Engage, activate, procure. Sharing and confronting knowledge, internationally.

Designed as a conversation on the role Culture and Cultural Heritage can play in activating and mobilizing citizens, “ENGAGE.ACTIVATE.PROCURE” discussed how to engage unexpected stakeholders in innovative actions for cities, activating those groups and categories that aren’t usually taking part in the urban political process. Focusing on people’s networks and interconnections, opening the decision-making processes, planning and managing together the use of collective spaces and services, are crucial for the development of urban regeneration actions capable of combining the transformation of the cities physical assets, the socio-economic revitalization of neighborhoods and the involvement of local communities. In this perspective, “ENGAGE. ACTIVATE.PROCURE” webinar stressed how producing an impact at the local level is closely related with the implementation of innovative collaborative services and the redesign of the public procurement processes, focusing the attention on the most vulnerable groups of people living in the cities and working in the perspective of making the city a common good.

In order to discuss this perspective, and before exploring more in detail the development, evolution and achievements put in place in Almeria and Halandri, the webinar opened with a contribution by Jan Schultheiß, the coordinator of the Urban Agenda for EU partnership on Culture and Cultural Heritage. Jan’s speech looked at cultural participation in EU’s cities, describing in depth the Actions proposed by the partnership within the framework of the EU Urban Agenda, and reporting on the main outputs and results achieved so far.

The discussion continued getting into the matter of the webinar, with a contribution curated by UIA experts Chiara Lucchini and Ileana Toscano highlighting the main perspectives that are common to CAMINA and Cultural HI.D.RA.N.T.:

• the framing of culture and cultural heritage policies as a tool to expand civic engagement, activating “unexpected” stakeholders, groups and categories that aren’t usually taking part in the urban political process;
• the engagement of communities by focusing on peοple’s networks and interconnections, opening the decision-making processes, planning, designing and managing together the use of collective spaces and services;
• urban regeneration initiatives capable of combining the transformation of the cities physical assets, the socio-economic revitalisation of neighborhoods and the proactive protagonism of local communities;
• impact achieved by imagining new administrative tools, designing new institutions, redesigning the public procurement processes, working in the perspective of making the city a common good

Then time was dedicated to discuss the two projects: in both cases the presentation was guided by the framework provided in the introductions (EU Urban Agenda and common perspectives on activation and mobilization of unexpected stakeholders, groups and categories that aren’t usually taking part in the urban political process), and lead as a conversation between UIA experts, representatives from the Municipalities, local partners of the initiatives.

The Case Study of “CAMINA -Community Awakening for Multicultural Integrative Narrative of Almería” (Spain), was discussed by Ileana Toscano (UIA expert), Gabriela Sánchez Calvete (Khora Urban Thinkers), Cristina Martin Heras (Eptisa), in a debate letting emerge the main takeaways of the initiative starting from some main issues: how did the participative process to design the Narrative contributed to include in the project also unexpected people; which was the most important lesson learned from the civic curators process; how Camina contributed to making a step forward in terms of procurement. 

The Case Study of “CULTURAL H.ID.RA.N.T. - CULTURAL Hidden IDentities ReAppear through Networks of WaTer in Halandri”, was discussed by Chiara Lucchini (UIA Expert), Kostas Gerolymatos, Christos Giovanopoulos, Stefania Gyftopoulou (Municipality of Halandri). Main focuses of the conversation were related to the challenge and goals of the initiative, with its manifold and distinctive components, the establishment and definition of a new local community, the design of a new service and the formalization of a new organization running it.

The presentations generated a number of questions from the audience: part of them, the ones that were more directly related with the specific study cases, were directly answered in the chat. More general issues, such as budgeting, and main obstacles and barriers to implementation, were instead discussed between the different contributors and moderated by UIA Expert Ileana Toscano.

___

Downloadable presentations:
“Cultural participation in EU cities”, Jan Schultheiß (Urban Agenda for EU)
“Engage. Activate. Procure framework”, Chiara Lucchini, Ileana Toscano (UIA Experts)
“A conversation on CAMINA”, Ileana Toscano (UIA expert), Gabriela Sánchez Calvete (Khora Urban Thinkers), Cristina Martin Heras (Eptisa)
“A conversation on Cultural H.ID.RA.N.T.”, Chiara Lucchini (UIA Expert), Kostas Gerolymatos, Christos Giovanopoulos, Stefania Gyftopoulou (Municipality of Halandri)