Webinar: Participatory approaches and social inclusion in cultural heritage

To make sure urban development in cultural heritage and other areas is inclusive and brings social change, cities’ administrations must improve the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society, confronting barriers that prevent participation and meeting communities’ needs. Allowing for bottom up ideas in the participation process is a step towards more socially inclusive planning, especially if these ideas are taken into consideration in decision making.

ROCK cities are testing new approaches to working with communities in a way that is “sensitive, supportive, inquiring and carefully analytical, challenging but not directive or patronizing” (Kennedy, 1996). The final aim is to enhance the capacity of community organisations to influence the decisions that concern them, bringing a more equitable outcome to the process.

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In this interactive webinar, moderated by Cécile Houpert, ROCK project officer at EUROCITIES, participants will have a chance to ask questions and receive recommendations on best practise and resources. This webinar will present some of the approaches tested at local level, with a focus on the following case studies:

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Casa del Quartiere: Presented by Giulia Cerrato, Communication officer at the Casa del Quartiere network

Turin decided to look and get inspired by what was happening in its neighbourhoods. With the network of public spaces Casa del Quartiere, associations, citizens and artistic and cultural operators are working together to transform abandoned structures and vacant land and foster community spirit and the creation of social enterprises.

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Agenda:

• General introduction to the webinar (5’), Cécile Houpert, EUROCITIES
• Introduction (10’): what do we mean by participatory approaches and why is it important for local authorities? Cécile Houpert, EUROCITIES
• Two practices from ROCK cities:
  • Lisbon (15’): Marvila Interpretive Centre, Roberto Falanga, Postdoc Research Fellow, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon and Alexandra Anibal, Interpretive Centre manager, Câmara Municipal de Lisboa
  • Cluj-Napoca (15’): Participatory budgeting for youth, András Farkas, Strategist at PONT Group, Cluj-Napoca. Thinker in Youth Participation Think Tank
  • Turin (15’): Casa del Quartiere, Giulia Cerrato, Communication officer at the Casa del Quartiere network
• Main learning points, key considerations, transferability tips (5’) Cécile Houpert, EUROCITIES
• Q&A with the audience (20’)
• Conclusion (5’) Cécile Houpert, EUROCITIES

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When joining the discussion on social media, please use the following tags and handles:

#SocialInclusion / #CommunityEngagement / #CulturalHeritage

@ROCK_H2020 / @JuliesBicycle

This webinar is part of the EU Horizon 2020 ROCK project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730280.