Local action, lasting impact
Over the past few months, from Latvia to Spain, partners focused on implementing and refining their testing actions:
- Ķekava (Latvia) organised a series of collaborative neighbourhood events – from a pop-up exhibition celebrating “100 Years of Daugmale” to community gatherings uniting residents from different villages. These lively encounters strengthened local identity and built bridges between citizens and the municipality.
- Gdańsk (Poland) completed the development of its “Public Consultation Toolkit”, soon to be launched as a practical guide for city staff and residents. The toolkit is accompanied by a new online consultation platform that will make participatory processes more transparent and accessible.
- Budaörs (Hungary) held its first city-wide vote under the “Participatory Budgeting”- campaign. Citizens submitted and voted on project ideas using a digital platform, showing strong engagement and enthusiasm.
- Banská Bystrica (Slovakia)finalised the “Statute of the Board of Open Government”, a pioneering step to formalise cooperation between the municipality and citizens.
- Quart de Poblet (Spain) launched an “Urban Innovation Workshop” with Raúl Olivan’s Hexagonal Group, helping civil servants rethink collaboration within the city administration.
- Aarhus (Denmark) expanded its “Democracy Hosts”-training, empowering residents and professionals to facilitate local dialogue and co-create solutions with politicians.
Learning and connecting
“This shows how far our partners have come — from experimenting with civic participation to institutionalising it,” says Lead Expert Anja van Hout. “They are now ready to carry the AoCE spirit into their own administrations.”
With their activities, the Agents of Co-Existence are shaping a new way of working between citizens and local government. Partners are now putting focus on how to embed participatory culture into the daily work of public institutions – turning short-term projects into long-term change. At the Final Event in Genk (7-9 December 2025) partners will present their results, lessons learned, and a shared vision for inclusive local governance. It will be exciting to see these results!