National Participation Days

In the EUSDR Action Plan, all 14 partner countries of the Danube Region commit to foster cooperation built on mutual trust. National and regional Participation Days – or National Hearings – aim at providing a platform to reconcile strategic objectives with concrete ways of cooperation. Thereby, EUSDR representatives, public authorities and civil society organisations have the potential to develop the next steps to create more positive impact for development in the Danube Region.

This is why we encourage national and regional representatives from public authorities and the Danube Strategy Governance as well as civil society organisations to organise regular National Participation Days.

Priority Area 10 “Institutional Capacity and Cooperation” and the Danube Civil Society Forum gladly provide guidance and inputs on how to set up participative events addressing the Danube Strategy upon request.

Progress in organising National Participation Days

Countries that have organised participation Days

78.5%

Austria

Austria organised National Participation Days (Dialogforum) in 2015 (Vienna), 2016 (St. Pölten) and 2024 (Vienna) with a focus on sharing information on cooperation from the Danube Strategy and facilitate an exchange between Governance and local actors. In 2024, the National Participation Day focused on macro-regional cooperation in view of climate change and water.

Bulgaria

At the National Citizen Participation Meeting in Sofia in 2017 the participants discussed how they work together in a network – through the values, challenges and common goals that connect them.

Czech Republic

The National Participation Days in Prague in 2017 and 2018 in cooperation with the Ministry for Regional Development and the Senate of the Parliament explored participatory approaches in the Danube Strategy and showcased good practice examples.

Germany

In 2017, the National Participation Day (Informations- und Beteiligungstag) in Stuttgart aimed at informing about funding opportunities and exchange between public authorities and civil society active in the Danube Region.

Hungary

In 2018 and 2021, National Hearings/Participation Days were organised in Budapest. The first event aimed at raising awareness of the Danube Strategy among Hungarian civil society organisations, the second event addressed digitalisation in agriculture and public services.

Republic of Moldova

In 2016, 2017 and 2018, National Participation Days were organised Chisinau and Unghenia addressing capacity building and civil societ involvement in Moldova in the context of the Danube Strategy.

Romania

Romania organised two National Participation Days in 2018 (Bucharest) and 2019 (Tulcea) with a focus on cooperation opportunities for stakeholders from civil society, research and public authorities at all levels.

Serbia

So far, three National Participation Days (National Hearings) took place in Novi Sad (2015, 2017) and in Belgrade (2018) launching an exchange on cooperation between Serbian state and non-state actors and their initiatives in the Danube Region.

Slovakia

In 2016, Slovakia organised its first National Participation Day in Bratislava discussing for Slovak civil society and local actors to engage in the Danube Strategy.

Slovenia

In 2018, Slovenia organised a National Participation Day in Ljubljana that addressed initiatives with Slovenian partners to promote participatory governance in the Danube Region.

Ukraine

In 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2024 National Participation Days took place in Odessa (and surrounding) aiming at exploring options to involve civil society and local actors in the development of the Danube Region. In 2018, Odessa organised a Donors' Conference in the course of the National Participation Day. In 2024, the event addressed civil society involvement and macro-regional cooperation in times of war.

ACTION 6: TO FOSTER COOPERATION BUILT ON MUTUAL TRUST BETWEEN STATE AND NON-STATE ACTORS TO ENHANCE WELL-BEING FOR THE INHABITANTS OF THE DANUBE REGION