The 3rd Danube Participation Days in the EU Danube Strategy Working towards sustainable development: Civil Society, Local Actors and EU Strategies
In 2016 the partners of the EUSDR Danube Participation Days [Priority Area 10 of the EUSDR, Danube Civil Society Forum, DCSF] in cooperation with the Plenipotentiary for Civil Society Development in Slovakia, the Council of Danube Cities and Regions and the ARGE Donauländer decided to take cooper ation one step further, and to cooperate with the EU LADDER Project to organise, at the beginning of the 5th Annual Forum 2016 in Bratislava, the 3rd Danube Participation Days of the EUSDR on the 2nd and 3rd November. This open and innovative meeting will bring together experts and high level representatives of regional organisations, institutions and networks representing civil society, academia and cities and regions. This will intensify the exchange and cooperation of relevant stakeholders in the Danube R egion and the West Balkan with a view to develop participatory, multi-level governance, administrative  capacities and a policy aiming at a stable and sustainable political, economic  and social d evelopment of the region. 
The first day hosted by the Plenipotentiary, EUSDR Priority Area 10, DCSF, LADDER and Foster Europe focuses on resilient sustainable development (SD) as an issue of participative multi-level governance in the Danube Region and its macro-regional strategies. SD in its holistic approach is a touchstone for quality development of our societies as well for European integration and international cooperation in the Danube Region. The second day will focus on the role and potential of local actors in making sustainable development in the Danube Region possible. Hosting organisation is the Council of Danube Cities and Regions and the City of Bratislava, cooperating with the ARGE Donauländer, the DCSF, the EUSDR Priority Area 10 Danube Local Actors Platform, Foster Europe.
This setting reflects the multitude of actors active and needed to cooperate in EU multi-level and macroregional settings. It reflects further the demand for close and regular cooperation between state actors and civil society, the need for participation, transparency and subsidiarity. We thank the City of Bratislava, the LADDER Project, Baden-Württemberg Foundation, EUSDR Priority Area 10 and Foster Europe for making this event possible.

Stefan August Lütgenau President, DCSF