The IV CITER Forum: Citizenship, Innovation, and Territory, organized by the General Directorate of Transparency and Citizen Participation of the Government of the Canary Islands, took place today at the Casa de la Cultura in Los Llanos de Aridane, La Palma. The event, overseen by counselor Nieves Lady Barreto, focused on public policy design and institutional management, fostering the exchange of experiences and knowledge.
Representatives from various public administrations, professionals, and specialists gathered to analyze how to integrate citizens into policy development. The Director General of Transparency and Citizen Participation, Carmen Delia Alberto, highlighted the forum as a key space for citizen proposals to influence public decisions. Meanwhile, the Councilor for Commerce of the Ayuntamiento de Los Llanos de Aridane, Verónica González, emphasized the importance of daily work with the municipality, especially after the Tajogaite volcano eruption, noting the high level of local citizen participation.
Sociologist Ernesto Ganuza, from the CSIC and a doctor from the Complutense University of Madrid, delivered the keynote speech titled ‘Participation to Make Policies with Citizens’. He delved into tools and approaches for involving the public in decision-making processes and the development of public policies.
The program also featured presentations of initiatives such as ‘Islas Responsables’ Lab (IRLab) from the Government of the Canary Islands, the experience of ADER La Palma in ‘Participatory Local Development Strategies’, and ‘Canarias Experimenta: Citizen Laboratories’, showcasing diverse methods for promoting citizen involvement and territorial collaboration.
A best practices panel included representatives from the Cabildo de La Palma, the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, and the Municipalities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. They shared experiences on public consultations, participatory budgets, and other institutional management mechanisms, analyzing their applicability across different territories.
The day concluded with a practical workshop led by Ernesto Ganuza on ‘How to Incorporate Citizens into Public Management: Participatory Micro-processes’, offering tools for designing processes tailored to public administrations' needs.
