Center for Democratic Transition in cooperation with NGO Terra (Montenegro) and Albanian Center for Human Rights (Albania) from December 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012, will carry out a project "Community Empowerment, a Key to Better Environment".
It is a cross-border project between Montenegro and Albania which has the goal to contribute to preservation and improvement of our environment through a series of activities such as:
- encouragement of greater number of people to actively take part about issues related to better environment,
- improvement of awareness about current problems and importance of environment for common development,
- promotion of dialogue with bearers of political decisions and construction of efficient mechanisms of formulation,
- implementation and monitoring of listed decisions,
- encouragement of groups and community members to take part in public debates and discussions related to issues of better environment.
The project should contribute to the preservation and enhancement of the environment and promote social change, in order to improve dialogue with policy makers, and to influence the formulation, implementation and monitoring of policies in this area.
Participants and target groups in the project are students, representatives of the University, representatives of local governments or ministries, businessmen, media representatives and NGOs. Expected number of people from Podgorica and Tuzi, who will be directly involved in the project is about 65, but the effects of their activities extend to more than 2,000 people in Montenegro. Equal groups are formed in Albania, where in parallel, many of the same activities will be implemented.
The first block of activities should link the representatives of Montenegro and Albania through two study visits, the first will be organized in Montenegro in January 2011, followed by visit of our representatives to Albania in February 2011. During the study visit, participants in the project from the neighboring country will have the opportunity to meet with representatives of relevant ministries, local governments, NGOs, the media, to become familiar with key issues of sustainable development and environmental protection. There will also be organized visit to Tuzi municipality. Participants in these activities are three representatives from each target group.
Next block of activities is preparation and implementation of two workshops at the local level that will enable participants of study visits to share their knowledge with other participants in the project. They will formulate the key problems and objectives in this field, in ten key topics. These workshops will be held in March 2011. Total number of participants in these workshops is 25, 15 from study visit and 2 more representatives from each target group.
Then, from March to July 2011, group will work on capacity building, in order to achieve their goals through training, that will be guided by professional trainers, who will help them to develop the disputed issues and find guidance for further action.
The final part of the project, from August 2011 until March 2012, refers to the dissemination of knowledge, networking and advocacy. The most prominent representatives of each target group will be elected to the Steering Committee of five members, who will meet regularly every month and manage the group. In that period two TV debates will be organized, in order to discuss the current problems and inform public about the project.
The last activity is the final conference, where all participants of the project will take part. The aim of this activity is to exchange knowledge and present learned lessons, then to introduce wider public with outcomes and results of all project activities.
Bulletins:
- Jaka zajednica, ključ održivog razvoja (available only in Montenegrin language)
Study on environmental, economical and social aspects of sustainable development:
- Skadarsko jezero - vijek i po poplava (available only in Montenegrin language)
- Montenegro Toward Sustainable Development
Project is carried out with support of European Union which co-finances 85% of project's total value.