History of SCTM

The Founding Assembly of the Standing Conference of Towns and Town Municipalities of the FNRY was held in Belgrade on 21 and 22 April 1953. In addition to the adoption of the Decision on Establishment and the Statute, as well as the election of bodies, the Decision on joining the International Association of Towns (IULA) was adopted. IULA was established upon the initiative of the Belgian National Alliance in 1913, with the same initiatives and the same principles as the Standing Conference.

On this occasion, it was especially emphasized that during the old Yugoslavia, from 1927 until the beginning of the World War Two, there was and existed the Union of the Towns of Yugoslavia whose main goal was the fight against the central authorities for the town self-government. That is how the idea of the Conference was born. It is interesting to note that it was quite difficult to give the proper name for the organization of Yugoslav towns and municipalities that would correspond to its character and goals to a large extent. The desire was to express in the very title the non-compulsory attitudes and conclusions derived from mutual consultations, while at the same time emphasizing the continuity and permanency of the exchange of experiences. This is how the name Standing Conference came into being, not the alliance, the association or the like, which could signify more stringent and more compulsory forms of association. These principles on which the Conference originally based its work were new, brave, deeply democratic and progressive for that time, and they remained like that to this day.

In its first statute (approved by the Federal Assembly), the Conference proclaimed the principles of full voluntary membership, equality of all members - large and small municipalities and towns, association and cooperation exclusively on the basis of independently assessed own interests. The basic principle of the work of all bodies, organs and gatherings of the Conference was the principle of agreeing and communicating, consultation without imposing decisions and conclusions of any forum to members of the organization. In one word, the Conference was not conceived as a "higher authority" above the member towns, it was never set up in such a way, and it will surely retain its character in the future.

SCTM Today

The Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities - Association of Towns and Municipalities of Serbia (SCTM) was founded in 1953 as an association of towns and municipalities and town municipalities in Serbia. Thanks to the great support and active participation of the membership, the SCTM's impact is more and more pronounced, and as far as the reform and strengthening of local self-government is concerned. SCTM has been accepted as an indispensable partner to domestic and international institutions and has become an important factor in the process of decentralisation and reform of the local self-government system. They are the unique voice of local authorities in Serbia before the National Assembly, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, ministries, provincial authorities and other competent institutions and organisations.

Their mission is to represent the interests of local self-governments and support their development through the joint operation of the membership, providing high-quality services in accordance with European standards, with the goal of creating the conditions for the functioning of developed and efficient local self-government.

SCTM is a gathering point of local self-governments and consideration of common issues, formulating, and presenting common interests. They represent the interests of towns and municipalities and they are lobbying for the adoption of regulations and strategic documents that suit their needs. Local self-governments can count on quality services provided to them through training, consultations and advisory support, and their members, partners and the general public are well and timely informed about all issues of importance to local self-government. When it comes to the international level, they pay special attention to representing the interests of local authorities in the negotiations for EU membership, in an effort to adequately present their opportunities and needs in this process.

The SCTM implements a large number of programmes and projects funded by international governmental and non-governmental institutions and organizations. Over the past few years, they have implemented more than 30 different projects alone or in cooperation with their partners.

Within the SCTM, there are eight line committees, permanent working bodies that bring together representatives of towns and municipalities about important issues in the field of local self-government activities in order to exchange experiences and formulate joint initiatives. Also, SCTM has established 25 networks of professionals, experts from the local level, with the task of considering and proposing innovative solutions that will further improve the position and operation of local self-government.