The Minister of Open Government of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Jorge Peñas, inaugurated on Tuesday afternoon the Citizen Participation Conference “Lanzarote Participa”, an event aimed at associations, groups, social agents and open to all citizens organized by the first island corporation.
As Peñas explained to those attending the meeting, which will continue this Wednesday, the objective of the meeting is to “promote and instrumentalize the culture of participation from a strategic vision to review those relevant issues that concern citizens, and provide solutions and experiences that help improve their quality and the democratic health of our institutions.”
“We do not want it to be a one-off initiative, but rather the firm will of the Cabildo is that Open Government and Citizen Participation are transversal values, a vector that crosses the entire social fabric and that structures the different administrations and their relationship with citizens,” added the Minister of Open Government.
“Achieving real co-governance, total transparency that leads to the effective fight against corruption, the participation of citizens in decision-making and the development of participatory budgets are the objectives of the Cabildo, of the Ministry that I have the honor to coordinate, and of these conferences that we are now inaugurating,” said Jorge Peñas in his opening speech.
In addition to highlighting the importance of “implementing intelligent governance that makes decisions in a more open and transparent way in a process of permanent listening to citizens,” the Minister stressed the need to “advance in sustainable development” and to “create a better prepared island for the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Positive experiences
The first day of “Lanzarote Participa” focused on highlighting the value of empowering citizens and on the presentation of citizen participation experiences carried out, successfully, both in Lanzarote and in neighboring islands.
In the case of Lanzarote, there were representatives of the “Conecta Tías” project, as well as people involved in the process of developing the participatory budgets of Yaiza and in the Community Intervention project of San Bartolomé.
Likewise, it was possible to learn, from the hand of some of its creators, initiatives developed in a positive way in other parts of the Canary archipelago such as “Parliament of the Future” (Tenerife), “Mestura, transforming the territory from community transformation” (La Palma and Fuerteventura) and “Living Desing Lab- Las Moraditas Project” (Tenerife).
The conference also included the presence of the general director of Citizen Participation of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Jorge P. Artiles, who spoke about the strategy launched by said institution in the field of citizen participation, as well as the process carried out around the candidacy of Risco Caído and Montañas Sagradas of Gran Canaria to UNESCO World Heritage.
Sectoral working groups
The “Lanzarote Participa” Conference will continue from 4:30 p.m. this Wednesday, at the headquarters of the island Cabildo, with the celebration of sectoral participation tables focused on the following issues: diversity and equality, energy and water, human rights, territory and participatory architectures, and employment.
Likewise, at 5:45 p.m., a table of island councilors and public officials will be held. In addition to the Minister of Open Government of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Jorge Peñas, the councilors of Citizen Participation of the Cabildos of La Palma and Fuerteventura, Nieves Rosa Arroyo and Jonathan Gil respectively, as well as the general director of Citizen Participation of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Jorge P. Artiles, are expected to participate.
Finally, at 8:00 p.m. the activity “The Parliament of the Future” will be developed, with which the conference will end.
