From East to West: an expanding network!
On the occasion of the Eurodistrict Council meeting, the Council of Europe, the Euro-Institut and the Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau, three institutions which share common goals of local democracy, gave birth on Monday, 28 March 2011 to the Eurodistrict forum for a cross-border territorial policy.
The forum joined the Network of the Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europe, therefore becoming the first school in Western Europe. Located at the crossroads of Europe in a pioneer region for cross-border cooperation, this forum meets the elected representatives’ request of creating a Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau platform dedicated to the exchange of good practices with other member states in the field of local political cooperation and cross-border cooperation.
To assure success, this initiative will first benefit from the experiences and from the different programmes already in place in each of the three institutions. The Euro-Institut has already been using for years a successful training programme designed for the local representatives. The Eurodistrict is already competent on cooperation on cross-border and local political issues. The Council of Europe has taken for years a keen interest in the training of future elites in transition countries of South-East Europe, Eastern Europe and of the Caucasus region, thanks to its Network of Schools of Political Studies. The forum will be an impetus to the working groups as it will open new ways and suggest solutions to political cross-border issues.
The first objective of this forum is to improve the visibility of the Eurodistrict at the local and European level and to create a laboratory for cross-border cooperation. This forum will also enable the elaboration of recommendations of good governance for local political questions and will help to create a cross-border network of local elites.
Three events of one day each will take place every year in one of the cities or rural district of the Eurodistrict, where about thirty participants will gather each time.
Among the main topics dealt with during the forum, the question on cross-border local policy of the Eurodistrict will be of particular relevance as the forum is principally designed for the actors of the Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau. Topics related to participatory democracy and to civil society integration will also be addressed. These events will also be the occasion for experts to talk and to deepen particular themes during workshops and finally it will encourage the exchange of good practices with other European regions.
The launch of the forum took place on 5 May 2011 at the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, followed by the first seminar dedicated to questions of cross-border governance and to cross-border public transports.
Download the programme (in french and german only)
