The SDC lends support to the creation of local community forums, which enable the various stakeholders in society to become directly involved in projects that benefit the entire community. Direct involvement lends greater legitimacy to municipalities which, in turn, strengthens democracy and the decentralisation process.

The Republic of Macedonia proclaimed its independence in 1991. An enclave situated between Serbia and Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece, Macedonia’s relations with most of its neighbours are strained: the aftermath of war in the Balkans had a major impact on the development of the new republic.

Swiss cooperation and a democratic compromise

A peace agreement signed in 2001 by representatives of the Macedonian government and Albanian guerrilla forces confers greater rights upon the Albanian community. It also lays the foundation for renewed coexistence between the country’s two main communities. This agreement and a plan to decentralise power were intended to avert an irreparable deterioration of relations between the various communities. The European Union and Switzerland decided to take steps to help stabilise the country. One of Switzerland’s main bilateral cooperation projects in Macedonia involves the creation of local community forums.

Local community forums project

An SDC project was launched and around thirty Macedonian municipalities were asked to help set up forums that would enable interested citizens to actively take part in the development of their community. The forums are intended to bring the municipal authorities and citizens together for the purpose of implementing projects that benefit the entire community.

In order to take part in the SDC project, municipalities must be willing to provide partial funding to the projects chosen by citizens. The SDC for its part agrees to fund the remaining cost of these projects. The municipality’s commitment may be set at anywhere from CHF 12,000 to CHF 50,000, depending on the size of the municipality (the annual budget of a small municipality is estimated to be between CHF 800,000 and CHF 1,000,000).

The SDC’s commitment is proportional to that of the municipality and based on a scale established in advance. Accordingly, the SDC never funds less than half of the costs of a project, but never more than three-fourths either. As a rule, the larger the municipality’s commitment, the larger the SDC’s commitment will be. For example, if a municipality with 40,000 inhabitants decides to establish a fund of CHF 40,000, the SDC will contribute CHF 80,000 to this fund. If the same municipality later adds CHF 50,000, the SDC will contribute an additional CHF 150,000. The idea is to reward municipalities that are willing to generously lend support to their citizens.

Project methodology

One of the objectives of these forums is to enable citizens to bring their project ideas to fruition. For this purpose, coordinators are hired by the SDC to set up various working groups that are capable of designing projects. Various examples include a working group comprised of young people in the municipality, another comprised of shopkeepers, one comprised of NGOs, and others bringing together disabled people, firemen, smallholder farmers or cultural representatives. All working groups are open to men and women from the various communities present in the municipality.

The first sessions give all participants the chance to present their project ideas. Project ideas that do not benefit the entire community are immediately discarded. Working groups are then set up to examine the remaining project ideas. These working groups receive coaching from experts who explain how to improve the project ideas, how to calculate the corresponding budgets, and how to defend these project ideas in a plenary forum.

The project that receives the largest number of votes at the plenary forum will then move to the project development phase. If the winning project does not use up the entire amount of funding allotted, then there may be enough left over for the project that received the 2^nd largest number of votes.

Project impact

In the three municipalities that received SDC support, the following projects were implemented:

• In Kichevo (35,000 inhabitants): Creating a downtown pedestrian area; rebuilding a gymnasium; and building 23 ramps in front of public buildings to facilitate access for the disabled and children in strollers.
• In Gjorce Petrov (40,000 inhabitants): Building a downtown park with a playground area for children.
• In Prilep (80,000 inhabitants): Building a park on the outskirts of town with tennis courts, basketball courts and skateboard facilities; paving a road connecting churches and monasteries in the region.

Beyond the mere completion of projects, local community forums strengthen democracy by making citizens aware that they can really voice their opinions and influence local politics in order to transform project blueprints into reality. For their part, the local authorities have learnt that transparency pays and that support from the population can only reinforce their legitimacy and facilitate their re-election.