The role of young people as independent actors in their own right, able to define and become architects of their future has changed over the years. In thinking this through, we might look back and reflect on how the concept of youth participation has evolved over the decades since the student led protest movements of the 1960s. Much has changed. In a series of 5 short blogs Jez Hall looks at emerging democratic innovations.
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“We need to learn from the history of building back better. That we need to enable individual citizens to define how investments for their benefits are spent”.
The podcast series Democracy Journeys, by the Association of Municipalities and Regions of Sweden(SKR) is about citizen dialogue, co-creation and democracy at local and regional level. Each episode focuses on various innovations that help to develop democracy. Episode 38 focus on the effect of COVID19.
The Reasons to be Cheerful podcast, hosted by Ed Miliband MP and Geoff Lloyd featured Participatory Budgeting. Ed and Geoff were talking about a BIG idea that’s transforming how towns, cities and even schools are run across the world. Participatory budgeting (PB) involves letting citizens decide how public money is spent.
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We have contributed to a number of free resources on participatory budgeting. We want to pull these together and share these with you. For a number of years we have been talking about participatory budgeting(PB) can empower citizens. And also providing important services to help people take action or improve their participation processes.
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We believe that young people should have a voice in shaping their future through participatory democracy. One of our current projects is a joint project funded by Erasmus+, working with colleagues in Poland, Spain and Northern Ireland, to develop a ‘toolkit’ to encourage best practice and the inclusion of Young People in local participatory budgeting(PB) processes.
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In this Annual Review of 2020, we recount our work in what was an extraordinary year. During 2020, we focussed much of our work on climate change, and we are currently supporting a number of Local Authorities in implementing Climate Emergency inquiries.
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Journalist Stephanie Grimm speaks with Louise O’Kane of Community Places and Jez Hall of Shared Future CIC on behalf of the Buergerhaushalt website, on the past present and future for Participatory Budgeting in the UK. Would you like to know more about the important role of voting, the involvement of young people who are far removed from politics and the effects of austerity policy? Then take a full look at the interview.
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There are two viruses affecting our world. The Covid19 pandemic and racism. One natural, one manmade. Both affecting some more than others. People centred approaches are at the heart of building back better. Public bodies can support and enable resilient communities and tackle social injustice by putting public money at the disposal of citizens; to better serve their needs, and to rebuild trust in our government and between people.
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Shared Future CIC facilitated three online PB Youth Accelerator workshop sessions on 21st-22nd April 2020. The first a knowledge exchange workshop, with invited participants from Scotland based Participatory Budgeting programmes, to explore in greater depth the unique features of their work. The second, an online ‘Open Space’ considered how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting democratic participation and youth empowerment, and the third explored Legislative Theatre, a creative way to develop a more deliberative democracy. Find out more.
Read more →What links Participatory Budgeting and Social Enterprise? Through reflecting on long-term qualitative learning of Participatory Budgeting in the UK, viewed through a social economy lens, we found that Participatory Budgeting, in and of itself, stimulates the development of new cooperatives and sustained social action.
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