Learning Cities Association (Italy)

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Associazione Learning Cities

Viale Japigia, 188

Bari

70126

In the field of participation and learning the non-profit Association for Social Promotion "Learning Cities" is running since a few years with local communities, in consultation with their political levels and their stakeholders.

The Association has also arranged a “Manifesto of Learning Cities”, which aims to inspire, guide and motivate new means of dialogue, in terms of partnerships between communities and their local authorities.

Learning Cities proposes both to share the principles of lifelong learning, as clarified in the Manifesto itself, and a path in ten steps towards an appropriate involvement of the territory, so triggering a self-powered virtuous circle.

This way, a higher level of quality in intercultural dialogs between communities could be got (see Council of Europe: “White Paper, Strasbourg, 2008”).

The Association provides those municipalities that decide to become a member, with a first start of the content of the Manifesto: so local subjects can be stimulated and can run as supporters of territorial renewals.

The Association does not propose old models nor fulfilled visions of the territory. It proposes ways for self-government interesting all the actors of the territory: so, new learning paths can arise and communities can decide themselves new visions of their territory and how to achieve them.

This strategy can be adopted by the undersigning of the Manifesto by the Municipality, which must also plan specific new expenditures to be operated autonomously: so, participation and involvement in the operational steps as well will be possible.

Learning Cities does not ask for these financial resources management: it requests that the Municipality financially support itself by these resources, aiming to support actions that can materialize the implementation of the Manifesto contents, as time to time more appropriate.

In some cases, some training paths for skills development may be proper, in particular for employees of local governments to make them autonomous in managing even very complex consultations and participations.

A detailed design on specific pathways for the regeneration of territory could be entrusted to Learning Cities: however the Municipality will involve its experts, where needed.

So, Learning Cities may act as a crossroad of European networks of learning communities: it will assist them along this path and relate the territories that undersign the Manifesto with other areas acting with good practice, or with other operators of participation.