Civil Society Completed

Neighborhood democracy in urban communities

BG Be Active ·Bulgaria

€160k

Grant awarded

Civil Society

Programme

29 June 2021

Signed

About this project

Globalization and urbanization have turned communities into key players in the political life; communities with engaged citizens and a sense of pride often have less inequality, higher income and economic prospects. Local authorities in Bulgaria still enjoy great authority in the eyes of their communities, as their citizens stay away from decision-making. Despite the modern legal framework in Bulgaria, which is integrated in the EU acquis, the enforcement and control mechanisms have turned out to be complex and inadequate in reality. Our project aims at strengthening civic space in urban communities in Bulgaria by means of democratic participation of people in the development of public space based on the concept of placemaking and promotion of local community policies in public administrations. The project will contribute to improving democratic culture and public awareness. In the course of the two-year project (September 2021 - September 2023) we will set the foundation of the placemaking for democracy methodology, support 10 community initiatives in 4 cities in Bulgaria and 10 community fora with local citizens,  create tools to launch civic initiatives and ensure community participation in the local decision-making process, and organize 4 structured dialogues at local level and 1 at national level to overcome the gap between legislation and its implementation. The project is implemented in partnership with Nabolagshager (NLH), Norway.Having extensive experience in placemaking, democratic participation, capacity boosting and advocacy, 2 experts from the organization will help carry out a good analysis of the good practices in Bulgaria, create the needed tools and organize training workshops for civil society organizations and local activists. This partnership will also provide for some advocacy in communication with public institutions.

Bilateral cooperation results

The project partner (Nabolagshager) engaged as an expert in the methodology creation process (for research, impact measurement, resource development, and guidelines for organizing interventions). Their extensive experience in conducting such studies with a focus on improving civic participation in enhancing public spaces and organizing placemaking interventions ensured the professional implementation of the process. Due to financial difficulties faced by Nabolagshager, the organization withdrew from the project (September 01, 2021 – March 31, 2023). Nevertheless, the main project expert, Kim Weger, continued his commitments and completed the remaining deliverables.

Project partners

Nabolagshager AS Donor project partner· Norway

Bulgaria country profile Other projects in this programme Project website