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Description
According to the City Observatory report from 2020, the smaller the city the lesser the chances for civic engagement for its citizens. We are responding to that issue by leading workshops on civic engagement for individuals living in three small towns in Lower Silesia Voivodeship with populations under 20,000. As part of the project, we will strengthen the direct democratic process by engaging in public consultations, giving the participants a chance to express their views and be heard, and improving the communication when working on public issues. We will train representatives from three municipalities (12 individuals from offices and social activists) about public consultations and civic participation. We will organize meetings that will help us identify issues that are important to the communities and will have public consultations in municipalities that are participating in the project. We will also train individuals in conducting these consultations and then support them in planning and running the consultation process in their respective towns. Later, we will have reports pertaining to each of the municipalities that will contain: the description of the context and the subject of the consultations, minutes from the consultations, gathered opinions, including responses from the Municipality Office, summary, and a description of the local partners’ role. In the end, we will prepare a promotional video. During the consultation process we will record short statements from the participants on their general impressions and observations gathered during the consultation process, as well as possible recommendations.
Summary of project results
According to a report by the Urban Policy Observatory of IRMiR from 2019, the smaller the city, the fewer opportunities for social engagement for residents. We responded to this problem by conducting workshops on civic engagement for people living in three towns in Lower Silesia: Chojnów, Środa Śląska, and Złotoryja, each with fewer than 20,000 residents. As part of the project, we strengthened direct democracy, which includes social consultations, giving citizens the opportunity to express their opinions and be heard, and we improved the way public issues are communicated.First, we trained representatives from the three municipalities on the topic of consultations and citizen participation. We organized meetings in the municipalities that identified topics worthy of public discussion. Then we supported the trained individuals in planning and conducting the consultation processes in their towns. We created reports for each municipality, which included a description of the context and subject of the consultations, the course of the consultations, a summary of the opinions received along with responses from the municipal authorities, and an overview of the role of local partners. Finally, we prepared an evaluation and promotional video. During the consultation processes, we recorded short statements from participants about their observations and impressions of the consultations, as well as possible recommendations.In each town, residents had the opportunity to learn about social consultations and see how they work, which allowed for discussions on new initiatives. They greatly appreciated being involved in decision-making processes regarding the spaces they live in. Additionally, officials from each town had the opportunity to exchange experiences.
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