Citizen participation in local, public affairs is a fundamental political right. It is a key component of local self-government, a powerful catalyzer of minorities and most marginalized groups’ social inclusion and a way to promote urban citizenship in contexts of metropolitan and territorial governance. For many local governments, strenghtening participatory democracy mechanisms in local decision-making is one of the most direct ways to uphold the vision of right to the city as a path towards co-creating the city.

Our Committee facilitates spaces of debate and learning on participatory democracy for local governments and civil society in partnership with the International Observatory on Participatory Democracy (IOPD). The IOPD is a space open to all local governments, organizations and research centers interested in learning, exchanging experiences and implementing participatory democracy on a local scale. For over a decade, this partnership has allowed to strenghten UCLG's acknolwedgment of participatory democracy as a key component of its policy agenda.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *  

WHAT WE DO

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *  

Fostering political debates on participatory democracy, social inclusion and the right to the city

As the International Observatory on Participatory Democracy (IOPD) represents the main forum of debate and exchange of practices on participatory democracy in UCLG, our Committee actively cooperates with the IOPD in order to link its work with other thematic discussions, such as social inclusion, spatial justice or the right to the city. Our Committee is partner of IOPD’s annual conference and helps raise awareness on its policy messages throughout the year.

• International Observatory on Participatory Democracy
• Participatory democracy, spatial justice and the right to the city
• UCLG Policy Council on the Right to the City
• Local action on Social Inclusion and Participatory Democracy