Project R-13996

Connected Communities - Citizen participation, from deliberate participation to co-creation. (Research)

Civil society is changing. Shorter engagements, close to the living environment of citizens, take precedence in physical proximity. The connection with traditional civil society organizations is declining. As a result, the voice of the citizen is possibly less captured by civil society organisations. Particularly in urban contexts, civic movements develop around specific challenges in society. In rural contexts, there is sometimes a lack of connection between citizens. Citizens find each other more difficult, opportunities are lost. In certain sub-regions, this connection still exists at village level. What can we learn from each other about these different movements of citizens? How can citizens locally have an impact on shared space, on common societal challenges, on local policy? How can civil society organizations cooperate with citizens initiatives without these communities losing ownership? How can governments and civil society organizations inspire citizens and at the same time work demand-driven? In this People To People project we organize meeting and exchange of expertise and experiences between organisations, associations, citizen (initiatives) and local authorities across borders. The scope of the project is citizen participation - from deliberate participation to co-creation -, its impact on societal challenges, policy, ... and the role of civil society in this. Civil society (non-profit organisations, socio-cultural organisations) tries to get in touch with what lives, detects needs and translates this into concrete actions, initiatives and policy recommendations in function of the quality of life of citizens. We focus on the context of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine because of the common ground of urban and especially rural characteristics. We share the need for shared space that can be more social, healthier, more accessible and more sustainable. How can the voice of citizens, bottom -up ideas be strengthened and better integrated into policy? Citizen participation takes many forms. Which methods, approaches are successful or just don't work in comparable villages, municipalities, smaller cities or for certain social challenges? There are undoubtedly many lessons to be learned here for all the actors involved: from citizens, citizens' initiatives, civil society organizations to governments and education.

01 May 2023 - 14 October 2023