From July 26 to 28, 2023, Bogota hosted an international meeting on participation, with a special focus on the participatory budgeting exercise, a project that is being carried out in the Colombian capital.

The meeting was an initiative of the District Institute of Participation and Community Action (Instituto Distrital de la Participación y Acción Comunal - IDPAC) and the Municipal Council of Bogota, in collaboration with the Foundation of Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano University. The Mayor of Bogota, Claudia Lopez, opened the Congress on Wednesday, July 26, defending the importance of opening participation to citizens and co-constructing public policies.

Throughout the three days there were conferences and round tables of experiences and workshops, where local and international experts and civil society actors exchanged experiences and reflections on how to improve the implementation of participatory budgeting as a tool for urban transformation and the improvement of the quality of life of the inhabitants.

The IOPD coordinator, Adrià Duarte, intervened on the 27th as a guest speaker at this meeting with a presentation on democracy and participatory budgeting. Our coordinator also participated in a working table with representatives of the Bogota's community action boards and members of civil society.

The international panelists had the opportunity to make field visits of projects implemented thanks to the participatory budget in the city: a neighborhood center where activities for indigenous women are implemented, a vertical garden, a skatepark in an area previously degraded by drug micro-consumption and an eco-neighborhood with different projects supported by the participatory budget.

Bogota is a promoter member of the IOPD. Here you can read the interview we recently conducted with IDPAC's director, Alexander Reina.

• More information: https://congresointernacional.participacionbogota.gov.co/