As initial activity of the project, a kick-off meeting was held in Shkoder, Albania in the period 24-26 August 2015. The meeting was jointly organized by Albanian Association of Communes (AAC), NALAS Secretariat, SWG and GIZ.

Almost 50 Representatives of local governments, Local Governments Associations, communal public utilities and civil society organizations from 7 project countries (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Croatia and BiH) took active participation. The exchange of ideas and interest to achieve as much as possible within the context of the Solid Waste Management in the cross-border rural and coastal areas in the region of SEE was the overall spirit of this event.

The overall goal of the meeting was to introduce the project, its objectives and planned activities to the regional stakeholders. In addition, the meeting was focused to the discussions on the roles, responsibilities, project management as well as on internal and external communication within and between the partner networks.

During the two days of the event, the participants had an opportunity to visit the Bushat landfill and to discuss issues related to collection, transportation and disposal of the municipal solid waste in the region of Shkoder, Northern Albania.

The host and organizer of the meeting, the Albanian Association of Communes provided to the participants a unique opportunity to visit the beautiful Rozafa Castle that rises imposingly on a rocky hill, surrounded by the Bojana and Drin rivers.