Città Solidale

GSI Italia actively supported the creation of a network made up of local authorities and municipalities, which is called Città Solidale, for which it performs the secretary and coordinating tasks. Città Solidale consists of 18 Umbrian local authorities which share a common commitment, that is to focus on solidarity while performing the administrative and political tasks. The following municipalities are active members of the above federation: Spoleto, Foligno, Cascia, Norcia, Sellano, Giano, Vallo di Nera, Castel Ritaldi, Montefalco, Gualdo Cattaneo, Preci, Scheggino, Campello, Trevi, and local authorities such as the Local Health Authority no. 3, the Csa, the Asem, and the Consortium of municipalities in the Martani and Serano mountain areas. Città Solidale can benefit from both EU funds and the regional ones so that it can fulfil its active solidarity commitment. In all these years, GSI Italia promoted several activities which contributed to establish a consolidated network of collaborations.

Among the milestones of its commitment, it should be noted the Regional Law no. 26/99 by the Region of Umbria on decentralised cooperation and its contribution to the establishment of the EUROPEAN CIVIC FORUM, a network of associations working in the solidarity and cooperation fields, which covers 23 member states and whose headquarter is located in Brussels. GSI serves as the Italian representative in the Board of Directors of the above entity.

GSI commitment and collaboration with other actors working in the solidarity field allowed for establishing different associations which play a prominent role in the territories where they are settled. Among these, there are GSI MARCHE, EL HOMBRE SOBRE LA TIERRA in Mexico, FAA I TUORA in Burkina Faso, and BOMOYI in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Regional Law n. 26 1999

At the beginning of 1999, the councillors of the Region of Umbria, irrespective of the political parties they belonged to, after being asked on the need to put the stress on international cooperation, declared that they had to deal with other priorities and that the approval of the law on cooperation to development would have been postponed. In the two previous terms, the regional officers already started a debate on this issue, without however finding a common stance due to the lack of interest and determination. The Governor of the Perugia Province, at the time Mr. Mariano Borgognoni, was instead determined to approve a regional law enforcing the national one no. 49 dated 1987. Thanks to his contribution, the working group established by GSI Italia saw its activity acknowledged and started the relevant legislative process. The group was composed of members from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CNR, Perugia University and the Chairmen of GSI and Tamat, another association operating in the international cooperation field. The chairmen of Perugia and Terni provinces, in the name and on behalf of the institutions they represented, actively took part with the relevant assistants and gave their contribution to the analysis, debate and drawing up. After the first meetings in the Province headquarter, just in front of Palazzo Cesaroni where the regional parliament has its venue, the representative of the International Relationships Office for the Region of Umbria joined the group. However, he took part in the meeting in his individual capacity and not as an institutional member but was constantly informed on the progress.

Finally, in the spring of 1999, some regional deputies from the left-wing party Rifondazione Comunista adopted the text drawn up by the working group and promoted by GSI Italia and the bill was approved as Regional law no. 26.