Message from the Council of Europe and the City Administration of Mostar

Dear Visitor,

On behalf of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo, I would like to welcome you to the website of the Citizens’ Assembly of Mostar.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the Council of Europe and the City of Mostar, a Citizens’ Assembly was held over a series of weekends in July 2021 in Mostar. It was implemented within the project Building democratic participation in the City of Mostar, and was the first occasion to apply successfully a “deliberative democracy” approach in Bosnia and Herzegovina .  

In partnership with the elected local authorities, Mostar’s citizens were given the opportunity to directly engage in deliberating on concrete policies and to take ownership in identifying solutions to questions that concern them. The local authorities took on board the concerns of citizens by adopting an Action plan with a view to implementing the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations.

The engagement of citizens in this process has been truly remarkable, making us even more determined to follow through on our support to the City of Mostar, to make sure that the citizens’ recommendations are implemented in practice. Our aim is also to transfer to local actors the know-how on organising Citizens’ Assemblies, which will contribute to the sustainability of this form of citizens’ engagement over the long run.

Since its launch in March 2021, this website has recorded more than 20,000 visits. We hope that it will continue to be a useful resource for the people of Mostar and throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina in stimulating citizens’ dialogue with the local authorities on issues of public interest.

Mostar remains in the focus of the Council of Europe, as envisaged by the Council of Europe Action plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2022-2025. Together with Mostar and its citizens, let us continue to build a success story.

Yours sincerely,

Bojana Urumova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo

Dear citizens of Mostar,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this website, dedicated to dialogue with an emphasis on two-way communication that contributes to mutual trust between you and the local authorities of the City of Mostar.

Citizens’ assemblies are good practices in many parts of the world. As such, I am beyond thankful that the Congress chose Mostar to be placed on the map of cities where deliberative processes are taking place, and for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The City of Mostar signed a Memorandum of co-operation with the Council of Europe, thereby expressing our strong commitment to the deliberative process. As a citizen of Mostar, and also as a Mayor, I am happy to have witnessed the implementation of the first Citizens’ Assembly in Mostar, held in July 2021.

The active participation and enthusiasm of both citizens of Mostar and the City Councillors of Mostar played an imperative role in promoting democratic practices in our city. During the month of July, the citizens of Mostar seized the opportunity to exchange views with local councillors and experts in the field, and formulated 32 recommendations for City authorities.

As a result, the City Council of Mostar, adopted, with unanimity, the Action Plan for the implementation of the citizens’ recommendations, and ensured within the new budget for the year 2022, significant funds for the implementation of the Action Plan. With this, we hope to encourage and contribute to the sustainability of this form of citizens’ engagement.

I hope that citizens of Mostar see the dedication of the City authorities in addressing their concerns and that the adoption of the Action plan provides an example of how civic engaggement in policy development is valued and rewarded.

Together, let us continue building a more successful city for everyone!

Mario Kordić, Mayor of Mostar