On 4 May 2021, an online workshop was organised with representatives of the civil society and academic community from the City of Mostar, as part of the process of the selection of the topic for the Citizens’ Assembly. The aim of the workshop was to discuss 20 topics for which the citizens of Mostar voted the most during the online survey. Participants were able to express their views on these topics and discuss them based on their relevance for the City of Mostar and the feasibility to address them on local level. Finally, they voted on the topics using a specifically tailored method.
As a result of the workshop, six priority topics were selected.
These topics are:
- Cleanliness of the city and maintenance of the public space
- Landfill “Uborak” (closure, removal)
- Creating new jobs and tackling unemployment
- Traffic safety, adequate sanctions for traffic violations, installation of cameras, safety of children
- Corruption, breaches of power, nepotism in the public sphere and employment
- Support for youth employment, assistance in starting own business
These topics will be further discussed by the City Councillors and representatives of the City administration in a workshop planned for 10 May 2021, in order to narrow the topics to the final three. In the upcoming activities, these three topics will be presented to the citizens of Mostar which will have the final vote in the selection of the topic of the Citizens’ Assembly.
Summary on the online survey and the overview of the discussed topics is available here.
This activity is organised in the framework of the project “Building democratic participation in the City of Mostar” within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2021. The aim of the project is to create opportunities for citizens to engage in a deliberative process and increase their contribution to local decision-making. In turn, this process will foster dialogue at local level and contribute to the revitalisation of democratic processes in the City of Mostar.