CHANGE IT 2023

Change It! This is the name of the participatory budget for young people, which starts in Říčany in September 2023 with an information campaign. Starting in October, young people aged 12 to 25 will have the opportunity to submit their ideas for projects to be implemented by the city. The town hall has allocated one million crowns from its budget for the young people. Based on the voting, three projects will be selected, the first winner in the category large up to CZK 600,000 and two in the category small up to CZK 200,000. This first year focused on young people is unique on a national scale.

Since 2016, the so-called “participatory budgeting” (PB) has been operating in Říčany, which is organized by individual schools. They receive around CZK 30,000 from the city each year for their projects. The pupils propose, discuss and decide how to use the money. Since the same year, the town has also organised a municipal participatory budget called Surprise Říčany, for which the town hall regularly allocates CZK 5 million. In that time, the city has already implemented two dozen winning themes, but it has not stopped there. “If we like the idea, we try to gradually implement other ideas that have gained public support,” adds Mayor David Michalička. “I am very curious about the proposals of our young people. We have a very active Pupil Council, whose mayor Matyáš Fořt has been actively involved in organising a number of projects for young people and has accepted this challenge,” says the mayor.

“We were given free rein by the city in terms of the campaign’s visual identity and the way we communicate. The name CHANGE IT, logo, graphics, videos and other creative are our ideas. We are planning a contact campaign where we will explain what the project is all about,” says Matyáš Fořt, a student at the local high school.

As with the city’s PB, proposed projects must meet the basic conditions, which are a public presentation of the project, which will take place in the cinema of the Na Fialce leisure centre, implementation on city property, financial limit and public benefit. The votes of peers (aged 12 to 25) will then decide which theme the town hall will implement. Voting will take place only electronically in January 2024 on the D21 platform.

And what is the whole project of youth involvement supposed to bring? Mainly to arouse interest in public affairs. To show that what happens in the city is also their business, which they can actively influence if they get involved. To make them aware of the process that accompanies the creation of any new project, i.e. discussing it with experts and the public, finding out whether the idea is feasible in terms of property rights, whether it is in line with the master plan and financial possibilities, and last but not least convincing the public that the project makes sense.

Thanks to D21 for their methodological advice and voting platform.
More info at: https://zmento.prekvaptericany.cz/zmen-to-2023

Kateřina Lauerová, Participatory Budget Coordinator