International conference on participatory budgeting

Conference Aims:
§ To strengthen the debate and exchange experiences between municipalities that have ventured into the processes of participatory budgets in our national, Andalusian and provincial environments.
§ To form a working group around participatory budgeting on an international level, with institutional representatives and social movements in the frame of the conclusions of the Forum of Local Authorities for Social Inclusion and Participatory Democracy (FAL Network) 2007 in Nairobi.
§ Linking both dynamics, combining the local and the global with a common goal of deepening democracy.

The conference will address:
- Local institutional representatives
- Neighbours from localities engaged into participatory processes
- Social or academic entities developing/promoting participatory processes
- Workers from local public institutions (local civil servants in general, promoters of participatory processes)

Activities:

WEDNSDAY 28th OF MARCH

19:00h. Inaugural ceremony:
Conference opening:
- Encarnación Páez (Diputada del Área de Juventud, Deportes y Formación)
- Félix Doblas (Alcalde de Humilladero)
Round table “Participatory Democracy, a Tool for a New Institutional Policy”
- Salvatore Amura (Rete Nuovo Municipio, Italy)
- Inés Fontiveros (Tte. Alcalde de Participación Ciudadana, Córdoba)
- Auki Tituana (Alcalde de Cotacachi, Ecuador)
- Antonio Zurita (Fondo Andaluz de Municipios para la Solidaridad Internacional)
- Cesare Ottolini (International Alliance of Inhabitants)

THURSDAY 29th OF MARCH

10.00 h. Workshop: “From administrative rhythms to participatory rhythms. The local civil servants’ role in participatory budgets”

11:30 h. Break

12:00 h. Continuation of the workshop

14:30 h. Lunch

16:00 h. Simultaneous workshops:
Participatory budgets, migrants and citizenship.
- Chaired by Malaga’s Immigrants’ Coordinator.
Introduction to participatory methodologies.
- Chaired by promoters from the participatory budgets team of Seville.
Participation in the town planning.
- Chaired by Javier Encinas (UPO- UNILCO)
De-centralized cooperation and participatory budgets.
- Chaired by Felipe Llamas (FAMSI)

18:30 h. Break

19:00 h. Round table: Participatory budgets on the regional level.
Taking part: Yves Cabannes (London University, Network URB-AL 9 advisor), Salvatore Amura (Rete Nuovo Mucicipio, Italy), Patrick Braouezec (President of the Conseil Général de Seine - Saint Denis), Helena Heinzen (Paysandú, Uruguay) and also representatives of Kerala (India) and the Federación Dominicana de Municipios. Introduced and moderated by Andrés Falck (International Cooperation and Human Rights Office of Diputación de Málaga)

FRIDAY 30th OF MARCH

9:00 h. Meeting for the constitution of the working group of participatory budgeting of the FAL Network

10:00 h. “Towards new communicative forms in participatory democracy”
- 10:00 h. Projection of the secuences: “Pasión de Palomares” (Palomares del Río), “El Reparto” (Cabezas de San Juan) and “Ocupando ciudadanía” (Laboraforo, Sevilla)
- 11:00 h. Presentation of the web of Spanish municipalities with participatory budgets

12:00 h. Break

12:30 h. Round Table: “Participatory budgets in the world. Experiences of Africa, Latin America and Europe”
- Abdoulayé Drame (Maire de Matam, Senegal), Auki Tituana (Alcalde de Cotacachi, Ecuador), Daniel Chávez (Transnational Institute), Inés Fontiveros (Tte. Alcalde de Participación Ciudadana, Córdoba) and Paula Garvín (2ª Tte. Alcalde de Sevilla). Presented and moderated by Giovanni Alegretti (Centre of Social Studies of The University of Coimbra)

14:30 h. Lunch

16:00 h. Meeting of municipalities with practices on participatory budgets (team work of small and large municipalities)

18:30 h. Break

19:00 h. Presentation of the publication: “Presupuestos participativos. Manual de practices” (“Participatory Budgets. Practices handbook”), by VV.AA., co-edited by Atrapasueños and the International Cooperation and Human Rights Office of Diputación de Málaga.

SATURDAY 31ST OF MARCH

9:30 h. Meeting of municipalities with participatory budgets practices (continuation and plenary)

12:00 h. Break

12:30 h. Conference closing
Communication of the conference's works:
- Workshops’ conclusions.
- Municipalities meetings’ conclusions.
- Presentation of the FAL Network Working Group.
Pedro Durán (Alcalde de Campillos) and Encarnación Páez (Diputada del Área de Juventud, Deportes y Formación) are in charge of the closing of the discussions.