Spain
January - June 2024
Barcelona City Council launches a participatory process Agoras for children and adolescents aged 8 to 17, framed within the European Capital of Democracy.
All boys and girls from 8 to 17 years old in the city of Barcelona.
Barcelona, located in Spain, is the capital of Catalonia and the province of the same name. With a population of 1 660 435 inhabitants in January 2023, it is the second largest city in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula after Madrid, and the tenth largest in the European Union. Its metropolitan area has a population of 5 797 356 inhabitants, making it the fifth most populous and the most densely populated urban agglomeration in the European Union, according to Eurostat.
For one year, as part of the European Capital of Democracy, Barcelona and its metropolitan area is hosting a series of local, metropolitan, European and international events, conferences and activities focusing on democratic innovation, citizen participation, culture, education and public space.
'We Want to Decide!' (¡Queremos Decidir!) is a participatory process aimed at children aged 8 to 17 in Barcelona. This process invites them to answer the question: How do we want to participate in our city?
Starting in January 2024, educational workshops are held in schools, facilities and leisure entities that address the right to participation of young people. In these workshops, ideas are collected in response to the questions: In which areas do we want to participate, what do we need and how do we want to get involved?
Participants have the opportunity to present and debate their ideas in Agoras located in the Districts and other public spaces, where they discuss the various proposals together with other young people.
Through Decidim.Barcelona, a digital platform for citizen participation, all young people aged 8 to 17 can submit proposals, express their support and vote for the ideas they prefer, in a process designed specifically for them. Through this platform, they can also follow the whole process, the contributions and proposals of the process.
The proposals with the most support are presented to the political representatives of the City Council for implementation. Finally, a commission made up of young participants oversees the execution of the proposals that the City Council commits to carry out. The aim is to create new innovative forms and spaces of participation for children and adolescents, which emerge during the process and are supported by the community.
Sources of information (in Spanish)
Barcelona - European Capital of Democracy
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