Assessing the Impact of Local Democracy Agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina

o capacity building seminars for representatives of local authorities: in the past, LDA Zavidovići organized several capacity building seminars for representatives of local authorities, focusing e.g. on principles of project preparation and management; o local economic development activities: LDA Zavidovići organized seminars and workshops to support small businesses and start-ups, providing also micro credits for a certain period of time; o support for agricultural producers: LDA Zavidovići provided a group of local farmers with plastic greenhouses, training in how to produce crops in the greenhouses, consultations with an agronomist, seminars at the University of Sarajevo, visits to farms in Italy and a rented stand at the local market where they could sell their products; o establishment of the Nature park “Tajan”: LDA Zavidovići, together with Sportski i naučnoistraživački klub Atom (Sports and research club Atom), and with the help of the local authorities initiated the establishment of the Nature park “Tajan” in the mountainous area of the municipality; o initiatives enhancing waste management and separation: LDA Zavidovići has implemented several initiatives to improve waste management in the city, organizing field visits for representatives of local institutions to Italy to discuss various ways how the waste management can be organized, providing trash cans, organizing separation of waste with the help of Roma community, etc.; o research studies: LDA Zavidovići, together with various local and Italian partners, has conducted several research studies, e.g. on the mobility of youth, the position of women in society, the needs in Zavidovići etc.

Ongoing activities: o Balkan regional platform for youth participation and dialogue: a project implemented by several ALDA member organizations throughout the Western Balkans; aiming at enhancing the participation of young people in the life of the local community, by educating them about the work of local authorities, the possibilities young people have to influence their work, facilitating communication between young people and representatives of local authorities and motivating them to do voluntary work in their local community. Examples of activities: Youth taking over day, My city – Youth city, establishment of local youth advisory group etc.; o Vicicitta: traditional athletic race for peace and solidarity, attended by people from Zavidovići, other towns of BiH and from abroad; o Strani Vari: one- or two-week long summer program for children from primary schools in the city of Zavidovići and in rural areas, prepared every year by local young people and Italian volunteers; o Igrobus/Ludobus: after-school activities and games prepared by young animators for kids from schools in the rural areas of the municipality; the animators travel to different schools during the school year with a van donated by Italian partners; the project is implemented in cooperation with the cultural association CEKER (local association in Zavidovići); o “Sigurno Mjesto”: association “Sigurno Mjesto” (Safe Place), working mostly with women from urban and rural areas, offering various workshops and seminars, assisting the victims of domestic violence, and facilitating seminars in schools as a form of prevention of violence in society was 16