LED policy training for the municipal staff of Kumanovo and Staro Nagoricane

LED means more than just economic growth. It is promoting participation and local dialogue, connecting people and their resources for better employment and a higher quality of life for both men and women. And the role of municipal staff in effective design and implementation of LED policy is crucial. Therefore, municipalities are increasingly turning to continuous building of skills and expertise for LED policy as part of their human resources development efforts.

Municipalities of Kumanovo and Staro Nagoricane are committed to improving local conditions for socio-economic empowerment of its citizens, actively designing local development plans and striving for more employment opportunities. This is confirmed further by their strong support to the implementation of the Cross-border project “Fit for the needs - Raise opportunities for underdeveloped areas” project, targeting also the Serbian municipalities of Lebane, Vlasotince and Surdulica, implemented by Foundation for Management and Industrial in partnership with NALED, Women’s Association “Ruža” (Serbia) and Civil Center "AktivUm" (Macedonia).

Currently, the project is running a 4-days training programme for LED policy capacity development of the municipal staff from Kumanovo and Staro Nagoricane, where relevant aspects of policy planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation are being tackled. Combining theoretical concepts with practical examples, the training will contribute to the uplifting of the policy skills that in turn the participants will be able to put in practice in their everyday, public policy – related, activities. The training is delivered by experienced LED experts from the Macedonian organization Ruralna Koalicija, involving more than 12 municipal staff members from both municipalities. The training in Kumanovo took place on 22^nd & 24^th of February and 01^st & 3^rd of March, whereas in Staro Nagoricane on 1^st, 4^th, 7^th and 8^th of March 2022.  

The project has finished mapping the resources and potentials of the targeted cross-border region, and in the next steps focus will be placed on defining and implementing concrete measures for local economic development. The implementation of the project is done in close partnership will all involved municipalities, demonstrating further their dedication to making better local conditions for all their citizens.