Visions for the Municipality of Aalborg – citizen involvement
What is the DNA of Aalborg?
What characterizes the municipality of Aalborg – now and in the future? Questions like this are essential for politics on a municipal level. That is why the municipality of Aalborg – in cooperation with the Danish Board of Technology – has launched a vision process in which the municipality asks citizens how they see Aalborg today and in the future.
In every nook and cranny
The municipality of Aalborg wished to involve all parts of the community and listen to voices which may not so often be listened to in the political debate. Thus the municipality and the Danish Board of Technology Foundation decided to go and discuss with people in drop-in centers, with those who have settled in Aalborg recently and are frequenting a language center, busy families with children in daycare, senior citizens in activity centers, and young people in the Student House.
Citizens speak out, formulating their visions
The project began with workshops for these groups, where it was important to let citizens express themselves in their own words. These workshops were launched on September 10th-12th. Detailed summaries were made; these will ultimately lead to a large scale Citizens’ Summit with more than 200 participants which will take place on November 10th in Aalborg.
Nuances will be visible
The Citizens’ Summit is a method which has been tested thoroughly and which is tailor-made for each project. Here citizens will discuss issues that have been dealt with in the workshops, and participants will cast a vote on which one of these various topics that fit best to their vision about the future of Aalborg. The Citizens’ Summit is a excellent method to let many points of view be heard and discussed in detail, and the dynamic form of the Citizen’s Summit means that participants’ attitudes may change and that they listen with an open mind to the points of view of other people.
