Meeting on the occasion of the project “Sustainable development for all – a platform for local dialogue” in Sremska Mitrovica

18/10/2022

A meeting was held today in the Assembly of the city of Sremska Mitrovica on the occasion of the presentation of the results of the project “Sustainable development for all – a platform for local dialogue” in cooperation between the Regional Initiative of Srem and the city of Sremska Mitrovica within the framework of the ACT project.

On this occasion, Petar Samardžić, Deputy Mayor, Biljana Đusić Radmilović from the Swiss Cooperation Office (SDC), Danijela Božović, Helvetas, ACT project spoke. Vladimir Pavlović, President of the City Assembly, Tamara Milković, Green Councilor, Milan Marković, head of the Regional Initiative of Srem, addressed the audience, and other representatives of the Regional Green Network of Srem joined the discussion: Ruralni centar Sova,  Eko projektni tim,  Novi Eko Talas,  Eko pokret Srbije i Građanski pokret opštine Iri.

Petar Samardžić, the deputy mayor, emphasized the importance of the application of the green chair as one of the results of the project, the formation of a green committee group and the establishment of the Citizen Activator online channel of communication between citizens and local self-government representatives. He concluded that this project is an excellent participatory model that encourages open and transparent city administration.

Biljana Đusić Radmilović, program manager of the Swiss Cooperation Office, pointed out that Switzerland has experience in establishing cooperation between local governments and civil society organizations. “We are glad to hear that the green chair mechanism has been established as a way for citizens to get involved and monitor the work of local self-government bodies. We hope that this example of good practice will spread to other cities, not only in Srem but also beyond. In the coming period, we would like to see how the established mechanisms will function in practice,” she concluded.

This project affected:

• Strengthening the capacity of “green” and other civil society organizations for advocacy, participation and monitoring of local policies and decisions in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development;
• The establishment of a new working mechanism of the local parliament in the city of Sremska Mitrovica, as a pilot model for other municipalities, which aims to highlight the commitment to environmental protection topics in the form of the formation of the “Green Councilor Group”, which enables dialogue and public influence on decision-making through the “green chair” mechanism which ensures the participation of representatives of civil society organizations in the work of the City Assembly;
• Launching an innovative platform for public dialogue between citizens and local authorities in the field of environmental protection – Citizen activator.