DECISIVE Project: Second training session in Cyprus – 23 November 2010

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A few days after the study visit of the DECISIVE project in Brussels, the second training seminar of the project was held in Cyprus. 150 volunteers, selected by Cypriot municipalities and organized citizen groups, were trained in drafting proposals for funding through the Europe for Citizens programme. The training session was held, on Tuesday, November 23 the Mediterranean Beach Hotel in Limassol. The opening of the training session was made by the Secretary General of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities, Mr. Yiannis Antoniades.

Initially, a general presentation on the actual situation of Town Twinning in Cyprus was given by Mrs. Kalia Martides, Twinning Officer of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities.

Following that, a presentation on the progress and a brief assessment of the DECISIVE project were given by Mr. Fanourios Pantelogiannis, Head of the Brussels Office of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities. Subsequently, Mr. Stylianos Odysseos, Teacher and Citizen of the Municipality of Lakatamia, presented the study visit in Brussels, in which he had participated.

Mrs. Anne Geens, officer of the Association of Municipalities of Flanders, spoke on the future of Town Twinning and the future of Europe for Citizens Programme

Then, Mr. Filip Deheegher, International Relations Officer of the Municipality of Ieper (Flanders – Belgium), presented the history and good practices of the Town Twinning committee of Ieper.

Mrs. Anna Michaelides, officer for Municipal Committees of the Municipality of Idalion (CY) presented the good practices of her Municipality and especially how it works with volunteer groups on twinning issues.

The floor was then handed over to by Mrs. Irene Demetriou, Project Manager of the Cypriot National Contact Point for the Europe for Citizens Programme, who spoke on the potential involvement of Cypriot Organizations in the Europe for Citizens Programme.

After a short break, a workshop took place, during which the municipalities’ officers, the elected representatives and the volunteers were trained with the use of computers, on the drafting and submitting of proposals for funding through the Europe for Citizens Programme.

 

DECISIVE Project: Study visit in Brussels, Belgium – 2 November 2010

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The study visit of the DECISIVE project in Brussels took place from the 2nd to the 5th of November. 40 participants attended the trip, including 38 citizens, elected officials and municipal officers from 16 Cypriot municipalities, the twinning officer of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and a representative of the Local Union of Municipalities and Communities of the Prefecture of Chios.

The participants were selected by the Union of Cyprus Municipalities according to the following criteria:

a) It was obligatory for the participants to have participated to the first training seminar of the DECISIVE project, which was held in Cyprus on May 18, 2010.

b) Nearly all citizens who have expressed real interest in the project and town twinning have been selected to participate in the study visit, provided that their municipality has proven over the last few years that is interested in town twinning and that it could send an officer to Brussels to participate in the study visit.

c) For each selected municipality, there should be at least one officer and one citizen or elected representative participating in the study visit. As the DECISIVE project seeks to develop cooperation between municipalities and volunteers, it would be pointless to have only officers participating from a municipality without citizens and vice versa.

d) As far as possible, participants of the study visit were chosen among organized groups of citizens or among the so-called multipliers, in order to convey the purpose of the project and their experiences to as many other citizens as possible.

The group of participants arrived at Brussels on November 2. The same evening the participants attended a dinner where they met the two officers of the Brussels Office of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities who would accompany them throughout the course of the study visit.

On November 3, the participants visited the Brussels Office of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities, where they attended initially a presentation on the role of the Office and the programme of the study visit

This was followed by a presentation from the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) titled “The European Town Twinning Movement, role and activities of CEMR”. The CEMR officer responsible for Town Twinning also presented the www.twinning.org website, which is one of the main tools for Municipalities wishing to participate in Town Twinning.

A lunch followed the presentation and then, the participants attended a session with a review of the DECISIVE project’s progress. Later on, every participating municipality presented its current situation in relation to Town Twinning and the activities they undertook after the first training session of the DECISIVE project. Opinions of citizens were also heard on how to improve their communication with municipalities, as well as ideas for improving the operating procedures within the municipalities. The same evening all the participants attended a dinner.

On November 4, the participants visited the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency of the EU. The Agency’s activities and the application process for the funding of Town Twinning projects were presented to the group. During the discussion, participants had the opportunity to address their questions and become better acquainted with EU officials, who handle applications submitted by the municipalities for funding through the Europe for Citizens programme.

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DECISIVE Project: First training session in Cyprus – Tuesday, 18 May 2010

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On the 18th of May, the first training seminar of the DECISIVE project was organized in Cyprus. 250 volunteers that the municipalities of Cyprus had designated, participated in the seminar and were trained in drafting proposals for funding through the “Europe for Citizens” and other European programmes. The seminar was held at the Mediterranean Beach Hotel in Limassol.

The seminar started with a general introduction to European programs and a presentation of the “Europe for Citizens” programme and the DECISIVE project.

There was also a presentation on the organization of town twinning in Flanders (Belgium), where the best practices of the City Malle (Belgium) were shown. Among others, presentations were held on: the story of the twinnings of Malle, the active involvement of volunteers through the twinning committee of Malle, and the success of the «Golden Bridge» project.

For this purpose, three trainers went from Flanders to Cyprus:

  1. Anne Geens, an officer of the Vereniging van Vlaamse Steden en Gemeenten (VVSG). She explained the general framework of how municipalities in Flanders work with twinning committees and gave tips and hints as advice to Cypriot municipalities that wish to follow the same methodology.
  2. Staf Verhoeven, president of the twinning committee of the municipality of Malle. As participants had the chance to see, Mr. Verhoeven is a very motivated volunteer who is running a project called “The Golden Bridge” with partner municipalities from France, Germany, Poland and the UK. As he explained, this project was also funded by the Europe for Citizens programme. Mr. Verhoeven explained how the municipality of Malle managed to establish an impressive series of activities with a high involvement of citizens.
  3. Roger Rottiers, member and treasurer of the twinning committee of Malle. Mr. Rottiers is also a volunteer with a lot of experience, which he shared with the Cypriot volunteers.

At the event, speeches were also held by Mr. Yannis Antoniades, Secretary General of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and Mr. Fanourios Pantelogiannis, Head of the Brussels Office of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities.

The participants were trained in applying for funding through the Europe for Citizens programme, as well as completing the eForm and the budget form.

Positive impressions were aroused by the interest of the participants, as demonstrated by the number of the questions posed, which were impossible to be answered due to lack of time.