An attempt to encourage and institutionalize citizen participation in Miskolc between 2019–2024

Abstract

The study presents the process that took place in Miskolc between 2019 and 2024, during which the municipality aimed to establish and deepen the culture of social participation in the city. To this end, the Office of Social Participation was created under the leadership of the referee responsible for civil participation. The concept of citizens' participation was developed in consultation with members of civil society, which the General Assembly unanimously endorsed. Subsequently, several participation methods were tested. Some of these latter innovations were integral to democratic processes, including citizens' assemblies, participatory budgeting, and city hall meetings. In contrast, other traditional means of participation included citizens' forums and public hearings. However, some methods focused on community development, including community initiatives, community discussions, community surveys, and social hackathons. Other postmodern means of social participation were also applied. Social participation had begun to be integrated into the municipality's operations, primarily thanks to the openness of the chief architect's cabinet, which willingly involved itself in many processes. Cooperation with the Department of City Maintenance and the institution providing cultural services has also started. A local government decree was established regarding the socialization procedure, and a proposal was accepted, according to which the city's tenders should be prepared in the future to involve representatives of civil society organizations concerned by topic and/or location in the planning. Although the creation of a system of civil cooperation was included as a goal in the concept of citizens' participation, it was not possible to initiate its operation. Another weak point of the processes was that very few people were involved in the programs, more than the already active citizens of the city, and even some of the latter deliberately withdrew from the participation process in Miskolc due to conflicts and dissatisfaction. This low participation rate was not unexpected; the experts involved in the process had expected significant effects only in the longer term. However, weak performance regarding communication activities also had a role in this low participation.