Some 40+ senior officials from municipal authorities in Bosnia Herzegovina and neighbouring states will gather online today for the first of a series of Webinars on cross-border cooperation organised by the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance of the Council of Europe.
Over the course of 4 webinars, participants will be introduced to core elements of the Centre of Expertise toolkits on cross-border cooperation (CBC). The webinars will use a mixture of expert presentations, panel discussions, breakout workshops, and interactive exchanges to address relevant themes illuminated by the experience of high-level officials instrumental to the development of successful cross-border cooperation in the North-West region of Ireland / Northern Ireland.
The first webinar will help participants understand the process and invite them to reflect on their own CBC context. It will look at the importance of civic-leadership and collaboration in setting the basis for CBC with interventions from the Mayors and Chief Executives of Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council - the neighbouring local authorities.
The two Mayors had intended to offer the traditional céad míle fáilte (100 000 welcomes) to the officials from the Western Balkans until the pandemic intervened. Determined not to let the opportunity slip by, and in cooperation with the Association of Towns and Municipalities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we conceived of this virtual study series.
As a recent report by the CDDG noted, despite the reintroduction of some restrictions on transnational movements, the COVID-19 pandemic has served to highlight the importance of cross-border cooperation arrangements, especially in areas such as emergency response, health, labour market, transportation and institutional cooperation.
Although the participants won’t get to walk the Peace bridge across the river Foyle, the legacy of Nobel Laureate John Hume, architect of the Good Friday peace agreement, and a passionate advocate of cross-border cooperation, might serve as inspiration for new initiatives in the Western Balkans.
