The Cabildo of Lanzarote has gathered this Monday representatives of the island's seven municipalities in a meeting focused on analyzing the current state of citizen participation in the municipal sphere. The session was convened by the Councilor for Citizen Participation and Open Government, Armando Santana.
The meeting, recorded to be included in a documentary about social movements, activism and citizen participation in Lanzarote, has served as an exchange space between local administrations to address how this matter is being developed from an institutional perspective.
Armando Santana considers this action an ideal opportunity "to have closer contact with the associative fabric of Lanzarote and La Graciosa through the heads of Citizen Participation of the seven municipalities", Santana noted before adding that during the working meeting, the challenges that public representatives can face with greater solvency in a coordinated manner to find solutions, with the determined support of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, were identified.
During the day key questions were raised about the current meaning of citizen participation and its degree of real implementation in the municipalities. In this regard, it was debated whether it has managed to consolidate itself as a structural policy or if it continues to be, in many cases, an accessory element linked to specific actions.
The analysis also addressed the role these areas occupy within local administrations, as well as the difficulties faced by technical teams. Among the main challenges highlighted are the lack of resources, limited institutional priority, and the difficulty in translating participatory processes into concrete changes.
The participation in the political agenda
Another of the axes of the debate focused on the relationship between participation and power, and the level of concession in decision-making by institutions is questioned, as well as the integration of citizen proposals into political agendas.
This meeting is part of the process of developing a documentary promoted by the Cabildo de Lanzarote, which focuses on the need to continue promoting citizen participation on the island. The project also traces a historical evolution of this practice up to its current situation, with special attention to the role of social movements.
The initiative responds to the objective of generating knowledge and reflection around a practice that has had a relevant role in Lanzarote and that continues to pose challenges about its present and its future.
