Networks and cities' news

TRANSNATIONAL MEETING IN DINSLAKEN: AGEN, LEAD OF THE ACTIVE CITIZENS NETWORK, BRINGS PARTICIPATIVE DEMOCRACY TO THE HEART OF EUROPE

FEEDBACKS FROM AGEN’S DELEGATION FOLLOWING THE TRANSNATIONAL MEETING IN DINSLAKEN.

As part of the European Urbact program, the “Active Citizens” delegation from the city of Agen took part, on March 30 and 31st, 2022, in the 3rd Transnational Meeting in Dinslaken, Germany. During these 2 days of meeting, the 8 European cities, members of the “Active Citizens” network, were able to discuss feedback from the participatory democracy experiments implemented at the local level. Interventions and workshops, the particularity of this meeting is based on the first feedback from the experimental phases set up in each country. A moment of sharing that will make it possible to build the IAP (Integrated Action Plan) grouping together good practices and applying them on a local level beyond the URBACT program.

PARTICIPATIVE DEMOCRACY A REAL BENEFIT FOR THE MUNICIPALITY

Bertrand Girardi is Delegate Municipal Councilor in charge of the city of Agen’s Participative Democracy and in particular of the URBACT Program and European projects of citizen participation. Fascinated by politics from an early age, he describes his experience of participative democracy through the Urbact program.

The Urbact program was integrated in the middle of the 2 mandates.

Active citizen = investment in the future

The statutory city of Hradec Králové has enough experience with so-called "hard" investment projects. But even "soft" projects cannot be underestimated. For this reason, I consider it very important that the city continuously and systematically improves its capabilities in the field of community programs funded by the European Commission. This, very often so-called "soft" money can lead to improved processes by transferring "know-how" from other European cities. One of these opportunities is the involvement of the city in the URBACT networks, which are an example of how experience can be transferred from other European cities in the field of citizen participation and activation.

THE ACTIVE CITIZENS NETWORK: A PARTNERSHIP BASED ON HONESTY, TRANSPARENCY AND FRIENDSHIP

Christophe Gouache, the Active Citizens network Lead Expert, is a designer of public policy but also a teacher at “Science Po” Lille, a trainer at the National Institute of Territorial Studies in Strasbourg and, occasionally, a researcher in the framework of European research programs. He reveals to us, among other things, the keys to success that have made it possible to unite the 7 member countries of the Urbact network and his vision of participative democracy.

BluAct - Starting Up the Blue Economy

BluAct network initiated its works during Spring of 2018, and has been awarded with the EEPA 2018 “Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit” award. Phase 2 of the project initiated recently with main event the transnational kick-off meeting that took place in Piraeus between 26-28 of February 2019.

Find the courage to start implementing innovative solutions for our own city! A story from Salerno, Italy.

The suggestion I can give to the other European cities from this experience is: being in contact with cities that have already made successful experiences is important to become more confident in our potential and to find the courage to start implementing innovative solutions for our own city.