Every year, a European city is chosen as the European Capital of Democracy. We met Stefan Sindelar, president of the EcoD association behind this initiative, and one of our partners in ScaleDem, the European program for democratic research and innovation.
Missions Publiques. Why was your organization created? How is it unique and relevant in the landscape of democratic innovation and the Cities Network?
Stefan Sindelar. We launched the European Capital of Democracy initiative to strengthen and renew democracy by identifying, addressing and interlinking the pioneers and spearheads of innovative participatory practices across Europe.
We started from a conviction: that cities are laboratories of democracy, and incubators for democratic innovations. City administrations, due to their proximity to residents and adaptable scale, can effectively tailor programs, policies, and infrastructure to align with community needs and budget constraints: citizens often participate in urban planning, infrastructure, health, and environmental discussions. Municipalities and institutions like hospitals lead these discussions to gather public input on complex decisions, such as infrastructure development, health improvements, and climate strategies. For example, if we look at deliberative mini-publics, the EOCD found that, although they are been carried out at all levels of government, they are most popular at the local level. If we consider digital democratic innovations, “smart cities” are becoming a norm: from participatory budget to digital public services to taking care of citizens’ concerns, cities innovate with digital decision-making processes so as to catalyze digital solutions to solve urban problems, problems that are closest to people’ daily and concrete struggles.
The way cities proactively engage their residents in solving these problems firsthand is reflected in the resilient levels of trust towards local democracy. Latest Eurobarometer polls show that cities and regions have long been, and remain, the most trusted level of government in Europe. They are still on top, but there is clearly work to do to regain the confidence of a shaken public recovering from a global pandemic.
We launched the European Capital of Democracy initiative because we wanted to showcase and encourage this work. Each year, a different city is selected as the European Capital of Democracy by a jury of over 4,500 European citizens. The first Capital of Democracy was Barcelona (2023/24) and soon, Vienna will follow (2024/2025).
Missions Publiques. Applications to become the European Capital of Democracy 2026 are now open. Who is eligible? What are the advantages for cities that become European capitals? What feedback do you have from Barcelona and Vienna?
Stefan Sindelar. Applications are open until 15 November 2024 to compete for the title of European Capital of Democracy 2026.
Being named the European Capital of Democracy brings numerous benefits, including enhanced international recognition as a centre of innovation, opportunities to host international events, and a boost to civic pride. The title-holding city hosts a year-long programme of engaging democracy-focused events, festivals, and activities, including the Innovation in Politics Awards, the ACT NOW Mayors’ Conference and the Truth, Lies & Democracy game jam. Furthermore, all applicant cities become part of the European City Network, gaining access to valuable knowledge exchange, experience sharing, and international cooperation. Currently, there are 21 cities from 13 countries in our City Network.
For one year, Barcelona has welcomed and hosted hundreds of democracy actors and related initiatives, and has benefited from significant exposure thanks to the title. To quote Barcelona’s Mayor, Jaume Collboni, the title of European Capital of Democracy was instrumental to the city’s ambition to disseminate innovative governance practices: “Cities are the places where democracy originated. As the first-ever European Capital of Democracy, Barcelona aims to serve as an example for all European cities grappling with the challenge of defending democracy.”
Soon, the title will travel to Central Europe, with Vienna taking over Barcelona. In the words of Mayor Michael Ludwig, “it is a wonderful honour for Vienna to be named the European Capital of Democracy 2024/25. Over the next years, Vienna will showcase innovative projects demonstrating how social cohesion can be further strengthened through the participation of citizens.”
We would like to invite all interested cities to continue this work initiated by Barcelona and Vienna and to apply to become the third Capital of Democracy. Applications are still open (until 15 November):https://capitalofdemocracy.eu/how-to-apply-as-european-capital-of-democracy/
"The rich history of Europe, with its diverse regional contexts and settings, provide a rich pool of experiences and best practices to build on.
Stefan Sindelar
President of the EcoD association
Missions Publiques. You are one of the key members of the ScaleDem project: what do you see as the main challenges in extending democratic innovations to European cities and, conversely, the keys to their success?
Stefan Sindelar. As mentioned above, our work is driven by our conviction that cities are powerhouses for democratic innovations, and best placed to secure citizens’ trust in democratic institutions and processes. While the geopolitical, and societal challenges are important, and citizens’ expectations for participation and democratic respect are higher than ever, the rich history of Europe, with its diverse regional contexts and settings, provide a rich pool of experiences and best practices to build on.
Hence, the biggest challenge is not a lack of creativity, but perhaps a lack of communication: one important obstacle cities face today is the fragmented landscape of knowledge and lack of coordinated actions between key actors. If we want to have greater impact, we need to work harder at building bridges, and interconnecting a variety of platforms, networks and knowledge resources that are still too often working in silos, and therefore fail to reach a majority of stakeholders and prospective users. There is of course also the issue of funding opportunities, which are too scarce, and are encouraging an unhealty and unproductive competition between key actors…
Missions Publiques. 12 partners are involved in ScaleDem. What will be your specific role in the project?
Stefan Sindelar. Adding to a strong international consortium of scientific institutions, ECoD NPO will bring its practical experience in spotting the most promising democratic and societal innovation in Europe, as well as its network of cities
Building on a best practice database from its annual Innovation in Politics Awards and democracy projects from the European City Network, ECoD will play an instrumental role in the fair and transparent selection of pilots and twinning coalitions.
In particular, ECoD will mobilise its network of experts and practitioners in relevant fields across Europe, including the renowned members of the Experts’ Jury, to facilitate the pre-selection of the most promising applications. ScaleDem intends to redistribute one million euros to third parties, and we intend to do this well!
Via its existing network, notably across communities of practice in cities, municipalities, regions, nations and at the European level, ECoD will also contribute to ScaleDem’s effort in communication, dissemination and engagement, notably in the project Translation Hub. ScaleDem key results will be shared and disseminated at high-level events in the European Capital of Democracy’s programme year, including the Innovation in Politics Awards finals and artistic formats.
