The Council of Europe Centre of Expertise for Good Governance, in cooperation with the Institute of International Sociology of Gorizia (ISIG) and the Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives Balkans (CESCI-Balkans), is launching a new training programme on Leadership for Cross-Border cooperation designed for the local authorities of the bordering regions of Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Representatives of national governments, associations of local authorities, and training institutions were invited to attend. The launch event of the Leadership Academy Programme (focusing on cross-border cooperation) for the mayors/local authorities from the border Region of Greece – Republic Of North Macedonia will be organized online on 5th of October, from 9 to 12 am CET.

The Leadership Academy Programme for Cross-Border Cooperation is developed by the Centre of Expertise to improve institutional leadership at local level and to overcome common problems and foster harmonious development of neighbouring communities.

This programme will include new modules on providing Leadership in times of crises, and a training session on the new Council of Europe toolkit on assessing resilience and preparedness for emergencies at local level, based on the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project includes several stages (dates are provisional and tbc depending on the pandemic situation):

• Presentation of the course and training of trainers – online, 13-14 July 2020
• Online Launch and presentation: 5 October 2020
• First stage of the Academy – tbc in Thessaloniki – 3 days
• Second stage – tbc in Ohrid – 3 days
• Third stage – 3 days tbc in 2021.