The San Bartolomé City Council has launched a project aimed at promoting participatory processes and spaces called ‘Live, share and enjoy the public spaces of the municipality of San Bartolomé’, aimed at young people in the third year of Compulsory Secondary Education from IES Playa Honda and IES San Bartolomé.
The initiative, coordinated between the city council and the educational centers, in collaboration with the Cabildo of Lanzarote, seeks to actively involve students in the political and social life of San Bartolomé from an early age, providing them with the necessary tools and knowledge to understand the role of local government and the importance of their participation in it.
The mayor of San Bartolomé, Isidro Pérez, has highlighted the importance of this initiative for the development of an active citizenship committed to the progress of the municipality and has pointed out that this “is a fundamental value for our young people to get involved in the life of our community from an early age.”
In addition, he pointed out that “this project provides students with the opportunity to learn about the functioning of institutions up close so that they can actively contribute to building a better municipality."
For his part, the Councilor for Citizen Participation, Fernando Vadillo, highlighted the City Council's commitment to the civic education of young people, “whom we want to make feel like an active part of the community and show them that their participation is essential to build a more just and supportive society.” Finally, he stated that this project “is an excellent opportunity to promote values such as citizen participation and social commitment."
The main objective of the project is to "publicize the functioning of the city council and promote citizen participation, associationism and volunteering among the young people of the municipality." During its development, they will participate in a series of activities designed to bring them closer to institutional functioning, with informative talks on the local political system and practical sessions where they will be able to simulate decision-making in different scenarios and the search for agreements. In addition, the creation of working groups and collaboration with local associations will be encouraged, in order to promote values such as teamwork, solidarity and social commitment.
This initiative is positioned as the prelude to future actions, including the implementation of youth participatory budgets, with the aim of giving youth a voice and prominence in decision-making processes that affect their environment. With this proposal, the San Bartolomé City Council reaffirms its commitment to promoting an active and responsible citizenship, betting on the involvement of young people in the construction of a more equitable and participatory society.