Debating e-Planning for the Digital Transition, in support of municipalities and their institutions, for the benefit of citizens, was one of the topics highlighted at the 1st Meeting of Presidents of the Municipal Assembly of the Algarve, which took place over the weekend in Monchique.
The meeting was attended by mayors from all over the Algarve region, as well as the National Association of Municipal Assemblies (ANAM) and the Information Technology Research Center for a Participatory Democracy (CITIDEP).
Pedro Ferraz de Abreu, president of CITIDEP, said that the meeting marked “the beginning of the implementation of the project “Volta e-Planning a Portugal”, centered on Local Power, to compile a real characterization of the serious problems of exclusion and inequality, but also of successful practices”.
Held in Monchique, the 1st Meeting of Presidents of the Municipal Assembly of the Algarve focused on the issue of Digital Transition, as a way of developing inclusion, cohesion and, above all, the democratic empowerment of citizens.
For Carlos Correia de Almeida, president of the Municipal Assembly of Monchique and vice president of ANAM, “although there has been a lot of talk about the digital transition, a topic that has reached special importance with the pandemic, it is essential that there is a real e-Planning so that this digital transition guarantees true digital and social inclusion, for people and territories”.
The mayor of Monchique considered that, in the area of Governance, e-Planning “sets up a series of gains related to greater efficiency, greater responsiveness and greater proximity to citizens, as well as greater empowerment of them”.
In the area of citizenship, e-Planning ends up “contributing to the formation of more informed, participatory, critical and responsible citizens, thus creating a path towards a renewed humanist culture”.
For Albino Almeida, president of ANAM, “the digital transition, to be efficient, has to reach all communities, all territories, all people, because only then will good results be achieved in several areas of our democracy, namely in terms of participation”.
“The “rhythm” will have to be, at each stage of the digital transition, “no one, absolutely no one, can be left behind!”, added the president of the Association, which has a strong presence in the Algarve region.
Since 2020, ANAM has been part of the “e-Planning Consortium”, which aims to promote collaboration between institutions to support society and citizens, through scientific, technological and humanistic knowledge, having also established in 2021 a protocol with the Information Technology Research Center for a Participatory Democracy (CITIDEP), with a view to creating cooperation synergies at the local government level.
In addition to the debate related to e-Planning strategies, ANAM, within the scope of its proximity strategy with local elected representatives (ANAM in Dialogue), promoted an exchange of opinions and different realities, highlighting the role of the Association, “ as an important network of contacts for local elected officials who, while always preserving the autonomy of local authorities, share the same concerns”.
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