OSCE Kosovo Mission builds "bridges of friendship" between municipalities and their people

Yet in Kosovo, such practices are often haphazardly implemented or left to the discretion of municipal or central Government officials.

The OSCE Mission there - which is mandated with institution- and democracy-building - has therefore launched a project called "Bridges of Friendship", aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of contacts between people and municipalities.

"The main objective of this project is to foster and institutionalize communication between people and municipal institutions through support to local advocacy initiatives," says Jade Duchesneau-Bernier, Project Manager and Democratization Officer with the Mission.

"Reinforcing the idea that the primary purpose of municipal leaders is to provide adequate services to the people is also one of our aims," she adds.

Listening to citizens' opinions

In the first phase of the project, some 12,000 people are being surveyed to identify the main problems they face regarding the provision of public services. The survey, which is being conducted during October and November, will also assess people's needs and evaluate their relations with Kosovo's institutions.

In the second phase, running from December 2006 until March 2007, citizens will be invited to public meetings, where their concerns will be discussed with the authorities and where they will have the chance to propose potential solutions.

"The pro-active involvement of municipal residents and the continuous commitment and responsiveness of municipal leadership are both necessary for municipalities to become more effective service providers," says Per-Oeyvind Semb, Director of the Mission's Democratization Department. "Bridges of Friendship aims at contributing to the establishment of this process."

Going Kosovo-wide

The project is being implemented in all of Kosovo's 30 municipalities, as well as in the three pilot municipal units. To ensure adequate territorial coverage, public meetings will be held in ten randomly-selected towns or villages in each municipality.

Five local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were selected as the project implementing partners. They will each cover one of Kosovo's regions: Prishtine/Pristina, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Peja/Pec, Mitovice/Mitrovica, and Prizren.

"It's no accident that we chose to work with local NGOs," says Duchesneau-Bernier. "We think that people will feel more comfortable to deal with NGO representatives coming from their own regions and who face similar problems in their daily lives."

Good co-operation, good results

According to Driton Tafallari, Director of the NGO Developing Together, which covers the Prishtine/Pristina region, the five NGOs now form one network and already are sharing experiences and helping each other implement the project.

"In our contacts with municipal officials, we are finding that they are very interested in collaborating with the NGOs and the OSCE," notes Duchesneau-Bernier. "They think that this is a good way to understand what their residents really want."

At the end of the project, the results of the Kosovo-wide needs assessment survey and the recommendations submitted to municipal officials during the public meetings will be compiled and made publicly available.

"This material will represent valuable data for both municipal officials and residents of the municipalities. It will be used as a basis for the annual municipal budget planning process, as well as for the development and review of the municipal strategic planning," says Tafallari.

Duchesneau-Bernier adds that such projects can be useful for both local politicians and people.

"On the one hand, local officials become better aware of peoples' needs and are therefore better equipped to plan ahead. On the other hand, the local population gains a means by which they can apply pressure on their leaders," she says.