Session in co-operation with IKV PAX Christi and ALDA

     
      

Vukovar, Sarajevo, Mostar, Srebrenica, Mitrovica... The Balkan wars, raging just a decade ago, shocked Europe with their ethnic cleansing, genocide, massive destruction of houses and historical buildings and the endless flows of displaced people and refugees. The human suffering was communicated on television and in the papers, day after day, for many years. The violent outburst of nationalism on European soil had a tremendous impact. The Western Balkans are still recovering from these dreadful years. Even today, nationalists hold strong positions in society and politics and stability is fragile.

What did European local governments do in the first post-war years and what are they doing today, a decade later? This workshop will analyse past and present developments in the Balkans, and will give the participants the opportunity to exchange best practices: how to assist in the reconstruction process and the revitalisation of the local community; how to promote democracy and human rights; how to strengthen and improve inter-ethnic relations in the region; and how to further the European integration processes.

The discussion will be fuelled by three case studies:
• IKV Pax Christi set up a network with Dutch local governments and NGOs in support of the city and citizens of Tuzla (Assistance to Bosnian Communities, 1995-2000) and also developed a municipal assistance programme for Srebrenica (on-going)
• Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs) were initiated by the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in the mid 1990s to assist war-ravaged cities in the former Yugoslavia through partnerships with their counterparts in other European countries. Nowadays, the central focus is on democracy building and the support for human rights at the local level.
• Mitrovica (Kosovo) has been a divided city for many years now. Mayor Rexhepi will present how the city is working on peace and democracy.
 

 

Moderator

Ulrich Bohner, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Speakers
Klelija Balta, senior policy adviser of UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina

Stanka Parac Damjanovič, support partnership manager ALDA, Association of Local Democracy Agencies

 

Bajram Rexhepi, Mayor of Mitrovica (Kosovo)

New ALDA Factsheet 2008

 

Local governments building peace in eastern Croatia by Martijn Klem (out of the book on city diplomacy which will be presented during the conference )