Project No. 2009 – 3592 / 001 – 001
After a proposal submitted by the
Union of Cyprus Municipalities (UCM)
in the framework of the “Europe for
Citizens” programme (Action 1:
Measure 2.2 Support measures), the
European Commission decided through
the Education, Audiovisual and
Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) to
finance the training of volunteers
in the Municipalities of Cyprus, in
order to support the development of
Twinnings with other European
countries.
The project had a duration of 12
months, starting from the 4th
January 2010 and the partners were:
the Union of Cyprus Municipalities
(UCM), the Vereniging van Vlaamse
Steden en Gemeenten (VVSG) – Belgium
and the Local Union of
Municipalities and Communites of
Prefecture Chios (TEDK CHIOS) –
Greece.
Aim
Cypriot municipalities have been
underexploiting the possibilities
offered by Town Twinning. According
to the results of a survey conducted
by the UCM, the main reasons for
that were: a) geographical distance,
b) lack of information on town
twinning and most importantly c)
lack of qualified municipal
personnel (to fill in applications
and run the projects). The main aim
of the DECISIVE project was to try
and solve these three problems.
Methodology
After discussing with different
associations of local authorities
around Europe, we have decided to
exploit and develop in Cyprus and
Chios the methodology used in
Flanders: it is the citizens
themselves that voluntarily prepare
and run twinnings. This method not
only alleviates the administrative
burden from municipalities but also
strengthens the citizens’ feeling of
ownership over the projects.
DECISIVE, therefore, focused on
developing voluntarism and
transferring knowhow from Flanders
to Cyprus and Chios, through
training sessions in Cyprus and
Belgium.
Eligibility
Potentially interested citizens
from each municipality were:
students or graduates who want to
work on EU affairs or Public
Administration / Finance, retired
Municipal or Public Administration
officers, unemployed who want to
develop new skills or any other
active citizen who wants to get to
know closely the functioning of his
Municipality or of the European
Union. Officers and elected
municipal officials were also
eligible.
Activities
The volunteers and officers were
trained in Cyprus and Belgium during
three training events. The first one
took place in Cyprus with the
participation of 250 volunteers.
After this first training session, a
group of 39 Cypriot municipal
officers and volunteers along with
one representative of f TEDK Chios
travelled to Brussels for a series
of practical training sessions. A
final conference took place again in
Cyprus with the participation of 150
volunteers who have formed teams,
which will be in cooperation with
their municipalities, in order to
implement twinning projects. Their
work is facilitated by the Union of
Cyprus Municipalities through the
creation of a
“matching” web page.
Project activities
09/05/2010:
9th of May Dissemination
Activities
18/05/2010:
First training session
in Cyprus
02/07/2010:
Dissemination event in
Cyprus
02/11/2010:
Study visit in Brussels
(Belgium)
16/11/2010:
Dissemination event:
General Assembly of the Union of
Cyprus Municipalities
23/11/2010:
Second training session
in Cyprus
More information on the activities
of the project can be found in the
four issues of the “Municipal News”
newsletter that were published in
2010.
Project results and conclusions
For 12 months, the Union of
Municipalities and Communities of
Flanders from Belgium (VVSG), the
Local Union of Municipalities and
Communities of Chios Prefecture from
Greece (TEDK Chios) and the Union of
Cyprus Municipalities, tried to see
whether they could apply in Cyprus
and Greece the methodology which is
followed by many municipalities in
Flanders, when they are involved in
twinnings. The main results and
conclusions of this effort are
available here.
The partners
UNION OF CYPRUS MUNICIPALITIES:
The
Union of Cyprus Municipalities is
the main association of Local
Authorities in Cyprus. Its core
functions are to contribute to the
development of local government
autonomy, as well as to act as
spokesman of local government
interests vis-a-vis the central
government and other national
institutions. It also takes an
active stand in the relations
between Cyprus and the European
Union.
VVSG – Belgium:
As representative
organisation of all Flemish local
authorities the VVSG has been
involved in town twinning for many
years. The association organised
enquiries on the state of the art of
town twinning, has set up the first
twinning market (1996 – 2007),
organised workshops and training
seminars for the municipalities on a
regular basis and has produced a
number of publications. The most
recent (December 2007) is entitled:
Europe from bottom-up: Town twinning
in the 21st century. The VVSG is
active member of the town twinning
network of the Council of European
Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).
TEDK CHIOS – Greece:
The Local Union
of Municipalities and Communities of
Prefecture Chios (TEDK CHIOS) is the
main association of Local
Authorities in Prefecture Chios and
the mainly local coordinator and
policy maker for them. Its core
functions are to contribute to the
development of local government
autonomy, as well as to act as
spokesman of local government
interests vis-a-vis the central
government and other national
institutions. It also takes an
active stand in the relations
between province of Chios, Greek
Government and the European Union.
The Europe for Citizens Programme
The aim of the “Europe for Citizens”
programme is to bring Europe closer
to its citizens and to enable them
to participate fully in the European
construction. Through this
programme, citizens have the
opportunity to be involved in
transnational exchanges and
cooperation activities, contributing
to developing a sense of belonging
to common European ideals and
encouraging the process of European
integration. More information can be
found at:
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/index_en.php.
