This is a CTP of initiative: Participatory Budgeting Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
The leaders who work in the regional participatory budgeting process are people who were politically formed in 90s. Those leaders acted in the process since the beginning and have therefore gained a lot from their participation. These leaders are aging; about 80% of the representatives in the participatory budgeting process are elderly (over 70 years old).There is great difficulty in bringing young people to the participatory budgeting experience. The interviewee has pointed out that they have some participation of young people, but it is very little if compared to the total number of participants.
The child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting, which started at 2014, is an attempt to change that reality in the medium to long term by including this incentive in the educational process from a young age. In this sense, it seeks to create a culture of participation and community building via the participatory budgeting decision-making process. From that, it is expected that these young people will become leaders and active participants in the participatory budget in the city when they get old enough to do so.It is an educational process in favor of participatory democracy to bring renewal to the democratic processes of the city.
The child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting happens within schools. The Participatory Budgeting methodology is adjusted and applied within the school environment and from a young age the child learns about the process of participatory budgeting and participatory democracy.
Explaining the process specifically, the interviewee said: “the school has an amount "x" which is granted by the city hall. There is a process of selecting representatives in the classes from the 1st to the 9th grade. They go through all of the voting and representation system, from the classroom to the effective representation, which is one student per year – if I am not mistaken. All students and school collaborators participate in open meetings where these leaders have the power to decide on the investment that will be held at school with the "x" amount provided by the city hall. It is an amazing experience”.
The child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting was launched by the city hall in 2014, in order to start, even in childhood and adolescence, the civic education of the students of the Municipal Schools.
The program was created considering a profile analysis of representatives from the Regional Participatory Budgeting. The city hall realized that it was imperative to start a program with the local youth in order to promote civic engagement and sustain the participatory democracy process in the city. The child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting was also inspired by similar experiences held in the city of Fortaleza (Northeast Brazil) and Rio das Ostras (South East Brazil).
In the implementation process, the Secretariat of Shared Management and the Secretariat of Education worked very closely to avoid conflicts within schools. The Secretariat of Education, which already had many extra projects with the schools, guided this process in order to minimize clashes and facilitate full participation in the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting.
The pilot-project was run by the municipal departments of Education and adjunct Shared Management, in partnership with regional offices. During the first year, it involved more than 10,000 children and adolescents aged from 6 to 14 attending 16 public schools in the capital. Education professionals from the 16 public schools have participated in training workshops held at the Municipal Department of Education in order to prepare them in the mechanisms of the child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting program. They are responsible for initiating the project in their schools and introducing students to the rules and purposes of the process.
The second year was launched in 2015 with the participation of 27 new schools and serving approximately 18,000 children and adolescents. Currently the child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting is operating in 70 schools.
The child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting in Belo Horizonte was inspired by other initiatives that were happening in Brazil, so the events prior to the implementation of the child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting in BH relate to these experiences and their influence on the consolidation of the program. The following events influenced the implementation of the Child and Adolecents’ PB in Belo Horizonte.
2008 – Experience of Youth in Participatory Budgeting in Brazil - In 2008 in Rio das Ostras, a city located in the Rio de Janeiro state, the Youth Participatory Budgeting was implemented, which was an experience of participatory democracy focused on youth engagement. This was an inspiration for the child and adolescents’ participatory budgeting design in Belo Horizonte.
2013 – Mayor associated to Child Friendly Mayor Program - The current mayor of Belo Horizonte, Márcio Lacerda, joined the Child Friendly Mayor Program held by the Abrinq Foundation. Influenced by the Program, the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting was included in the Municipal Plan for Childhood and Adolescence of the municipality. The implementation of this Plan is one of the actions proposed by the Program for municipal managers.
2015 – Rio das Ostras youth visited Belo Horizonte - Adolescents and representatives of the Rio das Ostras’ Youth Participatory Budgeting visited Belo Horizonte to exchange experiences about the programs held in Rio das Ostras and in Belo Horizonte.
2016 - Prize for Good Practices in Participatory Budgeting and Public Management - The Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting was recognized in the category "Innovation in Participatory Democracy" winning 1st Prize for Good Practices in Participatory Budgeting and Public Management, awarded by the Brazilian Network of Participatory Budgeting.
2016 – Participation of the Adjunct Secretary in the 9th Meeting of the Brazilian Network of Participatory Budgeting - The 9th Meeting of the Brazilian Network of Participatory Budgeting brought together representatives from about 400 municipalities to promote the debate on various topics related to social participation, such as citizen innovation, state of democracy and new forms of participation. Various national and international public officials attended the event. The Adjunct Secretary represented Belo Horizonte and talked about different programs they were holding in the city, including the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting.
At first there was resistance from some school principals who did not want to apply the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting in their school. The main reason was that it would be an addition to all other daily tasks therefore leading to more work demands as a result of the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting and this disinterested the faculty and coordination. This position is understandable because the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting is a 4 to 5 month-long process and requires huge engagement from everyone in the school. It is a fact that teachers and directors of Brazilians public schools have many responsibilities and for them the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting meant less classroom time and more effort put into extracurricular projects.
Nevertheless, after the first experience the reaction was very positive and now the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting is a very well accepted initiative for all, inside and outside the city hall. People participating in the regional participatory budgeting also recognize the validity of the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting.
The reason for this, said the interviewee, is that “the school initiative generates community values, the students learn to care about collective goods and to accept what was agreed on by all. It is an exercise in democracy and everybody acknowledges the validity of this kind of learning”.
From the time the project started, the government knew that it would result in a new channel of participation and expected this to be a good experience in participatory democracy.
Since the beginning, the Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting has shown results and proved its validity with the insecurity of teachers and principals dissipating and giving rise to engagement. Today there are more schools interested in joining the project that the city hall can accommodate.
The biggest learning for the interviewee is that participatory democracy can reinvent itself. According to him, “You Just need to provide space and facilitate the process to achieve commitment from the children and adolescents’ who appreciate the validity of this project”.
There is a common perception that there is a lack of citizen proactivity and a lack of interest in participating in participatory and democratic processes however, in this case, experience says otherwise: it is possible to encourage and enhance democratic participation from childhood. Maybe we are facing new paradigms and this new generation can overcome challenges that have not yet been resolved, precisely because they have a different view of the community, of decision-making and of citizen participation.
The Child and Adolescents’ Participatory Budgeting brought a great learning experience for children and adolescents. The process of debate, advocacy of ideas, acceptance of democratic decision-making, care for space and collective goods, etc. The channels of participation can be created at any level of government, one just has to provide the tools and have the desire to promote this type of initiative.
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