About us

Balkan Network for Local Democracy (BNLD) is a regional network promoting active citizen participation, democratic governance principles, local development and co-operation between civil society organisations and local public authorities in the Western Balkan Region. BNLD is founded by the European Association for local democracy (ALDA) and the 7 Local Democracy Agencies (LDA) from Western Balkans aiming to support regional cooperation. BNLD action is based on the principle of partnership and multilateral decentralized cooperation.

BNLD Vision & Mission

The vision of BNLD is to contribute to good neighborhood relations, regional stability and prosperity based on good local governance while supporting culture of dialogue and respect of diversity in Western Balkans.
The mission of BNLD is to empower civil society and local authorities to jointly engage in democratic reform process and local democracy principles and to support regional cooperation and policy dialogue towards EU integration of the Western Balkans region.
BNLD Values

- Promotion of the respect for universal human rights and equality principles;
- Development of inclusive society, participative democracy and social cohesion;
- Development of the culture of dialogue and intercultural understanding;
- Promotion of subsidiarity principles and good governance at local level;
- Respect of sustainable development and environment protection;
- Development and implementation of activities respecting the principle of partnership.
BNLD Objectives

- Strengthen the role of CSOs and Local Authorities in adherence to principles of good governance at local level and in anchoring the democratic reforms across society;
- Promote civil dialogue, active citizenship and participation of all sections of society and youth in particular in public policy and decision making at local level;
- Support the process of EU integration in Western Balkan region with enhanced regional cooperation of different stakeholders;
- Enhance the sustainability of the LDAs from the Western Balkans through capacity building, innovative service provision and regional thematic networking.

Timeline of BNLD

BNLD History

1993 Opening of the first LDAs in Subotica (Serbia)
1997 Opening of LDA Zavidovici (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
1999 Establishment of ALDA to ensure the regional coordination of the LDAs
2000 Opening of LDA Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
2001 Opening of LDA Central and Southern Serbia
2001 Opening of LDA Niksic (Montenegro)
2004 Opening of LDA Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
2004–2008 Implementation of the regional project “Actions on Capacity-Building of Local Authorities and Civil Society in Southern and Eastern Europe” by ALDA and LDAs
2007–2010 Implementation of the regional project “Youth the right direction” by ALDA and LDAs
2007–2010 Implementation of the regional project ‘’Microcredit scheme in South East Europe’’ by ALDA and LDAs
2008 Opening of LDA Albania
2008 Establishment of ALDA regional office hosted by LDA Subotica
2011 Opening of LDA Kosovo*
2012 Western Balkans LDAs signed the Memorandum on regional cooperation.
2012 Implementation of the regional project ‘’ Civil Trust Building – Find your way through the Enlargement Labyrinth’’ by LDAs
2012 Opening of ALDA Skopje in North Macedonia
2015–2018 Support of the European Commission through the project “Balkan Regional Platform for Youth Participation and Dialogue”
2018–2021 Support of the European Commission through the project “Regional youth compact for Europe” to consolidate the network
2019 Registration of BNLD in Skopje, North Macedonia

BNLD Activities

In order to fulfill its objectives, BNLD implements different kind of activities:

- Support of policy making on local and regional level through research, monitoring and advocacy activities;
- Capacity building of stakeholders through different types of professional education, training activities and job shadowing;
- Organization of seminars, round tables, conferences, panels and other forms of discussions to support opinion sharing in policy making;
- Dissemination and information sharing trough media content production and use of information and communication technologies.

BNLD target groups

- Local Authorities
- Civil society organizations
- Policy decision-makers
- Opinion makers
- EU institutions
- Young people

BNLD fields of expertise

- Local democracy
- Local economic development
- European integration
- Decentralized cooperation
- Citizens participation
- Public administration reform

- Youth policies
- Intercultural dialogue
- Peace and reconciliation
- Culture and art
- Cultural heritage
- Volunteering
- Social policies

BNLD Members

The Members of BNLD are the European association for local democracy (ALDA) and the Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs) from Western Balkans. Each of the members hosts a BNLD office with head office hosted in ALDA Skopje.

ALDA - European Association for Local Democracy, is a French-registered association dedicated to the promotion of good governance and citizen participation at the local level in the European Union, its Neighborhood and beyond since 1999

ALDA Skopje (North Macedonia) - established in 1999 at the initiative of the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities to coordinate and support a network of Local Democracy Agencies which was established in the early 1990s

LDA Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Established November 2004, the Local Democracy Agency Mostar acts as a locally registered non-profit, nongovernmental organization, with the support of its partners and ALDA.

LDA Zavidovici (Bosnia and Herzegovina) was created as a spontaneous initiative of a group of peace activists who had gathered around the Coordination of solidarity initiatives in Brescia in 1992 during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina...

LDA Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - The LDA Prijedor, established in the year 2000, is based in the Serbian entity of Bosnia and Herzergovina, Republika Srpska. The region has been the center of a strong nationalism during the war from 1992 to 1996

LDA Subotica (Serbia) was founded in 1993, to advocate democratic governance and participation and getting the accession negotiation process with the EU closer to citizens in local communities.

LDA Central and Southern Serbia (Serbia) was established in 2001 in the City of Niš. With the aim of spreading its program further into the territories in need, in 2014 the LDA has moved its headquarter to Knjaževac…

LDA Niksic (Montenegro) -Local Democracy Agency in Niksic was established with support of the Council of Europe on May 11th 2001 as a local NGO.

LDA Peja (Kosovo*) - Local Democracy Agency of Kosovo was officially opened in 2011 in Peja/Pec, to promote local democracy on the territory of Kosovo.

Executive Governing Board of the Balkan Network for Local Democracy

The President of BNLD is

Slađan Ilić

LDA Zavidovići

The Executive Director of BNLD is

Katica Janeva

ALDA Skopje

Governing Board of the Balkan Network for Local Democracy

The members of the BNLD Governing board are:

Antonella Valmorbida

ALDA

Secretary General of ALDA since 1999, has a senior experience in promoting local democracy, empowerment and participation of civil society, and good governance in Europe and the neighborhood

Katica Janeva

ALDA Skopje

More than 10 years in ALDA Skopje, promoting local democracy in North Macedonia

Shpresa Berisha

Local Democracy Agency Kosovo

Working within the Kosovo NGOs sector from 2004, building partnerships between Local Institutions and civil society in Peja

Silvija Patarcic

Local Democracy Agency Subotica

Local coordinator engaged in development and implementation of projects in the area of Subotica

Ana Jovanovic

Local Democracy Agency Central and Southern Serbia

Active in the NGO sector for 15 years, news addition to the BNLD team

Dragan Dosen

Local Democracy Agency Prijedor

Building the LDA Prijedor together with the community for the community since the beginning

Sladjan Ilic

Local Democracy Agency Zavidovici

engaged in LDA Zavidovici almost since its establishment in 1997 working on implementation of numerous projects and activities on regional and local level

Kerim Medjedovic

Local Democracy Agency Montenegro

Engaged in LDA Montenegro since 2001, raising awareness about local democracy and cultural heritage in the region of Niksic

Dzenana Dedic

Local Democracy Agency Mostar

Director at Local Democracy Agency since 2004, promoting the principles of local democracy in Mostar

Staff

Maja Vejzović

Project Developer and Management Officer in LDA Mostar

Experienced Project development and management officer, familiar with Financial Administration of NGO with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organisation management industry.

Dino Sinanović

Project manager and youth worker at LDA Zavidovići

Expert Associate on Youth work, experienced in Project management, strongly involved in development of local and regional Youth policies, also skilled in conducting trainings for youth, experienced in monitoring and evaluating projects.

Ana Milović Jasikovać

Program Coordinator at LDA Montenegro

With a master degree of International relations and Diplomacy, expert project manager and financial officer. Avid activist and vocal for Human rights and citizen participation.

Ivana Velkova

Project Manager at ALDA Skopje

Projet manager with expertise in the field of youth and good governance. Trained in project cycle management, logistics and communication.

In memoriam

Sasa Marinkov

In January 2021, we lost our colleague, friend and member of the BNLD family, Sasa Marinkov. As delegate of the Local Democracy Agency Central and Southern Serbia, Sasa has been part of the Balkan Network for Local Democracy – BNLD for more than a decade. As a person with a vision and creativity, Sasa brought uniqueness in the network’s activities and his contribution was crucial for our development. He was modest and visionary, committed worker, a fighter for positive changes in the community.

Sasa will be forever in our hearts and we are missing him dearly.

Host Cities

Knjazevac

Knjazevac, host city of LDA for Central and Southern Serbia, is a town and municipality situated in south-eastern Serbia, in the region bordering Bulgaria. The municipality extends over an area of 1202 km2 and is the fourth largest in the Republic of Serbia.

Mostar

The City of Mostar is the economic, cultural, university, traffic and tourist center of Herzegovina. It developed around the Old Bridge, which was built in 1566 on the river Neretva spread flower and vine valley…

Niksic

Niksic is host town of Local democracy agency Niksic. The 2065 km2 area of Niksic covers the central and western part of Montenegro.

Pejë

Pejë is a city in Western Kosovo and the administrative centre of the homonymous district. The municipality covers an area of 602 km2 (232 sq mi), including the city of Peja and 95 villages; it is divided into 28 territorial communities.

Prijedor

Prijedor is a city and municipality in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina with an estimated population of 97,588 people within its administrative limits. Prijedor is part of the Republika Srpska entity and is situated in the Bosanska Krajina region.

Subotica

The City of Subotica is the northernmost city of Serbia and the second largest one in the Province of Vojvodina, with the population of around 140.000, situated 10 km from the Serbian-Hungarian border.

Zavidovici

Zavidovici is a young city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, founded in the late 19th century. It occupies an area of 590 km2 and has about 46,000 inhabitants, located between Doboj and Zenica on the confluence of rivers Bosna, Krivaja and Gostović.

Kavadarci

Kavadarci is a town in the Tikveš region of North Macedonia. In the heart of North Macedonia’s wine country, it is home to the largest winery in southeastern Europe, named after the Tikveš plain.

Centar, Skopje

Centar is the central municipality of the ten municipalities that compose the city of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. Centar is home to the Assembly of North Macedonia.