The aim of placing citizens at the centre of urban development, cultural planning and decision-making was at the heart of the meeting, which brought together several European partners to share practices and experiences of citizen participation.

Over three days, different approaches to community engagement were presented, including the “Sundparken” project, focused on youth participation in the creation of urban spaces, and Here Where We Live, an initiative that brings together art, territory and community. The programme also included fieldwork sessions and workshops dedicated to participatory democracy and co-creation, with a particular focus on methodologies such as Democracy Fitness and Hosting Democracy, developed by We Do Democracy.

These sessions were complemented by moments of collective reflection aimed at improving public policies and urban governance tools, strengthening a dynamic of shared learning across different territories.

Sustainable urban transformation requires active citizenship, collaborative processes and jointly developed policies—an approach that is strengthened through networks and interregional cooperation.

Braga’s participation reaffirms the city’s commitment to a more open, inclusive and experimental approach to cultural and urban governance.

The project UrbCitizenPower – Empower citizens for agency as driver for change in cities is developed under the Interreg Europe programme and is co-funded by the European Union.