In the previous period, the Center for Civic Cooperation from Livno held meetings in 12 municipalities/cities: Stolac, Čapljina, Ljubuški, Grude, Široki Brijeg, Posušje, Tomislavgrad, Kupres, Livno, Glamoč, Bosansko Grahovo and Drvar.
The meetings were attended by citizens, representatives of local communities and local civil society organizations and representatives of municipal/city administrations. The topics of the meetings were the improvement of the status and financing of local communities, which are legally prescribed mechanisms for citizen participation in decision-making processes and policies.
Through many years of field work and cooperation with local communities, the Center for Civic Cooperation continuously works to improve the position and status of local communities organizing meetings, trainings, public calls for office equipment and implementation of local community projects, as well as making recommendations that would ultimately help, improve and strengthen the work of local communities.
The result of these recommendations are drafts of three documents that prescribe better communication between municipal/city administrations and local communities, regulate the ways of financing the work of local community bodies and the inclusion of local community projects in the capital investment plan.
These draft documents, in consultation and revision of representatives of local communities and associations, were agreed and sent to the addresses of decision makers to discuss them. Adoption and implementation of these documents, the position and status of local communities in local government units would be significantly improved and local communities would receiv an incentive for their future work and improve lives of residents in local communities.
Additionally, the meetings focused on the work of local communities, which is mainly related to the lack of funds for continuous work and functioning of local communities, the implementation of projects of interest to local people and the lack of two-way communication and support from government agencies.
It is necessary to emphasize the problem of not having elections for local community councils in the City of Livno, the Municipality of Glamoč, the Municipality of Kupres and the Municipality of Stolac. A positive example is the Municipality of Bosansko Grahovo, which called and conducted elections for local community councils after almost ten years. In other municipalities/cities covered by the project, elections for Local Community Councils are held continuously, every 4 years, as prescribed by law.
The meetings were realized within the project “Citizen Participation in Local Self-Government” which is implemented by the Center for Civic Cooperation with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
