The 8th edition: March 23, Bucharest, 2017
Each year, CeRe scouts for new initiatives and brings forward, into the public attention, some of the most inspiring stories of citizens and organisation who fought for fairer public decisions. From access to health care services in poor communities to preserving parks in small towns or subsidizing public transportation for pupils, each campaign is a motivation in itself for anyone who, at some point, was upset by public decisions affecting them. At CeRe, each year we are surprised to discover more and more of such new efforts run by citizens and NGOs to demand for fairer and more public decision-making. A little of the event’s energy is showed in
You can view the 2016 edition of the Gala here.
Other info about the last edition – concept, event, winners (including their speeches on the stage), jury etc you can read here (only Romanian version available)
The Public Participation Awards Gala is part of CeRe’s strategy to create awareness about active citizenship and participation to the decision-making process, important features for any democracy. The Gala promotes successful advocacy campaigns developed by citizens and NGOs and, at the same time, recognizes best practices of public authorities in consulting the citizens in community matters.
Objectives:
- To collect successful stories of citizens and NGOs using their civic rights through advocacy campaigns as well as examples of state institutions engaging the stakeholders in inclusive policy/decision-making
- To select and award at least 10 stories that speak about participatory democracy, civic rights, and a healthy relationship between citizens and state institutions
- To organize the 8th edition of the Public Participation Awards Gala, an event that, accompanied by a mix of communication, stirs up the enthusiasm about activism and participation to the decision-making process.
Any interested party (citizens, groups of citizens, NGOs, Coalition, public institution) can submit its proposal, briefly describing an advocacy campaign or consultative process. The jury selects the best 10 of them to be awarded considering criteria like: more equity was obtained in the balance of power; community involvement; determination when facing obstacles; concrete changes obtained. The jury is formed by a mix of academia, NGO representatives, journalists, companies and opinion leaders. One special award is also given to a journalist for her/his support for an advocacy campaign.
The 11 winners are awarded during the Gala, a very vibrant evening event, gathering approximately 300-350 participants: citizens, NGO representatives, media, representatives of public institutions, companies etc.