Democracy and Participation – The “Montaione Days” 9. November 2009 – 11:35 by Francesco Molinari

Experts from all over the world will gather in Montaione, Florence, to discuss about public sector innovation

1st edition: 12th – 14th November 2009

Montaione, near Florence, is the Tuscan Municipality that first experimented the French “débat public” on a project of territorial renovation located in the medieval town of Castelfalfi, thus paving the way to the 2007 Regional law on participatory democracy, first example in Italy, following another one passed in 2004 that introduced primary elections to choose the candidates to President and Councillors. Now the Regional Ministry for Institutional Reform and Citizens Participation, together with the Town Municipality and other public and private entities, are launching the first edition of the “Montaione Days”, an international meeting and seminar addressing researchers, practitioners and public managers alike, to discuss about participatory democracy in the world and learn from the best examples of public sector innovation.

From 12th to 14th November, a thick agenda of round tables and workshops will gather several domain experts and witnesses from Italy and abroad. Topics will be for instance, the Town Meetings experience in the US and participatory budgeting in the French secondary schools of the Poitou-Charentes Region. A key issue will be how citizens engagement can support local planning and programming, including – like the Castelfalfi case already demonstrates – participatory urban planning. During the event, the best international project of participatory democracy will be awarded – it’s an Argentinian Government’s initiative, tackling with the problem of “favelas” (slum dwellings) – and a second prize will also be given to the best participatory process in Tuscany, which is to be selected by a jury of citizens.

As it can be seen, the “Montaione Days” look far beyond this first edition, aiming to become a yearly event, targeted at the dissemination of international best practices in public sector innovation and the establishment of stable processes of citizens involvement in collective decision-making, being a sustainable complement to the electoral cycle.

To download the programme click here.

To get the application form click here.

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