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Description
The project, Re-Start is focusing on one of Slovakia´s marginal regions, Gemer-Malohont and specifically the city of Rimavská Sobota. People are more sceptical in these areas and more likely to believe in misinformation. It leads to the voting of extremist political parties which can slow down the progress and deepen the problems in the interpersonal relations with the national minorities. People need to know what is happening in their city and it is necessary to involve them in the decision-making processes.
It is crucial to increase public awareness using an e-platform, where citizens will be updated with up-to-date information, relevant documents according to Act no. 211/2000, free access to information and create space for submission of suggestions, questions and space for discussion.
The main objective is to contribute to the building of a successful city and region through the activities of the Naša Sobota citizens association, as well as activities supporting the development of small and medium enterprises.
The project aims to increase public interest in public affairs and decision-making. The civic association has been trying to improve the situation for several years by organizing community activities and public discussions with experts and also government officials.
The project also targets youth through the LídeRS program. The purpose of this program is to educate secondary school students in the field of civic activism. During the project implementation, 2 seminars are planned, each for 15 students. The seminar also includes the planning and implementation of a simple community project.
Summary of project results
The aim of the project was a positive social change in the city of Rimavská Sobota and in the whole surrounding region and to increase the interest of citizens in decision-making processes, wider social issues atc. A total of more than 350 people from the public, students, local actors as well as representatives of public institutions were involved in the activities. The project promoters managed to create a space for education, discussions with experts on current topics and to educate young people to civic activism. The project started with 4 educational trainings, where the implementers of the project learned how to involve more people in their activities, how to lead meetings and respond appropriately to various situations. In parallel, public discussions with experts on various social topics were gradually added to this. Citizens were able to take part in more than 10 discussions that were directly related to what was happening in the city of Rimavská Sobota: the introduction of a participatory budget, the discussed topic of updating the zoning plan, green areas in the city and waste management. However, they also touched on social trends in the development of regions - non-motorized transport, restoration of forgotten technical monuments, development of tourism, climate change mitigation. The project brought several views and recommendations of experts to improve the functioning of self-government in the topics of open self-government and the smart city. At the same time, in September 2021 Naša Sobota joined the European Mobility Week and organized a "Non-motorized breakfast" on the square. In January 2021, they joined the Marathon of Letter Writing organized by the Amnesty International. The evidence of the importance of the discussions was for example the enforcement of the participatory budget for Rimavská Sobota. In cooperation with the Banská Bystrica region, an initiative was submitted to update the zoning plan. Based on a short survey on the use of local roads, an initiative was made to improve their condition and a pedestrian and cyclist-friendly transport solution. As part of the project, the Moja Sobota mobile application was prepared.