WELCOME TO THE CALLDE PROJECT WEBSITE

UPDATE: Now that the CALLDE project has come to an end, you can download and read the project’s Final Report HERE (pdf). It contains information about the project’s objectives, outcomes and results, and follow-up strategies.
UPDATE: We are very pleased to announce that Citizen Participation Study, finalized in October, is now available for download! You can download the entire Study HERE (pdf), or you can choose to download individual chapters from our resources page. The study will soon be available in print too!
UPDATE: You can watch the Citizen Participation University 2011 video below!

CITIZENS ACTING AND LEARNING FOR LOCAL DEMOCRACY IN EUROPE (CALLDE) is a project of the Central and Eastern European Citizens Network in collaboration with the Combined European Bureau for Social Development, Ideas Bank and the Hungarian Association of Community Development. The project aims to expand and disseminate knowledge about local citizen participation in Europe with a particular emphasis on Central and Eastern Europe where the transition to democracy is still at play and where civil society and citizen involvement are continuously growing. The project comprises of three main components:

  1. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION STUDY: a mapping exercise designed to ascertain the nature, extent and focus of citizen participation in Europe through non-formal associations and networks. Citizen Participation Study is a non-academic exercise comprising of case studies, thematic discussions, a robust analysis and critique and a specific informative learning conclusion. Learn more about it here.
  2. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION UNIVERSITY: four-day long event held in the summer of 2011 with participants from the Citizens Network and the Combined European Bureau for Social Development. The education offered through lectures, workshops and exercises was based on the results of the action mapping exercise. The University focused on better informing participants about the current state of local democracy and served to jointly prepare training materials for citizens and community workers. Learn more about it here and see pictures from the event in our gallery.
  3. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION WEEK: a campaign which was underway throughout the last week of September 2011. The events and activities of CPW in all participating countries and involves over 30000 citizens across Europe every year.  The event allowed member organizations to test ideas from the University by applying them in individual local contexts. Read more about it here or on our blog where we continuously update participants’ reports of Citizen Participation Week 2011 as they come in.