ELDW (en)

Municipality of Ierapetra is the official greek representative and a pilot- city for the ELDW 2009 celebrations.

(indicative) Activities 2009 include the following:

10-20 October

1. Conference about local democracy organised by the National association of local authorities (KEDKE)
2. Speed-dating with local councillors
3. Creation of a specific stamp
4. Exhibition about the town and its history
5. Information documents about the ELDW and local democracy
6. Radio marathon
7. “Ideagoras”
8. Local democracy and people with special needs
9. ELDW Newsletter on local democracy
10. Pupil power
11. Surveys (ELDW blog of Ierapetra)
12.  Environment and local democracy

13. Local democray and Community exchange systems (Economic Democracy)
14. Ancient Greek city state as a model of local democracy
15. Immigrants and local democracy: Coexistence and not assimilation
16. Information campaign in the national media
17. Billboards promoting the ELDW
18. ELDW Treasure hunt
19. Local democracy: Imagine and paint (Painting competition, aged 8-18)
20. Municipal Folk orchestra concert
21. Municipal choir concert
22. Youth media

23. LG quality services and new technologies (e-democracy, local e-government)

The above mentioned activities are indicative. The official programme will be announced soon.

The ELDW IER team

================================================================

“Strasbourg kick-off for 2009 edition of the European Local Democracy Week stresses citizen involvement

Strasbourg, 16.04.2009 – At a preparatory meeting for the 2009 edition of the European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) – which was held in Strasbourg on 15 April and gathered the national coordinators of this event – participants emphasised the importance of targeting citizen participation in local politics. It was agreed to engage in particular young people, the future actors in democratic processes.

The global crisis was selected as a transversal theme for this years’ ELDW. Municipalities of 47 Council of Europe member states are invited to develop activities on how to respond to global challenges at local level. “This is not only about finance and economics. We need fresh ideas to better manage issues such as labour policy, migration, political participation, environmental problems or new technologies at local level”, said Keith Whitmore (United Kingdom, ILDG), President of the Congress Institutional Committee and political Coordinator of the ELDW. According to Whitmore, the European Local Democracy Week should become a consistent event on the European landscape where key topics in the field of grassroots democracy should be tackled.

Municipalities are also encouraged to submit their candidature to become a pilot city of the 2009 edition. The Brussels Capital-Region, Madrid, Odessa and Varna were the 4 pilot cities chosen in 2008. Representatives of these cities are ready to share their experience with new equal partners and to support them with good practices implemented in the previous edition.

The European Local Democracy Week 2009 will be organised as from 15 October – the date of the opening to signature of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 1985 which has become the benchmark treaty in this area. A major event at European level will be held in the framework of the Congress Plenary Session (Strasbourg, 13-15 October 2009).

More information about the participation in the 2009 ELDW edition is available at www.coe.int/demoweek

***

A joint initiative of the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and European Committee for Local and Regional Democracy, launched in 2007, the “European Local Democracy Week” (ELDW) is an annual European event (around 15 October) with simultaneous national and local events organised by participating local authorities in Council of Europe member states. The purpose is to foster knowledge of local democracy and promote the idea of democratic participation at local level.”

Source website CoE