[getsmart-l] Citizen Summit of Montreal, June 1-3

[Gloria Boxen]

http://www.4sc.ecologieurbaine.net/site.php?language=en

Fourth Citizen Summit of Montréal

Planning the City, economic development and
participatory democracy:
The Right to the City!
 
The 4th Citizen Summit follows three previous
citizen's summits in Montreal (held in June 2001,
March 2002 and September 2004) that have led to the
adoption by city council and borough councils, among
other measures, of the Kyoto Protocol, the Montreal
Charter of City Rights and Responsibilities and many
proposals in the Citizen’s Agenda, a tool of popular
education that promotes participatory democracy and
citizen rights in the city.

These summits have succeeded in promoting
participatory democracy in the public arenas of debate
throughout our city!

The 4th Montreal Citizens Summit is based on four main
subject areas  :

    *
      The Urban Economy
    *
      The Urban Environment
    *
      Planning the City [Diversity and Social Justice]
    *
      Civic Democracy

Who participates?  The Summit is open to all citizens.
People from a variety backgrounds; ordinary citizens,
teachers, students, different professionals,
politicians and activists from different cultural
backgrounds; coming together to discuss, think-out,
analyze, and debate different practices, approaches
and experiences with respect to the social change and
the development of communities through participatory
democracy.
 
Why is it important to participate in the Montreal
Citizen Summit?

Because most importantly, the Citizens Summit is a
place to discuss and evaluate practical applications
and to FORMULATE PROPOSITIONS for the future with the
aim of improving municipal democracy, strengthening
civil society and helping Montreal to progress toward
a democratic, socially just and ecological city. All
summits are organised in the style of the World Social
Forum, and are in fact the Montreal equivalent.
 
Some of our objectives:
 
- To improve our understanding of our city and its
neighbourhoods, to help analyze, and to encourage
networking so that citizens can work together. To
exchange practical local development and renovation
experiences and strategies; to contribute to social
progress, participatory democracy, based on the
recognition of diversity of Montreal.
 
- To explore and circulate information about various
experiences and innovative practices, social
movements, civil society in general related to local
community development and renovation; to discuss their
contribution in promoting participatory democracy; to
question the range and limits of all municipal
practices.
 
- To affirm the rights and legitimacy of citizen
involvement in all matters of economic development and
urban renovation and to promote a city planning
process that responds to the needs and interests of
the majority of citizens.
 
Activities
The 4th Citizens Summit begins with an exciting
opening session followed by a full programme of
roundtables, thematic workshops, plenary sessions,
approximately thirty workshops, film presentations, an
exhibit of urban struggles won and lost, a tour of
urban mega-projects, amongst other activities. 

Speakers and resource people will be present from
across Canada, the USA, France and Brazil. All main
sessions will have simultaneous translation and there
will be many workshops in English. Space is limited so
register early.

See the PROGRAMME and also www.urbanecology.net