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A training workshop on transparency, access to information and democratic accountability, taking place in Kampot from 6 to 10 May 2013, proved a huge success with the members of the Sangkat Councils, the municipal staff and councillors in Kampot, allowing them to extend and strengthen their skills in democratic local governance.

News of Pakkret, one of DELGOSEA’s original Thai pilot cities, has spread to Singapore: on 10 May 2013, the municipality of Pakkret was proud to present their project for the conservation and development of the old waterfront market to Dr Eric Thompson, of the National University of Singapore.

The newly formed DELGOSEA Standing Committee is delighted to find synergies with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on ASEAN advocacy plans.

With the recruitment of a research and policy officer for the Jakarta-based DELGOSEA Standing Committee on Democratic Local Governance, DELGOSEA II is now ready for action on all fronts.

As part of a series, looking at the development of the different pilot cities after the end of the DELGOSEA project, we are asking this month: what are the four Thai pilot cities, Chiang Rai, Pakkret, Songkhla and Yala doing in 2013?

DELGOSEA II is continuing to take shape: on 21 March 2013, the constituting meeting of the DELGOSEA Standing Committee for Democratic Local Governance (DLG) took place in Manila with representatives from four of the five countries who are currently members of the Committee.

As part of a series looking at the development of the different pilot cities after the end of the DELGOSEA project, we are asking this month: what are the three Indonesian pilot cities, Alaminos, Bacolod and the two municipal clusters in Misamis Oriental doing in 2013?

DELGOSEA’s best practices are continuing to attract attention: During a recent workshop by the Municipal Partners for Economic Development (MPED), taking place in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 13 – 15 March 2013, the DELGOSEA experience was shared during a panel discussion focusing on best practices in local governance. Special attention was paid to one of DELGOSEA’s most replicated projects, “Humane Relocation and the Empowerment of Street Vendors”, that originated in Solo City, Indonesia.

The newly established DELGOSEA Standing Committee (SC) for Democratic Local Governance will have its inaugural meeting in Manila on 21 March 2013. The SC is the regional policy advocacy and coordinating body of the DELGOSEA network, working towards a better representation of local governments and local governments associations (LGAs) as well as civil society in ASEAN decision-making on issues of democratic local governance.

In a triumph for the concept of public-private-people partnership (PPPP), one of the original DELGOSEA pilot cities, Bacolod in the Philippines, just received 3 million Pesos (around 73,000 USD) from the Department of Interior and Local Government, as part of the funding needed to construct the proposed Bacolod Youth Home

The cluster of municipalities of Manticao, Lugait and Naawan (ManLuNa) in the province of Misamis Oriental in the Philippines is holding a partnership forum today, 7 March 2013, with the aim of sharing its experience in inter-local cooperation, gained through participation in the original DELGOSEA project.

As part of a new series, looking at the development of the different pilot cities after the end of the DELGOSEA project, we are asking this month: what are the four Indonesian pilot cities, Kupang, Pangkal Pinang, Tarakan and Wakatobi doing in 2013?

The first brainstorming and planning workshop of the DELGOSEA network (now known as DELGOSEA II) took place in Bangkok on 19 and 20 February 2013. 20 representatives of the original project partners, joined by H.E. Bagas Hapsoro, the former Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, had some intense and fruitful debates on the future of the network.

The time has come to gather some of the original key players of the DELGOSEA network and start brainstorming: How can the DELGOSEA network develop further, which direction will the advocacy work take, what exciting new best practices and pilot cities are just waiting to be discovered?

As part of a new series, looking at the development of the different pilot cities after the end of the DELGOSEA project, we are asking this month: What do the two Cambodian cities, Choam Chao and Kampot have planned for 2013?

The DELGOSEA network is pleased to announce that the important aspect of facilitating and strengthening the network communication, both internally and externally, will be in the hands of its new communication manager, Eva Maaten.

DELGOSEA is delighted to announce the publication of the report of the regional conference on “Strengthening Decentralization and Local Governance in ASEAN Countries through a Multi-Stakeholder Approach”, that was organized by UCLG ASPAC, UCLG and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in May 2012.

In an important step for local governance in Indonesia, the House of Representatives of Indonesia is currently discussing the draft for the Law on State Civil Apparatuses (ASN) to replace the current Law on Civil Service. APEKSI, one of Indonesia’s local government associations (LGAs) and a vital member of the DELGOSEA network, has been asked to provide strategic input on several key points in the draft.

All friends and fans of DELGOSEA will be happy to hear that the network for democratic local governance in Southeast Asia is now entering its second phase, supported by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the United Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC).

There was a strong DELGOSEA presence at the ‘The Third International Conference on Local Government’ (ICLG 2012) that took place on 15-16 November 2012 in Khon Kaen, Thailand. During two panel sessions, focusing on ‘Best practices in Local Government’, the benefits of best practice exchanges as well as the role of local government associations (LGAs) were explored.

As part of a new series, looking at the development of the different pilot cities after the end of the DELGOSEA project, we are asking this month: what do the three Vietnamese cities, Danang, Tra Vinh and Vinh, have planned for 2013?

Muangklang municipality, which was one of the five best practices from Thailand in the DELGOSEA network, is now a low carbon model city, aiming to inspire local governments across the country.

The DELGOSEA library has been expanded further: the individual transfer process documentations from each city are now available for downloading from the DELGOSEA website.

The DELGOSEA network is proud to be present at the ‘The Third International Conference on Local Government’ (ICLG 2012) that is taking place on 15-16 November 2012 in Khon Kaen, Thailand. During two panel sessions, focusing on ‘Best practices in Local Government’, the benefits of best practice exchanges as well as the role of local government associations (LGAs) will be explored.

The latest DELGOSEA publication is out: a volume showcasing the pilot cities’ replication journey is now available. This completes the ‘DELGOSEA library’, a set of handbooks and guides offering assistance to all cities and towns interested in embarking on best practice replications.

The DELGOSEA project has now reached the end of its incarnation as a EU-cofinanced project, but the DELGOSEA network will continue! It has been confirmed that, through the support of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the United Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC), funding will be available to concentrate on two main aspects of the original project.

DELGOSEA has learned that a new session of the e-learning course ‘The SymbioCity Approach: Achieving Urban Sustainability in Asian Cities’ will be conducted by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) from 12 November 2012 to 8 March 2013.

These are excellent news for the DELGOSEA network: During the UCLG ASPAC congress, the establishment of a ‘DELGOSEA Standing Committee’ was recommended by the Executive Bureau Meeting and subsequently endorsed by the Council of UCLG ASPAC. This committee will be charged with continuing the advocacy work for democratic local governance throughout ASEAN.

It came as a disappointment to everybody who had been so deeply involved in the current DELGOSEA project and in preparing the grant application for DELGOSEA II – the EU Commission in Brussels had decided not to continue funding the new phase of DELGOSEA, but to give other project ideas from different organisation a chance.

The clock is ticking for DELGOSEA’s project manager; at the end of October 2012 it will be time for Susanne Stephan to say goodbye to the DELGOSEA network and to the Philippines. Having steered the project to success over the last 30 months, she reflects on her experiences.

An overview of the DELGOSEA project, giving the most important facts and figures, is now available on the website of the EU Delegation to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam:

DELGOSEA has reached the last month of its incarnation as a EU-cofinanced project – from 1 November 2012 onwards, the network will start its new life as an independent cooperation of local government actors throughout Southeast Asia. This step has been well prepared and all project countries have developed a so-called exit strategy to ensure that DELOGSEA activities will continue. It will be more of a new beginning than an exit!

We would like to share with you an update from the DELGOSEA Communications Office. From October 1 onwards, Eva Maaten will be taking on the role of Communication Liaison for the DELGOSEA network.

An important requirement for all EU co-funded projects is a vigorous and thorough evaluation, taking a holistic approach of following the project from the beginning to the end. Ideally, the same evaluator stays with the project throughout the implementation period and DELGOSEA was lucky to have secured the services of Dr Marion Fischer from start to finish.

At times it must have felt like being at the centre of a spider’s web – the national coordinator for each DELGOSEA project countries was the person keeping the show on the road, working with each pilot as well as best practice city, liaising with media, academia and civil society and, last but not least, being in constant contact with the DELGOSEA headquarters in Manila. Let’s hear how they experienced DELGOSEA.

Focusing on the unsung heroes of the DELGOSEA project, there is hardly a group that is more important but as rarely in the spotlight as the coaches of the pilot cities. These 67 people, who have been trained by the DELGOSEA network in 2010, spent the last year tirelessly visiting the pilot cities under their responsibility, monitoring their progress and helping them with any question or difficulty that might have arisen. Nobody knows more about the projects then they do – here are some reflections on how they experienced the DELGOSEA project.

The pilot city award was given during the final conference in Bangkok, 7-8 August 2012. Out of the pool of 16 pilot cities from Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam the Local Government Associations and partners selected and nominated one city per country for the ‘award of excellence’.

It’s nearly a cliché by now: ‘Support from the top is vital for the successful replication of a best practice’. But as all DELGOSEA’s success stories bear out, there is a lot of truth in that saying. It is, therefore, high time for the mayors of the pilot cities to share their experiences of the replication process and give their views on what makes the projects work.

DELGOSEA might have reached the end of its project lifetime, but the advocacy efforts are set to continue! One of the main issues occupying the delegates at the final conference was the question of how to best to continue the promotion of better representation of local governance issues on the regional level. A roundtable discussion bringing together high-ranking representatives from all the project countries as well as UCLG-ASPAC gave the opportunity to explore this question and discuss ideas for the way forward.

DELGOSEA gave the initial spark and matched best practices with pilot cities – now that the EU co-funded project is winding down, however, it is up to the individual cities to continue the work and ensure that the project results can be sustained in the long run. The cities are taking to the task with great enthusiasm, and it was fascinating to hear during the final conference from so many of them, outlining their plans for the future.

In order to give a first impression about the DELGOSEA Final Conference - The Journey Continues which took place on August 7-8, 2012 in Bangkok (Thailand), follow the links below to access a selection of pictures, download the speakers' presentations and watch the video message of Deputy Secretary General, His Excellency Mr. Bagas Hapsoro from ASEAN.

On September 8-10, Phuket will be host of yet another revived tradition: a Baba Wedding. A Baba Wedding is the celebration of a marriage between a Chinese and a Thai descendant in Thailand. This event is being supported by the Thai Peranakan Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

The Local Government Associations (LGAs), representing the local governments in the five project countries, have always played an important part in the DELGOSEA project. Over the last few months, however, their role in supporting pilot cities and ensuring the continuation of best practice exchanges has become even more crucial. The DELGOSEA project is coming to an end, the national coordinators are moving on – it is time, therefore, for the LGAs to step up and take center stage in the transnational exchange of best practices and the advocacy for democratic local governance on the ASEAN level.

From July 10 to Jul 12, the Marine and Fishery Office of Pangkalpinang conducted an entrepreneurial training for women’s groups in Air Itam.

On July 31, the Bacolod consortium for People-Public-Private-Partnership held a meeting to discuss the further steps of the Bacolod Youth Home. The groundbreaking scheduled for August 2, was not the only good message shared during this event.

The Pangkalpinang Marine and Fishery Agency, as part of its efforts to enhance the fishermen's knowledge, held a training in Pangkalpinang on July 11 - 13, 2012.

On July 16th, the Tarakan government called for a coordination meeting to discuss the planned expansion of the TALING project to twenty (20) more schools for the months July and August.

Tarakan takes yet another step towards an integrated approach to keep its environment clean. A legal action for a local regulation on waste management is on its way.

On June 25, 2012 a preparatory meeting took place to present the TALING* project to the KALTIM Bank in Tarakan City, Indonesia.

While initially every pilot city was matched with just one best practice city whose example was being replicated, there has been an unforeseen, but fascinating development as the implementations progressed: the mixing and matching of different best practices to produce a project blueprint, perfectly suited to a particular pilot city. While this has not been part of the original DELGOSEA design, the project team is delighted to witness a complex and creative web of relationships developing across various projects and actors.

For the 16 pilot cities it must feel like the end of an era – after eight months of DELGOSEA coaches offering support, the project monitoring is coming to an end.

It is hard to believe, but the DELGOSEA project will soon have reached the finish line– by the end of October, the last reports will be written, the last bills paid and the project team will be looking ahead to new challenges. Before that point is reached, however, there will be one last conference drawing conclusions and discussing the future of the DELGOSEA network.

The construction of the Youth Home in Bacolod – which is their pilot city project – is gaining momentum. The People-Public-Private-Partnership (PPPP) has now been officially established through the Bacolod for Development Community Consortium. The consortium brings together the private sector, individuals and the local government to establish and build the Bacolod Youth Home. The consortium plays an important role in sustaining the PPPP in Bacolod and manage, set polices, regulations for an effective collaboration and partnership.

The GO WASH implementation of the best practice replication in Wakatobi shows first results! As the picture shows, the canals and the streets are cleaner and the water is much more clear! All of this increases the living conditions of the people in Wakatobi. Because it was the people who helped to convert the streets and water to what it looks like now, they will make sure it stays this way!

Tarakan has a lot on its environmental development plate with the replication of Marikina’s Eco-Savers project and adoptions from Muangklang’s Low Carbon City. However, the progress and the enthusiasm are obvious!

The Yala City Municipality which has been selected by the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) to be pilot municipality on “fiscal management and Investment plan” under the Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast Asia (DELGOSEA) has setup a Community Water Conservation Award through the Technical and Planning Division and the Division of Waterworks.

Interview with Ms Tharee, the former national coordinator for Thailand.

The wedding of Vice-Mayor Mildred Lagbas (now Mondigo) of Sugbongcogon, Misamis Oriental qualifies as the first wedding in the DELGOSEA framework!

“If it has a green square on it, there is DELGOSEA in it”. This could become one of the eternal truths about democratic local governance in Southeast Asia. When you see a green square, there is the high possibility that it has something to do with DELGOSEA. And if you “follow the green square”, you will find information about best practice replication, democratic local governance in Southeast Asia and the DELGOSEA project as such. But what does the green square stand for?

A compilation of all 16 DELGOSEA Best Practices in Thai language is now available for download in the DELGOSEA e-library.

Dr. Marion Fischer, DELGOSEA's external evaluator, visited the Philippines to make her final evaluation assessment of the situation in the pilot cities. The ManLuNa and BinKiSu clusters in Misamis Oriental welcomed her in the traditional Filipino way.

As part of the Wakatobi Clean Movement (GO WASH), Forum Kompos initiated a waste collection in Mola Village. It involved the constituents of the village to clean the canal from waste and garbage.

They say that some things are not what they seem to be. Especially in the case of waste and garbage, no one would want to argue with that. Mrs. Kaigi begs to disagree.

Last week, Dr. Marion Fischer visited Misamis Oriental for the DELGOSEA evaluation. Trace her visit with this photo strip.

DELGOSEA's Philippine Pilot City Alaminos calls on its constituents to support the city administration towards the Constructed Wetland project through the donation of certain, waste-water filtering, plants.

The Municipality has just drafted its development plan for 2013 – 2016, based on the needs of the public in Pakkret. Included in this plan is also the restructuring of the Old Market.

Publications are an important element of DELGOSEA’s holistic approach to sustainability, and the project team is delighted to announce the availability of a ‘Handbook of Best Practice Replications’ to complement the existing brochures, guides and leaflets.

These are busy months for DELGOSEA as the project is heading towards the end of its funding period – to help you keep track of what is going on, here’s an overview of the activities and events that are currently keeping the DELGOSEA teams around the region occupied.

Interview with Mr Vichai Bandasak, the Mayor of Pakkret

As part of its remit to ensure that the experiences of DELGOSEA’s pilot cities feed into the policy development on national and regional level, the project team is encouraging and facilitating the partners from the five project countries to develop policy recommendation to improve national legislation and administrative procedures to favor good governance.

Interview with Ms Indah – Indonesia

To the delight of the DELGOSEA team, the Tarakan City government won - for the fifth time – the ADIPURA Award, declaring it officially the greenest and cleanest city in Indonesia. Tarakan had been awarded this accolade every year from 2007 to 2010 and are very happy to have regained the top spot in 2012 after being runner-up in 2011.

Key officials from the member municipalities of the ManLuNa and BinKiSu have attended the capacity-building session last May 16 in Marigold Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City to discuss the drafting of key operational guidelines for interlocal cooperation. Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Misamis Oriental Provincial Director Ponciano Caberte also participated in the conference.

On 6 June 2012, it was Tarakan’s turn to receive Dr Marion Fischer, accompanied by the DELGOSEA National Coordinator for Indonesia, for an external evaluation.

As part of its remit to ensure that the experiences of DELGOSEA’s pilot cities feed into the policy development on national and regional level, the project team is encouraging and facilitating the partners from the five project countries to develop policy recommendation to improve national legislation and administrative procedures to favor good governance.

After the extremely successful start to the Eco-Savers programme in one school in Kupang, more schools are now getting ready to join the scheme.

As part of the ambitious project to combine improved coastal management with an increase in fish farming, thereby boosting the income of local fishermen, two major activities are being prepared in Pangkal Pinang.

The Municipal League of Thailand (MLT) and the EU co-funded project on “Low Carbon City across Thai Municipalities” will make further use of the DELGOSEA coaches and pilot cities.

Following the success of last year, the Municipal League of Thailand (MLT) has hosted again a DELGOSEA booth during its annual conference 2012.

As part of its remit to ensure that the experiences of DELGOSEA’s pilot cities feed into the policy development on national and regional level, the project team is encouraging and facilitating the partners from the five project countries to develop policy recommendation to improve national legislation and administrative procedures to favor good governance.

You want to know what is going on in Indonesia? You are keen to know about the progress in Thailand and in the Philippines? You were always interested in how DELGOSEA works in Cambodia and Vietnam? Have a look at the up-to-date Reports from the Coordinators!

A monitoring visit to Tra Vinh city on 23 and 24 March showed that the introduction of e-government is progressing well in the city. To the delight of the DELGOSEA Vietnam team, all is going smoothly and according to plan.

As part of its remit to ensure that the experiences of DELGOSEA’s pilot cities feed into the policy development on national and regional level, the project team is encouraging and facilitating the partners from the five project countries to develop policy recommendation to improve national legislation and administrative procedures to favor good governance.

Thai-ASEAN News (TAN) Network has recently published its broadcast on the regional conference on “Strengthening Decentralization and Local Governance in ASEAN Countries through a Multi-Stakeholder Approach”, organised by DELGOSEA and UCLG on 3-4 May, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The relocation street vendors into and the refurbishment of official markets that had fallen into disuse is one of the more difficult tasks facing local governments in Cambodia. As part of the DELGOSEA project, Choam Chao a small town or Sangkat near Phnom Penh, is attempting to make a success of such a revitalisation; this task is, however, proving a challenge not such because the different interests of vendors and local residents have to be reconciled, but also because of the challenges of various laws and regulations being handed down from central government.

After signing the MOA with the owner of the private land where the wetland will be constructed, the city government started filling the CW site with soil, boulders and stone while waiting for the approval of the detailed engineering design. To complement the construction of the CW as indicated in the transfer concept plan, the city government conducted a workshop, facilitated by DELGOSEA coaches, attended by representatives of civil society organizations and business establishments on 23 May 2012 at the City Hall’s Conference Room.

After several months of negotiation, Alaminos City and the private landowner has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the construction of wetland. The MOA provides that the landowner authorizes the city government to use his privately-owned lot as the site of the constructed wetland.

The DELGOSEA network has made available all presentations, lectures and outcomes resulting from the regioanl conference on "Strengthening Decentralization and Local Governance in ASEAN Countries through a Multi-Stakeholder Approach" on its website.

On 26 April 2012 Pangkalpinang Fishery Office together with representatives of a consortium consists of 17 profit companies did an assessment in Tanjung Bunga, a fishermen area where the government planned to centralize the marine tourism activities.

After two days of intense and stimulating discussions, the co-organised regional workshop between DELGOSEA and UCLG produced in ‘The Phnom Penh Record of Principles on Strengthening Decentralization and Local Governance’. The statement is calling to look into options for a more permanent dialogue on decentralization and local governance in ASEAN across the regional, national and local levels in view of expanding collaboration with local authorities (LAs), local government associations as well as civil society, in a multi-stakeholder approach.

Not long ago, Vinh City was just beginning to learn how to implement a best practice replication, taking a project from the Philippines and adjusting it to fit the local conditions in Vietnam. Now, only eight months after having started to introduce the Eco-savers programme in Vinh, the city finds itself sharing their expertise with another Vietnamese city, Ha Tinh.

The DELGOSEA network can and should continue - that was the core message emerging from five national workshops looking at issues of sustainability and policy recommendations to ensure that the results and lessons learnt from the DELGOSEA project would not be lost.

To the delight of the DELGOSEA communication team, the Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia, Brunei, Darussalam, and ASEAN, who is responsible for the DELGOSEA project from the EU side, has nominated the project for this year’s ‘DEVCO Communication Award’. The aim of the award is to identify and reward the best projects in terms of communication. In a highly competitive process – hundreds of projects worldwide that are co-financed by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) are potentially eligible – projects will be assessed on the quality, impact and innovation of their communication activities.

Policy makers and civil society from eight ASEAN countries came together on 3-4 May 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to strengthen regional cooperation on decentralisation and good local governance by multi-stakeholder approach.

As part of its remit to ensure that the experiences of DELGOSEA’s pilot cities feed into the policy development on national and regional level, the project team is encouraging and facilitating the partners from the five project countries to develop policy recommendation to improve national legislation and administrative procedures to favor good governance.

In a novel development, unforeseen in the original project design, two Cambodian cities have found the experience of exchanging best practices so satisfying, that they are keen to continue doing so on their own initiative.

As the Indonesian pilot city Tarakan is progressing with its implementation of the eco-savers project, the approach to recycling becomes increasingly inventive.

On March 13, 1000 mangrove trees were planted along Pangkalpinang coastal areas onby the Bangka Botanical Garden supported Head of Marine and Fishery Office, staff, fisher folks, and students of Bangka University.

As the 16 DELGOSEA pilot cities are making great progress in the implementation of the best practices, the DELGOSEA Communication Office thought it would be time to honor their progress with a new look of the respective pilot city profiles and the website.

On April 6, 2012 the pilot city Kampot Municipality has been carrying out a reflection workshop on its urban environment project which is currently being replicated.

On April 2-3, the Platforma Forum on ‘Development and participatory governance: Which multi-actor partnerships in Europe and in partner countries?’ took place in Florence, Italy. On behalf of the European Network of Independent Political Foundations (ENoP), DELGOSEA Project Manager Susanne Stephan introduced DELGOSEA as one example of cooperation between Local Authorities (LAs) Non-State-Actors (NSAs) and Local Government Associations (LGAs).

On March 29, 2012 – the National Workshop on Policy Recommendations and Networking of DELGOSEA Philippines took place in the premises of the Asian Institute of Management in Manila. The participants were welcomed by Mr. Eric Galvin, Program Manager of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines and Prof. Edmund Tayao, Executive Director of the DELGOSEA partner LOGODEF.

On March 28, 2012, the Danang project task force from Vietnam invited Dr. Yongthanit and his students from Thamasat University to participate in a joint workshop.

The DELGOSEA final conference in August 2012 will host the first and unique DELGOSEA Moments Photo Competition! Invited to join are all pilot cities and national offices of DELGOSEA as we are looking for the best pilot city picture taken!

The ManLuNa and BinKiSu clusters of Misamis Oriental released their project leaflet on Eco-Cultural Tourism which attributes to the replication of the Phuket Preserving Old Town Architecture and Reviving Traditions as Tourist Attraction and Economic Driver, Thailand.

DELGOSEA is entering a busy phase with just a few more months to go until the end of the project - a perfect moment for Project Manager Susanne Stephan to share some details on the activities that are planned before the end of October this year.

DELGOSEA's pilot und best practice cities managed to create and sustain not only a good working relationship but also friendships. That goes especially for Mayor Hugua from the pilot city Wakatobi (Indonesia) and Mayor Somchai from the best practice city Muangklang (Thailand). Last year, both men met for the first time during the study visit which enabled pilot cities to learn from the best practice cities. Since then, both mayors stay in regular contact with each other. Below you will find the letter from Mayor Hugua contragulating Mayor Somchai for winning the Green Globe Award 2012.

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on sustainability - how can the project results be preserved, who will continue with activities when the EU-funding comes to an end? The obvious candidates for guardians of the DELGOSEA spirit are the official project partners, the local government associations (LGAs) in the five project countries. Continuing the series on LGAs, we are this month introducing the National League of Commune/Sangkats (NLC/S), DELGOSEA’s LGA partner in Cambodia.

The Clean Saturday program in Wakatobi is so far well implemented. Every Saturday all schools, government offices, and communities allocate their time to clean the environment in their neighborhood.

On March 12, a coordination meeting chaired by the Vice Mayor on with the head and members of Working Group, the Mayor, and Deputy Director of APEKSI, as well as DELGOSEA took place in Pangkalpinang.

Boarding the airplane, being warmly greeted on arrival, working together and meeting mayor and senator - what an interesting schedule! The representatives from Toul Sangke enjoyed three exciting days in Bacolod. Some of this excitement could be captured in pictures.

After representatives from Bacolod traveled to Toul Sangke in Cambodia, to see and get a feeling for how the best practice they chose looks in real life, they invited representatives from the best practice city to Bacolod.

For March 12, international organizations and foreign embassies are invited by Commissioner Heherson Alvarez, Climate Change Commission to hear and or evaluate a proposed international project on South-South Dialogue – Colombia-Kenya-Philippines on disaster mitigation and climate change.

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on the actual implementation of the best practices. Who is better placed to judge the impact and success of these replications than the people on the ground in the pilot cities? Representatives of the 16 pilot cities will share with us their views on what makes the replication successful as well as the challenges they are facing during the implementation. This month features Pakkret, one of our four Thai pilot cities or municipalities.

On February 27, DELGOSEA Philippines hosted a get-together of the Philippine Local Government Associations which are part of the DELGOSEA network. Present were the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) as well as the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP).

The Philippine Council for Sustainable Development held a one-day workshop on Asian LGU Best Practices: Green Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development at Santo Tomas University on February 28. Participants were coming from NGOs, local governments as well as selected national government departments involved in the issue of sustainable development in the country.

In February 21st, 2012 Tarakan government did the official launching of the TALING program in Tarakan. The event was attended by all pilot schools, officials from the Tarakan City government including the Vice Mayor Mr. Suharjo and Mr. Sudirman, First Assistant of Minister of Environment. Previous to the launch they signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the biggest junk shop in Tarakan. The junk shop will collect students’ recycle waste in all pilot schools.

On 15 – 17 February, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Municipal Partners for Economic Development (MPED) together with DELGOSEA’s partners, the National League of Communes/ Sangkat (NLC/S) and the Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN) held their First Regional Workshop on Local Economic Development in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on the actual implementation of the best practices. Who is better placed to judge the impact and success of these replications than the people on the ground in the pilot cities? Representatives of the 16 pilot cities will share with us their views on what makes the replication successful as well as the challenges they are facing during the implementation. This month features Bacolod, one of our three Philippine pilot cities.

On February 11 – 12, capacity building on ‘the promotion of participation of communities to manage public services and the environment’ took place in the Paradise Hotel Hat Yai in Songkhla province. Yala Municipality enhances the community of more than 100 people from 39 communities on the development of integrated supply services with an emphasis on community participation.

On February 10, the DELGOSEA pilot city Songkhla was conducting a workshop as part of the capacity building for replicating the Jogjakarta e-Governance best practice.

The moment has come at last: Tarakan, Indonesia, launched its ambitious environmental programme (TALING) with a series of kick-off events in a number of schools throughout the city, having spent the last few months setting up the framework for the project. Everybody involved is rearing to go and eager to make it a success!

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on sustainability - how can the project results be preserved, who will continue with activities when the EU-funding comes to an end? The obvious candidates for guardians of the DELGOSEA spirit are the official project partners, the local government associations (LGAs) in the five project countries. Continuing the series on LGAs, we are this month introducing the Association of Cities in Vietnam (ACVN), DELGOSEA’s LGA partner in the country.

From January 31 to February 1, the DELGOSEA pilot city of Misamis Oriental (MisOr) was glad to host the 3rd monitoring visit, including an update of logical framework (logframe), work plan and a joint meeting of the conference of mayors (COM), in Cagayan de Oro.

DELGOSEA Thailandjust submitted the updated transfer concepts for the pilot cities of Chiang Rai, Pakkret, Sonkhla, Yala. Have a look at the changes and the pilot cities' current strategies!

DELGOSEA Indonesia just submitted the updated transfer concepts for the pilot cities of Kupang, Pangkal Pinang, Tarakan and Wakatobi. Have a look at the changes and the pilot cities' current strategies!

On January 28 – 30, after getting inspiration from their best practice city Solo in Indonesia, representatives from Pakkret went to different cities in Thailand to learn more about the preservation and development of old markets.

The update of the DELGOSEA Youtube channel has been finalized and now hosts over 90 videos, is linked to our Twitter and website and assists you in finding the Youtube channels of our partners.

On January 27, 2012 – approximately 300 officials and representatives of various local government units from all the regions in the Philippines followed the call of the Local Government Academy of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (LGA-DILG).

On the 31st January 2012, the DELGOSEA project evaluator Dr. Marion Fischer visited Yala Municipality. Her task was to examine the replication process of the pilot city as well as to assist with the adaptation of the logframe.

On January 28 – 31, 2012 the DELGOSEA pilot city of Pakkret conducted its capacity building workshop. Pakkret focuses on how to develop and conserve the old market as cultural tourist attraction in a sustainable way with participation from communities.

On January 24, representatives from the Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast Asia (DELGOSEA), the United Cities and Local Governments in Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) met the Head of the ASEAN Community & Corporate Affairs Department.

January 26, the DELGOSEA pilot city of Tarakan in Indonesia started its environmental saving project (TALING) in a series of events.

In order to monitor directly the replication progress in the field, the monitoring team of Wakatobi Working Group, consisting of several members from different departments, conducted a monitoring activity on January 8, 2012 in Wangi Wangi, Wakatobi.

Wiangchai Municipality, one of the members of The Local Governments in Solid Waste Management of Chiang Rai's City Network is now stepping forward on waste reduction at source after harvesting season.

On January 20, 2012 - the Sangkat Choam Chao task force came together to discuss further steps regarding their replication process.

On January 17, DELGOSEA was able to make another step towards a closer cooperation with academia in Southeast Asia. A DELGOSEA book presentation was hosted in San Sebastian-Recoletos College, Manila, organized by Prof. Alfred Sureta, one of the DELGOSEA experts who provided valuable contributions to the DELGOSEA publications. The college is situated in the heart of Manila, surrounded by various other universities and educational institutions – the university belt.

On January 18, it was an eventful day for pupils and teachers at Dipok Samaky Secondary School. It was Eco Day!

On January 17, Kampot has been in the spotlight of DELGOSEA events in Cambodia. The Samaky Primary School hosted an event for students which focused on the importance of the environment.

January 17, 2012 - Yala Municipality conducted the meeting on reporting the progress of the project being replicated entitled 'Integrated Development of Waterworks Services through Community Involvement Project'.

DELGOSEA Social Media takes another step towards promoting Democratic Local Governance in Southeast Asia using social networks by upgrading its video channel.

The countdown has begun – in ten months time, the DELGOSEA project funding will come to an end, the pilot cities will have implemented their best practice examples and a strengthened network will continue to cooperate and support municipalities across the region in their efforts to achieve and sustain democratic local governance. To reach this point, however, there is still a lot to be done and the DELGOSEA teams in all five project countries are looking forward to a busy few months.

On January another event in the remarkable replication process towards ‘Cooperation between Local Governments to Address Shared Needs’ of the DELGOSEA pilot city took place in Chiang Rai.

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on sustainability - how can the project results be preserved, who will continue with activities when the EU-funding comes to an end? The obvious candidates for guardians of the DELGOSEA spirit are the official project partners, the local government associations (LGAs) in the five project countries. Continuing the series on LGAs, we are starting 2012 by introducing the Municipal League of Thailand (MLT), DELGOSEA’s LGA partner in the country.

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on the actual implementation of the best practices. Who is better placed to judge the impact and success of these replications than the people on the ground in the pilot cities? Representatives of the 16 pilot cities will share with us their views on what makes the replication successful as well as the challenges they are facing during the implementation. This month features Tra Vinh, one of our three Vietnamese pilot cities.

On 11 January, Chiang Rai municipality conducted its regular mobile community services in Sri Sai Moon. Sri Sai Moon is a community which belongs to the administrative district of Chiang Rai. This event brings together representatives from the local government with the respective communities.

The Cambodian Pilot Cities Choam Chao and Kampot had a busy and successful December.

In order to achieve the maximum of transparency and provide the latest information, the city of Chiang Rai set up a bulletin board for all its citizens to see.

We are proud to announce that our partners from the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) and the Municipality League of Thailand (MLT) have just been awarded funding from the European Union. Over the duration of 30 months the project - led by NMT - aims at increasing the living conditions of the local population in 84 municipalities throughout Thailand, by adopting an environmentally friendly ‘low-carbon city’ approach to local services.

Wianchai started its first activity on solid waste reduction campaign called “Recycled Trash Fashion Show Contest”. The municipality hosted this convivial and lively event on 31st Dec 11 by integrating it into the 2012 New Year celebration. This event has been conducted as part of the “Promotion of Recyclable Waste Separation at Household Project”.

On December 29, 2011 the Chiang Rai Municipality conducted its first network meeting on the issue of Solid Waste Management.

After the success of a training course in August 2011 for two schools in Hung Dung ward, a training course was organized on December 24th, 2011. 54 participants, including leaders, teachers, parent association members and the mass organizations of Hung Dung 2 school participated in this training.

On December 22, the Indonesian Local Government Associations conducted a meeting to review and provide inputs for the National Policy Recommendation Paper.

On December 20, DELGOSEA Thailand national coordinator Tharee Kamuang and DELGOSEA coach Mr. Akekaluk visited the DELGOSEA Best Practice city Prik Municipality.

On December 20 and 21, a meeting between more than twenty stakeholders from the four monitoring teams, pilot cities as well as DELGOSEA coaches, experts and TEI staff was hold in Bangkok, Thailand.

On December 20, Songkhla experienced its first DELGOSEA monitoring meeting.Present were Dr. Chanisada. Choosuk, DELGOSEA coach Akekaluk Nuttarit and national coordinator Tharee Kamuang.

As Christmas is approaching, Santa Claus is busy preparing to distribute all the gifts. Therefore, some days before Christmas, he already starts hiding them in the places where they will be discovered on Christmas. Today, his Christmas journey brings him too the places of the DELGOSEA project.

On December 17, 2011 an information meeting on the currently replicated Eco Saver Program has been conducted in SDI Nunbaun Sabu Kupang City.

The DELGOSEA project team has been eagerly awaiting the first monitoring reports – what would be revealed after the first visits to the pilot cities in October? Are all cities on track with their implementation schedules or are there – heaven forbid – unexpected problems or delays?

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on the project implementation of its best practices. Who will be better equipped to assess the impact and success of the best practice replication than the people on the ground at the pilot cities? The beneficiaries in the 16 pilot cities are the ones to share with us the success and challenges of the ongoing project implementation. The series of interviews starts this month, featuring Tarakan, one of the four Indonesian pilot cities.

As 2011 is nearing its end, the DELGOSEA project manager, Susanne Stephan, took some time to answer a few questions and to reflect on what had been an exciting and eventful year for DELGOSEA.

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on sustainability - how can the project results be preserved, who will continue with activities when the EU-funding comes to an end? The obvious candidates for guardians of the DELGOSEA spirit are the official project partners, the local government associations (LGAs) in the five project countries. Continuing the series on LGAs, in December we are taking a closer look at the LGAs in Indonesia.

On November 17 – 19, 2011, the 3rd Philippine Cities Global Convention and Exposition took place at Resort World, Pasay City in Manila. The international conference was organized by the League of Cities, one of the 10 Local Government Associations being part of the DELGOSEA network. The aim of the conference was to exchange experiences and knowledge on inclusive urban development among the more than 100 participants.

13 – 17 November 2011. When a delegation from Danang finally met their best practice counterparts in Old Phuket, the visitors took some valuable lessons home with them: the successful preservation of the old town owed much to community participation as well as the excellent cooperation between central and local government.

In its last project year, DELGOSEA is focusing on sustainability - how can the project results be preserved, who will continue with activities when the EU-funding comes to an end? The obvious candidates for guardians of the DELGOSEA spirit are the official project partners, the local government associations (LGAs) in the five project countries. Over the coming months these will be introduced in greater detail, starting with the Philippines here today.

Successfully implementing best practices is one thing – to achieve changes on the policy level which would improve national legislation and administrative procedures in favour of good governance is quite another.

Developing partnerships was always part of the DELGOSEA master plan, but in some cases the relationship between best practice and pilot cities are developing in unexpected but delightful ways – a number of cities have struck up friendships and are mutually supporting each other, an unplanned but valuable side effect of the study tours that had taken place over the last six months.

The midterm conference of the EU-cofinanced "Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast Asia" (DELGOSEA) project took place on the Indonesian island of Batam from 27 - 28 September 2011 (press conference and opening dinner on 26 September) in month 19 of the project.

Now that the capacity building of the DELGOSEA pilot cities has been completed and all of the towns are deeply immersed in the replication of their best practice examples, the DELGOSEA project teams in the five countries will concentrate on monitoring the progress of the implementation. Is every city on the right track? Will the timetable be kept to? Are there unexpected problems or challenges that need to be solved jointly?

DELGOSEA's midterm conference took place on the Indonesian island of Batam from 27 - 28 September. It provided a great opportunity for all actors involved in the project to get together and take stock. Nearly 140 representatives of both pilot and best practice cities, members of local government associations (LGAs), ministries, speakers from the EU and ASEAN found plenty to talk about, both in plenary sessions and working groups.

DELGOSEA is all about creating connections, about bringing cities and people in Southeast Asia together - it is, therefore, not surprising that networks and networking play a big role in the project.

It is a big responsibility for the DELGOSEA Indonesia team – after the inception workshop in Manila in March 2010 and the training of trainers in Pattaya, Thailand, last November, UCLG-ASPAC is happy to host the third transnational conference of the project.

You only know if you are progressing the way you should when you take the time to stand back and have a close look at what has happened so far in a project.

From 5 - 8 September, eight members from the Alaminos city council in the Philippines, led by the mayor, visited their best practice model city, Udonthani in Thailand, to learn how a wetland for wastewater treatment could be constructed.

6 - 11 June 2011. The LGU delegation from ManLuNa cluster in Misamis Oriental, Philippines, drew an important conclusion at the end of their study visit to their best practice city, Old Phuket, in Thailand: the best way to gain an insight into a project is to meet local stakeholders and see for yourself what the realities on the ground look like.

It is implementation time for the pilot cities – ideas are developed, transfer concepts drawn up, visits to the best practice cities are taking place. Time to send the people involved back to the classroom for an intensive training session on how to deal with all aspects of running such a project.

DELGOSEA is nothing if not ambitious: twenty pilot cities spread over 5 countries, each following its own tailor-made path – how can one keep track of them all, how does one know they are all progressing along the lines agreed in the transfer concepts?

While both the best practice models and the pilot cities have received their fair share of publicity, less public attention has so far been paid to the people working in the background to help the cities make a success of the DELGOSEA project. These include four key experts from different countries whose expertise is vital in enabling the pilot cities to carry out the replication process in the four thematic areas – high time to introduce them properly!

The name badges have been designed, the participants list are nearly finished… it is time for another DELGOSEA conference. After the inception workshop in Manila in March 2010 and the training of trainers in Pattaya last November, the third transnational conference of the project is gaining momentum.

3 - 7 August 2011. The delegation from Vinh City, consisting of representatives from the city's functional divisions, the Vietnamese project team as well as the project coach, were impressed by a very clean Marikina city - an inspiration to them all. [Cambodian perspective coming soon]

From 1 - 4 August 2011, it was the turn of a Philippine delegation from Bacolod City, consisting of the mayor, several councilors and administrators, to visit Toul Sangke, part of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, to gain further understanding of the 'People-Private-Public Partnership (PPPP) to Improve Local Infrastructure' Best Practice. The group was warmly welcomed by Toul Sangke councilors and staff for an informative first session, learning about Cambodia's development reform program and the structures in the municipality. This was followed by talks with a variety of representatives of the local community and local business people, held at different places throughout the borough to give the visitors the opportunity to get a good impression of the results of the project. One of the highlights of the trip was, of course, the practical aspect, walking around the community and experiencing first-hand the positive changes brought about by the improvement of the infrastructure.

28 – 29 July 2011. Despite having to cope with a flood emergency, the city of Marikina managed to impress a visiting delegation from two Indonesian cities, Kupang and Tarakan, who felt inspired for their replication of Marikina’s eco-saver project.

19 - 22 July 2011. An 11-member strong delegation from Yala City was curious to see what the best practice example which they had decided to replicate looked like in real life – they were not disappointed by the excellent program that awaited them in Lan Son, Vietnam.

To find out more about the concept of Inclusive Governance and how to use it within local government, DELGOSEA offered a ‘training of trainers’ (TOT) workshop for 25 representatives of the DELGOSEA network, taking place in Subic from 19 – 22 July 2011.

11 - 17 July 2011. After months of preparing their best practice replication, a high-ranking delegation from Songhkla, Thailand, felt inspired by the vision of a paperless government they encountered in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

11 - 17 July 2011. Having been given greater control over local decision-making and services through Thailand’s decentralization process, Chiang Rai was casting around for inspiration on how to make the best use of these new powers – Kartamantul on Java provided the perfect inspiration!

It all started with the selection of the ‘right’ best practice. The 16 DELGOSEA pilot cities in the five countries had to choose among several best practices. Their choice had to be in line with their local development plans. The process of replication continued with extensive documentation, trainings and the development of a tailor-made project idea. Support of the people and eventually the approval of the key decision-makers were pre-requisites for the framework of the project idea.

DELGOSEA is proud to announce that the following publications have been finalized and printed:
Best Practices Volume 1: People’s Participation in Planning and Decision-making;
Best Practices Volume 2: Institutional Governance;
Best Practices Volume 3: Urban Inclusive Services;
Best Practices Volume 4: Fiscal Management and Investment Planning.

12 – 17 July 2011. Pakkret Municipality was delighted to find a best practice, which was addressing precisely the situation they faced at home: trying to revitalize a traditional market. It was with great excitement, therefore, that a delegation from the city prepared to travel to Solo to gain an insight into the practical aspects of managing such a scheme.

12 – 15 July 2011. After months of preparing their city for the implementation of their best practice, the pilot city of Chaom Chao near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was excited to travel to Solo city, Indonesia – their ‘model city’ – to gain an insight into the practical aspects of relocating street vendors and managing a traditional market.

Do you like what we are doing and always wanted to express that with a click on the famous ‘like’-button?

4 - 8 July 2011. A delegation from Pangkal Pinang, on the Indonesian island of Bangka, was delighted to have the chance to meet their counterparts from the Philippines island of Bohol to gain inspiration on coastal management from fellow islanders.

Bacolod ist the first Pilot City to hand in their Logbook on the replication process.

Bangkok, Thailand. Supporting one of DELGOSEA’s major partners, United Cities and Local Governments for Asia and Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC), DELGOSEA presented a selection of its best practices during the 5th Asia Pacific Urban Forum held at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand on 22 - 24 June 2011.

21 – 25 June 2011. After several months of preparing for the start of the actual implementation activities, a delegation from Wakatobi, Indonesia, was excited to be finally meeting their counterparts in Muangklang, Thailand, their best practice partner city. The participants, mainly representatives of the Wakatobi local government, spent four days in Muangklang, looking at the nitty-gritty details of waste management and exploring how best to transfer the host city’s concept to their own town.

At the annual meeting of the Municipal League of Thailand (MLT) Worawut Sornum, (DELGOSEA Thailand) took the opportunity and presented the 16 best practices on local governance to the more than 2,000 local government officials present.

6 - 11 June 2011. The LGU delegation from ManLuNa cluster in Misamis Oriental, Philippines, drew an important conclusion at the end of their study visit to their best practice city, Old Phuket, in Thailand: the best way to gain an insight into a project is to meet local stakeholders and see for yourself what the realities on the ground look like.

Topping the agenda of the Coordination Meeting held in Cambodia on 25-26 May 2011 are the introduction of new DELGOSEA colleagues and new ways of sharing information for DELGOSEA partners and stakeholders.

Jakarta, Indonesia. With the main goal of addressing the challenges confronting pilot cities in replication, DELGOSEA Indonesia hold the First National Workshop on 11 May 2011 at Grand Kemang Hotel in Jakarta. Representatives from the pilot cities and BP sites top the list of attendees for the workshop. Also, in attendance are representatives from the academe, civil society, local government associations, and central government.

2. - 5. May 2011. With the goal of developing a deeper understanding on the best practice being replicated, a delegation from Tra Vinh City visited Jogjakarta, Indonesia on 2. - 5. May 2011. The delegation headed by no less than the Vice-Chairman of the People’s Committee, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Van stayed in Jogjakarta for four days to better appreciate the E-Government as the Breakthrough to Enhance Government Performance and Services (“e-government”), the Best Practice (BP) Model of Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Joining the Vice-Chairman are officials from Tra Vinh City and Pattaya coaches. The coaches were also utilized as interpreters for the delegation.

Manila, Philippines. The first National Workshop of DELGOSEA Philippines held on 5 May 2011 at the Century Park Hotel, Manila was a success. With the goal of improving their own transfer concepts, pilot cities were able to share issues and challenges in replicating their chosen best practice and network with academic institutions, media, and representatives from the civil society. The national workshop has two parts; (1) each pilot area reported their progress on the transfer concept and (2) academe, members of the civil society and media were able to provide specific recommendations on how to address challenges experienced by the pilot sites.

On 29 April 2011 , in collaboration with Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) and Municipal League of Thailand, DELGOSEA Thailand launched the National Workshop on Local Governance Best Practices in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference aims to solicit inputs from national government bodies, academic sector and civil society organizations on the draft transfer concepts of the four Thai pilot municipalities, namely; Chiang Rai, Yala, Songkhla and Pakkret.

Bangkok: Risk management, public needs and communication, including stakeholders and workable implementation mechanism are put into spotlight as essential components the four Thai pilot municipalities should take into account in the refinement of their best practice replication projects.

DELGOSEA Team in Cambodia, in close collaboration with the National League of Commune/Sangkats (NLC/S), organizes a one-day workshop in Phnom Penh on April 26, 2011 with up to 40 local government stakeholders of Kampot and Choam Chao, officials of the Ministry of Interior, staff and advisors at the Secretariat of the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDDS), lecturers and students of various academic institutions and other concerned NGO/IOs as well as development partners to discuss and finalize DELGOSEA best practices‟ transfer concept development.

Kerala, India. Two of the pilot areas were featured in the UCLG-ASPAC Executive Bureau Meeting held on 22-25 April 2011 in Kerala, India. Mr. Hugua, Regent of Wakatobi representing the Association of Indonesian Regency (APKASI) in Indonesia while the Deputy Mayor of Takuapa Municipality, Mr. Suntisuk Na Thalang representing the Municipal League of Thailand (MLT) were the resource speakers in one of the sessions entitled “Impact of Climate Change & Adaptation System.” Both speakers included the DELGOSEA project in their presentation. Also, during the Executive Bureau Meeting, Dr. Rudolf Hauter, UCLG-ASPAC Secretary-General briefed the audience on the progress of the DELGOSEA Project and the list of activities lined-up for 2011.

DELGOSEA Team in Vietnam, in close collaboration with the Association of Cities in Vietnam (ACVN), organizes a one-day workshop in Hanoi on April 15, 2011 with up to 16 local government stakeholders from participating pilot cities: Danang, Vinh, and Tra Vinh to discuss and finalize DELGOSEA best practices’ (BP) transfer concept development. Lang Son – one of the host cities in Vietnam whose best practice on administrative reforms was selected by DELGOSEA, will also be taking part in the workshop.

Chiang Rai Municipality, one of the four selected pilot municipalities in Thailand for DELGOSEA, and its stakeholders, are now making one step further towards guidelines on joint waste management.

During a study visit to Colombo, Sri Lanka for a three-day workshop with UN-Habitat on March 29-31, 2011, the Mayor of Kampot, Mr Neak Sovannary took the initiative to present and promote Kampot Municipality current efforts and future action plan for 2011-2013 on urban waste management activity with DELGOSEA. This presentation marked a distinctive expansion of DELGOSEA local governance best practices’ replication information to South Asian countries.

A move towards democratic local governance requires political support and commitment by all government stakeholders including those at the national level. Acknowledging the importance of having all level of pilot cities’ and national stakeholders collaborate in the best practice (BP) replication process, DELGOSEA will soon launch a one-day national workshop to engage them further to ensure their support for policy or strategy development on replication framework.

DELGOSEA National Coordinator in Vietnam, Prof. Dr Do Hau, and two local governance coaches, Mrs Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang and Mrs Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc, conducted a two days meeting from 9-10 March 2011 with Tra Vinh City’s representatives to discuss the transfer concept of selected Best Practice (BP) “E-Government as the Breakthrough to Enhance Government Performances and Services” from Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The first session of the transfer concept development workshop between Technical Working Group in Pangkal Pinang with DELGOSEA National Coordinator, Natalis Padang, local coach Mr Yasser Arafat and local governance expert Eri Trinurini Adhi, took place on March 17, 2011. Under the leadership of the local office for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Pangkal Pinang plans to strengthen the capacities of the fisherfolk in fishing, sales and marketing, and to establish a solid culture for environmentally friendly fishing.

Kupang City has selected the best practice Marikina Eco-Saver from the Philippines which is focused on the education of school pupils and parents on waste management.

Local coach Mr Dendy A Borman and ADKASI’s representative Mr Awaluddin, with DELGOSEA local governance expert, Mrs Eri Trinurini Adhi conducted the first session on transfer concept development workshop with Wakatobi Technical Working Group on February 17-18, 2011. This session discussed key areas that pilot city wish to address through the replication of selected best practice and the planned next steps.

Tarakan City has run a program awarding schools for their efforts on environmental education (Adiwiyata program). Based on the meeting between Technical Working Group members with DELGOSEA local coach Mr Mujadid Rais, representative of APEKSI Mrs Indah Wibinastiti, and local governance expert Eri Trinurini Adhi on February 22-23, 2011, Tarakan City will use these existing structures and expand this program by learning from the Eco-Saver program from Marikina in the Philippines.

Bacolod City, one the pilots in the Philippines, conducted a workshop on February 17-18, 2011 on Best Practice Transfer Concept development. The workshop was attended by members of the Technical Working Group, respective governmental offices from each pilot area, DELGOSEA Team in Manila, and facilitated by DELGOSEA local coach, Ms Gilda Lluisma. A followed up meeting with potential civil society organization, academia, and private sector partners was further conducted on March 14, 2011.

On February 14-15, 2011, two pilot areas in the Philippines namely ManLuNa and BinKisu cluster of municipalities in Misamis Oriental Province conducted a two-day workshop to draft Best Practice (BP) replication transfer concept. ManLuNa and BinKisu will replicate the BP on tourism as modeled by Phuket City in Thailand “Preservation of Old Town and Revival of Traditions”. Members of the ManLuNa and BinKiSu Technical Working Group, which was set up by the local governments for replication purpose and respective governmental offices from each pilot area attended this workshop with the facilitation of DELGOSEA local coach, Ms Hilda I. Corpuz.

DELGOSEA Team in Cambodia together with local coaches; Prak Munny, Min Sopanith and Chhim Sopheark facilitated a three-day workshop with representatives from pilot area Choam Chao, a Sangkat or urban commune on 24-26 February 2011. The workshop led to an effective result where all concerned stakeholders in Choam Chao analyzed its existing condition and used the findings as the basis to establish project activities logical framework and elaborate next steps for the development of a transfer concept to improve the situation of street vendors as well as waste collection and waste water treatment in Choam Chao.

In its efforts to further disseminate local governance best practices (BP) to broad audience of local government stakeholders and civil society organizations, DELGOSEA, through the role of local coach in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara Province, took the opportunity to promote BP replication plan during an education seminar in the city. This event was attended by more than a hundred participants from government departments, non-government organizations, education institutions, parents of school children, and media on February 7, 2011.

On February 1, 2011 at the Sanggunian Bayan Session Hall of the Municipality of Sugbongcogon, Misamis Oriental, the BINKISU municipalities namely Binuangan, Kinoguitan and Sugbongcogon and other stakeholders joined the Conference of Mayors (COM) and members of the Inter-Municipal Team (IMT) to follow up plan on developing tourism to improve the lives’ of local people in the said municipalities, as part of their collaboration in DELGOSEA’s Best Practice (BP) replication. The BINKISU meeting also highlighted the signing of the Executive Order organizing the Best Practice Replication Technical Working Group by the three respective Mayors.

DELGOSEA National Coordinator in Vietnam, Prof. Do Hau, with local government association partner- Association of Cities in Vietnam (ACVN) representatives, and local coaches have visited three pilot cities to discuss plan on Best Practice (BP) Transfer Concept and replication action plan since December 2010.

DELGOSEA National Coordinator in Philippines, Mr. Crescencio M.Doma Jr., has organized coordination meetings with pilot cities’ representatives between December 2010 to January 2011 to discuss the next step on Best Practices Transfer Concept development and replication plans.

Indonesian local governance coaches continued to undertake in-country preparations on facilitating local governance best practices replications at pilot cities during a one-day meeting in Jakarta with Dr. Rudolf Hauter, National Coordinator (picture).

Following the capacity building workshop for local coaches in Pattaya, the Director of Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), Dr Paul Chamniern, presented updates on DELGOSEA program including overview on Best Practices replication and planned activities with pilot cities in Thailand during the Municipal League of Thailand (MLT) annual conference on December 14, 2010.

DELGOSEA Management Team, represented by Project Director, Dr Peter Köppinger, Project Manager, Susanne Stephan, and five National Coordinators and Administrative Assistants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Thailand conducted a three-days meeting in Jakarta on January 25-27, 2011, to finalize Best Practice (BP) Transfer Concept development and subsequent replication activities with pilot cities.

The local governance coaches in Cambodia have started preliminary engagements with respective pilot cities’ representatives to share planned activities on Best Practice (BP) replication and foster working relation with the local government’s office since December 2010.

About fifty key stakeholders met on 17 January 2011 at Naawan, Misamis Oriental for a coordination meeting on Best Practice (BP) replication process for MANLUNA (Manticao, Lugait, Naawan) and BINKISU (Binuangan, Kinoguitan, Sugbongcogon) Clusters. The meeting was also joined by DELGOSEA Project Manager Susanne Stephan and National Coordinator Crescencio M. Doma, Jr. of DELGOSEA who support the local government units in bringing up the clustering aspect to enhance the BP replication process.

Short descriptions of sixteen Best Practices (BP) by DELGOSEA partner cities/municipalities are now ready online.

One Pangasinan Alliance of Local Government Units or OPAL, one of the three DELGOSEA’s pilot cities partner in the Philippines, facilitated an evaluation meeting followed with site visit by the project team on December 14, 2010. During this occasion, the Alliance highlighted the implementation status of DELGOSEA activities and its action plan to replicate Best Practice (BP) on constructed wetland from Udonthani, Thailand.

DELGOSEA Capacity Development Workshop for Local Coaches in Pattaya, Thailand on November 18-25, 2010 was aimed to equip local coaches and partner Local Government Associations in providing adequate facilitation to support local governance Best Practices (BP) transfer and implementation by pilot cities.

Dr Peter Köppinger (Country Representative of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Philippines and DELGOSEA Project Director) and Mr Prai Pattano (President of Municipal League of Thailand and Mayor of Hat Yai) welcomed the local coaches from DELGOSEA participating countries in Pattaya, Thailand on November 18. In the opening ceremony, they highlighted the importance of joint efforts in addressing the shared problems in the region in order to improve the welfare of the people.

The Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast Asia (DELGOSEA), in collaboration with local government association partners: Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) and Municipal League of Thailand (MLT), host a capacity development workshop for up to 60 local governance coaches from DELGOSEA partner countries of Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines starting November 18 -25, 2010 in Pattaya, Thailand.

Welcome remarks by Dr. Peter Köppinger (DELGOSEA Project Director and Philippines Country Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung) during the opening ceremony of the Capacity Development Workshop for Local Coaches, DELGOSEA project, on November 18, 2010 in Pattaya, Thailand.

The project is in final preparation to organize a seven-day workshop for local coaches’ capacity development in facilitating local governance best practices transfer, to be held in Pattaya, Thailand on November 18-25, 2010.

DELGOSEA published a project-brochure on November 5, 2010 in English for wide distribution to its stakeholders and partners.
A local language version will be available soon in each partner country.

DELGOSEA National Coordinators and local governance experts, with facilitations by Ruth Gruber (expert on decentralization and local governance) and Eri Trinurini-Adhi (curriculum expert) developed Best Practice’s training materials on September 14-17, 2010 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

DELGOSEA National Coordinators, local governance experts, and UCLG-ASPAC Secretary General, Peter Woods, visited the Yogyakarta City Information Technology and Telemathics (TIT) Office on September 16, 2010 to discuss implementation of E-Government in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia and observe public service activities at E-Permits and E-Procurement offices.

The Bacolod City government in the Philippines, through Local Government Development Foundation (LOGODEF), teams up with the Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast-Asia (DELGOSEA) to replicate local governance best practice on People Private Public Partnership from Cambodia. This joint, trans-national, effort in replicating this best practice is further consolidated through the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Bacolod City government and the DELGOSEA Project in Bacolod New Government Center on September 6, 2010.

The Partnership for Democratic Local Governance project or DELGOSEA has started preparing the transfer process of good governance best practices by formally engaging several municipal governments across partnering Southeast-Asian countries as pilot cities through the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) since July 2010.

To support the implementation and monitoring of transnational replication of local governance best practices , a group of 13 National Coordinators and local governance experts with DELGOSEA conducted a two-day meeting in Manila, Philippines on August 3-4, 2010, to discuss the outline and structure of best practices replication training material.

Best Practice Examples on Local Governance from municipalities in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam presented in transnational workshop in Phnom Penh (DELGOSEA).

During the three day workshop from 10th-12th June 2010, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the EC co-funded project “Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast-Asia” (DELGOSEA), presented the outcomes of the research assessment on best practice examples from local governments/municipalities from five countries in Southeast-Asia.

The project “Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast-Asia” has officially started its activities. The project is co-funded by the European Commission and covering five countries in Southeast-Asia: Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

The EC co-funded regional project “Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast-Asia” presented its first research results on the identification of Best Practice examples in local governance. The workshop was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 21st April 2010 and hosted by the partner organization Association of Vietnamese Cities (ACVN).

In the framework of the EC co-funded project “Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast-Asia” ten Local Government Associations (LGAs) and several NGOs met for the first time in Manila, Philippines…

During 15th-19th March 2010 the first workshop of the project “Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast-Asia” was held in Manila, Philippines. The project is co-funded by the European Commission and the German Ministry for Development Cooperation and covering five countries in Southeast-Asia: Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam….