Building effective partnerships among European and Mediterranean Municipalities for local economic development and promotion

Transcription

1 THE MEDITERRANEAN LABORATORY FOR DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES AND COOPERATION Building effective partnerships among European and Mediterranean Municipalities for local economic development and promotion

2 Building Effective Partnerships among European and Mediterranean Municipalities for Local Economic Development Promotion In with the support of the European Commission and within the Programme Med Pact eight Mediterranean Municipalities from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East established a cooperation network based on the common interest of improving knowledge and practice in managing local development and city marketing. This network operated through the Project PAMLED. Start th November Project Leading Partner Comune di Prato EU Grant Euro ,00 Website End th May Project Manager Ms. Fabiana Farro EU Funding 80% of investment

3 Project Leader Municipality of PRATO Italy Municipality of LUCCA Italy Municipality of RIO MARINA Croatia Municipality of BRTONIGLA City of MARRAKECH Morocco City of SKOPJE Macedonia Municipality of BODRUM Turkey Municipality of SIN-EL-FIL Lebanon

4 > Background The challenge of globalization requires widespread regional cooperation, political stability, efficient governance and social protection. Yet the situation of the Mediterranean countries in fulfilling these conditions is very asymmetrical. The Mediterranean European Countries face the challenges of globalization with the strong backing of the EU. The Southern and the Eastern Mediterranean countries, which are of course faced with the same challenges of globalization, do not benefit from such dynamic regional cooperation. In this framework the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) envisaged by the EU and its Mediterranean and South-Eastern Partners could be the right tool to in this direction. The Mediterranean basin posses a wide range of different and frequently critical socio-political, economical and environmental assets, thus strengthening cooperation among the Mediterranean countries to support their development, offers an effective tool to promote and enhance their natural, cultural, economic promotion and local sustainable development pursue.

5 > Approach The multicultural nature of partners and the variety of territorial contexts involved in the Project are an intrinsic wealth of PAMLED, a Project that placed a particular emphasis on local development impact in the south Mediterranean territories, in terms of improved managing capacities and the pilot actions undertaken. Bottom-up local development, socio-economic and environmental sustainability, participation, community involvement, good governance, territorial cooperation, experience-based learning, good practice capitalisation and dissemination, local capacity building, are all terms that can be used to describe coherently the approach followed by the Project, and shared by all Partners: an approach that can be summarised in the search of a good local development through the modern policy tools available to local actors (according to state-of-the-art knowledge). To summarise, PAMLED, while endorsing the principles of emerging local development good practices, can claim some its value added and its essence mainly on collective learning and city-to-city partnership. Partners Network is the key Project asset and the source for learning which is indeed based on 2 pillars: real experiences capitalised by project partners; Partners interaction in terms of transfer, adaptation and co-development of practices.

6 PAMLED IS A PROCESS PAMLED can be also seen as a process that begins by assessing the common knowledge that is shared among the partners, and that gets gradually into practice, by means of pilot actions and technical assistance provided on the field by city-to-city partnership on the two shores of the Mediterranean. PHASE 1. KEY TEAM PROJECT IDENTIFICA- TION AND PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES: LO- CAL STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVEMENT AND DE- TAILED NEEDS IDENTIFICATION. implemented participatory approaches (civil society capacity building, community consultation, focus groups, etc); involved citizens on partnering contexts problems; raised local authorities awareness of local needs; re-adjusted priorities and strategies for the following phases of the Project. In Sum: it initiated the process of collective learning consisting in an effective partnership supporting the exchange of practical experiences among the various Local Authorities. PHASE 2. WORKING GROUPS CONSTITUTION AND PILOT PROJECTS PLAN DRAFTING Thanks to the pivotal role of Working Groups, pilot interventions at the local level have been identified and drafted. The support Partners' interrelation at the working groups activities and the interest shared on a specific priority promoted city-to-city networks to back-up practical training and technical assistance in the implementation of pilot projects. The promotion of exchange of experiences, and the setting-up of a policy benchmarking system based on an experimental-learning approach achieved the goals to carry out concrete pilot projects in the three main Southern Mediterranean territories (Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey)

7 PHASE 3. PILOT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTATION Four Pilot Projects were implemented Capitalise and exploit technical assistance from PAMLED partnership, mainly through city-to-city partnerships PHASE 4. PROJECT DISSEMINATION AND EVALUATION Project results were evaluated hence. A knowledge shared and the experimented practices consolidated,and finally......the results disseminated while further developed city-to-city networks between the Southern and Northern Partners of PAMLED. In designing the pilot initiatives a central issue attained the bridging of the gap between theory and practice while focusing on priority issues for the Mediterranean partners. This approach intended to avoid an inefficient overlapping with existing national or international interventions and to integrate them with other actions already being implemented in each of the three territories. Particular care regarded the promotion of environmental protection, the enhancement of local tangible (environment, cultural heritage, planning and promoting of economic potentialities, etc) and intangible (culture, traditions, etc) assets. In the following sections we will detail the different pilot projects carried out by the four Mediterranean Partners, and the main results achieved in different fields of action.

8 > PILOT PROJECT BY THE MUNICIPALITY OF SIN EL FIL (LEBANON) YOUTH DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY The Action When stressing its priorities within the PAMLED, the Municipality of Sin El Fil focused to review its economic potentiality and planning, while working strategically to support the growth of specific economic categories. Sin El Fil defined its Pilot Project in the field of economic development and strategic planning by focusing on youth entrepreneurship as an approach to reduce the current flow of brain-drain affecting its territory. The plan is based on a similar approach experienced by the Municipalities of Prato, Brtonigla and the City of Skopje, where similar Youth Action Plans have been experienced To achieve its goal, the Municipality of Sin El Fil required a multidirection strategy targeting potential young entrepreneurs drafted in an ad hoc business opportunity plan comprising three fields of action: 1. Social Economic Analysis in Sin El Fil Baldeh (one of the four suburbs of Sin El Fil); 2. Local Development Youth Plan; 3. Youth in Business (Open Competition on the Best Business Ideas).

9 > The key role of partnership Applying the same city-to-city partnership approach envisaged by PAMLED, the technical staff of the Municipality of Prato and of the City of Skopje accompanied Sin El Fil to start-up its pilot project that outlined a youth entrepreneurship strategy as an approach to reduce the brain drain in the area; as well as identifying the bases of a future comprehensive strategic plan focusing on their socioeconomic development. The city-to-city approach offered good practices on models that provide resources, support and opportunities in the areas of employment and education, helping youth identifying their skills, preparing for job interviews and entering the job market. Great emphasis was given to the importance of communicating to youth and to spread the voice about the competition at local level. This was a crucial element.

10 > Impact Field data collection and the analysis of the social-economic outputs assess Sin El Fil Baldeh social economic situation aimed at detecting community needs and have a clear municipal plan to solve local problems. More than 25 indicators have been applied on housing issues, health, priorities and public services, 00 households directly involved and interviewed. The Youth Plan developed by the Municipality tackled youth peculiar problems, based on indicators such as education, leisure time, immigration, job opportunities. The direct beneficiaries targeted included also: around young people trained on start-up to business; citizens associations and local economic stakeholders; the Municipality of Sin El Fil internal staff ( councillors, and administrative/technical staff); the municipal staff of the Cultural Centre (around 5 staff members). Specifically, Action III of their Project Youth in Business - It s an enterprise to be young on Start-Up to Business and selection of Best Youth Business Ideas involved groups of young people aged -29 in ad-hoc training provided by Lebanese experts (on business planning, goal setting, Lebanese law, strategic planning, marketing, etc), supported technically by the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubator of the City of Skopje, with promoters of Business Ideas undergoing 2 levels of selection processes that identified 4 winners presenting their ideas on: Green Energy; Children Educational Centre; Landscaping and Galerie for Kids Outfits. The actions promoted by its pilot project demonstrated that it is possible to start-up administrative and strategic reforms to work in a more pro-active way for the wellbeing of the community.

11 > PILOT PROJECT BY THE CITY OF MARRAKECH DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION TO SENSITIZE CITIZENS ON WATER CONSUMPTION IN THE SUBURB OF GUÉLIZ - MARRAKECH (MOROCCO) The Action According to the policies undertaken at the local and national level, and in light of the results obtained during the previous stages of the Project PAMLED, the pilot project, entitled Development plan of environmental communication to sensitize citizens and carrying out of a sample of actions envisaged by the plan in the district of Guéliz of Marrakech was drafted and implemented. The main objectives of the proposed pilot action were to contribute to the environmental education of the population for a sustainable and rational use of water (such as the decrease of water losses both in public and private spheres, the development of processes for the control of water consumption) by carrying out a public awareness campaign, and promoting eco-sustainable tourism encouraging the use of sustainable resources (particularly water). The pilot actions were particularly addressed to the citizens of the suburb, its main public service companies and local actors that play an important role in the most characteristic and water management impacting sectors (Riads owners, Guest houses, Moorish Baths, Schools, Handicraft Trades, the RADEEMA, Companies delegated to clean the water basin, Associations for environmental protection in the district of Guéliz).

12 > The key role of partnership The implementation of this pilot project profited of the suitable partnership with the City of Lucca (Italy), given its experience in the sustainable use of resources, and also its traditional environmental engagement. Moreover, Lucca had already been partner with Marrakech in the City certification-process. The renewed partnership with Lucca ensured continuity in the way the environmental process was controlled through its most significant aspects, while reinforcing the commitment and the role of local government bodies, in this case not only on the level of the Municipality, but even at the level of the City.

13 > Impact Firstly, a better knowledge of the use of waters, especially among the highly-demanding sectors was achieved. Secondly, measures and actions for a sustainable water management were also identified. These results were obtained through specific systems to monitor and measure the water consumption. The implementation of these technical devices permitted to regulate the flow of undeclared wells near the water basin and reduce the water flow. The implementation of the Pilot Project resulted also in an increased awareness and perception of the water problem by citizens and stakeholders alike, thanks to an efficient awareness campaign with public stands, posters, door-to-door leaflets in Guéliz. This action resulted also in an increased mobilization and awareness of some local actors around the water problem. Long-term results will comprise also a decrease in water costs and the extension of this water management model to other selected and feasible areas of the City, in a coordinated and gradual approach.

14 > PILOT PROJECT OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BODRUM ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS ACTION PLAN (SEPTEMBER FEBRUARY ) PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOURISM HALIKARNASSOS - THE CITY OF KING MAUSSOLOS (FEBRUARY / MAY/) The Action The Municipality of Bodrum also implemented a pilot project titled Environmental Awareness Action Plan in the area of the Bodrum Marina. The area had been selected and visited to quantitatively determine the number of users, the waste collection potential resulting from the waste production by its users, and the number of bins, containers, depots and collection bags available. Subsequently, a decision was made to determine the necessary quantities and costs of the actions in cooperation with the garbage collection company to place special-design bins adhering to ease-of-use and city safety rules to collect vegetable oil waste in the target area containing numerous restaurants and daily tour boats. Consequently, the following activities were carried out: 1. informative and awareness raising efforts were carried on by using local mass media (radios, TV, newspapers); 2. communication channels - including billboards, warning signs, bulk mobile text messages and messages - were used in addition to special information and warning brochures; 3. special informative campaigns were carried out towards residences, restaurants and boats, progress and development were determined on site through regular visits and, moreover, campaigns were carried out in a user-friendly manner; 4. in order to experience the good practices (approach of city-to-city partnership), the representatives and technical experts of the Municipalities of Bodrum and Lucca visited their respective towns in and.

15 > The key role of partnership Given the mechanism of city-to-city partnership, the action was selected and benefited from the technical supervision of PAMLED and the Municipality of Lucca (Italy). The representatives and technical experts of the Municipalities of Bodrum and Lucca visited their respective towns in and. Several press conferences were held to develop awareness among the community on waste solid collection.

16 > Impact The results of this pilot action can be summarized as follows: 1. drafting of an awareness plan of action on solid waste, recycling and pollution among local people; 2. establishment of a trend of active participation by local stakeholder in the implementation of pilot project activities; 3. contribution to the acceleration of the recycled collection activities already started throughout Bodrum. The pilot project represents a good input for the Cleaning Department which was created in. Until then, in spite of some spot actions, the Department did not have previous opportunities to start up a real recycling policy on waste on the territory. However, the most important element of this first Project regarded the increase of people s awareness. Indeed, it did not focus just on providing bins or the other material disposals but large efforts concentrated on awareness raising tools. The internal staff of the Municipality of Bodrum explained to the population involved how the recycling system was being implementing in order to facilitate its use. The campaigns were being currently implemented both along the Marina and in the schools.

17 > The Action The Municipality of Bodrum has a rich cultural history, with numerous archaeological buildings and sites of which only a small part is dug out and the majority is still underground. However, the effect of these archaeological sites on Bodrum s tourism activities is below the expected level. This project aimed at conducting a peculiar analysis on a set of previously identified archaeological sites which are known (and/or believed to exist) within the boundaries of the Municipality of Bodrum. Moreover, it further intended to offer an alternative tourist route by imagining the opportunity to envisage a walking route connecting these sites for tourism purposes. The idea initiated through the establishment of a technical team composed by internal staff members of the Municipality of Bodrum, some external experts (Museum of Underwater Archaeology and Castle of Bodrum, the University of Mugla, University of Southern Denmark), two members of Scientific Committee (University of Florence) and the staff members of Municipality of Rio Marina (Italy), as well as through an on-field explorative missions that led to set up the Pre-Feasibility study entitled Halikarnassos - The City of King Mausolos.

18 > The key role of partnership Through the mechanism of city-to-city partnership, the action was selected and benefited from the technical supervision of PAMLED and the Municipality of Rio Marina (Italy). This supervision allowed the mapping about the technical and the financial character of the Study. Additionally, the representatives and technical experts of the University of Southern Denmark and of the University of Florence (Italy) offered their advice respectively in and. The Municipality has gained the ability of producing alternative solutions and designing a project within the general city plan with minimum risks, obstacles and changes thanks to the field studies that they had carried out with our project partners visiting the Municipality, and their support to overcome the problems that could be encountered during the process in regards of municipal works. We have disseminated our knowledge through sharing of experiences and ideas in meetings, workshops and events that we partecipated and with coordination between different sections in the municipality.

19 > Impact The cultural heritage awareness of city people and organizations as well as incentive for owning the values in their city have been improved by means of this regional level valorization project developed by gathering seven most important pieces of Bodrum s cultural heritage. Besides this progress, the data presented during design step of the project showing positive impacts of the project to the economic life of the city has formed an effective argument on the final beneficiaries. The project has granted continuity considering its nature of being a pre-feasibility study, and further targets have been defined as feasibility study and technical rearrangement. Furthermore, the Municipality of Bodrum has learned the technique of pre-feasibility and the experience through the city-to-city partnerships that provided guidance in the study. This achievement allowed the Municipality to consider other areas in Bodrum in the same logic. In fact, The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, Bodrum Castle Museum of Underwater Archeology supported the project by providing information flow conducted by its archeologists. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Istanbul Agency supported the Municipality of Bodrum in publicizing the Project by inviting them to all national and international events convenient with the concept. Indeed, the University of Southern Denmark continues documentation support through scientific papers, etc. Milli Reasürans Yayınevi (National Reinsurance Publishing House) has initiated a concept study for Antique Halicarnassus Book of which half budget will be born by them and other half will be born by the Municipality of Bodrum. Additionally, opinion exchange with EUROPEAN NOSTRA to which Bodrum Municipality will be borne as member on May has begun. In practice, the improved level of knowledge and capacity building of the Municipal staff secured its sustainability.

20 > In Sum The bottom-up local development model that encourages integration and synergies at local level, as well as among private, public and civil society actors, had its main raison d être and development in the identification of the content of each Pilot Project, in line with the existing priorities of each territory.

21 > LESSONS LEARNT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES Some multiplying effects were pursued (and at least partially reached): dissemination of efficient, innovative and customized practices for local economic development support; positive spill-over effects along other Municipal Departments and other relevant stakeholders; progressive economic integration process; positive indirect employment and income generating effects of the additional people benefiting from outputs and services delivered by the pilot projects. Focus on the Network and the Partnership First of all, somehow go beyond the time span and the logics of the project cycle, while taking an approach more focused on the Network and on its capacity of collective learning which can be fed by several initiatives in the future years. Pick-up the Right State-of the-art Priorities Second, be strictly linked to emerging priorities in each territorial context as perceived by the local community. Concrete and Problem related Approach Third, a good blend of theory and practice proved as wise, but always in the logics of problem-solving with the consequent implementation of relevant actions, in other word the cooperation and project approach must focus on what is useful and perceived as useful by the community. Consolidation of Know-How is Critical Fourth, much effort has to be devoted to capitalising experiences and practices. Long-perspective and Future Sustainability is a must also for Motivating Partners Last but not least, a long run perspective must be always sought, a serious project commitment of partners and communities is favoured by the perception of the future, while constrained by the feeling that the project is a spot initiative or an isolated step.

22 aliaperte ONLUS wings for you PAMLED Project is founded by the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the Municipality of Prato and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. The contents of this publication does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union.