The Economic Pillar of the “SDGs for ALL” Platform organized a workshop at a national level on May 16th, 2022, within the Thematic group dedicated to the issue of economic development planning by the local communities.

Following the workshops organized in the local communities of Pirot, Knjaževac and Sombor, with participation of the representatives of the public and private sectors, and with secondary school students in Sombor, this national-level event gathered the representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Public Policy Secretariat, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, National Alliance for Local Economic Development and National Coalition for Decentralization, as well as experts in the in the field of local economic development and public policies.

The discussion focused on four topics identified as priorities through a series of workshops organized in the local communities: 1. Putting resources (agricultural land, water, forests) managed by republic bodies and public companies in the function of local economic development; 2. Adjusting educational programs to the local economy needs; 3. Inclusion of local products in the offer of large, national level catering facilities in Serbia; and 4. Improving coordination of national and local authorities when deciding on the local economy development (subsidies, incentives, investments), along with prior consultation between local authorities and businessmen from their community.

Some of the key conslusion included the possibility to create a sustainable development network, initiative to establish the councils of national parks’ users, and the involvement of public companies’ representatives in the discussions on local economic development. These conclusions will be translated into policy initiatives within the policy document to be presented at the final workshop in June.