.png){kind=logo}
Barcelona concludes its term as the first European Capital of Democracy with over 100 events and 20,000 participants from across Europe
November 6, 2024
The closing ceremony took place within the framework of the Smart City Expo World Congress, handing over the title to Vienna, the city that will succeed Barcelona as the European Capital of Democracy.
For 14 months, Barcelona held the title of European Capital of Democracy with a program that included a hundred activities and the participation of 20,000 people from across Europe. It is a positive outcome that leaves a lasting impact on participatory democracy and democratic strengthening.
The closing day took place within the framework of the Smart City Expo World Congress, featuring an event with the participation of Lluís Rabell, City Councillor for the Neighborhood Plan, Education, Elderly People, and Participation of the Barcelona City Council; Helfried Carl, founder of the European Capital of Democracy Initiative; Arnau Monterde, Director of Participation and Democratic Innovation of the Barcelona City Council; André Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities; and Jürgen Czernohorszky, Executive Councillor for Climate, Environment, Democracy, and Personnel in Vienna. A roundtable titled "Ethics and Good Governance in 21st Century Europe" was also held, with participation from David Velázquez, former judge and lawyer, director of the ESADE Law School Master in Compliance; Begoña Román, philosopher, ethics professor at the University of Barcelona and president of the Ethics Committee for Social Services of Catalonia; and Gemma Calvet, lawyer and consultant in transparency and good governance.
During this term as European Capital of Democracy, Barcelona and the metropolitan region have been a genuine laboratory of ideas and democratic practices, from technologies to citizen participatory processes, positioning themselves as a European reference in promoting new forms of democracy. Notable successes include initiatives such as DecidimFest, the Democracy Lab, and the game jam ‘Truth, Lies & Democracy,’ a 48-hour creative space that challenged European teams to develop video games raising awareness about fake news and misinformation. Equally significant were the Volem Decidir! participatory processes and the Metropolitan Assembly Manifesta.
A reference for participatory democracy in Europe
The city presented an ambitiously designed program to address the challenges of democracy in contemporary society.
Deputy Mayor for Social Rights, Education, and Life Cycles, Maria Eugènia Gay, states that “we are very pleased to have shared our initiatives with other cities and to have learned about their projects and experiences. This exchange is essential to strengthening democracy and addressing the challenges presented by an ever-evolving world, working inclusively, embracing diversity, respect, and protection, and acting as guardians of human rights for sustainable social and human development.”
In turn, the City Councilor for Participation of the Barcelona City Council highlights the pride in the involvement of the diverse institutions, entities, and initiatives that have worked in Barcelona “to make the city a plural and diverse space at the center of dozens of activities open to the public. Barcelona has demonstrated the importance of open, transparent, and participatory governance, reinforcing its participation model and its significance on an international scale. The city remains committed to defending democracy, citizen participation, and empowering the people in matters concerning the entire community.”
According to Arnau Monterde, Director of Participation and Democratic Innovation at the Barcelona City Council, Truth, Lies & Democracy and Democracy Lab have been “key examples of how the European Capital of Democracy has connected Barcelona with democratic innovation.” These spaces have addressed challenges such as the impact of artificial intelligence on democracy and strategies to combat fake news, bringing together experts, digital policy-makers, and citizens to work on solutions.
Key projects and participation across the metropolitan region
On the other hand, participatory processes such as Volem Decidir! and the Metropolitan Assembly Manifesta have been fundamental in connecting with citizens and understanding their concerns.
Volem Decidir! is a pioneering initiative aimed at encouraging participation among children and adolescents aged 8 to 17 in Barcelona, engaging them with a fundamental question that they will have to answer: "How do young people want to participate in the city's affairs?". Some of the concerns of children aged 8 to 11 include bullying at school, poverty and inequality, or the environment and the planet. Adolescents aged 12 to 17 are more concerned with difficulties in accessing housing, issues in the educational system, or emotional well-being. Here you can watch a video about this project.
The Metropolitan Assembly Manifesta is a deliberative citizen process at the metropolitan scale, made up of 60 people chosen by lottery through prior registration, linked to the Manifesta Nomadic Biennale. The Assembly involved 12 cities in the Barcelona metropolitan region (Badalona, Barcelona, Cornellà de Llobregat, El Prat de Llobregat, Granollers, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Mataró, Sabadell, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Sant Cugat del Vallès, and Terrassa), and aimed to answer questions such as: “How can we create spaces in the metropolitan region that positively impact culture?” “How can we do this while adopting a more environmentally respectful lifestyle?”
The result of the process was a Declaration that outlines the objectives, policies, and measures needed to achieve this goal. The main points of the Declaration include the recognition of culture as a fundamental right; a call for culture to be governed democratically, with decisions made collaboratively between institutions, the cultural sector, and citizens; and the emphasis on the need to dignify the cultural sector both economically and symbolically, improving funding and working conditions for cultural professionals. Here you can watch a video about this project.
Key events of the Capitality
During the year of the Capitality, some of the most prominent events were:
The Decidim Fest 2023. Under the slogan "Democracy, Technology, and Collective Intelligence," this annual gathering took place at the Canòdrom – Ateneu d’Innovació Digital i Democràtica de Barcelona from October 18 to 20, 2023, this time as part of the ECoD framework.
A game jam or 48 hours of video game creation focused on combating fake news under the title “Truth, Lies & Democracy”, held at the Canòdrom from May 17 to 19, 2024.
Three local teams and three European teams developed video games and interactive proposals centered around fake news and misinformation. In its first edition, held as part of the European Capital of Democracy, it brought together renowned professionals from the gaming, technology, political, and communication industries, who offered talks and mentoring. The initiative aims to educate players on democratic decision-making processes, misinformation, fake news, privacy, and the impact of new technologies on society.
The inaugural edition of Truth, Lies & Democracy featured three Spanish teams and three international teams that traveled from France, Austria, and Denmark to join the pilot program. Six games were presented, addressing the issue of fake news and misinformation from different angles in a playful and interactive manner, aiming to raise awareness about the impact misinformation has on our daily lives. The games are available to be played for free here.
The Democracy Lab, which brought together 60 professionals from across Europe at the Canòdrom to explore how to improve citizen participation in cities.
The Biennal de Pensament, one of the city's most influential events. From ECoD, it provided a space for reflection and citizen participation at the Canòdrom on October 10 and 11, 2024. Here you can find videos of the roundtables:
Context and Background
The European Capital of Democracy (ECoD) aimed to establish a space for reflection and visibility where citizens from across Europe could come together, engage, and experience new forms of participatory and inclusive democracy, drawing inspiration from a broad program designed to open a citizen debate on the challenges of democracy in the face of uncertain futures.
During 2023 and 2024, the best practices of democratic participation and innovation have been showcased in various events in the city and the metropolitan region of Barcelona, as well as through different processes. In this regard, and in cooperation with civil society and citizens, the goal was to both open a European space for reflection and debate around the major challenges of democracy, and to deepen the possibilities of participatory democracy and citizen engagement as a recipe for democratic deepening, especially at the city level.
The ECoD lasted fourteen months (September 2023 – November 2024), with Barcelona, as the first European Capital of Democracy, hosting a series of events, conferences, and activities related to democratic innovation, citizen participation, as well as culture, education, technology, and public space.
Vienna will succeed Barcelona as the second European Capital of Democracy for 2024-2025, in recognition of its commitment to promoting democratic dialogue and citizen participation. During the event, the Councillor for Participation of the Barcelona City Council, Lluís Rabell, and the Councillor for Climate, Environment, Democracy, and Personnel of the Vienna City Council, Jürgen Czernohorszky, signed the transfer of the title with a Declaration reaffirming the central role of democracy in cities and their willingness to collaborate to strengthen it.
The main goal of the European Capital of Democracy (ECoD) has been to promote democratic innovation and democratic strengthening at the local and metropolitan levels, in Europe, and internationally. It is an initiative led by The Innovation in Politics Institute, which has awarded the prize, with the support of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, and also in collaboration with other organizations dedicated to deepening democracy, such as Democratic Society, RSA, the German Marshall Foundation, and about twenty other key actors in this field.
0 comments
Log in with your account or sign up to add your comment.