Governance of cities is a complex art: it is necessary to respond to a rapidly changing society which is simultaneously riddled with pressing local problems along with global stress and dilemmas. We need to make decisions for today and plan for the distant future, while governments are losing the ability to respond.A different vision is emerging today in front of the challenges facing our society. This vision stems from democracy on a local level with clear recognition of the value of participation, where this participation springs from shared membership of a common ground, because we belong to the human family, and we are part of it even before taking part. Countless experiences indicate that participation is a process that evolves over time and across locations. If it is put into practice well, it leads to build community where each one can think and live the city looking for the good of each and everyone. This is to such a degree that inclusion becomes an essential choice in order to place the last ones back in social processes as politics’ first subjects. This means making time for women and young people to be involved, along with the new citizens who have not yet been accepted.The congress is meant to study participation as a form of governance, to offer strategies of ‘co-governance’ in order to live within cities well and to set the conditions for their flowering. To create quality government it is necessary therefore to promote collaboration among the politician’s mediating role, the expert’s technical attribute and the executive’s competence. But it also requires eliciting and connecting the contribution of citizens, with their knowledge and day to day experience, together with the capacities of many social, economic and cultural actors constituting the fabric of our cities. Thematic focus groups, workshops for the analysis of good practices and intercultural working groups will promote the relevance of participation in today’s interdependent context. An exercise in involvement in broad areas - culture of citizenship, networks of cooperation among cities and multi-stakeholder innovation - will gather the participants’ contribution with the goal of producing a strategic document giving continuity to the work.
CO-GOVERNANCE ACTIVE NETWORKS
www.unitedworldproject.org
www.mppu.org