Ayuntamiento de Madrid / Prado Medialab
How can children reshape democracy in urban spaces?
Design Challenge
Context: The "Si te sientes gato" project engaged children in Madrid's participatory budgeting process as part of the Decide Madrid initiative led by Mayor Manuela Carmena. It empowered youth to influence the allocation of €100 million in public funds through workshops tailored for schools, families, and youth groups, fostering civic engagement and inclusivity.
Evidence: Over several months, the project collaborated with educational communities to generate proposals for participatory budgets, encouraging children of all ages to experiment with ideas.
Challenge: The main challenge was to design a process that simplified the complexities of city budgeting, enabling children to contribute in meaningful and impactful ways.
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Innovation Space
Opportunities: The project demonstrated how participatory democracy could be expanded to include children, introducing innovative ways to integrate young voices into urban governance.
Insights: Including children emphasized the value of intergenerational dialogue in civic decision-making, showcasing their ability to provide fresh, unbiased perspectives on urban challenges, often surpassing adult proposals in creativity and impartiality.
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Vision
Principles: The project was built on inclusivity, transparency, and participation, aiming to empower children as active civic contributors and promote direct democratic engagement.
Strategy: The approach focused on designing tailored workshops and materials that simplified complex concepts, enabling children to develop and present impactful proposals.
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Interventions
Outcomes: Children’s participation added valuable diversity to the proposals, many of which were incorporated into broader discussions on Madrid’s urban development. Members of Manuela Carmena’s government actively shared this initiative on their social media channels, amplifying its reach and visibility.
Impact: The project established a precedent for including younger generations in Madrid’s civic processes, showcasing the potential of youth civic engagement as an integral part of participatory
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Learnings
Inclusive Democracy: Designing participatory processes for all age groups highlights how inclusivity enriches accessibility and reinforces the democratic process as a whole