Cities for People, People for Cities
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: April 23, 2015, 15:00 – 17:30
A discussion on the ideals and practice of civic participation in local government involving local politicians who are attempting, or have in the recent past attempted, to transform the way municipalities are run.
In both Poland and the Czech Republic there have been growing calls in recent years for greater involvement on the part of citizens in shaping the future of the cities and towns in which we live. How to harness that energy? How to evaluate the effectiveness of instruments such as the participatory creation of municipal budgets? And what happens when the ideals of urban activists run up against the realities of local politics?
The panel will include the deputy - mayor of Lodz, Grzegorz Justyński, the mayor of the regional city of Gorzow, Jacek Wójcicki, and Warsaw-Central councillor Jan Spiewak (of the City is Ours association). The mayor of Karlovy Vary, Petr Kulhánek, Radek Vondra and Lenka Burgerová will offer a Czech perspective.
The seminar is taking place on the 25th anniversary of local government reform in Poland and the Czech Republic and is being held in cooperation with reSITE and the Polish Institute in Prague.