The “Municipalities without borders” project, a participatory development cooperation program of the National Association of Italian Municipalities (Anci) and the project to support the municipalities of Libya, makes a stop in Tunis. The training group met in Anci last June 7 to discuss – coordinated by the deputy mayor of Rimini and national head of the Table on international cooperation, Gloria Lisi –, the training in support of Libyan municipalities.
The Anci project includes a series of appointments, hosted in Italy and Tunis – with the participation of the Municipalities of Bari, Padua, Livorno, Rimini, Parma and Palermo – to explore specific issues of the local administration together with Libyan officials, such as management of personal archives, real estate assets and the municipal budget.
The goal of the initiative is to strengthen the administrative apparatus of twenty-five municipalities throughout Libya, including the city of Tripoli – recently added following the mission of the president of the Anci National Council Enzo Bianco – to improve the ” provision of basic services for all citizens, foster dialogue and collaboration between Libyan and Italian administrations and local communities and share the experience of Anci’s associations.
After the success of the first meeting, held last January and which saw the participation of mayors and municipal leaders from 23 cities from all over Libya, for the second meeting the “point on the planning of the training course was made on the basis of needs of Libyan municipalities thinking about the forthcoming next seminar in Tunis” explained Lisi. According to the manager, therefore, it is necessary to work to give concrete support to Libyan municipalities by responding to their real needs on the territory starting “from the skills of our technicians and sharing the experiences of Italian municipalities”.
“On a political level, this is a very delicate moment in Libya. Although a few weeks have passed since the new unitary government took office, all the necessary interventions are needed to provide stability on which to rely on to build stable relationships over time. We started with executives who, on various subjects, such as budget management, registry management, management of demographic and property services of municipalities, can enhance the specificities of Libyan municipalities “concluded Gloria Lisi.
