City Council of Children

Best Practice

Topics

• New forms of decision-making
• Governance capacity

Short description

Stimulation, consideration and realization of proposals made by children to the local council regarding improvement of their local environment

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Participants

Local public authority, schools

Objectives

The aim of the project is to stimulate the children’s perception of their town and to make themselves propose some concrete ideas based on their real needs to improve the town and their life in it.

Activities

Realisation of cycling tracks, playgrounds, multi-functional centres for sports, study, films showing etc., organisation of charity events and festivals.

Process

Generally, the ideas proposed by children are developed following the participative planning methodology. The children, supported by their teachers and by some external experts, realise a project that they will propose during the city council, which will analyse it and decide to put it into practice or not.

Results

Most of the times, the projects proposed by children are later realised by the local public authority, with great satisfaction of the entire community.

Evaluation

data not available

Difficulties

data not available

Budget

data not available (Euro)

Financial backer

Local community

Source of information

Competition

Participant at the 2005 Future in the Alps competition

Homepage

not available

Publication

not available

Comments

Impact on nature and environment

Indirect, through the implementation of projects aimed at improvement of local environment

Economic value added

Indirect, through the implementation of projects aimed at activation of local resources

Socio-cultural value added

Education for responsible and active participation in local development, strengthening relations within the local community, activation of usually less active population (housewives, retired, children...)

Innovative content

Involvement and serious consideration of children in the decision-making process,

Good governance

Bottom-up approach, giving decision power to usually underprivileged groups of society.

Transferability

The idea is transferable to any local community. It is easier in smaller communities