Theme of the ELDW 2017: “Citizen participation, consultation and commitment: for a thriving local democracy”
At its meeting in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 10 February, the Congress Bureau approved the annual theme of European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) 2017: “Citizen participation, consultation and commitment: for a thriving local democracy”. From 9 to 15 October 2017 – the official dates of ELDW – but also during the entire month of October, the towns and cities of the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe and beyond, and their national associations, are invited to apply this theme by means of activities aimed at stimulating citizen participation at local and regional levels. “Over the past 10 years, ELDW has attracted thousands of people to take part in field activities, both in their municipalities and in local schools. The constant rise in the number of participants shows that citizens are interested in grassroots democracy and wish to get to know their elected representatives better” said Gaye Doganoglu (Turkey, EPP/ECC), ELDW spokesperson. Local and regional authorities and their associations which wish to take part in this initiative are invited to register on the official ELDW website.