The LDA Georgia will be registered as a local NGO (like the other LDAs).

The main axes of the activities of the LDA will be:

• Training for local authorities and civil society such as participatory planning process, waste management, budget management

• Local economic development

• Youth impowerment

• Exchange of best practices with the international partners

The proposed Programme is two years based, in order to secure the sustainability of the LDA Georgia. It will also allow the local staff to secure the network and find new partners and donors.

So far the ALDA submitted this Programme to the Eurasian Foundation and to the Member States of the Council of Europe through the Voluntary Contributions programme.

The Programme is based on 4 main activities, The activities proposed are based on the needs identified during the two fact finding missions organized by the ALDA.

•Setting up of the LDA: an LDA is recognized as a key tool for the democratization and stabilization on a local and regional level. The task of an LDA is to strengthen the civil society and to promote a pluralist democracy. In this sense an LDA might be seen as a project as such. The first activity foresees 4 months to prepare the opening of the LDA. Namely the activities will be: to appoint local staff; to set up the Office (generator, furniture,...), to secure the international and local partnership, to identify possible donors, to organize the first partner meeting and the opening ceremony (in order to save money the first partner meeting will be organized the day before the opening ceremony). The partner meeting is essential in the life of an LDA: it gives the opportunity to all the partner to meet and discuss the strategic objectives of the LDA.

•Second partner meeting: a second partner meeting will be organized one year after the launch of the LDA in order to assess the work achieved by the LDA and to identify future activities with the inputs of all the partners involved.

•Exchanges on best practices on local government issues: one of most important advantage of an LDA is to promote concrete and interactive activities that fit with the local needs, This project foresees two seminars on best practices on local government issues. The topics of these two seminars will be defined by the partners during the partners meeting. The international partners will send officers or elected people to share their knowledge in a specific field defined. The goal is to strengthen the capacities of the local authorities in city management, one of the main problems expressed during the ALDA fact finding missions. The project will also strengthen the network.

•Women Rights Advocacy: another key issue in Georgia is to promote the rights of the women. In the scope of the project, 2 seminars will be organized with local and international experts (from the Council of Europe) in Women Rights. It will be open to the representatives of local authorities, NGOs dealing with this issues, and to the civil society.

The ALDA will coordinate and support the LDA. The ALDA will also promote the new LDA through its network of members and identify new international partners.