The ART Initiative partners with several European associations and Funds, such as the Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity (FAMSI, Spain), ARF (France) and the Fund of Local Authorities for Decentralized Cooperation and Sustainable Human Development, Umbria (FELCOS, Italy). Through FELCOS Umbria, ART cooperates with numerous Italian LRGs, hence promoting harmonization and furthering the coordination of development interventions. The alliance between the ART Initiative and FELCOS Umbria has facilitated several DC partnerships such as those of FELCOS / L’Oriental (Morocco, through the Regional Department of Agriculture), FELCOS / Lebanon (various regions, through the Ministry of Agriculture), and FELCOS / Sri Lanka (promoting LED and supporting the decentralization of the mental health system).
Strengthened by its joint working experience and successful cooperation with DC partners from both shores of the Mediterranean, this experience between multiple actors / across multiple levels (decentralized, sub-national, national and multilateral) now includes the European Commission (EC) as well. A project jointly submitted by FELCOS and UNDP to the EC has recently been approved, showcasing the success of this cooperation model. The project, which will involve Algeria, Lebanon, Italy, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Tunisia, aims at i) strengthening the new Mediterranean Beekeepers Association (ApiMed, a network of beekeepers’ associations); ii) at promoting research, analysis and networking; and iii) at supporting activities that target honey producers, to strengthen their local and national associations and their capacity to participate in the dialogue and decision-making related to food security and biodiversity.
In this regard, a specialized beekeeping Forum is organized biennially since 2007 with the support of UNDP, the last of which took place in Beirut (Lebanon). The Forums and the long-term alliances that have been established have promoted dialogue between territories on “issues of common interest”, and the exchange of knowledge, good practices, and technical and technological innovations in the beekeeping sector.
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Articulation of Territorial Networks
for Sustainable Human
Development