Citizen engagement and public participation is slowly becoming a better shaped industry and there are international networks that unite citizen engagement and public participation practitioners in order to support their projects, provide them with valuable resources, and bring opportunities for cooperation and exchange. Yet unfortunately, Czech Republic and CEE and Balkan region at large are often not represented. In other cases, the agenda of those networks and the needs and contexts of other actors differ from ours so dramatically that it is hard to bring their solutions back home.
But we have some great news in store for you! We are about to launch a hub that will combine the international expertise, best practices, and access to an international pool of experts with a focus on developing solutions and fostering cooperations suited for our regional context and your needs.
This year, Participation Factory was selected to coordinate activities for People Powered Regional Hub for Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. People Powered is an international network of participation and citizen engagement experts, practitioners, and researchers.
People Powered supports organizations and leaders around the world who are building a more participatory democracy, through programs such as participatory budgeting, participatory policy-making, participatory planning, and citizen assemblies. Its activities are built on its vision to have a world in which all people and communities have the power to address their needs, uphold their rights, and pursue their dreams through inclusive and responsive government institutions.
Since its establishment in 2019, People Powered has grown to include over 70 organizations in more than 40 countries. And this year People Powered decided to expand its presence in Central and Eastern Europe and Balkans and to localize its strategy to make sure that it can provide local actors with the most adequate support based on their needs.
Participation Factory has already conducted interviews with the existing members and engaged them in a survey and a workshop that are informing the planning and strategy setting process. We are excited about the next steps, and are now inviting you to join us for a launch of the Regional Hub! The launch will take place at 3pm on September 29th. Please book your place via this link and do not forget to invite your colleagues and peers for this exciting event!
We are looking forward to seeing you soon and to exploring and expanding the use of participatory approaches in creating more responsive, more efficient, and more inclusive governance in our region.