LAG Expo 2022 – a fair for local development was held on September 23, in the Cultural Center “Aco Karamanov” in Radovish. This fair is the first of its kind in the country where, through presentations and panel discussions, representatives of Local Action Groups (LAGs) from North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, and Croatia presented their activities and discussed topics related to local development that affect all rural communities. The members of the LAGs Bojmija, Belasica-Ograzden, Malesh-Pijanec, Aber 2015, and Plachkovica also presented their stands, products, and activities at the fair.
The purpose of the fair is to present and share the experiences of domestic Local Action Groups, as well as those from the countries of the Western Balkans and the European Union following the LEADER approach as part of local/rural development policies. The local action groups, which were the focus of the fair, are non-profit civil society organizations, made up of representatives from the private, public, and civil sectors and are drivers of development in rural areas.
Jeri Dible – Country Representative for USAID North Macedonia, Petar Gjorgievski – President of the Rural Development Network of North Macedonia and the Balkan Rural Development Network, as well as Ljupce Pochivalec – Secretary of the Municipality of Radovish, addressed the attendees and welcomed the initiative for such fair and reaffirmed their support for Local Action Groups and rural areas in the country. Mayors of municipalities from the region as well as representatives from the civil and private sector from the state and the countries of the Western Balkans and the EU were also present.
LAG Expo 2022 is realized with the support of USAID’s Community Development Program, implemented by the Rural Development Network of North Macedonia and the Balkan Rural Development Network supported by We Effect, in cooperation with LAG Plachkovica.
This activity is part of the Community Development Program, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
This article is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the Rural Development Network of North Macedonia and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the United States Government.