By strengthening the civil society platform at the local level, demands for accountability and the responsiveness of decision-makers increase

The Kosovo Local Government Institute (KLGI) held the first regional meeting, bringing together local-level civil society organisations in the Mitrovica region to discuss the needs for strategic communication between civil society and local institutions.

The meeting aimed to identify the challenges and problems that civil society organisations at the local level encounter in their functioning, and also to identify opportunities and exchange good practices for their advancement.

In this context, it is extremely important to strengthen cooperation between civil society and local institutions, first of all by setting strategic goals and a joint action agenda. Beyond this, it serves to strengthen democracy at the local level, where civil society, on the one hand, articulates problems and, on the other, offers professional support and oversight of policy implementation.

Increased demands for accountability, transparency and effective monitoring push municipalities to be more responsive to citizens, and interaction between decision-makers and citizens also increases beyond formal discussions, placing the focus on specific problems.

Beyond this, a structured and credible voice of civil society at the local level extends the timeframe for assessing institutions beyond elections as a democratic mechanism. Add to this the raising of issues that representatives in the Municipal Assembly can address to improve policies.

At this level, in addition to NGO structures that demand effective accountability, specialised organisations are mechanisms that strengthen and extend the municipality's services to citizens. Organisations dealing with social services for marginalised groups play a particular role here.

These discussions aim to produce a list of issues to be addressed in order to improve communication, coordination and effective monitoring, followed by specific training in the field of local governance, giving rise to a platform or network that actively focuses on local policies and good governance.

This joint meeting was also a good opportunity to create networking and possible cooperation across the activities of civil society organisations operating at the local level.

This activity is being carried out within the project ‘Support for Stronger and More Sustainable Municipalities (SSSM)’, funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kosovo.