ALDA is a French non-profit organization. It was established in 1999 at the initiative of the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities to coordinate and support a network of Local Democracy Agencies, which was established in the early 1990s in the Balkans.
ALDA’s mission is the promotion of good governance at the local level, namely through fostering cooperation between local authorities and civil society and promote active citizenship. It works for the construction of equitable, sustainable and inclusive societies. The geographical scope of ALDA encompasses the EU, the South Est Europe (Western Balkans & Turkey), the Eastern Partnership and the Mediterranean area.
ALDA is a membership based organisation gathering more than 230 members (including LAs, Associations of LAs and NGOs) coming from more than 40 countries. ALDA is funded through membership fees and project funding from the European Commission, the Council of Europe and other public and private donors.