The first national edition of the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) in Italy was concluded with an Award Ceremony held in Venice. The event was organised by the Italian Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (AICCRE), the accredited entity to implement ELoGE in the country.
39 municipalities were awarded with the Label, a record number which is a testament to the high interest this experience raised among Italian local governments, and to the commitment of the participating ones in concluding the process.
The Ceremony was opened by a speech from Michele Giacomelli, the Italian Permanent Representation to the Council of Europe, and a short video recorded by Luisella Pavan-Woolfe, the Director of the Council of Europe office in Italy.
Claudia Luciani, Director of Human Dignity, Equality and Governance of the Council of Europe, stressed that implementing ELoGE is gaining more and more value in strengthening democratic processes and the management of policies at local level, also encompassing the respect of human rights and the rule of law.
Carla Rey, Secretary General of AICCRE, and Daniele Del Bianco, Director of the International Sociology Institute of Gorizia, provided an overall description of the main results of the programme, which involved almost 100 municipalities and managed to get a high response from citizens: Fabrizio Rossi, Secretary General of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, stated that good governance is a solution that can bring them closer to the public institutions, by building their trust in local governments.
Alina Tatarenko, Head of the Democratic Governance Division of the Council of Europe, delivered the awards to the representatives of the different municipalities. Many of them emphasised that ELoGE will be a starting point on a path to keep improving the way they work and deliver services to the citizens.
ELoGE awards have been recently delivered also to municipalities in Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Spain (Murcia) and Türkiye.
*All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations' Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo
