As part of the project “Promoting Deliberative Democracy and Innovative Approaches to Citizen Participation in South-East Europe”, coordinated by NALAS with the support of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the third meeting of the Community of Practice for Deliberative Democracy in South-East Europe was held in Skopje. The meeting brought together representatives of 18 municipalities and seven national associations of local authorities from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The aim of the meeting was to exchange ideas on citizen participation in decision-making and ways to expand the citizens’ assembly model across the region.
The Mayor of Skopje and member of the Congress Danela Arsovska recalled that their 2023 Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change paved the way for greater transparency in the city administration. Ireland’s experience was presented by Jimmy Moloney, Head of the Irish Delegation to the Congress, who explained that experience has shown that “when local authorities listen to citizens, citizens respond with trust.” Moloney emphasized that the work of the Community of Practice will contribute to building a “New Democratic Pact for Europe” and added that sharing experiences is one of the tools in the fight against democratic backsliding.
A delegation from Montenegro also attended the meeting as a project participant, comprising representatives of the municipalities of Bar, Tivat and Šavnik, which are members of the Community of Practice, Milica Radojičić, assistant secretary of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro for international cooperation and European integration, and Simonom Bošković, project mobilization and communication assistant. Milijana Ašanin, vice president of the Municipality of Šavnik, presented an example of good practice in involving citizens in decision-making and demonstrated how a small municipality can achieve significant results when it comes to citizen participation. All participants agreed that citizens’ assemblies have the potential to become a regular tool for local authorities across the region.
The event was held as part of the project “Promoting Deliberative Democracy and Innovative Approaches to Citizen Participation in South-East Europe”, implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, with financial support from Germany.
