Cascais' Participatory Democracy presented at World Bank headquarters in Washigton

The Cascais Participation System was presented at the Public Administration Global Forum Conference: Transforming Governments for a Livable Planet, which took place on 28 and 29 May at the World Bank headquarters in Washington. Received as one of the most innovative systems, for having developed as an organic platform for the joint creation of the territory, with people at the centre of political decisions, it generated great interest from the delegates present from countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Mexico and Bhutan. The Cascais Participation System has changed the paradigm by moving from a programme with citizen participation practices to a system that has participation as a policy. This means that in Cascais there are various instruments and mechanisms to promote citizen involvement in municipal decision-making, covering diverse areas such as public space, the environment, education or care for the most fragile. One of Cascais' most emblematic initiatives is the Participatory Budget, one of the largest in the world in terms of per capita allocation. Looking at the data generated since its implementation, it is possible to conclude that, thanks to the prioritisation of participation through awareness and information campaigns, the PB has seen a very significant evolution between 2011, when it was launched, and 2024. At the beginning there were around 7,000 voters, this year there were 64,157 voters, in a municipality with around 215,000 inhabitants. Luís Almeida Capão, Municipal Director of Environment and Sustainability, who represented Cascais on the panel Delivering Public Accountability and Integrity, at the Public Administration Global Forum: Transforming Governments for a Livable Planet, says: "Co-creation in Cascais makes them consider us revolutionaries, in a good way, because we have a good articulation between the various services to serve Cascais residents in the 30 participation projects. It's fundamental that when people want to participate in city governance solutions, they can do so freely. For the municipal executive, it is essential that the political agenda is created by the people and for the people."