Description
This project aims to promote participatory governance/decision-making and participatory democracy in the Municipality of Korydallos (Athens), a relatively underprivileged area. It focuses on citizens’ engagement while paying special attention to specific target groups, such as the youth, disabled people, Roma, immigrants, the elderly and NGO members. This project is organized along three sets of actions: a) the mapping / visualization of the cultural sector in the Municipality b) the implementation of multilevel participatory activities with the use of traditional as well as e-participation tools, including an e-platform, and c) the participatory development of a “Comprehensive Plan for the Management of Cultural Resources” as a pillar for the promotion of sustainable development in the Municipality. It is implemented in partnership with the National Technical University of Athens and the Municipality of Korydallos.
Summary of project results
In Greece, citizens’ participation in the decision-making process at the local level is realized through the institutionalized Municipal Consultation Committees. The role of these Committees is somehow subdued, mainly due to the lack of participatory culture of local decision makers and citizens. DemoCU Project aspired to fill this gap, by implementing an innovative participatory experiment that aims at bridging the distance between cultural/sport associations, citizens and local government. The project motivates the participatory structuring of a strategic cultural plan as a pillar for local development, engaging the above mentioned actors. Through the DemoCU multi-level approach, adopting both face-to-face and Web-based participatory tools, the project aims at training all those involved to new innovative social learning & collective action processes in pursuing solutions to common problems and realizing shared visions. The step-by-step participatory building of the strategic plan has multiple effects on the establishment of communication/trust among cultural/sport associations, citizens and local administration, while leading to win-win solutions of: a) short term, through the Integrated Participatory Strategic Cultural Management Plan and the DemoCU Platform as a digital cultural pole in the region (two of the three main products of DemoCU); and b) long term, exhibiting the benefits of participation and rendering DemoCU a successful paradigm for future decision-making processes. It also places Korydallos Municipality at a pioneering position as a successful example of adoption of participatory processes for local development, whose experience is widely communicated through the “Good Practices Guide for Participatory Cultural Planning”. Citizens’ participation in DemoCU has proved rather promising (face-to-face participation: 372 citizens - 16 workshops; Web-based participation: 160 citizens, more than 1000 interacting with the DemoCU platform). Direct benefits of DemoCU are already reaped through the inclusion of the strategic plan in the Municipality’s Operational Plan. Indirect benefits are also already discerned, mainly through the: work re-orientation of Cultural and Sport Organization, in alignment with DemoCU proposals; networking among cultural and sport associations; and creation of background knowledge of the local environment and wider partnerships for setting up proposals in competitive EU calls in the cultural sector.
Summary of bilateral results