for the Week and sent a letter in May inviting the 200 municipalities of the Union to take action. A new advertisement was published again in September.
The Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA) wrote a letter to its associated municipalities to involve them in the Week, in September.
Other thematic networks, linked to the environmental theme of the Week, also supported the ELDW. Among them we have to mention the network for “intercultural cities”.
The European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy, an intergovernmental body of the Council of Europe, assured continuous monitoring and support of the ELDW throughout the year.

The European and international organisations gave outstanding visibility to the European Local Democracy Week and meant that more people got involved in the activities.

5. Conclusions

The 2011 edition of the European Local Democracy Week will be the fifth one. Now this pan-European event is a grounded reality and deserves to be maintained and nurtured.

With this in mind, the Congress is continuously improving its communication tools and its dissemination and coordination action. Furthermore, in order to expand its numbers and boost its image, the Week needs the greater support of all the actors and the partners which contributed to its initiation.

Local Democracy is anchored in the towns and regions where public affairs are conducted and the citizens live. Enhancing the quality of local democracy stands as an overwhelming imperative for the Congress.

Some of the main reasons for believing in the ELDW and making it a success are resumed below.

The European Local Democracy Week:

Highlights the value of local democracy as the essential nurturing factor of any democratic institutional system;
Is the occasion for elected members of local self governments to reflect on their own responsibility as members of democratic institutions, the means that they have and the ones they are using to increase local democracy;
Boosts the practice of local authorities involving people in local public life and making the citizens more familiar with the different means at their disposal to play an active role in local life;
Enhances the value, in all the participating communities, of the Council of Europe and its Congress, of defending human rights, developing local democracy and improving efficiency and transparency of local self governments.

* * *

Appendix I: The participating municipalities

FIGURES : 2009: 24 municipalities with a population of more than 100.000 inhabitants 2009: the overall population represented by the participant municipalities reached 13.700.000 2010: 50 municipalities with a population of more than 100.000 inhabitants 2010: the overall population represented by the participant municipalities reached 23.700.000
1. MUNICIPALITIES
2009 EDITION	2010 EDITION
ALBANIA
National Association of municipalities – information activities	Bushat *
	Kashar *
	Petrela *
	Synej *
	Dajt *
BELGIUM
Brussels Capital-Region 19 municipalities ***	Brussels Capital-Region 18 municipalities ***
Namur **	Lieges ***
Verviers *	Namur **
Nivelles *	Gesves *
Peruwelz *	Houyet *
Libramont *	Comines-Warneton *
Houyet *	Estaimpuis *
	Gembloux *
	Gouvy *
	Herstal *
	Nivelles *
	Silly *
	Spa *
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Banja Luka **

* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2009 “pilot cities”	* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2010 “12 star cities”

BULGARIA
Troian *	Dobrich *
Sandansky *
Sevlievo *
Novi Pazar *
Tvarditsa *
Dolnia Mitropolia *
Brutsartsi *
Trun *
Dolni Dabnik *
Medkovets *
Nova Zagora *
Alfatar *
Hitrino *
Chernoochene *
CROATIA
Rijeka **	Kutina *
Pula *	Suhopolje *
Kutina *
ESTONIA
	Tartu **
FRANCE
Strasbourg ***	Paris ***
Aix en provence ***	Strasbourg ***
Montreuil **	Aix en provence ***
St. Quentin *	Angers **
Clamart *	Villeurbanne**
Schiltigheim *	Metz **
La Chapelle Caro *	Niort *
	Schiltigheim *
	Marley-le-Roi *
	Frasnes *
GEORGIA
	Tbilisi ***
GERMANY
	Lörrach *

* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2009 “pilot cities”	* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2010 “12 star cities”

GREECE
Kalithea **	Maroussi *
Acharne *	Chania *
Drama Kalava Xanthi *	Serres *
Lamia *	Ierapetra ***
Agis Paraskevi *	Nemea *
Pyrgos *
Ierapetra *
Moudania *
Megalopolis *
Sykies *
Anavyssos*
Siatistas *
Moudros *
Apollonias *
Kryoneri *
Hidra *
HUNGARY
Miskolc **
Nyugat Dunantul region **
Szlonok *
Budapest VII District *

* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2009 “pilot cities”	* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2010 “12 star cities”

ITALY
Rovigo *		Torino Province **
Vignola *		Bologna **
		Modena**
		Perugia Province**
		Siracusa **
		Latina **
		Trento **
		Terni Province **
		Bolzano **
		Rieti Province *
		Schio *
		Rovereto *
		Mola di Bari ***
		Feltre *
		Roncade *
		Unione Terre di Po ***
		Brancaleone *
		Cerisano *
		Emilia Region *
		Umbria Region *
		Anci Umbria *
		Lazio Region *
		Anci Lazio *
		Anci Val d’Aosta *
LUXEMBOURG
Dudelange *
Mamer *
Niederanven *
MALTA
La Valletta *	La Valletta *
	Mriehel *
	Tarxien *
NETHERLANDS
Alkmaar *	Amsterdam **

* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2009 “pilot cities”	* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2010 “12 star cities”

NORWAY
Bergen **
Kristiansand *
Longsberg *
Klepp *
Lingdal *
POLAND
Katowice **	Katowice ***
Slupsk *	Slupsk *
Podkova Lesna *	Podkova Lesna *
PORTUGAL
	Camara Municipal de Guarda **
	Amadora – Lisbon ***
	Beja *
	Santiago de Cacem *
	Bonavente *
	Cabeceiras de Basto *
	Peredes de Coura *
	Boticas *
ROMANIA
Iasi **	Deva *
Craiova **	Medias *
Arad **
Slobozia *
Oltenia
RUSSIAN Federation
Komi republic **	Komi Republic **
St. Petersburg Finliandsky District **	St. Petersburg **
Scekinsky District of Tula Region **	Biysk **
	Shakhty **
	Kirovograd **
	Balakovo **
	Shelekhov *
	Volosovsky *
	Salvgorod *
	Tula Region **
	Volkhov *

* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2009 “pilot cities”	* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2010 “12 star cities”
SERBIA
Palilula *	Belgrade ***
SLOVAK Republic
Nitra High Territorial Unit **	Nitra self-gov Region **
Zilina High Territorial Unit **	Zabiedovo *
SPAIN
Malaga **	Malaga **
Valencia **	Terrassa **
	Cadiz **
	Candelaria ***
SWITZERLAND
	Lausanne ***
	Neuchatel **
“The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
	Vinica *
TURKEY
	Antalya ***
	Tarsus **
	Mugla ***
	Saferihisar (Izmir) *
UKRAINE
National Association of municipalities – information and co-ordination activities with various cities
Kyiv **	Odessa ***
Melitopol **	Kirovograd **
Boryspil *	Boryspil *
UNITED KINGDOM
Salford **	Kent County Council **
Bedford *	Ealing London borough **
	Plymouth **
	Haringey London borough **
	Salford **
	Merton London borough **
	Portsmouth **
	Walsall **
	Vale of Glamorgan **
	Chelmsford Borough Council **
	Surrey City Council *

* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2009 “pilot cities”	* : municipalities > 100 000 inhabitants : municipalities < 100 000 inhabitants * 2010 “12 star cities”
2. NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, GOVERNMENTAL BODIES, EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS AND NETWORKS

National Associations

33 Associations from 18 member countries of the Council of Europe carried on active and supportive actions during the preparation of the 2010 edition of the European Local Democracy Week.

ALBANIA	Albanian Association of Communes
AUSTRIA	Association of Austrian Municipalities Salzburg Euregio
BELGIUM	Carrefour Régional et Communautaire de la Citoyenneté et Démocratie
BULGARIA	National Association of Bulgarian Municipalities (NAMRB)
CROATIA	Association of Municipalities of the Republic of Croatia
FRANCE	AMF Association des Maires de France AFCCRE Association Maires de Grandes Villes de France Cites Unies France
GERMANY	Deutscher Städte und Gemeindebund Deutscher Städtetag
ITALY	National Association of Italian Municipalities ANCI / AICCRE Union of Italian Provinces UPI Tecla Association Uncem ANCI Friuli Venezia Giulia ANCI Tuscany Coordinamento Agende 21 Italia
MALTA	Local Council – Association of Malta
NETHERLANDS	VNG Association of Netherland Municipalities
PORTUGAL	National Association of Municipalities of Portugal ANAFRE, National Association of the Freguesias
ROMANIA	National Association of Romanian Municipalities
RUSSIAN Federation	RNCM Russian National Congress of Municipalities
SPAIN	Federation of Municipios Valencia Region
SWITZERLAND	ACCRE Suisse
TURKEY	National Association of Municipalities Association of Marmara Region
UNITED KINGDOM	NILGA, Northern Ireland Local Government Association Local Government Association
UKRAINE	National Association of municipalities

Governmental body supporting the ELDW 2010

GREECE: Ministry of Interior Affaires, Decentralization and e-democracy

European Institutions which supported the ELDW 2010

The Committee of the Regions
EU Commission

European Associations and networks which supported the ELDW 2010

Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
ICLEI: Local Governments for Sustainability
The Union of the Baltic Cities
Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA)
Solidarity Water Europe (SWE)

Appendix II: The “12 Star cities” at a glance

42 local communities concerned, including Brussels with 19 municipalities and Unione Terre di Po with its 9 municipalities

450 local councillors involved (including Mayors)

26.400 citizens involved in the ELDW activities; hundred thousands informed

250 different events

40 primary schools and several high schools

20 Youth Councils

4 Universities

Activities:

Information campaign in all the 17 cities involved: posters, leaflets, flyers, local TV coverage, newspaper articles, press conferences and social network pages (Facebook pages as in Candelaria, Ierapetra, Mola di Bari, Antalya and Belgrade).

20 conferences on European issues covering environmental aspects, as well as democracy and European integration policies.

8 art exhibitions of works made of recycled materials (Paris, Ierapetra, Mugla, Odessa, Antalya, Candelaria, Amadora, Liege).

10 visits to industrial environmental plants: water, solar and wind energy plants, incinerators and other waste treatment plants.

8 marathons and bicycle rides with children and adults of all ages.

100 school classes involved in environmental protection and educational activities (biodiversity, saving water and energy, waste collection, healthy food).

20 Youth Councils debating issues on youth participation in the decision-making process.

80 Public meetings and workshops on environmental and eco-friendly innovation activities with citizens and residents organised in many of the districts and neighbourhoods of the “12 star cities”.

10 demonstrations on aspects of agricultural economics related to biodiversity and environmental protection, as well as on river and sea protection.

Bus tours informing the citizens about biodiversity, environmental protection, eco-friendly mobility (Strasbourg, Mugla, Aix en Provence, Paris).

Short films on environmental protection subjects produced by schools in Katowice, Mola di Bari, Amadora et Ierapetra.

12 Star city	Added value of the Week	What is needed	Suggested themes for 2011 /other suggestions
Aix en Provence (FR)	The Week gave an additional opportunity to meet people who are always enthusiastic about it.	Congress participation could have given more visibility to the Week.	Economic development Disabled people and inclusion
Amadora (PT)	People are pleased to meet local politicians and interact with them in various initiatives, much more than posting questions on municipal websites.	The participation of a CoE speaker in the main initiatives would have made a greater impact on the citizens.	Youth participation in the decision making process.
Antalya (TU)	Taking part in a pan-European initiative was a great opportunity for the Municipality to organise activities involving citizens.	Exchange of good practices is needed to increase democracy at local level.	Youth involvement in the decision making process; volunteering.
Belgrade (Serbia)	The Week helped the interaction and communication between local politicians and citizens. It also boosted civil society through the participation of NGOs.		Protection of minorities; safety in urban areas.
Brussels (BE)	The Week has become a “regular” major participatory democracy event in Brussels’ agenda. It takes a different form in each municipality; boosting citizenship is its first characteristic.	Local politicians should participate more and interact with citizens. Public officers and NGOs are the main organisers of the events.	Establishing a local democracy city network.
Candelaria (SP)	The Week connects local activities to a global institution’s action (the CoE), it is essential to understand politics in a global context. For many young citizens participating in the Week was the most important public participation in their life.		After the Week, Candelaria citizens are “12 Star citizens”.
Ierapetra (GR)	The Week’s philosophy is citizen-centred and it helps politicians in communicating and problem solving activities with the citizens.	Media technologies may help in improving the ELDW communication.	Youth in financial crisis.
Katowice (PL)	ELDW largely contributed to the improvement of the interaction between the decision makers and the citizens.	The Week draws the attention of local politicians to the need of communicating more with the citizens on issues that influence their life.	Youth and senior citizens involvement in public life
12 Star city	Added value of the Week	What is needed	Suggested themes for 2011 /other suggestions
Lausanne (CH)	The Week was the opportunity to boost communication and involvement activities with youth and schools. The Week improved the city’s acknowledgment of the Council of Europe role	A better coordination with other departments would have given greater impact. To participate in the ELDW should be decided more in advance.	Intergenerational relationship may be positively developed
Liege (BE)	Local democracy is also about people cooperating and communicating with each other. All categories of citizens participated very actively.	A national campaign on ELDW could help citizens to understand more about the Council of Europe’s action.	Intergeneration activities.
Mola di Bari (IT)	The Week was a great event able to improve the local governance through dialogue. All categories of citizens were involved in the decision making process. It enhances trust and participation in local life and boosts community identity.	Local democracy is a continuous exercise.	Exchange of experiences on improving IT in public services.
Mugla (TU)	Citizens and local politicians both took advantage of the Week to improve their dialogue and interaction capacity.	The Week made the Council of Europe and the Congress known by the citizens, but not enough.	Empowerment of women, inclusion of disabled people.
Odessa (Ukraine)	Environmental issues met the communication interest of the municipality. Citizens’ awareness of the environmental protection issues was increased. Internal staff communication was also improved by the Week.	Local politicians and staff acknowledged the role of the Council of Europe and the Congress.	The ELDW as a pan-European event is outstanding for Odessa, regardless of the leading theme.
Paris (FR)	The Week was a good occasion to make the citizens familiar with the concrete application of the Participation Paris Charter and to respond to NGOs mobilization on sensitive issues, linking together local authorities, NGOs and citizens.	The communication about the ELDW and the Council of Europe role were weak. To get a better coverage by media working more in advance is needed. A representative from the Council of Europe would have enhanced the CoE visibility.	Popular and citizens education; new technologies improving democracy; citizens rights and public services

12 Star city	Added value of the Week	What is needed	Suggested themes for 2011 /other suggestions
Strasbourg (FR)	ELDW is the occasion to raise citizens’ awareness of the different means they can use to take part in the decision- making process. The Week took on a different form in each city district, according to the different problems citizens face (youth involvement, migrants’ inclusion).	Providing the population with local democracy consultative tools is not enough. The Week improves the dialogue between local authorities and citizens. Local elected representatives by the Week learn more in debating concrete issues concerning citizens’ problems.	To anticipate the Week during the summer time could facilitate open air events and would get more people together.
Tbilisi (Georgia)	The Week was the opportunity to inform the citizens about the projects undertaken by the municipality. ELDW activities advocated a more active engagement at local level.		Local community involvement in local governance reforms. Some of the activities could be implemented in co-operation with other towns of the region.
Unione Terre di Po (IT)	The Week was the most relevant public initiative of the area in the last 15 years, gathering together the Youth Councils, the schools, the economic sector and the local authorities. The citizens and the youth in particular felt to be the active members of their society.	The ELDW deserves the attention of other local authorities at the regional and national level.	Boosting the community spirit in the worldwide community age.

The tables are compiled on the basis of information gathered in the registration forms and in a short self-evaluation questionnaire sent to the 17 “12 Star” cities.

[1] Appendix 1

[2] Antalya (Turkey), Amadora-Lisbon , Aix en Provence (France), Belgrade (Serbia), Brussels, Candelaria (Spain); Ierapetra (Greece), Katowice (Poland), Lausanne (Switzerland), Liege (Belgium), Mola di Bari (Italy), Mugla (Turkey), Odessa (Ukraine), Paris, Strasbourg, Tblisi (Georgia) , Unione Terre di Po (Italy)

[3] Appendix 2