In the framework of the Participatory Democracy Incubator, the cities of Messina in Italy, Antwerp in Belgium and Neapoli-Sykes in Greece, have agreed to host the first town hall pilot events in September 2017.

The town hall events will bring together key participation actors from the city (elected officials, municipal officers, NGO and other civil society actors, interested citizens) to discuss the participation challenges and ambitions in a city, and hear external inspiration from other parts of the network.

In partnership with the Democratic Society, the aims of this initiative are manifold:

• Bringing together the cities’ key players  in creating democratic innovation;
• Hearing about what has worked so far and what obstacles need to be addressed;
• Getting inspiration and ideas from external speakers;
• Working together to reach a common understanding of the democratic challenges and opportunities in the city;
• Kick starting a process of development or update of a strategy for participatory democracy in the city.

The Participatory Democracy Incubator is a partnership between the Council of Europe, innovators in participatory democracy, and European cities who want to experiment with new models of participation and citizen engagement. Its latest phase will be launched in November at the World Forum for Democracy.

For more information, please contact: Jorn.fritzenkotter@coe.int