Форуми во заедницата

The citizens of Strumica, Caska, Karbinci, Cair and Debar, and the local authorities in these municipalities will in the following months work together on finding solutions to the social and economic problems in their local communities.

These five municipalities were chosen from an open call for participants in the Community Forums Programme, funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency (SDC), implemented by the Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia (FOSIM), the Center for Institutional Development (CIRa) and the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIS), and coordinated by the Forum Coordination Unit/ Strategic Development Consulting . Actively involved in the implementation of the Programme is the Association of Units of Local Self-Government (ZELS).

The programme’s goal is to promote and support civic participation in decision-making processes and policy creation on a local level. Through structured discussions, the citizens and the municipal administration will identify municipal development priorities and will jointly work on development of projects, out of which they will select - once again jointly - those which would be implemented.

Project implementation funds are provided by the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency and the municipalities, and amount to a total of MKD 28 million. In Strumica and Cair, a traditional forum will be implemented, and project funds amount to MKD 6 million, of which MKD 2 million are co-financed by the municipality, while MKD 4 million are an SDC donation. The municipalities of Caska and Karbinci will allocate MKD 1 million each from their budgets for the implementation of the Programme, and SDC will provide an additional MKD 3 million in each municipality. In the municipality of Debar there will be a theme forum with a project budget of MKD 8 million, of which MKD 2 million are co-financed by the municipality, and MKD 6 million by SDC.

The implementation of the programme in these municipalities is expected to help citizens improve their lives with their own ideas and by participating in local social and economic development, and the municipal administration is expected to develop a trustworthy participatory and accountable local governance.