Spain
Ajuntament de Barcelona
2020/2022
The Public Hearing for girls and boys of Barcelona is reorganized to improve the participation of adolescents in compulsory secondary education and their schools. This Public Hearing was created in 1994 and, after 25 years, in the 2020-21 academic year it has been transformed into the 'Participatory Process of Adolescent Citizenship of Barcelona', an important organizational change to improve the participation of adolescents in compulsory secondary education and their schools.
Collect opinions and proposals from young people to improve the city. Giving a voice to the youth is intended to ensure that the concerns of citizens reach the municipal authorities.
650 young people between 12 and 17 years old from 19 secondary schools in Barcelona have participated in the process.
The Participatory Process of Adolescent Citizenship of Barcelona is a project through which boys and girls from 12 to 17 years of age, from compulsory secondary schools and special education centers, make proposals to the Barcelona City Council. In this way, their right to citizenship is guaranteed, and the participation of adolescents in the city is recognized and strengthened.
The aim is to establish a space for dialogue and exchange of ideas to help young people understand today and make proposals for tomorrow. After a collective process of reflection, the young people present their conclusions at a public hearing chaired by the mayor.
The participation of boys and girls in a political-citizen educational process is encouraged in order to exercise their rights and duties as citizens of Barcelona.
The Adolescent Citizenship Participatory Process is the evolution of the Public Hearing for Boys and Girls, created in 1994. More than 25 years later, the initiative has been redefined to improve the participation of students in compulsory secondary education and schools. One of the main changes is that now it is the youth who decide which topics they want to discuss.
Another innovation is that the Decidim Barcelona platform has been used, where all the information of the participatory process is collected: calendar of phases and sessions, proposals, collaborative documents, etc.
Moreover, this space for dialogue and exchange of ideas is not restricted to a single topic for discussion, but, in addition to the common theme, each district decides on a specific topic. The topics chosen for each district are as follows:
The Participatory Process of Adolescent Citizenship allows young people to exercise their rights and duties as citizens of Barcelona and to present proposals in the municipal district and city plenary sessions, and the plenary sessions are politically committed to make a concrete return on the admission or rejection of the initiatives presented.
Phases of the process
The adolescents of the participating schools decide the topics they want to debate. They must choose one topic for each district, and one topic for the city.
The participatory process is developed, starting with the discussion of the city theme and the respective district themes, to end with the elaboration of a list of actions for improvement.
The results of the participatory process are presented at the district and city municipal plenary sessions with the proposals on the chosen theme.
The political representatives of Barcelona, make the return of the proposals of the themes presented in each district and in the city.
More information (in Spanish)
Noticia sobre el proceso participativo
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