14/08/2023
The European project PASCAL has participated in the Fair of Municipalities and Cities of Angola to contribute to economic growth and social development through an inclusive, heterogeneous and effective participation of civil society in the institutions.
Fair of Municipalities and Cities of Angola in Lubango
The European project PASCAL has participated in the Fair of Municipalities and Cities of Angola (FMCA) to improve and make more effective the participation of civil society in the administration, increasing the level of information and awareness of citizens about their rights, the work of public institutions, decentralisation and participatory governance. To this end, it had the support and experience of Mariana Cancela and Jorge Calvo, consultants on participatory governance and public policies in Aragon.
The aim of this meeting was to share information on the 18 provinces of Angola, to encourage local development and to promote cooperation and exchange between the different cities and municipalities. The Angolan Secretary of State for Territorial Administration, Teresa Quivienguele, stressed that “the Fair is an opportunity to influence the labour market, promote domestic tourism and share lessons and learning about the life of our municipalities”.
In the words of Pablo López Dean, coordinator of PASCAL, “this event is an opportunity to promote spaces for engagement, in particular the participation of under-represented groups in decision-making such as women and young people, through concrete actions aligned with the project’s areas of intervention: workshops, conferences and exchange of national and international experiences”. “Spain is a benchmark in local administration because its territorial model is decentralised”, he pointed out.
Under the slogan “Life is made in the Municipalities”, this year’s Fair included an interactive laboratory organised by PASCAL to promote citizen participation in the design of public policies. PASCAL-LAB is a tool for democratic innovation and a meeting place for the administration and civil society to cooperate, reflect and jointly seek solutions to the challenges of government decentralisation and citizen participation in decision-making processes.
The European PASCAL project arises from the need to contribute to a more inclusive society in terms of participatory governance and focuses on the most disadvantaged groups in society such as women and youth. This contribution addresses economic growth and social development in terms of governance process. The scope of the project covers 5 provinces in Angola.
