LPSA’s Thematic Working Group on Local Democracy, Inclusive Governance and Community-led Development aims to bring together government officials, policy practitioners, scholars, civil society organizations, and citizens who share an interest and expertise on local democracy, inclusive governance, and community-led development.
The first public meeting of the Local Democracy, Inclusive Governance and Community-led Development was held on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 9:00 AM ET. The meeting was opened by Jamie Boex, the Executive Director of the Local Public Sector Alliance. He officially launched the LPSA’s Thematic Working Group on Local Democracy, Inclusive Governance and Community-led Development and provided an overview of the workings of LPSA.
Augustine Magolowondo, the LPSA Co-chair of the Local Democracy working group highlighted the purpose of the working group. He remarked how this working group can contribute to the existing debate and help in enhancing the conceptual understanding of local democracy and develop shared and comparative perspectives around local governance and local democracy.
The panel discussion on the topic of “What Do We Mean by Local Democracy and Inclusive Governance?” provided a comprehensive exploration of the Kenyan and Indonesian perspectives, skillfully presented by Zipporah Wambua, Makueni County and Mochamad Mustafa, Asia Foundation respectively. Zipporah Wambua delved into the nuances of local democracy in Kenya, highlighting the unique challenges and successes of devolution in the East African nation. By sharing the Indonesian context, Mochamad Mustafa shed light on how democratization and inclusive democracy have been promoted at the local level illustrating the multifaceted nature in Indonesia.
The panel discussion was followed by 40 minutes of Q&A sessions moderated by Augustine Magolowondo. He concluded the meeting with closing remarks, the next steps for the working group details at the next quarterly meeting.
A video of the meeting is available on YouTube. The links below provide access to the video segments of the different agenda items.
| No. | Agenda Item | Contributor |
| 1. | Welcome & Working Group Launch | Jamie Boex |
| 2. | Local Democracy, Inclusive Governance & Community-Led Development: Ambitions of the Working Group | Augustine Magolowondo, Co-Chair |
| 3. | Panel Discussion: Perspectives on Local Democracy and Inclusive Governance | Zipporah Wambua Mochamad Mustafa |
| 4. | What do we mean by Local Democracy and Inclusive Governance & why do we care? | Open Discussion |
| 5. | Next Steps & Closing Remarks | Augustine Magolowondo, Co-Chair |
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