Create a space for participation on Decide Madrid for young people (ESMD0007)

Commitment ID

ESMD0007

Commitment Title

Create a space for participation on Decide Madrid for young people (aged 14 to 18 years old) as an attractive, dynamic and interactive platform with supervision and specialised support.

Problem

Madrid City Council has several face-to-face participatory bodies aimed at young people, such as Madrid's Participation Committee for Children and Adolescents and the Participation Committees for Children and Adolescents (COPIAS). There is also an important network of young people's associations or organisations dedicated to children and adolescents.
However, an adapted digital participation space is required in which young people can participate and channel possible ideas, allowing the initiatives of the children and adolescents' participatory bodies to be transferred to the digital platform, and vice versa, thus enabling them to mutually enrich each other, etc. The Decide Madrid platform allows the participation of any user over the age of 16, which a priori leaves room for their participation; however, participation among the 16-25 age group is low, representing only 5% of the total participation registered since 2019. Among the reasons that could justify this figure is the subject matter of the issues dealt with on Decide Madrid, which are aimed at an adult population, and in a format that is not adapted to their habits and customs.

Status quo

Within the framework of the City Council's Third Open Government Plan, work was carried out on ideas for a prototype digital participation space, based on an analysis of the social and digital reality of young people, in collaboration with the area of Families, Equality, and Social Services and also with the Department of Child and Adolescent Protection and the Committee of Experts on Child Participation of the Madrid City Council's Area for Child and Adolescent Care.
Furthermore, individual and group interviews were conducted with minors in order for them to participate and collaborate in the design of this prototype. A total of 95 children and adolescents were contacted through surveys, sessions, and workshops to define the profile to which the portal should be addressed. In general, adolescents show concern for the city and are aware of the improvements that could be made. A working day was also organised as a training and experiential experience aimed at representatives of associations, entities, and groups that work specifically with young people. Among other ideas, a highly interactive and dynamic portal was proposed, in which people accessing the website would feel that ‘there is someone on the other side’, based on agile feedback and monitoring of questions and proposals, and combining virtual and face-to-face participation spaces.

Action

Create a space for participation on Decide Madrid for young people (aged 14 to 18 years old) as an attractive, dynamic and interactive platform with supervision and specialised support.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

Creation of an attractive, dynamic, and interactive space for the participation of young people (aged 14 to 18 years old) on Decide Madrid, where they can contribute new ideas or proposals and review, comment on, and evaluate the ideas or proposals of others, as well as access information on activities and events of interest that enrich this space.
Given the complexity and sensitivity of this website, we propose specific moderation to ensure that adolescents are accompanied, as well as the creation of content that encourages them to participate correctly and to search for information of interest (leisure, sport, participatory bodies, etc.) for this age group.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

It broadens the spectrum of participation, developing specific programmes aimed at sectors of the population with lower participation rates, such as children and young people, improving and adapting the Decide Madrid portal to their language, requirements, and interests.

Primary Policy Area

Civic Space, Inclusion

Primary Sector

Public Services (general)

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?