In January 2025, Vienna was the host of another European Cities Conference focused on Democracy and Citizen Engagement. The conference was held as part of the Vienna Year of Democracy. Experts and leaders from a number of European cities gathered to exchange experiences and discuss about the best practices in civic participation.
Derviš Hadžimuhamedović, the representative of the Department for Sustainable Development of the City of Sarajevo, presented our experiences within the panel on Digital Participation. Mr Hadžimuhamedović informed the participants on the tools that the City of Sarajevo has been utilizing to develop the culture of citizen participation in Sarajevo, and the plans to further encourage citizens to get involved in decision making processes.
Discussions revolved around best practices in citizen participation in decision-making, the challenges of institutionalizing participatory processes, and innovative methods such as participatory budgets and citizens' councils.
The conference was a valuable opportunity for establishing new connections with experts from other European cities, and the City of Sarajevo is grateful to the City of Vienna for the invitation to contribute to these strong networks.
