Thirteen youngsters from eight schools took part in the session, representing the 650 teenagers between 12 and 17 who took part in the process, which involved 19 secondary schools. The group presented three proposals agreed on for the whole city, to which the City Council responded. They were:

More greenery in the city

The goal is to increase green areas so that young people can get involved in activities such as looking after allotments or planting trees and bushes.

The City Council is committed to making it possible for school students to discover and experiment in different green spaces in the city through the Escoles + Sostenibles network.

3R virtual game: motivating recycling

The youngsters proposed a video game with the goal of raising awareness on the importance of recycling and generating incentives to do so.

The initiative will be studied with different areas within the City Council to analyse its feasibility.

Stalls for the exchange of second-hand clothing

These stalls would be located at neighbourhood markets and municipal facilities such as community centres and youth centres, strengthening clothing exchange networks and reducing waste.

Barcelona’s “Renew your clothing” programme has been going for ten years, although it is currently at a halt because of the pandemic. When it becomes possible again, schools that wish to take part can act as collection points for the programme, with different programmes to foster recycling also expanded.

The Participatory Process for Teenage Citizens is the evolution of the Public Audience with the City’s Youth, created in 1994. More than 25 years on, the initiative has been reformulated to improve the participation of secondary schools and their pupils. One of the main changes is that it is now the youngsters themselves who decide which topics to debate.

Another new aspect is that the initiative uses the Decidim Barcelona platform to bring together all the information for the participatory process: calendar for stages and sessions, proposals, collaborative documents etc.

This space for dialogue and the exchange of ideas is not limited to a single topic of debate. Instead, besides the common topic, each district decides on another specific topic. Those chosen by each district this year are:

• Ciutat Vella: public space
• L’Eixample: sustainable mobility
• Sants-Montjuïc: equality and diversity
• Les Corts: sports activities
• Sarrià – Sant Gervasi: public space
• Gràcia: public space
• Horta-Guinardó: public space
• Nou Barris: health and welfare
• Sant Andreu: public space
• Sant Martí: health and welfare

The Participatory Process for Teenage Citizens enables young people to exercise their rights and duties as citizens of Barcelona and put forward proposals for full council meetings at a district and city level. In turn, these municipal bodies make a political pledge to respond specifically on whether the proposals are to be considered or ruled out.