“LOCAL DEMOCRACY IN THE WESTERN BALKANS”

KCSS researcher Donika Emini has attended the seminar on "Local Democracy in the Western Balkans”" organized as part of the RegionalAcademy for Democracy: Building Democratic Institutions. The conference took place in Opatija, Croatia from 16-19 of April 2015.

The Regional Academy for Democracy (RAD) aims to contribute to regional cooperation in the Western Balkans in the fields of democracy, human rights, justice and institution building, through building the capacities of next-generation political leadership and facilitating their mutual understanding and cooperation. The seminar gathered 50 political leaders from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia (7 per countries per year) in a joint experience of extensive learning and exchange.

This seminar has included lectures from the Dean of the RAD Mr. Pierre Mirel, study trips to the municipality of Rijeka, meeting with the Mayor of Rijeka and group work. The main topics of the seminar were as following: State of Local Self-Government in Western Balkans: Shared experiences of RAD participants, Strategic planning for regional development, and Citizen Participation and E-democracy.