Programs

The project focuses on an extremely important condition for an open, transparent and accountable local government – the involvement of citizens in the system of local governance. It follows the best practices and the experience established by IDM and the Balkan Trust for Democracy in Shkodra city (2006 - 2008) through supporting the community based groups and the community center as an active tool for strengthening participatory governance. The main goal of the current proposal is to improve governance at the local level through strengthening the role of citizens in local decision-making processes, as well as through building an innovative model of co-operation between local authorities and the community in Shkodra city through the Community Center.

The project intends to assist community representatives and local stakeholders to improve community mobilization, voluntary action and grass-root initiative to enhance the participation of citizens in decision-making in local government on important issues, in order to improve the quality of life within the community they live. The cooperation links between the community of citizens and local authorities will constitute the central concern of all project activities and to this aim, the community structures to be established will not only serve as a tool to identify and articulate community’s problems, but also to jointly address such concerns through active participation in local policy and decision making processes. The IDM initiative consists of several activities aiming to promote successful practices in other administrative units of Shkodra and to strengthen the capacities of Community Center coordinators to function and work as real community representative units. IDM will encourage Community Centre no.1 experts to replicate their knowledge, techniques, information, tools and skills to new community groups to identify problems and priorities, as well as to implement their own projects, and to recognize the value of community-contributed resources.

The project will be implemented over a 6 month period under the guidance and leadership of Ms. Voltana Ademi.

Project title: Moving toward good governance in Shkodra city

Financially supported by Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD)

Duration: 12 months (1 July 2007 – 30 June 2008)

Place: Shkodra, Albania

This project will stimulate intensive citizen’s engagement in the decision making by creating new CBGs and Community Centers and by making sustainable the existed ones. Also it will create more active collaboration between the local Government of Shkodra and Law Enforcement Agencies. Through this endeavor IDM will create a model of citizens monitoring the local government’s performance and ensure its accountability

The project is essentially a community participation project where community members will be involved in all project activities: community meeting, creation of community based groups and Community Centers, community initiatives etc. Moreover, the project will increase community members’ participation in the development of their community, district. This experience will empower them to engage in wider district processes meaningfully. It will provide them with tools to understand the policy-making process, to envision their participation in such process and to experience the difference such participation can bring. A specific focus will be placed on women’s participation.

Furthermore, the implementation of the decentralization process – providing more powers and resources to local governments – will contribute to this initiative as the stakeholders will be able to use the tools and skills learned through the project in other areas of local governments’ competency. Finally, as the decentralization broadens, the donor environment will be more receptive to the needs of local governments.

The last phase will include the organization of a final lessons learned regional event where the representatives of different CBG-s and Community Centers will share experience with each other and will come with the concrete ideas for the continuation of this process in other neighborhoods in Shkodra city.

Project title: Modeling Practices of Good Governance through Community Liaisons

Financially supported by the US Embassy in Tirana

Duration: 12 months (2007 – 2008)

Place: Durrës, Albania

IDM has started the implementation of a one year project focusing on efforts linking the community of citizens with the system of governance at the local level and building (self) sustainable structures that will struggle to fill in the communication gap between the local government units / agencies on one side and the citizens on the other. This initiative portrays the current trends and priorities of decentralization of power and bringing governance closer to the citizens. In order to address these priorities IDM employs a genuine model of participatory governance – the community liaison (CL) structure that stands between the community and the local government.

Following a long experience with several projects aiming at promoting participatory governance at the local level IDM has developed the set of functional duties and guidelines on the role of CL-s in 2006. The current project aims at institutionalizing the community liaison model and at providing capacity building assistance (training) which remains essential for the well-functioning of CL structures. The selection of the municipality of Durres follows a sensibilization campaign with the newly elected local government structures on the necessity of CL model and comes in response to the support of this municipality’s citizens for this structure which was expressed in our survey last year (more than 80% of respondents in Durres supported the implementation of CL model in their municipality).

The project focuses on four main aspects in Durres municipality, as follows:

Institutionalizing the CL model by Durres local authorities based on community consultation and endorsement (approximately 40 CL-s);
Promoting community mobilization and inclusion schemes as the main guiding tools for CL-s and local bodies/agencies;
Capacity building activities on specific tools for participatory and transparent governance with community liaisons as well as with other local agencies and local government bodies;
Providing direct assistance to the target institutions and structures on developing sustainable partnerships through community mobilization/organization tools.

The project will establish a best practice through proven results in the local governance system and improved interaction and communication between the community and the local authorities.

Project title: “Assessment and monitoring of the interaction between local government and the central government devolved agencies”
Financially supported by Soros Foundation

The Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) and the Institute for Development Research & Alternatives, financially supported by Soros Foundation (Albania) have started the implementation of a one year project (August 2007 – July 2008) on decentralization with special focus on the interactions between local government and the central government’s devolved agencies in four cities – Shkodra, Durres, Korca and Fier. The joint initiative focuses on the relations and the interacting mechanisms of local government structures and the central level devolved agencies in six target areas. IDM and IDRA will monitor and asses the legal and administrative framework, as well as the overall performance of cooperation between the local government (municipalities) and central level devolved agencies (prefecture, local offices of governmental agencies and ministries). Based on the report’s findings our experts will design specific recommendations that will enhance the target institutions’ performance, cooperation and thus the decentralization pace.
The project constitutes an added value to the decentralization process in Albania as it struggles to enhance it through the assessment of the solutions being applied at the local level, as well as through offering new alternatives (recommendations) which will ensure the well-functioning of the governance system and a sound inter-institutional cooperation. Namely, the project’s goal is to improve the cooperation between both levels of governance while carrying out their joint competencies through a thorough assessment of the existing framework and by offering alternative solutions that would deliver better services to the community.
From a long term perspective, the project will strengthen the role of civil actors and interest groups in the decentralization process not only by simply encouraging their involvement in consultations processes, but also by assisting them to take an active role in decision making and to articulate positive pressure through effective partnerships.

Project Title: Albanian Perceptions on NATO Integration

Supported by: NATO Public Diplomacy Division, Brussels
Duration: March – June 2007

Location: Tiranë, Durrës, Shkodër, Peshkopi, Elbasan, Korçë, Vlorë, Gjirokastër, Kukës, Berat

The project consisted a survey on Albanian Perceptions on NATO integration. It was conducted in the period March-May 2007 in 10 main cities of Albania and the sample of respondents was concentrated into 6 categories: central government administration, local government administration, NGOs, business, academia and citizens. This was the first time that such a survey of the public perceptions on NATO and the Euro-Atlantic integration process of the country was considered within the wider problematiques of the threat to security, integration reforms and accountability of institutions to achieve the standards, the participation of Albanian Armed Forces in operations outside the country, strategic alliances, the support and expectations from the membership, etc. The findings of the survey were debated in a round table, on 3 July 2007, with distinguished public personalities, such as members of the parliamentary commission on NATO integration, experts from the security sector, academicians, media analysts, civil society representatives and military attaches of NATO countries in Albania. Concluding remarks on the need to coordinate the efforts of state structures with civil society in the framework of Euro-Atlantic integration process, were made by the co-chars of the ad hoc parliamentary commission for NATO integration, Mr. Pandeli Majko and Ferdinand Xhaferri. The complete findings can be read in the following link of publication.

Albanian Perceptions on NATO integration

Project Title: Empowering citizen groups for Police Accountability
(Citizens Police Review Boards)
Supported by: Casals/USAID
Duration (in months): 7 months, December - June 2007
Location: Tiranë, Durrës

The State Police is the main institution that provides public safety and order in Albania. As it happens with other state institutions in the country, certain elements of the State Police reportedly are corrupted, abuse with their positions and power to attain underserved or illegal privileges. This project, developed in partnership with Citizen Advocacy Office (CAO) and Albanian Coalition Against Corruption (ACAC), is an attempt to fight these phenomena through public accountability of State Police to communities of citizens.

The goal of the project is reduction of corruption and abuse of law in the State Police through the rise of public awareness and organization of citizens.
The objectives are: (1) establishment of Citizen Police Review Boards to investigate and negotiate by public procedures cases of corruption and abuse of power in State Police and (1) rising the level of awareness of community and police officers on the phenomenon of corruption.

This is a pilot project that is implemented in Tirana and Durres. In both cities Citizen Police Review Boards are composed by volunteer citizens with a distinguished professional background and good reputation in their communities. The duties of these boards are to investigate and discuss upon the cases of police corruption, abuse of power or passivity that will be reported to them by citizens through phone numbers. Then the boards draft recommendations for the police commissariats and for typical cases of corruption or power abuse it will organize juxtapositions between concerned citizens and police officers or their superiors.
The Citizen Police Review Boards do not aim to replace the internal measurement and accountability of the State Police. But Citizen Police Review Boards will ensure close interaction between police officers and citizens to identify those officers who are misbehaving and corrupted and to compliment those who are performing well. Both the formal departmental structure and continual citizen feedback are necessary for an effective accountability system. Following the investigation of corruption cases, the recommendations of Citizen Police Review Boards will be addressed to the local Chiefs of Commissariats and to the central structure of the General Directory of Police. If no action is taken on the given issue by these structures, then the cases will be made public in order to put the State Police before the accountability of the public opinion. Through these activities, the project aims at raising the awareness of citizens about corruption and turning them from passive consumers of public safety to its active producers, as well as offering the State Police a means to measure and improve its work through the accountability to communities.

Project Title: “Promoting Local Democracy through Community Liaison”
Duration: February 2006 – January 2007
Area: Albania
Donor: Westminster Foundation for Democracy, UK

Surrounded by non-believers in the efficiency of the community liaison as a structure that would stand between local government and the community of citizens, IDM with the support of WFD developed a national program to enhance visibility, share the vision, and improve procedures towards a new role of community liaison that would fill in a huge gap and mediate between citizens and governing local structures. The role of the community liasion is determined in support of the activity of the elected governing structures and respective administration and as a missionary for the community in connection to:
 Organization and mobilization of community,
 Partnership in law implementation,
 Fulfillment of the tasks delegated by competent structures.
Based on the existing experience in Tirana and Shkodra where community liaison has been operating ( in a rudimentary form) as a part-time facilitator of the local government for the least ten years, IDM’s programs was designed with national objectives. The project accomplished the drafting of the institutional duties to be performed by the community liaison and opened a national discussion among central and local institutions on the best possible ways to institutionalize and effectively put in use this structure as a mediator between grass-root communities and local government. An important component of the work done which counts much for a successful accomplishment of the mission of the Community Liaisons is improvement of their selection and appointment criteria. A process of citizens’ consulting and approving of Community Liaison remains crucial for all parties and for its success. Although the second half of project duration was developed in a problematic local government pre-election period, reports show that a good number of other municipalities such as Lushnja, Berat, Kucove, Lac, Fier, Peshkopi, Pogradec are institutionalizing this structure. Leaders of the governmental national Expert Group on Decentralization have agreed to put this idea into agenda for 2007. While, the publication “Role of Community Liaison in Local Democracy” has been officially recognized and referred to by international program team to fight extra legality, working close to Prime Minister’s office, IDM is fully committed to build on the success stories and to work with central governmental reform structures and local governments all over the country until this structures properly functions to serve citizens participation and partnerships to improve law enforcement, build social cohesion at the grass-root level, develop effective schemes of accountability and transparency of local government and improve quality of life at the community level.

Link: Community Liaison in Local Democracy
Buletini

Project Title: “Moving toward good governance in Shkodra city”
Duration: January 2006 – February 2007
Area: Shkodra
Donor: Balkan Trust for Democracy

The experience of work in Shkodra since 2001 has strongly convinced IDM of the need to work to develop democracy and citizens’ participation to improve the quality of life. With the support of the community liaison, IDM spread its community mobilization experience in the city of Shkodra where citizens of region No. 3 got organized in 5 Community–Based Groups (CBG). Through public schemes of citizens electing their community leaders, who later were trained, empowered, and actively involved in dealing with community affairs, IDM created a positive model and best practice clearly identified in the whole municipality. The project proved to be a novelty also for the local leaders of the municipality. A unique positive experience that helped also build the sustainability of the CBG-s was their voluntary commitment to partner with the municipality on improving the road infrastructure of the neighbourhood. A memorandum of cooperation and partnership between the Mayor and the CBG-s helped also a process of transparency where citizens were entitled to supervise the quality of the work of the contracted company by the municipality. The community center of “Badra - Gjuhadol” is being visited daily by citizens of the area to organise and express their concerns of issues related to their communities. This Centre has been visited frequently by the municipality leaders but also by the members of parliament of the area. The speaker of Albanian Parliament visited the Community Centre during the inauguration ceremony for the asphalted streets of the area. Six schools elementary and high schools in the area are becoming long term partners of the Center which together with IDM has delivered small grants to support community oriented projects, improve sport’s facilities for the young people of the area or different other environmental projects. CBG-es supported by IDM and Balkan Trust for Democracy have raised their visibility in the area and have becaome active partners of the municipality and other institutions at the local level. T
This Community Centre is working hard to build its sustainability beyond project life time by developing different partnerships at the local level and mainly with the business community.
Among the recommendations drawn by deputy Mayor of Shkodra Voltana Ademi and Prof. Romeo Gurakuqi in February 23, 2007 Conference in addition to many specific issues concerning this community of citizens, would be worth mentioning the following:
 There is a best practice created in community mobilization that should be replicated in all other parts of Shkodra municipality,
 The municipality has to build on this model and replicate it by allocating funds from its budget,
 Local governance should involve more effective schemes of transparency and citizens participation as it was developed in the MoU with CBG-es of administrative Unit No3
 The Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation that CBG-es developed with the Mayor of Shkodra in the framework of this project should get formalised by decision of the municipality council.

Gazeta komunitetit

Project Title: “Publication of the quarterly journal ‘Security Issues’”
Duration: 2006
Donor: Public Diplomacy Division of NATO; Albanian Mobile Communication

The objectives of the Security Issues are:

1. Informing a specialized public on issues of national security through analyses of experts from different military and civil;
2. Informing the public at large on NATO, in this crucial period of transformation and enlargement of the organization;
3. Creating a discussion forum on national and global challenges to human security in Albania and developing efficient strategy to meet them.

The journal publishes information about developments in NATO and its missions throughout the world, analytic papers by native and international experts and analysts on security, processes of integration to NATO, regional cooperation on security and on challenges to security in contemporary global setting. The journal engages well-known Albanian and foreign authors, experts of security and civil sectors, analysts of contemporary global, regional and national developments.

Link: Security Issues

Project title: “Improving Law Enforcement at the local level in Albania”
Period: 2001 - 2006
Area: Albania
Donor: National Endowment for Democracy, (NED) Washington, DC.
Target and objectives: Albanian State Police all over the country, modeling and encouraging police initiative to set up partnerships with other public and private institutions as well as with community at large to improve law enforcement, decentralizing reform and perform on client satisfaction

A summary of activities organized by IDM during 5-year period of project implementation:

- Over 140 different activities focused on the relations police-community-local governance-education and other groups of interest.
- Creation and functioning of Police Community Consultative Groups, PCCGs, mostly in Shkoder, Tirana, Berat, Durres etc.
- 6 PCCG Training Seminars with the participation of police leaders and officers from different policing sectors.
- 5 National Conferences with the State Police entitled: “Public Trust a Challenge to the Albanian Police”. Key institutional governmental authorities have addressed these events.
- 12 Public Accountability meetings of local police leaders. (Directors of District Police Directorates)
- 6 National Workshops encouraging and supporting reforms of the State Police.
- 3 regional training activities.
- 3 regional workshops and one national for supporting the setting up local structures for crime prevention (associated to the draft-Law on the Setting and Functioning of the Committees for Crime Prevention)
- 10 meetings of Crime Prevention Committees in collaboration with District Prefectures.
- 3 legal initiatives and a considerable number of publications.

IDM’s efforts to improve Police-Local Government cooperation have been awarded by signing of a Joint Order by the Minister of Public Order and Minister of Local Government and Decentralization. Decision No 4, on 24/4/2002,

Police Community Consultative Groups (PCCG) are unofficial structures, now accepted by local and central leaders of Albanian State Police as the best model of the institutionalization of police–community collaboration, which has been IDMs’ aspiration from the very beginning. Top leaders of State Police in more than one occasion have taken the commitment to draft normative acts to make this experience a legal obligation for police all over the country. IDM has advocated for the institutionalization in normative acts of crime prevention responsibilities of different police services. Actually most of country’s police commissariats, act on monthly programming to implement these activities.

Public Accountability Meetings of Local Structures of State Police. Organizing these kind of meetings has not been an easy task for IDM. Most of local police leaders have not been much enthusiastic at first, some of them being even against the idea of practicing public accountability meetings. After a persuasive work of IDM and first positive experiences, there has been a change in the police mentality accepting the public accountability as a necessity for a democratic style of policing and for the success of their work. We are expecting that public accountability meetings to be institutionalized and regulated by any Normative Act.

Police-School Cooperation has been considered a priority in our activities. We look at this cooperation as a partnership between school and police and as an investment for the future, educating the young generation with the rule of law. We have initiated and advocated for a Collaboration Memorandum between Ministry of Public Order and Ministry of Education and Science aiming the institutionalization of the school-police relations.

Crime Prevention
Draft law on “The creation and functioning of Committees for Crime Prevention”. These committees are thought as an organizational structure with the participation of police, local government, state and civil institutions including community representatives. It aims the institutionalization of the efforts for preparing and implementing strategies for crime prevention at local and national level.

IDM has a unique contribution in the preparation of the National Community Policing Strategy, which is clearly recognized in its preamble prepared by General Police Directorate. It reads:

“The General Directorate of State Police has cooperated with domestic and foreign actors on human rights and community policing issues. Special cooperation has been going on with the Institute of Democracy and Mediation (IDM), which has extended its activity throughout the country since 2001, thus facilitating the process of increasing cooperation between police and the community, decentralization, accountability and the institutionalizing of the cooperation of citizens with police through consulting groups, legal initiatives, conferences, periodic meetings of the IDM with police and the community, and which are the basis of the positive performance of this practice”.

Publications:

1. Police-Community together for Change
2. Public Trust a Challenge to the Police (5 editions)
3. Over 25 numbers of the periodic Bulletin that is distributed in all Police Commissariats, local government bodies etc

These publications are serving as a model and guidebooks for police officers all over the country.

Comments from Ministers, Prime Minister and General Police Directors and other leaders mainly in the five National Conferences:

“Public trust is an essential component without which there cannot be achieved good results in the fight against crime. Gaining public trust requires transparency and dedication from all police officers. We must convince the public that police is not only and simply a repressive force. For that police must apply same and equal standards of evaluation for all citizens. I guarantee my full support in achieving these objectives.”
Mr. Sokol Olldashi
Minister of Interior
National Conference – September 28 2005

“Preparing the Community Policing Strategy and the draft law on “Crime Prevention” for which we have closely cooperated with IDM have been considered priorities on our work and their implementation will bring substantial changes in the police activity, resolving the need for improvement in policing methods and increasing the quality of police services.”
Mr. Bajram Ibraj
General Director of State Police
IV National Conference – September 2, 2005

“The collaboration and the relations between State Police and Local Government are also services, which improve the lives of the citizens and are very important for crime prevention. For that the Municipality of Lushnja in collaboration with IDM has opened 4 offices for public order police inspectors within the administrative units buildings.”
Mr. Kadri Gega
Mayor of Lushnje
IV National Conference – September 2, 2005

“We shall demand that the process of public accountability of State Police to be extended in all police structures in every area of the country. As well we shall reconsider the regulation of public accountability of the police structures with the necessary normative acts.”
Mr. Bajram Ibraj
General Director of State Police
III National Conference – June 25, 2004

“Police - Community collaboration is the toughest challenge, it is a process extended in time and may never end. The collaboration of police and local government is part of this process being at the same time a legal obligation for both parties. The Institute for Democracy and Mediation has initiated this process in Shkodra. We must all continue following this excellent experience.”
Mr. Omir Rusi
Mayor of Shkodra

“We must find out and neutralize the reasons that generate crime… and I see the approach to civil society, in order to co-operate against crime, as very important in establishing public order in the country.”
Mr. Pandeli Majko,
Prime minister of Albania
First National Conference – May 2, 2002

“I would like to thank IDM for every initiative it undertook to help the Albanian police, and that this conference is part of those efforts. I would also guarantee our firm determination to pave our way towards most democratic standards of police functioning”
First Leader Bilbil Mema
General Director of the State Police of Albania
National Conference – May 2, 2002

“I appreciate the qualitative commitment of Institute for Democracy and Mediation as part of complementary encouragement of the civil society for improving public-police relations and I wish you well in this second National Conference that I believe will become a laboratory of constructive ideas for the improvement and strengthening of the relations and collaboration between public and police in Albania.”
Mr. Luan Rama
Minister of Public Order
II National Conference –2003

“We must concept and implement an insistent plan of action for increasing public trust of police that may consist in expanding of the public accountability of the police, not as a formal way of communication or media publicity, but paying serious attention and understanding the community concerns and necessities.”
Igli Toska,
Minister of Public Order
III National Conference – June 25, 2004

“IDM is capable and credible to assist police to found its professional association or Trade Union after 15 years of unsuccessful efforts because of its authority established all over the country and in police leadership with its program of community policing”
Bashkim, police officer in the Fier area.

Roundtable: “Decentralization and Community Policing”
Date: December 2, 2006
Implementing organizations:
Institute for Democracy and Mediation invited several other NGO-s into a coalition of advocacy to develop an expert oriented discussion on the new Draft- Law on State Police in Albania. Albanian Association of Municipalities, Albanian Helsinki Committee, Albanian Human Rights Group, Albania Center of Human Rights, Center for Parliamentary Studies, Free Forum, and Association of Communes in a process of consultation with other national and international experts the draft-Law before its discussion in the Parliamentary Commission. This coalition of NGO-s issued a public statement to the Speaker of Parliament to allow independent experts and NGO-es present their position related to certain contested articles of the Draft-Law. Four representatives of these NGO-es were invited for a briefing in the Parliamentary Commission on National Security. The Parliamentary Commission sent back the draft-Law for further consultations and improvement to the issuing authority, Ministry of Interior. The activity was supported by Soros Foundation.

National Conference: “An Albanian Agenda for Regional Security”
Date: 7-8 March 2006
Location: Tirana
Donor: Public Diplomacy Division of NATO

A totally new concept and approach to enhance cohesion among central and local institutions for promoting regional stability were considered by the participants and contributors the objectives of this conference. Participants addressed and drew lessons for enhancing responsibilities to build a regional security infrastructure in the framework of NATO integration of the country. In this event participated personalities from the central and local governing structures, representatives of international community (PAMECA, OSCE), as well as actors of civil society, media analysts and specialists of security sector. Guest speakers were the Prime Minister Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, the US Ambassador the Hon. Marcie Ries and the Ambassador of Croatia, the Hon. Darko Javorski, senior NATO experts etc. The speeches of the conference are published in a booklet. In fact, this activity had twofold objectives. The US Embassy in Tirana was more focused in an agenda of regional young leaders coming from countries of South East Europe, while IDM supported by NATO Diplomacy Division was concentrated in a Albanian national agenda for regional security.
Link: An Albanian Agenda to Regional Security

Project Title: “Reforming Albanian State Police by assisting grass-root police initiative to found its Federation”
Duration: September 2005 – May 2006
Area: Albania
Donor: US Embassy

After more than four years of working experience with Albanian State Police all over the country, IDM was strongly convinced for the need of a police professional association. Through different activities at the national and local level (June 2004 annual Conference, March 2005 roundtable on this very topic and different contacts with police) IDM has helped sensitivity to the issue. Police at all levels have demonstrated absolute support for this initiative. The Ombudsman of the Republic offered a special support for this initiative, while international police assistance missions in Albania such are PAMECA, ICITAP etc, have also supported this initiative.

IDM as an outsider that took over political responsibility and successfully completed its assistance to grass-root police initiative to set up its Trade Union. This was a unique effort to help reforming of the Albanian State Police, which consisted in efforts to democratically set up Police Union but also discourage governmental opposition to this structure as has been the case in the last 15 years in Albania. The activities helped mould a democratic experience of down up approach to organization and election of Unions branches all over the country and its leading national structures. The process ended with the discussion and approval of Police Union Statute. This effort helped also political leadership recognize for the first time the Union in the new Law of State Police.

National Workshop on the handbook: “Making Intelligence accountable: Legal Standards and best practice for oversight of intelligence services”
Date: 25-26 April 2006
Location: Tirana
Supporting organization: Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, DCAF

This workshop served to introduce to targeted audiences the Albanian language version of the DCAF handbook “Making Intelligence Accountable: Legal Standards and Best Practice for Oversight of Intelligence Agencies”. The audience was composed by members of parliament, intelligence professionals, government officials from the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense, as well as experts from the President’s and Prime-Minister’s offices. The event was held under the authority of H.E. Jozefina Topalli, Head of Parliament. The welcome speeches were held by Mr. Leonard Demi, Head of Parliamentary Commission for National Security, Mr. Pavel Vacek, the head of OSCE and Mr. Hugues De Courtivron from DCAF.

Link: “Making Intelligence Accountable: Legal Standards and Best Practice for Oversight of Intelligence Agencies”

National Workshop on: “Best Practices for Guidance/Coordination of an Intelligence Agency”
Date: 27 April 2006
Location: Tirana
Supporting organization: Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, DCAF

After a process of intensive consultations with security sector and intelligence services leaders and based on clearly perceived needs, IDM supported and in cooperation with DCAF agreed to carry out a workshop to present “best practices for guidance/coordination of Intelligence Services. DCAF senior experts offered organizational models for intelligence coordination at the top executive level from different countries such as Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary structures. Basic principles of how such a coordinative unit would set up and function in Albania were also discussed. Participants in the workshop were leaders and senior experts of the different intelligence agencies of Albania, advisors to the Prime-Minister and President of Republic, the General Directory of Police, General Prosecutor’s Office and international intelligence experts. IDM is continuing support and advocacy for setting up this needed structure.

National Workshop: Intelligence Services in Albania: the Challenge of Democratic Control.
Date: 1-2 March 2005
Area: Albania
Donor & Partner: Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, DCAF

This workshop, the first of its kind in Albania, addressed the questions what kind of intelligence structure does the country need and how should this structure be organized and controlled. It also made an attempt to outline the many challenges of implementing effective democratic and parliamentary oversight of the intelligence sector. Participants were MPs and parliamentary staff, intelligence professionals, government officials from Ministry of Public Order and Ministry of Defense, representatives of Persecutors Office, experts from Presidents’ and Prime Minister’s office, representatives of the main political parties, former leaders of intelligence services and other national and international experts of the field, representatives of local NGOs and international organizations, and media. Guest of honor was the Mr. Servet Pellumbi, Speaker of Albanian Parliament. The workshop conclusions paved the way for further commitments in the area by DCAF and IDM.

Link: Intelligence Services in Albania: the Challenge of Democratic Control

Project Title: “Political Youth Forums for Effective Campaigning”
Duration: February – June 2005
Area: Albania
Donor: Alfred Mozer Foundation

The goal of the project was to build and increase the capacities of young political leaders on organizing a professional campaign by promoting the use of modern and civilized campaigning techniques within political youth organizations. Trainers from Alfred Mozer Foundation (in cooperation with IDM) provided training for 30 members of youth forums of several political parties.

Project Title: “Technical support of PR offices in the District Police Directorates and Training of PR officers”
Duration: 1st phase, May 2003 - March 2004; 2nd phase, November 2004 - August 2005
Area: Albania
Donor: Open Society Network (Soros)

The project objective was to strengthen the role and the institutionalization of police PR officers within the police structures. 75% of project budget was technical support consisting in PC, printers, and photocopy machines for 10 local offices in District Police Directorate and the remaining part for organizing a series of trainings on e-government, public communication and police-media relations. The main outputs were the preparation of the normative act of “Functional Duties of PR Officers”, approved by the Minister of Public Order, and the publication of two booklets,

Link: “The key to Community policing”, “Police –Media Relations”.

Project Title: “Developing Grass Root Democracy”
Duration: 2002-2003
Area: Bajram Curri, Laç
Donors: US Embassy; EIDHR program of the European Union delegation

Through public meetings in three neighborhoods of Bajram Curri and other three in Lac, IDM, supported by the respective municipalities, encouraged a process of Community Based Groups election by the citizens in each area. In the projects, the community members got the opportunity to be trained and to design their own problems in projects, to equip themselves with skills, knowledge and tools to work together and change their lives as well as to understand the importance of the community role in the development process. With the cooperation of the main donors and the Chamber of Commerce of Tirana CBG in both cities undertook mini-projects of development of their own neighborhoods. Years after, the outputs of these mini-projects realized through co-funding and voluntary action of community members are still well-preserved and appreciated by the citizens. The partnership agreements between CBG-s and civic forums in each area with the Municipality leaders were effective after the lifetime of the project. Mayors of Bajram Curri and Lac are continuously replicating the experience. Based on these positive models of community empowering and local government partnerships with Community Based Groups in these areas, IDM is undertaking a well-organized strategy with a national character to reinforce, replicate and reform community- local government cooperation. Our strategy of improving governance and enhancing civic participation and activism in the decision-making process is largely based on these experiences and the partnerships.

Project Title: “Increasing the Accountability of Members of Parliament”
Duration: January – December 2003
Area: Albania
Donor: Westminster Foundation for Democracy, UK

Efforts to build models for accountable representation and constitutional role of the Member of Parliament still constitute a challenge for building citizens’ trust in country’s political establishment. The project addressed the issue of accountability of Member of Parliament (MP) to their constituents and creating a model of constitutional responsibilities of members of parliament. The most important objective of the project was to establish effective links of MPs with an inclusive representation of constituents irrespective of political affiliation that helps creating the image of “politicians serving the people”. Two members of parliament Mr. Besnik Mustafaj (currently Albania’s Foreign Minister) of the Democratic Party and Mr. Marko Bello of the Socialist Party worked closely with IDM to implement project activities in their respective constituencies. As an output, IDM in close collaboration with several MPs formulated amendments to the existing law on the local staff of the MP’s local offices, in order to enhance the role of the office and help improve accountability and responsibility of the members of parliament. The experiences of the project and the specification of duties of the offices of the MPs, were included in the publication.

Link: Members of Parliament – Electors: Accountability and Responsibility in Representation

Project Title: “For an active community in governance”
Duration: July – August 2002
Area: Albania
Donor: Royal Norwegian Embassy

IDM conducted a survey of public opinion about citizen’s participation in governance and decision-making and public perceptions about the local government. Two questionnaires were distributed to structured samples of citizens in five cities of the country. The conclusions of the survey were published in a book, For an active community in governance, which was distributed to units of local government, NGOs, academic institutions and international organizations working in Albania. The results of the survey have been consulted and referred to many other actors in the field. This constituted the basis for building direct activities of IDM to improve governance at the local level.

Link: For an active community in governance

Project Title: “Community Policing in Educational System”
Duration: February – December 2002
Area: Tirana
Donor: Canadian International Development Agency

Five years after its completion, project objectives remain still a priority. The project aimed at police and education institutions awareness raising and practical modeling of effective partnerships of inter-institutional co-operation toward crime prevention through education. The actual states of school-police - public relations were assessed and models of interventions were developed in terms of curricula for kindergarten, elementary and secondary school. This curriculum models will permit the schools to introduce to the educational program teaching topics about security, public order, community policing and cooperation with the police, thus contributing to the trust building between police and community. The practical Teacher’s Manual, recognized by Ministry of Science and Education as well as by Ministry of Public Order, which will serve in the long term as part of education program to all pre-university education levels was the main output of this project.

Link: School and Police-Together for Change

Project: Encouraging Law Enforcement, Building Transparency and Confidence between the Public and Police, (March 2001- November 2001)
Donor: US Embassy in Tirana
Description: IDM facilitated dialogue between the community and the police to build greater trust and cooperation in two most difficult areas: Kukes and Gjirokastra (Lazarat). The project particularly helped people in Lazarat and police build another perspective for improving law enforcement and more ground for further interaction. Developing local responsibilities led to decreasing of tension. This pilot project built the ground for all of IDM’s commitments with the Albanian State Police in the following years.

Conference: “Social Welfare – a Challenge of our times”
Date: November 2001
Location: Tirana
Donors: Religious communities and individuals, Soros Foundation

This one-day conference aimed at encouraging and strengthening faith-based groups in assisting the revitalization of values that which motivate social and civil action. Participants were leaders of religious communities, representatives of State Committee on Cults, representatives of the political parties, members of parliament, members of the government, NGO representatives, state agencies for social welfare and other volunteers,
Among them were Monsignor Rrok Mirdita and Mayor of Tirana Edi Rama. Guest of honor was the President of Republic the Hon. Rexhep Meidani and key note speaker the Hon. Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach from UK. The participants discussed an agenda of joint action involving all the religious communities in promoting care for those in need and assist in improving community social affairs. The main contributions of the conference are published in a book.

Link: Social Care- a Challenge to Reality

Project Title: “Forum of Candidates”
Duration: May – October 2000
Area: Nine municipalities in Albania
Donor: Embassy of Untied States, The Royal Norwegian Embassy, British Embassy

Because of its novelty in the Albanian political culture and the impact, this project remains one of the symbols for the public recognition of IDM. For the first time in Albania’s multi-party history, debates among rival candidates became a major public event. The sponsorship of cross-party debates during the local government elections of 2000 resulted in confidence-building between candidates and the public and informational exchanges between the Democratic and Socialist parties in the 9 locations where the debates took place - Shkoder, Kukes, Tirana, Vlora, Fier, Gjirokaster, Durres, Elbasan, and Korca. Local media and the press comprehensively covered the cross-party debates. Local teams from both major parties served as project mobilizers. They received training in Tirana on organizing of political debates, facilitating dialogue and discussion amongst rivaling candidates, raising public awareness, and improving public confidence in the electoral processes. A decrease of political tension in the program areas was evident. In the words of Chairman of Socialist Party in Shkodra the debate was: “The main and most important political event in Shkodra for the last ten years”.

National Conference: “Strengthening Democracy and Market Economy in Albania”
Date: 31 March 2000
Location: Tirana
Donor: CRPA, UK

The conference was the inaugural activity of IDM and proved to be a successful start aiming to foster a non-partisan, non-party dialogue on critical issues facing Albania. The President of the Republic of Albania HE Rexhep Meidani, Hon. Gert Ahrens - OSCE Ambasador, Hon. Joseph Limprecht – US Ambassador, Mr. Pandeli Majko-Former Prime Minister, Dr. Ridvan Bode-Former Minister of Finance Hon. Louis Greig-Managing Director, Goldman Sachs International were among the main contributors to this Conference. The topic of the first session was “How to create a culture of democracy in which political parties agree to differ in peaceful and democratic way”, with the keynote speaker the Hon. Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach. Other major themes of the Conference were: strengthening democracy in Albania, fighting crime and corruption, the restoration of civil society, the market economy. This Conference aimed increasing transparency and public confidence in the ability of Albania's political system to meaningfully and constructively address critical concerns in a non-partisan context.