Local Councils: Reading Past Experiences

The opinions of the participants in the sixty-first session of the “Syrian Wednesday” program converged on the necessity that the governing vision of the upcoming local administrative councils be to activate community participation and for localities to own their decisions and local recovery projects in a manner that is consistent with their resources.

The Nation Building Movement held a session yesterday, Wednesday, August 3, 2022, in its office in Damascus, entitled: “Local Councils: A Reading of Past Experiences,” with the attendance and participation of a group of experts, activists, and members of various local councils from different regions. This was hours after the issuance of Decree No. 216 of 2022, which set Sunday, September 18, 2022, as the date for holding the elections of members of local councils.​

The session, which coincided with the movement’s launch of the second edition of the “Your Role” campaign, was launched from the importance of this reading of the experience of existing councils before the end of their term. The review included the challenges that faced the work of the councils, whether in exercising their powers, or related to the way they reached it, passing through the challenges that hindered them from shifting to development planning and activating their relationship with local communities.
The session also reviewed a number of successful experiences of some councils in dealing with some issues, in a decentralized manner that relied on flexible dealing with Law 107, in terms of responsibilities and powers, and the optimal use of some local resources. In contrast, some experiences that missed opportunities to invest powers and resources, or were exposed to many obstacles.

More details about the session can be found in the reports below.  

Written Report

Gallery