About Us

ALDA is a key stakeholder in the field of local democracy, active citizenship, and cooperation between local authorities and civil society in Europe, its Neighbourhood, and all around the World, mainly acting through participative methods and decentralised cooperation.

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ALDA was established in 1999 at the initiative of the Council of Europe to coordinate and support the network of the Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs), which are self- sustainable, locally registered NGOs acting as promoters of good governance and local self-government, with which ALDA collaborates in many activities.​ ALDA is a membership-based organisation gathering over 300 members, including local authorities, associations of local authorities, and civil society organisations, coming from more than 54 countries in the enlarged Europe.

ALDA is funded through membership fees, as well as project funding from the European Commission, the Council of Europe and other public and private donors.​ As a core element, ALDA supports citizens and groups of citizens in their initiatives aimed at improving their local context, building bridges with local authorities to make the change real.