In 2019, citizen participation was bigger than ever before.
Across the world, governments and citizens alike are discovering the true value of the co-creation of local policy and the impact of constructive dialogue on communities. At CitizenLab, we couldn’t be happier with this evolution! We’ve had an eventful year full of collaboration and participation, and are bursting with excitement about the year to come. But first, let’s take a look at 5 remarkable cases that shaped 2019.
1. Artificial Intelligence to save the planet: Youth4Climate ?
Responding to Greta Thunberg’s call, young people from all over the world took to the streets at the beginning of the year. We accompanied the Youth4Climate movement in Belgium to channel this energy and gather ideas to save the climate. In just a few months, over 1,700 ideas were posted on the platform. These comments were analyzed using artificial intelligence and turned into 15 actionable climate priorities, which were then handed over to the government.
2. The first digital referendum ever in Flanders, Belgium: Kortrijk as a pioneer ??
Kortrijk was the very first city in Belgium to host a digital referendum. The key question was: “Do you agree that the
3. Eyes on the future: climate action in Grand Paris Sud, France ??
Earlier this year, Grand Paris Sud, an
4. Constitutional reform in Chile: nation-wide citizen consultation ??
Following a deep crisis and several weeks of demonstrations that shook the country, the Association of Chilean Municipalities launched a national consultation on constitutional reform. In less than 48 hours, more than 2.4 million votes were received. CitizenLab supported 7 municipalities in this consultation. The citizens’ response was clear: 91% of voters voted in
5. A spirit of co-creation: large-scale ideation in Leuven, Belgium ??
The city of Leuven launched its very first participation project to gather ideas on the city’s strategic planning and set priorities for the strategic multi-annual plan (2020-2025). In total, over 3,000 citizens raised their voices. With a total of 2,331 shared ideas, they shifted the conversation towards the domains of mobility, public space, nature and biodiversity, housing and sustainable development.