It was an IMVF initiative part of the Project “Networking for Development”. Between January the 30th and February the 1st, 22 representatives of various municipalities met in Tomar for a training session on Strategic Planning for Cooperation and Development.
During three days of work, they were given tools to enable trainees to elaborate their own strategic plans, thereby helping municipalities to clarify, consolidate or establish a proper framework for this theme.
The participation of portuguese municipalities in development cooperation initiatives is still insignificant, however, the emergence of partnerships between actors in different fields of intervention and from different nationalities have proven to be a preferred element for the success of cooperation interventions, enabling the execution of more ambitious projects and with greater impact.
In this sense, the “Networking for Development” seeks to deepen the traditional relations of Twinning between municipalities to a more structured and sustainable intervention that can have a positive direct impact on vulnerable communities, contributing to the achievement of targets set under the Millennium Development Goals.
The training was conducted by Claudia Caldeirinha – Fair Consultancy trainer – and was attended by the following portuguese municipalities: Amadora, Cascais, Grândola, Loures, Maia, Marinha Grande, Miranda do Corvo, Moita, Odivelas, Oeiras, Palmela, Seixal and Setubal.
This was just one of several activities of the project. An upcoming Public Meeting in the Moita Municipality is scheduled and also the next Roundtable of the project that is expected to gather at the same table municipalities, NGOs and donors.
A project co-financed by the European Union and IPAD and supported by the Portuguese National Association of Municipalities.
See more at www.redesparaodesenvolvimento.org