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M o n t e n e g r o

C I T Y – T O – C I T Y H U M A N D E V E L O P M E N T

P R O G R A M M E

U N D P / U N O P S

I N S E R B I A A N D M O N T E N E G R O

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T e r r i t o r i a l a c t o r s

Since March 2001, the leading roles in the Programmehave been taken by the working groups of the cities ofBelgrade, Zemun, Kragujevac, Nis, Novi Sad, Pancevoand Smederevo. The working groups are chaired bythe mayors of the cities, and are each made up of15–20 representatives of the public administration,the social educational and health services, privateenterprise, universities, and associations. The workinggroups are a point of reference for decentralisedcooperation committees and were responsible fordefining the ongoing projects.

Since December 2001, the economic developmentagency of the Novi Sad Region, Alma Mons, has servedas a benchmark for local economic partnerships.Twenty institutions and local associations aremembers of the agency.

D u r a t i o n o f a c t i v i t i e s

The Programme began in February 2001 and wasongoing as of December 2003.

N a t i o n a l c o o r d i n a t i o n

The Ministry of Social Affairs was delegatedresponsibility for coordinating the Programmenationally by the Government of Serbia andMontenegro. In January 2002, the Ministry of SocialAffairs instituted a National Working Group (NWG) toguarantee interinstitutional coordination of theactivities. Taking part are the Ministries of Health,Justice, Economics and Privatisation, Planning,International Economic Relations, Local Autonomy, thePermanent Conference of Yugoslavian Cities andMunicipalities (SKGOJ), and the PALGO Study Centre.

G o v e r n m e n t s i n v o l v e d i n c o o p e r a t i o n

Italy.

P R E S E N T A T I O N

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• Belgrade Working Group

• Zemun Working Group

• Pancevo Working Group

• Smederevo WorkingGroup

• Kragujevac WorkingGroup

• Nis Working Group

• Novi Sad Working Group

• Campania Region and Toscana Region; Committee of the Municipalities of Firenze,Calenzano, Fiesole, Lastra a Signa, Pontassieve, Scandicci, and Sesto Fiorentino; andthe Committee of the Municipality of Milano.

• Emilia-Romagna Region; and the Committee of the Municipality of Carpi.

• Province of Ravenna; and the Municipality of Venezia.

• Veneto Region; and the Province of Pisa.

• Emilia-Romagna Region; Municipality of Reggio Emilia, Municipality of Carrara,Municipality of Ivrea, and Municipality of Roma.

• Committee of the Administrative District of Empoli: Municipalities of Capraia andLimite, Castelfiorentino, Cerreto Guidi, Certaldo, Empoli, Fucecchio, Gambassi Terme,Montatone, Montespertoli, Vinci, and Montelupo Fiorentino.

• Committee of the Administrative District of Empoli; Municipality of Modena,Municipality of Imola, and Municipality of Livorno.

T e r r i t o r i a l p a r t n e r s

K e y f e a t u r e s

Despite limited financial resources, with the backing of the decentralised cooperation committees, the Programmeimplemented a total of 45 projects in the cities of Belgrade, Kragujevac, Nis, Novi Sad, Zemun, Smederevo andPancevo, in addition to four projects at the national level, in the fields of local governance, local economicdevelopment, welfare and basic health care.

In 2003, given the credibility gained by Alma Mons, a trust fund was created to provide credit services in the territory.The trust fund was developed and set up with the backing of high-level experts from the Municipality of Modena,and the credit consortium of the Emilia-Romagna Region. The active role of the region’s actors and the positiveresults achieved in Novi Sad convinced the Italian banks Unicredit/Banca d'Impresa, Banca Popolare dell'EmiliaRomagna, and Banca di San Gimignano e San Prospero to finance the trust fund.The three banks, the Municipality ofModena and Fidindustria (a regional credit consortium) contributed a total of Euro 120,000.

Through the projects formulated by Italian local authorities with their city partners of Serbia and Montenegro,Euro 1,050,000 was raised, funded by Italian Government Law 84, while regional cofunding came to Euro 504,000.

In collaboration with the Municipal Administration of Backi Petrovac, Alma Mons is working on a territorialagricultural development plan, with the participation of all interested local parties. The project won first prize in acompetition run by the European Union (EU) for innovative projects presented by local development agenciesoperating in Serbia and Montenegro.

In 2003, the Municipal Administration of Kragujevac converted an old orphanage into a new centre focusing onadoption and foster care. It became a point of reference for the Ministry of Social Affairs for the study andexperimentation of new norms and practices for assistance to minors. The impact of this result was nationwide,thanks also to the collaboration of the Municipalities of Carrara and Ivrea, and Swiss cooperation.

F u n d i n g

The Italian Government provided USD 1.5 million tothe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/ United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). InDecember 2003, the Italian Government approved afurther disbursement of Euro 3,600,000.

Between 2001 and 2003, decentralised cooperationcommittees contributed a total of USD 962,190. Inparticular, the committees contributed USD 498,935 in2003 as well as other donations, and provided high-level technical assistance through experts working inthe territorial structures of the Programme.

O V E R V I E W

The City–to–City Programme was launched in Serbiaand Montenegro in February 2001. Preparatoryactivities began in 1999, through preliminaryagreements involving UNDP, UNOPS, the ItalianGovernment and numerous Italian local administrationsinterested in establishing humanitarian cooperationpartnerships with cities caught up in conflict. In 1999and 2000, numerous meetings were held with Italianlocal administrations and the mayors of Belgrade,Kragujevac, Nis, Novi Sad, and Pancevo.

In May 2000, during a joint mission conducted byItaly/UNDP/UNOPS, the Government of Serbia andMontenegro asked for the Municipality of Smederevo,which was run by a government coalition, to also beincluded in the Programme. On 24 September 2000,elections for the presidency of the Federal Republicwere held, together with those for the renewal of thetown councils. The winners were the oppositioncoalition led by Kostunica. The new governmentlaunched a process of democratic transition. Thechange in the general political climate made itpossible to re-launch the City–to–City Programme.

In February 2001, UNDP and UNOPS opened andequipped a national coordination office inBelgrade, personnel were hired and activitieslaunched in the cities of Belgrade, Kragujevac, Nis,Novi Sad, Pancevo and Smederevo.

In 1999, the Italian Government had committedLIT 10 billion to the Programme. The firstdisbursement amounting to USD 1.5 million wasreceived by UNDP in January 2003. The Programmewas then launched through funds advanced byUNDP and UNOPS. In December 2003, the ItalianGovernment approved further funding amountingto Euro 3,600,000, which should be available inSerbia and Montenegro in early 2004.

In 2001, the Programme consolidated thedecentralised cooperation relations previouslyestablished in the country, set up the NWG and otherworking groups in the six cities, and strengthened theplanning capabilities of local authorities. Subsequently,with the collaboration of all national and local bodies,a plan of operations for the second phase was drawnup. In 2002, because funds from the ItalianGovernment had not been received, the Programmegave priority to providing technical assistance tocentral and local administrations. For these activities,particular mention should be made of the technical

and financial resources provided by decentralisedcooperation committees.

In 2003, the Programme again operated throughadvance payments from UNDP and UNOPS. Inaccordance with national and local authorities andwith the active backing of the Italian Embassy, theavailable financial resources were used to providetechnical assistance to the city working groups andthe Ministry of Social Affairs in the areas of localeconomic development, welfare, governance andcultural development. In 2003, decentralisedcooperation committees again played a crucial role inthe results achieved in the various cities.

O P E R A T I O N A L A N D M A N A G E M E N TS T R U C T U R E S

As established by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (FRY),the national institution responsible for theCity–to–City Programme is the Ministry of SocialAffairs of the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro.

In 2002, the Ministry of Social Affairs promoted thecreation of the NWG, which includes technical expertsof the Ministries of Labour, Health, Justice, TerritorialPlanning, Economics and Privatisation, InternationalEconomic Relations, and Local Autonomy, SKGOJ, thePALGO Study Centre, UNDP, and UNOPS. The NWG isresponsible for harmonising Programme activitieswith national policies for the decentralisation andreform of services and, where possible, enhancingthem through innovations that emerge during cityinterventions. Furthermore, the NWG facilitates thecompletion of bureaucratic procedures for theimplementation of the projects (imports, visas, etc.).NWG meetings are open to actors of the civil society ofSerbia and Montenegro and representatives of localauthority associations.

In March and April 2001, city working groups (CWGs)were created in the six target cities of Serbia andMontenegro: Belgrade, Kragujevac, Nis, Novi Sad,Pancevo and Smederevo. A specific working groupwas created in Zemun, a district of the city ofBelgrade. In Smederevo, the working group wasactivated at the end of 2001.

The principal task of the working groups is to plan andmonitor activities, setting priorities and keepingdecision processes open. The working groups alsoprovide an opportunity for communication and jointplanning with Italian decentralised cooperation

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organisations. Working groups organised visits forItalian decentralised cooperation committees toSerbia and Montenegro and defined pilot projects,which are currently under way. On several occasions,the working groups created thematic subgroups inorder to draw up proposals for initiatives in differentfields of human development.

The City–to–City Programme has a coordination officein Belgrade, with an international coordinator, twoexperts, and a part-time administrator. Six local supportemployees (two secretaries, two administrativeassistants and two drivers) work in the same office.Thecoordination office and international administrationservices are shared with the United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP) / UNOPS “Clean-up ofenvironmental hot spots” project. The office is alsoequipped to provide assistance and services todecentralised cooperation experts. Local activities arecoordinated within the framework of their respectivemunicipal institutions. The Programme has threevehicles at its disposal, a computer, telephoneconnection, fax, Internet and e-mail, electricitygenerators and cellular phones. An additional vehicle isavailable for the administrative services.

R E S U L T S O FI N T E R N A T I O N A LA C T I V I T I E S

Since February 2001, the following Italian localadministrations have taken part in the City–to–CityProgramme: the Municipalities of Venezia, Carrara,Modena, Firenze, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara, Imola, Milano,Roma, Trieste, Gorizia, Livorno, Pontedera and Quarrata;municipalities within the Florence metropolitan area;the Administrative District of Empoli (11 municipalities);the Provinces of Ravenna, Pisa, Bolzano, Pordenone,Treviso and Bologna; the Regions of Toscana, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Marche and Campania.

In 2001, missions to Serbia and Montenegro wereorganised for 28 Italian local authorities, which resultedin the signing of a framework agreement fordecentralised cooperation. Technical missions werecarried out by experts from Italian committees (about150 person/days between May and December 2001),and various projects launched. Together with theeducation and training, information anddocumentation, and decentralised cooperation project(known as EDINFODEC), the Programme organised ameeting in Rome between the president of SKGOJ andthe president of the National Association of ItalianMunicipalities (ANCI) on 27 June 2001. The two

presidents signed an agreement in Venice in December2001 providing for exchanges on issues concerninglocal autonomy legislation and the management oflocal administrations and public services. On7 December 2001, the Programme organised aninternational workshop promoted by the Municipalityof Venezia on “Cities for decentralised cooperation inhuman development: experiences and opportunitiesfor southeast Europe” which brought togetherrepresentatives of Serbia and Montenegro and Albania,Italian municipalities, provinces and regions, theMinistry for Foreign Affairs and UN bodies. TheMunicipality of Venezia promoted an initiative forcollaboration among local bodies engaged indecentralised cooperation in the Balkans, called theNetwork of Cities for the Balkans (CREB). In conjunctionwith the City–to–City Programme, the initiativeprovides information and services to local Italianadministrations interested in decentralisedcooperation. By December 2001, the 28 committeeshad engaged to raise a total of about Euro 620,000.

In 2002, the Regions of Campania, Emilia-Romagna andVeneto; the Municipalities of Milano,Roma and Livorno;and the Province of Pisa joined the Programme. Eightmissions by high-level local authority delegations toSerbia and Montenegro were organised, whichresulted in the signing of a decentralised cooperationframework agreement. Missions were undertaken bytechnical experts from the committees (about180 person/days between January and December2002) and the previously-identified projects werelaunched. Also in 2002, SKGOJ and ANCI launchedactivities to strengthen local public services. InSeptember, a delegation from ANCI and the ItalianConfederation of Local Public Service Agencies(CISPEL) undertook a mission to Belgrade to sign anoperational agreement with SKOGJ for professionalexchanges and partnerships in the public utility sector.In December 2002, the 36 participating committeesengaged to raise funds worth about Euro 1.2 million.

In 2003, new decentralised cooperation organisationsjoined the City–to–City Programme: the Chambers ofCommerce of the Campania Region, specialinternationalisation enterprises (Intertrade), the SPRINTDesk, the Basilicata Region, the Province of Matera, theProvince of Salerno, and the Sarno-Nocera AgriculturePact. Arrangements were made for the Province andMunicipality of Forlì to be included in partnerships withthe city of Novi Sad and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

In 2003, the City–to–City Programme went to greatlengths to provide backing to Italian decentralised

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Agriculture – worth Euro 133,000.

• Construction of an integrated rural developmentnetwork in the region of Novi Sad, in collaborationwith Alma Mons – worth Euro 462,000.

• Mobilising and maximising local resources, incollaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, topromote the social integration of disadvantagedgroups – worth Euro 100,000.

• Work on the INTERURAL project has been inprogress since June 2003 and is to be presented tothe EU (INTERREG III A “Italia Adriatico”). The projectis scheduled for presentation to the competentoffices in February 2004 and is worth Euro 1,000,000.The project is in synergy with an initiative presentedto the Italian Government (Law 84/01) by theAbruzzo Region, involving the exchange of bestpractices in rural development. It involvespartnership with 12 Italian Adriatic Provinces(Pesaro–Urbino, Ancona, Macerata, Ascoli Piceno,Teramo, Pescara, Chieti, L’Aquila, Campobasso,Foggia, Bari, Brindisi and Lecce), five local actiongroups and 7 Balkan local economic developmentagencies (LEDAs), including Alma Mons).

All “institutional” missions (involving mayors,presidents and councillors) and the technical missionsof Italian cooperation committees held meetings withthe Italian Embassy in Belgrade in order to keep itinformed of the activities in progress.

cooperation organisations in the production ofprojects to present to the Italian Government (Law84/01 for countries in the Balkan area) and the EU. Theresults of these activities are listed below:

• Project formulated and presented to the ItalianGovernment (Law 84/01) by the Molise Regioninvolving rural development in synergy withINTERREG III A “Italia Adriatico” Project. The projectprovides for partnerships with the Regions ofAbruzzo, Puglia, and Marche, and the agencies ofShkoder and Durres (Albania), Travnik (Bosnia andHerzegovina), Novi Sad (Serbia and Montenegro)and Okucani (Croatia). The project was approvedand is worth Euro 210,000, with Euro 90,000 inregional cofunding.

• Project formulated and presented to the ItalianMinistry of Productive Activities (MAP) involving thefostering of enterprise associations in the region ofVojvodina. The project provides for partnershipswith the Chambers of Commerce of Napoli, Salernoand Potenza, the Provinces of Napoli and Salerno,and the Novi Sad agency.

• Project formulated and presented to MAP by theCampania Region involving the development ofcommercial ties with Serbia and Montenegro. Theproject provides for a partnership with SPRINT (whichincludes all the Chambers of Commerce of theCampania Region involved in internationalisation andexport), and the Novi Sad and Kragujevac agencies.

• Project formulated and presented to the ItalianGovernment by the Regions of Campania andBasilicata involving the development of the Regionsof Novi Sad and Kragujevac. The project wasapproved and is worth Euro 840,000, with additionalcofunding from the regions still to be defined. Theproject provides for:

• Scientific technical cooperation with the Ministryof Agriculture of Serbia and Montenegro, theDepartment of Agriculture of the University ofNovi Sad, the Faculty of Agriculture of theUniversity of Belgrade, and the Novi Sad Institutefor Crops, involving the transfer of innovativepractises – worth Euro 381,000.

• Cooperation in education and professionaltraining involving the Vrsac Agricultural School(Municipality of Vrsac) and the Ministry ofAgriculture of Serbia and Montenegro – worthEuro 78,000.

• Development of agricultural associations andcooperation, in support of the Ministry of

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R E S U L T S O F N A T I O N A LA C T I V I T I E S

The City–to–City Programme works mainly with theauthorities of Serbia and Montenegro and supportsthe ongoing process of political and administrativedecentralisation. In 2000, the decentralisation processwas given fresh impetus by the new government. InFebruary 2002, a bill was passed to: broaden theauthority of municipalities, with the direct election ofmayors; reform local funding procedures; and givemunicipal councils a specific role in developmentplanning. In June 2002, the Parliament of Serbia andMontenegro established the Ministry of LocalAutonomy, responsible for coordinating political-administrative decentralisation. Alongside legislativeaspects, the authorities in Serbia and Montenegro arealso facing problems connected with decentralisation,such as resource redistribution, local-level know-howcreation, and the lack of regional benchmarks.Decentralisation is also part of the more complexprocess of a transition towards a market economy,which the country is currently undergoing. Thus, the

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transformations under way concern the transfer ofpower and responsibilities, a general reform of publicadministration, and a substantial effort to privatisestate-owned industries.

In this context, the City–to–City Programme supportsthe commitment of local and national authorities todeveloping sustainable decentralisation models thatcan contribute to the ongoing debate, and be extendedto other areas. In particular, the Ministry of Social Affairsof Serbia and Montenegro set up a plan fordecentralising services involving both local authoritiesand civil society organisations, which supportedparticularly vulnerable groups during critical phases.

Results for 2001 and 2002 were as follows: Support insetting up the Social Innovation Fund (SIF). At therequest of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Programmeprovided technical assistance for the creation andoperations of the SIF, which promotes innovativeprojects and experimentation. In 2002, the plan ofoperations of the SIF was defined and the Programmeprovided specific financial resources. The first core staffof the SIF were selected,consisting of three experts,andactivities aimed at the legal constitution of the SIF werecarried out. Publication of “Local democracies in Serbiaand Montenegro”. The Programme promoted thepublication of a document describing the situation oflocal authorities in Serbia and Montenegro and theongoing process of decentralisation. The author, MijatDamijanovic, officer at the PALGO centre and professorat the University of Belgrade, gave free copyrightconcessions. National technical group for assistance tothe elderly. In 2001, the Programme had alreadycollaborated with the Italian Trade UnionConfederation, represented by the non-governmentalorganisation (NGO) Progetto Sviluppo, andCooperazione Italiana to carry out a pilot projectinvolving the reorganisation of social and healthservices for the elderly in the city of Kragujevac. TheMinistry of Social Affairs created a national technicalgroup to monitor the project and promote itsextension to other parts of the country. In 2002, thisgroup carried out in-depth research and analyses withthe technical assistance of experts from theProgramme and Progetto Sviluppo. Detaileddocumentation was produced on the state of socialand health services for the elderly in Serbia andMontenegro and the prospects for their reorganisation.The group assisted in drafting the first training manualfor home-care workers during the Kragujevac pilotproject.The results of the working group activities werediscussed with the Minister for Social Affairs in October2002, and received a positive assessment.

In 2003, results at the national level were particularlysignificant in the field of local economic development.In 2001, the Programme had formed an activepartnership with the Ministry of Economics andPrivatisation, the Ministry of International EconomicRelations, and the Parliamentary Commission forEconomic Development of Serbia and Montenegro.The Emilia-Romagna Region signed an agreementwith the parliamentary commission for the opening ofa “help desk” in the city of Belgrade to promoteinternational partnerships and monitor the initiativesof the cities of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Novi Sadand Kragujevac. The Campania Region signed anagreement with the Ministry of InternationalEconomic Relations involving training activities forfarmers. In addition, a LEDA was created in the Regionof Novi Sad. Intense work was also carried out inKragujevac with the development agency set up by aprogramme of the European Agency forReconstruction (EAR), in collaboration with theMunicipality of Reggio Emilia.

In 2003, given the credit gained by Alma Mons, a trustfund was created to carry out credit activities in theterritory.The trust fund was developed and set up withthe backing of high-level experts from theMunicipality of Modena, and the credit consortium ofthe Emilia-Romagna Region. The active role of theregion’s actors and the positive results achieved inNovi Sad, convinced the Italian banks Unicredit/Bancad'Impresa, Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna, andBanca di San Gimignano e San Prospero to finance thetrust fund. The three banks, the Municipality ofModena, and Fidindustria (a regional creditconsortium) contributed a total of Euro 120,000.

In order to boost local capacity, numerous trainingcourses were organised in 2003 for the municipaladministrative staff of the six cities. The courses alsoinvolved staff from the culture department. At the endof 2003, the first in a series of training courses on localplanning was also organised, with contributions fromthe Emilia-Romagna Region. The courses involved themanagers and staff of the Ministry of Social Affairs ofSerbia and Montenegro. In collaboration with theMunicipality of Firenze, intense work was carried out inBelgrade in the training of museum staff. Incollaboration with the Municipality of Milano, trainingwas given to Belgrade’s municipal librarians, and workstarted on the structural reorganisation of the services.Last, technical personnel from the Municipality ofBelgrade and other cities received training on variousaspects of town planning.

The Programme is collaborating with variousinternational organisations present in Serbia andMontenegro. Collaboration has also been establishedwith Italian organisations in the country,such as SIMEST,ICE and the Italian Cultural Institute. While the Novi Sadeconomic development agency was being set up,coordination was established with Gesellschaft fürTechnishe Zusammenarbeit (GTZ – Germancooperation organisation), and various activities werecofunded. Collaboration was established with the EAR,for interventions in the cities of Kragujevac and Nis.Collaboration was established with experts of the WorldBank and with the projects promoted by the UnitedStates Agency for International Development (USAID).

R E S U L T S A T T H E L O C A L L E V E L

The Programme operates in the cities of Belgrade,Kragujevac, Nis, Novi Sad, Pancevo and Smederevo.Activities were carried out in Belgrade as a whole andalso in Zemun, one of the 16 districts that make upBelgrade. Local authorities in each city created a CWGto plan and monitor programme activities, withprocedures that promote the participation ofbeneficiaries, sustainability and non-discriminationtowards disadvantaged groups. The decision-makingprocess to define activities involves various steps. First,the working group identifies possible interventions, inthe framework of local development strategies. Then,sectors of common interest and projects are chosen incollaboration with the decentralised cooperationcommittees. The Programme provides technicalassistance in the various phases of the process.

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R E S U L T S I N T H E C I T Y O F B E L G R A D E

Belgrade, an ancient European city, is the capital ofSerbia and Montenegro. It is located at the confluenceof the Danube and Sava rivers and is the crossroads ofthe major national thoroughfares and railwaynetworks. Belgrade is the administrative, economic,cultural and religious centre of the country and itspopulation of about 1,800,000 (1999 estimate), isabout a quarter of that of Serbia and Montenegro(Kosovo excluded). It is the second-largestmetropolitan area in the Balkans after Athens. The cityadministration is divided into 16 submunicipalitiescovering the entire urban area of about 320 ha.

Belgrade has 59 social and health institutions, thelargest pool of services in the country. It is also the seatof the largest university in Serbia and Montenegro:

In order to enhance welfare systems, specific activity insupport of disadvantaged groups continued.Interventions were also carried out to help municipaladministrations programme and manage territorialsocial services and gear them towards the needs ofabandoned children, disadvantaged groups and theelderly.The contribution by decentralised cooperationcommittees was decisive.

2003 also saw continued work on the technical andadministrative reorganisation plan of the Ministry ofSocial Affairs. At the request of the Ministry of SocialAffairs, the City–to–City Programme assisted in theredefinition of its organisational, administrative andprocedural mechanisms. In 2002, refresher courseswere organised for staff, and studies were carried outon the organisation of ministerial structures. Proposalswere made for the reorganisation of financialmanagement and the creation of specific resources forlocal autonomies. When the presidents of the Regionsof Campania and Emilia-Romagna paid an official visit,the Minister for Social Affairs signed two cooperationagreements in support of the social services reformprocess in Serbia and Montenegro. In the second halfof 2002, technical missions were carried out to defineactivities for the two above-mentioned agreements.

The agreement with the Ministry of Social Affairs ofSerbia and Montenegro provides for a three-yearprogramme with the technical and financial backingof the Emilia-Romagna Region within the frameworkof the City–to–City Programme. In 2003, in order toprovide continuity for the project, the Emilia-RomagnaRegion opened an office for one of its experts in theProgramme’s Belgrade premises. The Emilia-RomagnaRegion also activated a network of municipaladministrations so that they could establishpartnerships with the corresponding administrationsof Novi Sad and Kragujevac in the organisation of pilotwelfare projects. The Emilia-Romagna Region will beproviding support for the Ministry of Social Affairs.Theproject provides for training in the use ofprogramming instruments, such as regional and areasocial plans. In particular, the area social plan providesfor policies and activities involving the social andhealth sectors, integration of the disabled in schools,and the world of work and foster care. It also providesfor the promotion of partnerships among civil societyinstitutions and associations in order to guarantee thesustainability of the integrated welfare system and theconsolidation of democratic decision-makingprocesses. Training activities will be coordinated bythe Province of Forlì–Cesena.

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37 faculties, 83,500 students, and politically activemovements such as the Polytechnic Movement andOtpor. In the 1990s, the city underwent substantial,often uncontrolled urban growth, which led toproblems in services and development. Illegalconstruction reached alarming levels. The servicesector increased considerably following theprivatisation of state industries initiated in 2001 by thenew government. In the same year, laws were passedregarding unregulated economic activities. Accordingto international estimates, in 2000 almost 60 percentof national GDP came from the “shadow” economysector. The process of regulating these activitiesrevealed a significant number of SMEs in the servicesector and, to a lesser extent, in the light industrialsector in Belgrade. The city has numerous culturalactivities. Many theatres stage their own productionsand the city also hosts also international festivals ofcinema, classical music, theatre and children’s theatre.

Results in Belgrade have been achieved with activeassistance from the Municipalities of Firenze,Calenzano, Fiesole, Lastra a Signa, Pontassieve,Scandicci and Sesto Fiorentino, and with the supportof the Toscana Region. In 2002, new decentralisedcooperation partnerships were fostered with theMunicipality of Milano and the Campania Region.

The Working Group of the City of Belgrade was createdin 2001. In June 2001, a visit was arranged for adelegation from the Municipality of Firenze, headed bythe councillor for international cooperation. The visitresulted in the signing of a framework agreement toprovide support to the city administration, culturaland local services, urban planning, and culturalheritage preservation. Two missions by CISPELtechnical experts, a Tuscan organisation which bringstogether regional public utilities, and a visit of adelegation of officials responsible for the Belgradeaqueduct to Florence were organised in autumn 2001.An intervention was planned, aimed at reorganisingthe Belgrade aqueduct, which involves developingnew relations between enterprises and users toprovide better services and rationalise human andfinancial resources.

In 2001 and 2002, a project was carried out tostrengthen and reorganise the municipaladministration. In collaboration with the University ofFlorence, the PALGO Study Centre, and the Universityof Belgrade, a university exchange programme wascreated within the ambit of the EU initiative TEMPUS.Interventions concerned training and researchprojects for instructors and students in public-

administration capacity building, focusing on politicaland administrative decentralisation processes.

In July 2002, a delegation from the Municipality ofMilano visited Belgrade to start collaboration with theworking group. In November, the mayors of the twocities signed a decentralised cooperation frameworkagreement in Milan, within the framework of theCity–to–City Programme, to reorganise the librarysystem of Belgrade, support pre-schools, promoteintegration of disabled children, support local publicservices companies, and promote cultural exchangesbetween the two cities.

In 2003, decentralised cooperation between the city ofBelgrade and its Italian partners continued work onexisting projects and programmed new ones.

In May 2003, a technical delegation, headed by officialsof the Department for Social Policies of the CampaniaRegion undertook a mission to Serbia andMontenegro in order to promote cooperation with theMinistry of Welfare of Serbia and Montenegro. Themeeting helped renew institutional relations, andimplement the terms of the agreement signed withinthe framework of the City–to–City Programme. TheCampania Region is hoping to organise trainingactivities for officials on programming instrumentsand the management of welfare systems. Followingthe mission, a Serbo-Croatian translation was made ofa document provided by the Campania Region thatcontains guidelines for the programming andreorganisation of the welfare system. Trainingactivities are scheduled for early 2004. The trainingscheme is part of a broader system of activities thatthe Campania Region plans to implement in synergywith the Emilia-Romagna Region.

The following sections summarise the results ofprojects launched in previous years and whichcontinued into 2003.

T e r r i t o r i a l a n d u r b a n p l a n n i n g ,a n d c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g ep r e s e r v a t i o n

In 2001, technical experts from Florence and Belgradeexamined legislation and procedures relating to theplanning and preservation of cultural heritage. InJanuary 2002, a workshop was organised in Belgradeon town planning with architects and urban plannersfrom Tuscany as well as about 100 local technicalpersonnel from Belgrade and other cities in which theProgramme is operating. In the following months,

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various missions to Belgrade and Florence by townplanners from Tuscany and Belgrade took place inorder to produce a new zoning plan for Belgrade,adopted in summer 2002. Since spring 2002, the city ofBelgrade has participated in international initiativeson town planning and cultural heritage preservationheld in Florence through the EU INTERREG project.

In June 2003, two experts from Florence assistedtechnical personnel from Belgrade in the definition of atown-planning project. The aim of the project is toimprove management techniques of the geographicalinformation system (GIS) programme and apply newcomputer technologies to town planning in Belgrade. Italso provides for the development of an electronicsystem to manage the implementation and monitoringof the zoning plan. In the following months, the teamsof experts from the two cities exchanged knowledgeand experiences. In October 2003, four technical expertsfrom Tuscany guaranteed the training of technicalpersonnel from Belgrade in GIS techniques.The missionalso allowed the technical experts to contribute to theimplementation of the “European Riverlinks Project –INTERREG III C”, developed with EU funds incollaboration with the City–to–City Programme, whichwas involved in drawing up the scheme. The city ofFlorence plays a leading role in the project, inpartnership with the city of Belgrade.

C u l t u r a l s e r v i c e s a n dr e o r g a n i s a t i o n o f t h e m u n i c i p a lm u s e u m s y s t e m

The reorganisation of the museum system wasparticularly appreciated by the Belgrade authorities,which see the project as an opportunity to promotethe city’s considerable cultural heritage. The goodcooperation relations between Belgrade and Florencewere renewed during the workshop “New tendenciesin museology”, held in June, with the participation ofthe culture councillor the Municipality of Firenze.

In November 2001, a museum-organisation expertfrom the Municipality of Firenze held a workshop inBelgrade, in which directors of the major municipalmuseums of Belgrade participated. In April 2002, thedirectors of the museums and officials of the BelgradeCultural Department participated in a training coursein Florence on museum management techniques. Apilot project was developed for revamping theHistorical Museum of Belgrade. The project providesfor the setting up of a scientific committee, thelocation of new premises, renewing collections,producing publications, defining an interdisciplinary

path involving other museums and culturalinstitutions, and producing a targeted promotionalcampaign. Furthermore, the collaboration betweenexperts from Florence and Belgrade contributed to thepromotion by the city of Belgrade of numerouscultural heritage enhancement initiatives in 2002,including a new historical and artistic guide to the city,published in different languages.

In February 2003, a mission by experts from Florencelaunched the second phase of the cooperation project,which involves two interventions: the establishment ofa museum didactics centre, to promote, organise andcoordinate museum services in the city, directing themtowards schools; and the construction of a newBelgrade city museum, involving an innovative andmultidisciplinary museum plan to bring the currentlyscattered collections under one roof. During thefollowing mission by the experts from Florence (June2003), designs for the New City Museum wereillustrated at the “New tendencies in museology”workshop organised by the Italian Ministry for ForeignAffairs at the Belgrade National Museum. Anagreement was reached on possible synergiesbetween the various initiatives, and on participation ofBelgrade’s state museums in the new museumdidactics centre. Internships were organised in July2003 for high-level political and technical staff ofBelgrade’s two museum centres (state and municipal).In this way, officials from Serbia and Montenegro wereable to gain an insight into the considerableexperience of Florence and Tuscany in the field ofmuseums. In particular, they were able to identifyconvergences between Belgrade’s two museumsystems, both involved in partnerships with Italy.

In September 2003, experts from Florence undertookanother mission to Belgrade in order to help advancethe projects under way and to give lessons in theNational Museum for state and municipal museumpersonnel on quality standards in Italian museums. Inestablishing the Museum Didactics Centre, themunicipal administration identified a first group ofpotential managers, with whom the key aspects of theproject were analysed. In October, during a newmission to Belgrade, the Florentine experts jointlyexamined aspects concerning the constitution of theMuseum Didactics Centre with the personnel selectedto manage its start-up phase. The content, users andtimetable for the first museum didactic interventionswere defined, and they will be implemented in May orJune 2004. An experimental intervention wasscheduled for January 2004 at a museum in Konan.

M o n t e n e g r o 1 9 1

R E S U L T S I N T H EM U N I C I P A L I T Y O F Z E M U N

Zemun, one of the largest of the 16 submunicipalitiesof Belgrade, is located in the northwest of the city, onthe right bank of the Danube. It has a population ofabout 250,000 and is the municipal area with thelargest number of refugees and evacuees (about50,000). Historically multiethnic and multicultural,Zemun was independent from Belgrade from theeighteenth century to the beginning of the twentiethcentury. It was the outpost of the Austro-HungarianEmpire when the rest of Serbia and Montenegro wasstill under Ottoman domination. It has retained itssmall-town character, despite being thoroughlyincorporated into the Belgrade metropolitan area.Many small industries in the metalworking,pharmaceutical, chemical, textile and shoe-

C u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s

Collaboration between Florence and Belgradeinvolved numerous institutions of the two cities. Insummer 2002, the Belgrade Symphony Orchestraparticipated in the production of a Verdi opera inFiesole as part of the Florence’s summer eventsprogramme. A series of films made in Serbia andMontenegro and a concert by a famous Roma folkgroup were included in the same programme.

In October 2002, as part of the new collaborationagreements between the Campania Region and theCity of Belgrade, a group of students from Campaniaparticipated in an international children’s theatrefestival, which hosted young artists from 16 Europeancountries. In December, a visit to Naples was organisedby the culture councillor of Belgrade in order to plan aseries of new cultural initiatives.

On New Year’s Eve 2002, a concert by the singerEugenio Bennato and local folk groups was held inBelgrade. During the event, a new cultural show wasorganised, which was then held in July. This was“Naples Week”, organised in collaboration with theItalian Cultural Institute in Belgrade. Theatricalworkshops were held in the streets and in culturalcentres. Exhibitions of traditional objects wereorganised and traditional Neapolitan delicacies wereoffered. By involving children in their activities, theexperimental theatre groups highlighted theeducational role of typical Neapolitan puppets, called“guarattelle”. The climax of the event was thepresentation of the “Opera Buffa”, with music by thePietà de' Turchini Musica Antica Centre.

manufacturing sectors have developed in Zemun inrecent decades. Today, most of these enterprises arebeing privatised and face the problems of downsizingpersonnel. The municipality has good social andhealth services, including a paediatric hospital. It alsohas two important theatres. The organisations fromcivil society are particularly active in providingservices. Apart from a newspaper and radio station,run by volunteers from local associations, theorganisations also help disadvantaged groups andsupport local SMEs and cultural activities.

Results in the Municipality of Zemun, part of the city ofBelgrade, have been achieved with the collaborationof the Municipality of Carpi. This collaborationdeveloped thanks to contacts established by women’sassociations of the two towns. In June 2001, theProgramme organised the first visit of a delegationfrom Carpi, headed by the mayor, to Zemun to sign anagreement for the social and economic inclusion ofvulnerable groups and support for the professional re-qualification of women. Between October 2001 andFebruary 2002, a five-month training course wasorganised in the Carpi Professional Training Centre fortwo managers of the “Single Mothers” association ofZemun. The association offers assistance to more than2,000 women in need, by supporting small businessactivities, mainly in the textile sector.

The Zemun Working Group set up a permanenttraining centre, equipped with textile machinery, to actas a microenterprise incubator. In November 2002, theProgramme began work on renovating the premisesof the centre. In collaboration with the CarpiProfessional Training Centre, the Programme suppliestechnical assistance to the Zemun Working Group inthe programming of training activities and thedefinition of a medium-term plan of operations for thecentre, which will make it self-sustaining within thefirst two years of activity.

In early 2003, work was completed on the schoolbuildings that will be used to house the trainingcentre. An agreement was reached with a dealer inSerbia and Montenegro for the delivery of equipmentin early 2004. Strategies were examined to make thecentre self-sustaining as soon as possible. At a meetingheld in November 2003, the Municipality of Carpi saidit would examine the possibilities of selling theproducts of the centre on the Italian market.

The Programme also helped to identify potentialpartners among the donors operating in the Zemunarea. The British Government’s cooperation agency

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R E S U L T S I N T H E C I T Y O F K R A G U J E V A C

Kragujevac, the capital of Serbia from 1818 to 1839, isin the centre of the country, about 130 km southeast ofBelgrade. It has a population of about 185,000,including 25,000 are refugees and evacuees. It has anindustrial tradition, having been a military–industrialcentre in the previous century. Until 1997, 53 percentof the labour force worked in the metalworking, textileand agricultural machinery sectors. Zastava, a car andheavy vehicle manufacturer, was the principal industry.Zastava was producing up to 220,000 vehicles a year bythe end of the 1980s. Production then plummeted as aresult of the armed conflicts of the 1990s and reachedan all-time low after the bombings by the forces of theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999,when some facilities were seriously damaged. In 2001,the Government of Serbia and Montenegro initiated athorough overhaul of the enterprise, undergoingprivatisation, causing thousands of employees to belaid off. Kragujevac may be the city that is suffering

most from the effects of transition. The high levels ofunemployment, refugees and evacuees have created asituation of social and economic instability.The city hasregional social and health services, which cover almostthe entire population of central Serbia. There is also auniversity offering specialisations in engineering andeconomics.

Results have been achieved in the city of Kragujevacthrough the active collaboration of: the Municipalitiesof Carrara, Ivrea, Reggio Emilia; the Regions of Toscanaand Emilia-Romagna; and Progetto Sviluppo,supported by the Italian Trade Union Confederations.In 2002, a new decentralised cooperation partnershipbetween Kragujevac and Rome was also launched.

In 2001, after creating the working group, theProgramme organised visits by various Italiandecentralised cooperation committees. In April 2001,the vice-mayor of Reggio Emilia headed a firstdelegation to Kragujevac. In May, a similar mission washeaded by the mayor of Carrara, twinned for morethan 25 years with Kragujevac, followed in June by adelegation from Ivrea, headed by the councillor forinternational cooperation. The three delegationssigned cooperation agreements with the mayor ofKragujevac to work on various projects within theframework of the City–to–City Programme. Varioustechnical missions by Italian experts to Kragujevac andexperts from Serbia and Montenegro to Italy followedthe above agreements. A specific initiative was alsolaunched in collaboration with Progetto Sviluppo ofthe Italian Trade Union Confederations to aid theelderly in Kragujevac. Cooperazione Italianaparticipates actively in this project as part of anemergency intervention.

In September 2002, a visit to Kragujevac wasundertaken by a delegation from Rome, headed by thelabour councillor, to sign an agreement for localeconomic development and job creation, involvingItalian Trade Union Confederations, through ProgettoSviluppo. In November 2002, a training mission toRome was undertaken by technical personnel andexperts of the economic development agency, the cityadministration, unions and business associations ofKragujevac. At the end of the mission, a project pathwas defined for 2003. It included professional re-qualification training and promoting self-employmentfor the most disadvantaged groups in Kragujevac.

In 2002, a project was carried out to provide support toyoung people in the fight against alienation and drugaddiction. In April 2002, a workshop was organised

Department for International Development (DFID)was contacted, and an agreement was reached withthe centre and the “Single Mothers” association toprovide technical and financial support to businessmanagement training activities. The Programme andthe Municipality of Carpi are committed toguaranteeing technical training activities aimed atproduction. The Programme helped the “SingleMothers” association to draw up a project documentto present to DFID. In January 2004, technical expertsfrom the Municipality of Carpi are scheduled toundertake a mission to Zemun in order to define thecontents and methods of training activities andsubsequent planning phases.

Another aspect of the Zemun project involved theMinistry of Education and Sport of Serbia andMontenegro in the examination of nationalregulations for professional re-qualification. Throughnumerous working meetings, it was agreed to call inItalian experts to help analyse regulations. A proposalwas made to the Ministry of Education and Sport tolaunch two pilot projects in two cities of Serbia andMontenegro and to set up a national working group,which may utilise local experiences to draw up a bill onthe process of professional re-qualification. Thesepossibilities aroused the interest of the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Valdelsa AdministrativeDistrict of Empoli, who expressed their willingness togive backing to the pilot projects in Zemun, incollaboration with the Municipality of Carpi, and in Nis.

s e r b i a 1 9 3

S u p p o r t f o r d i s a d v a n t a g e d y o u t h

The project was implemented with the Municipality ofCarrara and promotes the social, educational andemployment integration of the 60 residents of theorphanage in Kragujevac. In 2001 and 2002, theatreworkshops, school initiatives and recreationalactivities were carried out together with localassociations to enhance community awareness of theproblems of disadvantaged youth. Training wasprovided for social services operators and orphansbetween aged 16–18, with on-the-job training in localenterprises. Foster care and adoptions were promoted,with 14 young residents of the orphanage beingplaced with foster families. Eight orphanage residents,just under 18, started work. Training for personnel alsoled to the adoption of new working procedures in theorphanage. The initiative was much appreciated bythe Ministry of Social Affairs of Serbia andMontenegro, and was presented in several regionalsocial-worker workshops.

In early 2003, in collaboration with the Municipalitiesof Carrara and Ivrea, and in partnership with theMladost orphanage and the LEDA, a project wasdeveloped to set up an ice-cream / cake enterprise. Inconjunction with the LEDA, a plan was formulated toestablish a trust fund to finance social enterprises setup by young people from the orphanage. The fundaims to promote the establishment of enterprises thatare self-sustainable and than can, therefore, pay backthe credit. The FCD Credit Fund, established by a bankwith a branch in Kragujevac through a donation by the

City–to–City Programme, will be managed by a creditcommittee made up of donors, and the bank. It will besupervised by the LEDA. Part of the proceeds fromcredit operations will go to the orphanage to providetraining for the residents. The fund is scheduled tostart operations in early 2004.

E x p e r i m e n t a t i o n o f n e w m o d e l so f i n t e g r a t e d a s s i s t a n c e f o r t h ee l d e r l y

The project was launched in autumn 2001 incollaboration with Progetto Sviluppo andCooperazione Italiana. It provides for an integratedsystem of social and health services for the elderly inan area of the city of Kragujevac. The intervention iscoordinated by a working group made up of localauthorities, social and health service officials,associations and the Ministry of Social Affairs ofSerbia and Montenegro. A working group operatingat the national level defines strategic guidelines foraction, monitors activities, and processes the resultsof the intervention for the future reform of thewelfare system.

In 2002, Cooperazione Italiana renovated andequipped the geriatric ward at the Kragujevachospital. The Programme and Progetto Sviluppoprovided technical assistance and financial resourcesto carry out preparatory activities and start up home-care services. A physiotherapy centre was equippedand launched in February 2002 at the local rest home,which provides 300 monthly treatments. In spring2002, a professional training course for 15 potentialworkers was organised, and a first manual for home-care assistants was produced in Serbian. In thesummer, the first five assistants were hired by theMunicipality of Kragujevac. Equipment (a car, uniforms,medical equipment and materials) was provided andthe service became operational.

In October 2002, work began on refurbishing thepremises for the day centre. Work was scheduled forcompletion in June 2003, but the working groupdecided to continue activities. The Italian NGOPROSVIL drew up a three-year project to provideintegrated assistance to the elderly, which wassubmitted to the Italian Government. In addition, anational workshop on the reorganisation of servicesfor the elderly was scheduled for late March 2004 inorder to assess and promote the results nationally andprogramme future activities.

with the Municipality of Ivrea, in which four operatorsfrom Ivrea participated, involving 80 teachers, socialand health officials, police forces and civil societyrepresentatives. The subjects of prevention andrehabilitation were studied in depth.

In 2002, in collaboration with the Municipality ofCarrara and the Carrara public transport service (CAT),a project was carried out to improve the transportsystem in Kragujevac. CAT donated 15 buses andcoaches to Kragujevac, in collaboration with theProgramme. Another initiative, which was promotedby the Municipality of Reggio Emilia and AGAC, amultiutility organisation, aimed at supporting the cityof Kragujevac in waste collection and processing, andin the production of heating energy.

The following sections summarise the results ofprojects already under way or launched in 2003.

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With the collaboration of the Programme, theSumadjia agency set up a local economicdevelopment forum, in which business associations,banks and NGOs participate. The forum is responsiblefor aiding the competent local institutions in theidentification of strategic territorial economicdevelopment guidelines. It is also working on a map ofregional economic resources, which will provide thebasic information for defining the strategy.

In late 2003, the Programme and the MunicipalAdministration of Kragujevac looked into the possibilityof converting Sumadjia into an economic developmentagency, based on a model that provides for broaderparticipation of local actors in management bodies.TheEAR, which founded Sumadjia, is to cease financialsupport for the agency. Institutions in Kragujevac havemade a positive response and agreed on the need toconduct a sustainability study and broadenmembership of the agency.

In collaboration with the Municipality of Roma, planswere made for setting up a guidance centre (COL) tosupport local economic development initiatives,socio-economic promotion of the Municipality andRegion of Sumadjia, and the implementation ofinitiatives for professional re-qualification andreorientation. The Municipality of Roma will providetechnical know-how, and PROSVIL will guarantee theimplementation of activities. The inauguration of theCOL is scheduled for early 2004, once agreementshave been signed by all the operators concerned.

S t r e n g t h e n i n g a n dr e o r g a n i s a t i o n o f t h e n e t w o r ko f s o c i a l s e r v i c e s f o r c i t i z e n s

In collaboration with the Emilia-Romagna Region,work began in Kragujevac on an initiative toimplement the same strategies and instruments thatwere successfully experimented in Novi Sad in theprogramming of welfare services for citizens. Planningalso involved the Municipalities of Forlì and ReggioEmilia. In conjunction with the “Una montagna di aiuti”association of Reggio Emilia, an intervention wasdefined to promote inclusive instruction, andmeetings are scheduled in January so that the Emilia-Romagna Region can join the initiative.

S u p p o r t t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f S M E s

In collaboration with the Municipality of Reggio Emilia,support was given to the Sumadjia developmentagency, created in 2001 by the City of Kragujevac andlocal business associations with the support of the EAR.In March 2002, in order to launch the project, theProgramme organised a workshop on local economicdevelopment, in which 150 people from Kragujevac andReggio Emilia took part. A database was created on200 SMEs in the Kragujevac region. Data research andanalysis, which lasted eight months, was carried out bytwo young experts from the area, under the supervisionof the LEDA and the technical assistance of theProgramme and the city of Reggio Emilia. Theinformation was collected on a CD-ROM, which waspresented in Kragujevac and Reggio Emilia in November2002. The CD-ROM is distributed by the KragujevacLEDA and is available to all economic operatorsinterested in collaboration agreements in the city.

In December 2002, the agency set up a help desk forenterprises interested in internationalisation, and twolocal experts were trained for six months in Italy. Thehelp desk, which was set up with the city of ReggioEmilia, provides services to SMEs in Kragujevac,searches for foreign partners, and promotescommercial and industrial partnerships. In 2003, thehelp desk produced a map of SMEs interested in theprocess of internationalisation in the regions ofSumadjia and Pomoravje. In November, an enterprise-matching exchange was held for the first time inReggio Emilia. The Municipality of Reggio Emilia, theChamber of Commerce of Reggio, and the ProductiveActivities Department of the Emilia-Romagna Regionconvened local enterprises interested in meeting abusiness delegation from Serbia and Montenegro.

R E S U L T S I N T H E C I T Y O F N I S

Principal urban centre of southern Serbia andMontenegro, Nis was the birthplace of the emperorConstantine. It is located in the Nisava river valley,about 230 km from Belgrade, and is a regionalcrossroads between Serbia and Montenegro, Theformer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Bulgaria.Its population of about 300,000, of whom 10 percentare Roma, makes it the second-largest city in Serbiaand Montenegro. The local economy is based onindustrial centres of electronics, mechanicalengineering, textiles and tobacco processing. Aselsewhere, the privatisation process is transformingthese large industries as they restructure. The city hasregional social and health services that cover most ofsouthern Serbia. The university has 10 faculties and14,000 students. There are also many associations,which provide Nis with a rich cultural life.

M o n t e n e g r o 1 9 5

Results in the City of Nis have been achieved throughactive collaboration with the municipalities in theAdministrative District of Empoli: Capraia, Limite,Castelfiorentino, Cerreto Guidi, Certaldo, Empoli,Fucecchio, Gambassi Terme, Montaione, MontelupoFiorentino, Montesperto and Vinci, with the support ofthe Toscana Region.

The Programme commenced operations in Nis inMarch 2001 by supporting the creation of a workinggroup and organising the mission of a delegation fromthe Administrative District of Empoli, headed by twomunicipal councillors. A cooperation agreement wassigned to support SMEs and strengthen municipalpublic utilities. In June 2001, a delegation from Nistravelled to Empoli in order to define a training projectfor the personnel of the local agency, SMEs andbusiness associations. The project also providessupport for the agrifood business, and promotes thecreation of small enterprises, producers associations,and local microcredit committees.The training agencyof the Administrative District of Empoli participated inthe project through two technical missions to Nis.

In spring 2002, the Nis Working Group organised fourtraining sessions in Empoli on local economicdevelopment and job creation for disadvantagedgroups. The courses involved 50 people: municipalofficials, representatives of business associations,farmers’ associations, associations for the disabled,ethnic minorities, universities, and the agency.

In 2003, at the request of the Municipal Administrationof Nis, the project was redirected towards provingsupport for the development of localentrepreneurship, the creation of instruments andservices to help existing businesses, and thepromotion of new enterprises. At present, work isbeing carried out on a complete catalogue of SMEs inNis. Work is also in progress on a guide to businesscreation, which contains tools for self-assessment ofbusiness capability and setting up businesses, andoffers guidance on the purchase of new and usedequipment. The project comes within the frameworkof initiatives by the Labour Ministry of Serbia andMontenegro to set up a nationwide network of“entrepreneurial centres” in its offices.

A project office was established in the MunicipalAdministration of Nis, and two technical experts wereselected to start research work on the production ofthe catalogue. In November 2003, the two technicalexperts attended a training course in Florence on thecreation of company registers, organised by the

R E S U L T S I N T H E C I T Y O F N O V I S A D

The major city of northern Serbia and Montenegro,Novi Sad is the capital of the Autonomous Province ofVojvodina. Located in the heart of a predominantlyagricultural area, irrigated by the Danube River, the cityhas historically had a large community of ethnic-linguistic minorities. Founded in 1670, near the ruins ofan ancient Roman city, Novi Sad was one of the mostimportant centres of Serbian culture in theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Althoughheavily damaged by the NATO bombings of 1999 (thebridges over the Danube River were destroyed), NoviSad now has one of the most dynamic economies inSerbia and Montenegro. The city has a population of280,000.Various agrifood plants and a petrol-chemicalplant make up the main economic strengths of thecity, although there are also a number of SMEs. Like Nisand Kragujevac, Novi Sad provides much to itssurrounding region, with social and health servicescovering all of Vojvodina and a university of13 faculties and 47,000 students. Possibly because ofits particular ethnic-linguistic make-up, there arenumerous associations in fields ranging fromhumanitarian assistance and environmentalprotection to cultural and sports activities.The theatreis the largest in the country, an example of the city’srich cultural life. Novi Sad has been twinned with theMunicipality of Modena since 1963.

Results in the city of Novi Sad have been achievedthrough the active collaboration of the Municipalitiesof Modena and Ferrara and with the support of theEmilia-Romagna Region. In 2002, new decentralisedcooperation partnerships were started up with theMunicipalities of Imola and Livorno.

In 2001, after helping local authorities to set up theNovi Sad Working Group, visits to Novi Sad wereorganised by the Municipalities of Modena andFerrara, headed by the councillor for internationalcooperation, and the councillor for internationalaffairs, respectively. During the missions, cooperationagreements were signed for local economicdevelopment, upgrading social services, andreorganising local public services. In 2001, numerous

Valdelsa Administrative District of Empoli. A study wasalso undertaken to examine the possibility of creatinga professional re-qualification centre in Nis, incollaboration with the Ministry of Education andSport, which is responsible for professional trainingand re-qualification.

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exchanges and technical missions led to the creationof specific cooperation projects. In 2002, delegationsfrom the Municipality of Imola and the Municipality ofLivorno visited Novi Sad to sign decentralisedcooperation agreements within the framework of theCity–to–City Programme.

In 2001 and 2002, a project was carried out in the cityof Novi Sad in support of local public services. TheMunicipality of Ferrara donated 15 buses and3 special vehicles (diggers and blasters) to the City ofNovi Sad. META, a multiutility body from Modenasigned a letter of intent to establish an industrialpartnership with the public enterprise managingheating-gas distribution in Novi Sad.

In 2001 and 2002, a project was developed in NoviSad, to strengthen and reorganise social servicesnetworks, in collaboration with municipal and “thirdsector” social services. A delegation of social andhealth workers and civil society organisationsoperating with disadvantaged groups in Novi Sadvisited Modena in March 2002 to study forms andprocedures for reorganising social services. FromSeptember to November 2002, an expert from theMunicipality of Modena drew up an action plan incollaboration with the working group to strengthenservices and better integrate public activities withthose contributed by volunteers. A new service wasalso planned for abused minors and for strengtheningthe network of services providing assistance to theelderly. The Municipality of Imola programmedsupport activities with the Novi Sad Working Groupfor social and health services in the fight against drugaddiction. The Municipality of Livorno and the NoviSad Working Group agreed on an action plan for thereorganisation of social services, integrating thecontributions of volunteer associations.

In early 2003, at the request of the Novi Sad municipaldepartment for social policies, the project wasdirected towards improving foster care for minors andintegrating the disabled into the labour market.Exchange missions were programmed between NoviSad and Modena for the purpose of defining projectactivities. In May, two experts from the Municipality ofModena undertook a mission to Novi Sad. Discussionsfocused on how to promote foster care socially(strategies, methods, and instruments used in Modenafor information campaigns), provide training for fosterfamilies, and prepare children for foster care. Ananalysis of services for the disabled revealed thatstructures were mainly geared towards treatment, andthat a territorial service was needed to help these

people integrate into society and the labour market.Subsequently, in July and September, technicalexperts from Novi Sad travelled to Modena to finalisethe project. In 2004, the foster-care service for childrenfrom difficult family situations or who are sociallymarginalised will be promoted and experimented. Atthe same time, an experimental territorial service forthe inclusion of the disabled into society and thelabour market will also be launched.

The initiative undertaken by Modena will be integratedinto a broader commitment of the Emilia-RomagnaRegion. Imola will also collaborate in the interventions,especially those aimed at improving mental healthservices. A process that began in November, conductedtogether with the Municipality of Forlì, should also becompleted successfully by the beginning of 2004. Themunicipalities involved will focus on the areas thathave been identified, and work in synergy with thesupport of the Programme and the Emilia-RomagnaRegion. As a result of the concrete projects that havebeen experimented, an extensive area plan for thereorganisation of the services will be produced.

R e s u l t s o f t h e e c o n o m i cd e v e l o p m e n t a g e n c y o f t h eN o v i S a d R e g i o n

In the region of Novi Sad, the City–to–City Programmeproduced a result of considerable importance bypromoting the constitution of an economicdevelopment agency. Alma Mons was created topromote the sustainable economic development ofthe district of Juzna Backa, which includes the city ofNovi Sad and 11 municipalities: Bac, Backa Palanka,Backi Petrovac, Becej, Beocin, Srbobran, SremskiKarlovci, Temerin, Titel, Vrbas and Zabalj.

The agency assists local authorities and actors indeveloping the endogenous potential of the territoryby creating opportunities for SMEs, promoting thecreation of new ones, and fostering the integration ofdisadvantaged groups into the labour market. AlmaMons aims to be economically self-sustaining withinthree years of becoming operational.

The group promoting the agency was formed in 2001. Itwas made up of the main economic actors of Novi Sad,and exponents of economic institutions, businessassociations,and the training facilities of Modena.At theend of a workshop held in Novi Sad in September 2001,attended by about 150 representatives of institutionsand enterprises of Novi Sad, local authorities decided toconstitute the agency. The Alma Mons agency was

s e r b i a 1 9 7

officially inaugurated on 18 December 2001.

The agency has 20 members:

• The City of Novi Sad;

• Regional Chamber of Commerce;

• Association of businessmen and craftsmen of NoviSad and Sremski Karlovci;

• “Business Premises” public enterprise;

• “Urbanism” public enterprise;

• University of Novi Sad;

• Open University of Novi Sad;

• Vojvodjanska Banka;

• Continental Banka;

• Metals Banka;

• Panonska Banka;

• Novosadska Banka;

• Novi Sad Trade Fair Organisation;

• “DDOR Novi Sad” insurance company;

• “Holtech” research centre;

• Centre for Enterprises, Entrepreneurship andManagement;

• Municipality of Backi Petrovac;

• Autonomous Province of Vojvodina;

• Municipality of Becej;

• Municipality of Zabalj.

Alma Mons officially opened its offices in March 2002in the centre of the city of Novi Sad. Technical staffinclude a manager, a financial expert, an expert incompany services, and a secretary. On average,10–12 businesspeople per day come to Alma Mons forassistance. This figure shows that demand for servicesin the region is consistent and that the agency canprovide customers with the right answers. Otherindicators show that Alma Mons has achieved aconsiderable reputation in the territory of Novi Sad.For example, many banks in Novi Sad recommendtheir clients to the agency for credit requests orbusiness development plans. Moreover, in September2002, when the provincial SME development fund waspresented (a credit fund created partly from theproceeds of privatisations), officials of the governmentof Vojvodina indicated Alma Mons as the mainintermediary for access to fund resources.

The agency is supported by institutions in Modena, theCity–to–City Programme and GTZ. In 2002, theProgramme and the City of Modena provided technicalassistance and funds for the agency. In 2002, specifictraining activities were provided for members of theexecutive council and technical staff of the agency.

Subsequently, in-depth social and economic mappingwas conducted of the Alma Mons target territory, i.e.

the 12 municipalities of the South Backa district. Thework was completed in September 2002 and resultedin the drafting of a 500-page document containingimportant information on the district, and an analysisof relevant social and economic indicators from 1991to 2001. In this framework, in February 2002, theagency began to provide services to enterprises andpotential entrepreneurs in the territory.

In autumn 2002, the agency broadened its sphere ofaction in collaboration with local authorities andeconomic operators from the municipalities adjacentto Novi Sad. In particular, an office in the Municipalityof Vrbas was made operational. It is now run by themunicipal administration and a local businessassociation to promote opportunities offered by theagency to entrepreneurs in the municipality. In all theother municipalities, meetings were held with localauthorities and economic operators to developproductive projects with the support of the agency.

At the end of 2002, a detailed planning study wascarried out for the constitution of a trust fund. Thestudy was conducted in collaboration with an expertfrom Consorzio Fidi of Emilia-Romagna, a structurethat manages credit funds for SMEs with the agencystaff. The study defined management mechanisms forthe fund, its legal foundation, and the proposals to bemade to the banks taking part in the initiative.

In 2003, Alma Mons broadened its membership base,being joined by the Province of Vojvodina and theMunicipality of Backi Petrovac. The presence of theProvince of Vojvodina gives the agency theopportunity to extend action to the South Backadistrict. Collaboration established between AlmaMons and the Province of Vojvodina provides foractivities involving territorial planning. In October2003, a workshop was organised to define thecollaboration, sponsored by GTZ. GTZ also decided torenew support for Alma Mons until September 2004,providing funds that will cover most of the agency’srunning costs.

Alma Mons is acquiring national and internationalprestige and approval. It has signed a collaborationagreement with the agency of Serbia and Montenegrofor the development of SMEs. At the internationallevel, it has been involved directly in initiativespromoted by the new neighbourhood policies of theEU. In order to achieve economical sustainability in2003, Alma Mons conducted various activities, whichare described below:

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• Support for agricultural production planning in theMunicipality of Backi Petrovac. In March 2003, acollaboration agreement on agricultural planningwas established with the Municipal Administration ofBacki Petrovac.Alma Mons promoted the constitutionof a task team, with experts from the University ofNovi Sad, the Chamber of Commerce of Novi Sad, andthe Municipality of Backi Petrovac, in order toimplement the activities provided for in theagreement. Research was carried out to define theregulatory framework for agricultural production inSerbia and Montenegro, at both national and locallevels, and to identify the main agriculturaldevelopment programmes. In order to carry out thisactivity, the task team called in the University of NoviSad. In March 2003,Alma Mons, together with the taskteam, also defined a schedule for market research inthe agricultural industry sector. Research was carriedout by outside experts, chosen by Alma Mons and thetask team,and supervised by the agency.The researchwas completed in September and was presented anddiscussed during a workshop attended by allinterested parties in Backi Petrovac. In April and May,Alma Mons organised two training programmes fortechnical personnel of the Municipal Administrationof Backi Petrovac on issues relating to agriculturalplanning and agricultural development models. InJune 2003, activities began on the production of amap of the agricultural resources of the Municipalityof Backi Petrovac, in collaboration with a technicalexpert provided by the municipal administration.Themap pinpointed production factors and productiontechniques, which are of fundamental importance forplanning activities. At the end of December, the finalmap was presented publicly. At the end of the firstphase of the project, Alma Mons organised aworkshop in collaboration with the task team in orderto identify the next stages of the work on agriculturalproduction planning.

• Support for the constitution of the Trust Fund. AlmaMons helped draft the documentation needed forthe legal and operational sustainability of the TrustFund. In 2003, the agency was in close contact withlocal banks, and especially member banks, to make apreliminary study of the entrepreneurial ideas thatcould be sustained with the credit provided by thefund. Alma Mons also conducted numerousactivities to promote the fund with the institutionsof Novi Sad and other areas of Serbia andMontenegro. Alma Mons received preliminary offersfrom two banks for the management of the creditfunds, based on bank deposit conditions andproposed credit disbursement criteria.

• Creation of an SME database. In May 2003, AlmaMons started work on a map of SMEs of Novi Sad.This database was needed because no suitableinformation was available on this subject, which is ofgreat importance for the work of the agency and theeconomic development of the South Backa district.The agency hired two researchers and trained themin the legal aspects of SMEs and in databasetypologies. An analysis was also made of thestructure of the business association and theChamber of Commerce of Novi Sad. The agencysigned a collaboration agreement with the businessassociation and the Chamber of Commerce for theproduction of the map, in order to have direct accessto information. In September 2003, a questionnairefor businesspeople was devised. Data began to becollected in October, and the process should becompleted by early 2004.

• Feasibility study for the creation of a cultural tourismroute. The feasibility study was sponsored andsupported by the City of Norwich. The idea is toproduce a masterplan for a tourism route to thatpromotes the historical traditions and the religious,cultural and artistic heritage of the region of FruskaGora. Alma Mons began work on the feasibility studyin October 2003 by collecting data and creating anetwork of contacts with associations, and publicand private institutes. The study should becompleted by February 2004.

• Creation of a territorial services network. In 2003,Alma Mons worked systematically and continuouslytowards involving experts and consultancy firmsoperating in the area for the development of SMEs.Alma Mons also used the two most importantnewspapers in the city of Novi Sad in order todevelop as many contacts as possible forprofessional collaboration.These activities led to theforming of a broad network of 45 experts andservice structures operating in the territory. Thisnetwork has made Alma Mons a point of referencefor the coordination of activities promoting theeconomic development of the territory.

• Promotion of business associations. One problem inthe development of small enterprises in Serbia andMontenegro is that local business associations arenot very representative. The general lack of fundsdiscourages the construction of business services.The operations of the associations are limitedbecause they have few paying members. Withmembership fees, the associations could provide thenecessary services. Through two projects, Alma

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Mons is trying to find a solution to this vicious circle.The first project involves the agency, the BusinessAssociation of Vrbas and the MunicipalAdministration of Vrbas, which is cofunding theinitiative. An economic operator was given threemonths training by the agency on the problemsinvolved in business support. The operator was thenhired by the Business Association of Vrbas to workfor a year with the business community of Vrbas.During the year, the Business Association of Vrbas,with backing from the agency and the operator, willdevise and implement the first services for localenterprises, which mainly offer legal advice(especially for the start-up phase) and preparecompany accounts. The second project, which is inprogress, involves the agency, the BusinessAssociation of Novi Sad, the Chamber of Commerceof Novi Sad, the city of Modena, and the technicalskills of the Italian National Confederation ofCraftsmen (CNA). The project (outlined above)involves the development of a database on themembers of the business association.

The Municipality of Modena has continued to providesupport for Alma Mons. In 2003, an expert from theMunicipality of Modena went on a two-month missionto Novi Sad to complete agency staff training onmanagement procedures for the Trust Fund. Legaldocumentation for the constitution and operations ofthe Trust Fund was also prepared. In October, the staff ofAlma Mons and three technical experts from memberbanks attended a training course in Modena to analysethe particular mechanisms used by Consorzio Fidi fortrust funds that pay particular attention to vulnerablegroups. Legal aspects concerning guarantees wereanalysed from the banking point of view. During themission, thanks to the importance that the Municipalityof Modena attaches to the partnership with Alma Mons,the conditions were created for the Italian banksinvolved in the training process of the agency’s officialsto commit themselves to making a financialcontribution to the Novi Sad Trust Fund. In December,an event was organised in Bologna to sign a protocolagreement between the Ministry of Foreign Trade ofSerbia and Montenegro and the Department ofProductive Activities of the Emilia-Romagna Region. Aproposal for financial contributions from Italian banksto the Trust Fund was also presented. The Trust Fundmodel for the city of Novi Sad will be the subject of apublication in the first months of 2004. To launch theTrust Fund, Alma Mons first produced a definition ofvulnerable categories, and then produced a map ofvulnerable groups in its area, in collaboration with theNovi Sad Centre for Social Work.

With the technical and financial support of theMunicipality of Modena, Alma Mons is also helping tofoster business associations. In May 2003, a technicalexpert from Democenter, an organisation fromModena specialising in business services, undertook amission to Novi Sad to plan the activities. Theorganisational weakness of the associations wasapparent. Even the Chamber of Commerce evidencesorganisational difficulties in providing the most basicof services, such as a reliable register of businesses.Only in October 2003 did the government pass reformlegislation making it compulsory for enterprises toregister with the Chamber of Commerce.Consequently, in November, a database of SMEs wasplanned, with the collaboration of two technicalexperts from CNA.The project involves the productionof a database on SMEs in the city of Novi Sad, andanother on the members of the business association.The database, which will be produced in collaborationwith the Chamber of Commerce and the Municipalityof Novi Sad, represents an important instrument forplanning activities in support of companies and thereorganisation of the fabric of business associations.

R E S U L T S I N T H E C I T Y O F P A N C E V O

Located about 20 km from Belgrade, at the confluenceof the Tamis and the Danube rivers, Pancevo has apopulation of about 120,000. Like other cities inVojvodina, Pancevo has a strong ethnic-linguisticminority. Its economy is based on the largest petrol-chemical industrial plant in the country, located nearthe city. The plant facilities were seriously damagedduring the NATO bombing in 1999, which causedconsiderable environmental problems, as verified byinternational authorities. The city currently has to facecomplex long-term environmental reclamationoperations, aimed also at safeguarding the health ofthe local population. There are basic social and healthservices in Pancevo, including a second-level hospital.There are primary and secondary schools. Forspecialised services and university instruction, thepopulation of Pancevo uses structures in Belgrade.Thecivil society, well developed and active, is contributingsignificantly to maintaining awareness of localenvironmental risks.

Results in Pancevo have been achieved through theactive collaboration of the Municipality of Venezia, theProvince of Ravenna and with the support of theEmilia-Romagna Region.

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In March 2001, at a meeting chaired by the mayor ofPancevo and attended by representatives of theMunicipality of Venezia, the multiutility body AMAV,and numerous institutions of the Pancevo civil society,it was agreed to implement a project for themonitoring of air quality in the city. Subsequently,experts from the University of Belgrade carried out astudy on the environmental situation in Pancevo. InApril 2001, a delegation from Pancevo, headed by themayor, undertook a mission to Venice to sign aframework cooperation agreement. In November2001, a delegation from the Province of Ravenna,headed by the councillor for the environment, visitedPancevo and expressed its intention to contribute tothe air-quality monitoring system. The interventioncalls for the installation of three air-quality monitoringstations to cover the entire urban area, able to identifyand analyse the main pollutants produced byindustrial plants and traffic.

In November 2002, the City–to–City Programme, withthe Municipality of Venezia and the Province ofRavenna, installed and activated the first elements ofthe system. With the Province of Ravenna and theEmilia-Romagna Regional Agency for the Protection ofthe Environment, specific training activities wereprogrammed for the technical personnel. Themonitoring system is connected to a terminal that canproduce data in real time and it is equipped withcontinuously functioning devices (24 hours a day,365 days a year), thus enabling it to produce reliablescientific documentation.

In November 2003, in collaboration with the Provinceof Ravenna, specific work was carried out to adapt thework to European norms on the environment and toupgrade the training of personnel. The Province ofRavenna will be in charge of implementing the projectin Pancevo, while the Emilia-Romagna Region willassist the Ministry of the Environment in designingnational regulations. The Province of Ravenna was alsoresponsible for the equipment, and obtained acontribution from the Italian Government (Law 84 MAP).The new agreement, which is yet to be formalised, willsee these funds used to buy the equipment neededfor detecting pollutants. The funds that hadpreviously been set aside for the purchase of theequipment could be put into the training of technicalpersonnel, which would be of great benefit toPancevo and other cities.

R E S U L T S I N T H E C I T Y O F S M E D E R E V O

Smederevo lies about 80 km east of Belgrade, on theright bank of the Danube River. The city has apopulation of 80,000, according to recent estimates.Many of the numerous refugees and evacuees, about16,500, live in reception centres.

Capital of Serbia in the fifteenth century (the ruins ofthe fortress built in 1430 can still be seen), Smederevowas an important industrial centre for the iron andsteel and metalworking industries until the 1990s. As aresult of international isolation, which penalised heavyindustry, the large enterprises in the city reducedproduction. The industries are currently beingprivatised and restructured. There is a second-levelhospital and territorial social and health structuresproviding services to residents as well as refugees andevacuees. The 20 primary schools and 6 secondaryschools serve about 17,000 pupils.

In December 2001, the Province of Pisa expressedinterest in joining the City–to–City Programme. InMarch 2002, a delegation from the Province of Pisa,headed by the councillor for internationalcooperation, visited Smederevo and signed adecentralised cooperation framework agreement toboost the town-planning capacities of the municipaladministration. In June, a first technical mission bytown planners and architects from Smederevo wasorganised to the Province of Pisa, and an action planwas defined to produce town planning in Smederevo.The city is in particular need of urban reorganisation ofthe historical centre, in which there are buildings ofgreat historical and architectural value. In order to dealwith the process of economic transition, which isaffecting the large iron and steel works, the city mustplan the conversion of industrial areas and diversifythe Danube port functions, originally conceived of as aservice structure for heavy industrial production. InNovember 2002, a group of town planners andarchitects of the Province of Pisa carried out technicalwork with their counterparts in Smederevo in order toproduce a town plan.

Furthermore, in September 2002, when a technicaldelegation from the Veneto Region visited Smederevo,new collaboration agreements were established. Adelegation from Smederevo went to Venice, where adecentralised cooperation framework agreement wassigned as part of the City–to–City Programme forinterventions to support local economicdevelopment, especially SMEs. In December 2002,

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details were defined for activities to set up a centre forthe development of SMEs, with the collaboration ofthe municipal administration and local businessassociations.

In 2003, the town-planning project, produced with thebacking of Pisa, was included in a broader and moreprestigious planning intervention on a regional scaleinvolving, in particular, the Albanian Region ofShkoder. The Toscana Region, in partnership with theRegions of Marche and Piemonte, directed theinitiative and supervised the formulation of a projectpresented by the Italian Government (Law 84).

The project involves boosting the capacity of localadministrations in the planning and government ofthe territory, with the help of suitable technicalinstruments. The project will last two years. ItalianRegions will provide the local Balkan administrationswith effective instruments such as territorialcoordination plans and structural plans, which definestrategic guidelines to ensure coherence in town andsectoral planning. The plans include criteria and

guidelines for local planning and the definition ofeffective systems of governance for the metropolitanarea in order to raise the levels of territorial services forcitizens in terms of social quality, and to providefacilities for enterprises and economic activity.

In its contribution to the project, the Province of Pisaarranged a series of preparatory initiatives with theSmederevo Working Group, which will be carried outin 2004 in coordination with the Toscana Region.

In early 2003, through numerous meetings with thelocal administration of Smederevo, work started onrenovating the premises housing the centre for SMEs,which is to be converted into a LEDA. This ambitiousaim has aroused the interest of the Veneto Region,which has expressed its desire to take part in theinitiative. Therefore, preliminary talks have been heldon setting up the agency. The involvement of all socialand economic operators from the area has acceleratedthe creation of the agency. Technical staff arescheduled to begin operations in early 2004.