The dlgn F2F started at 8:30 in the morning on Monday 7th of March, with the welcoming words of Kuno Schläfli. He shared his satisfaction about the growth of the network sin
ce its last F2F in India and for the possibility of having this second F2F in Sarajevo, combined with the NALAS Nexpo. He presented the program of the F2F and thanked all participants for their commitment to the network and all people who engaged in the Learning Projects, for the work done in the past months.
Following Kuno’s words, Kelmend Zajazi, Executive Director of NALAS, also greeted all participants to Sarajevo. He acknowledge the importance of having representatives of
different countries at the NEXPO and highlighted the opportunity of sharing and exchanging experiences on decentralization and local governance from all over the world. For NALAS, “Networking is not only about information sharing and exchange; it is also about working with that information and using it”.
Continuing with the introductions, Kurt Kunz, Assistant Director-General of SDC and Head of the Department Cooperation with Eastern Europe, addressed the audience. He pointed out the importance networking has on SDC’s thematic areas and more specifically that SDC “cannot support reforms in different countries if there is no coordinated approach”. For him, “the network concept is very valid, not only because it generates an impressive dynamic of exchange, but also because it allows for demonstrating and sharing the thematic 
competence of the SDC staff and its partners”.
The final words were shared by Brigit Hagmann, Head of the Western Balkans Division. She showed her appreciation for the fact that this year, the dlgn F2F is taking place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the five countries of her division. In her words, “it is important to see how Bosnia and Herzegovina together with the other countries in western Balkans: Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia are making progress in their decentralization process.” She concluded by stating that “the objectives of the dlgn F2F, go beyond the exchanging of experiences and the learning from each other. As a thematic network, it is expected that this F2F becomes referential to the work SDC is doing 
in the different countries and that the lessons learned drawn from the work done by the Learning Projects are applied in the implementation and evaluation of programmes.”
Expectations of participants
Subsequently, participants were invited by Ursula König, the facilitator, to share their expectations towards the f2f. Among the most common expectations shared are:
- Obtaining practical recommendations of issues that practitioners can apply in their current work.
- Not receiving fixed recipes.
- Learning from the thematically and the geographically diverse backgrounds of participants.
- Learning about how NALAS works and comparing their tools and approaches to country initiatives.
- Increasing and raising the recognition and the relevant work being done at local levels.
