Students and staff can now choose where UAlg will invest 80 euros

Academia Algarve is the first university in the whole country to create a Participatory Budget

It was a «need» that the University of Algarve (UAlg) will satisfy. The UAlg Participatory Budget has already been officially launched and wants, above all, to involve the academic community. The endowment is 80 thousand euros and the winning projects will be implemented next year. 

The PB of the University of Algarve was presented this Thursday, March 23, in a session at the Teresa Gamito Amphitheater, on the Gambelas Campus.

In statements to the Sul Informação, Professor António Fragoso, technical-scientific coordinator of the UAlg Participatory Budget Monitoring Commission, explained that the idea of ​​creating this new instrument came from the rectory, even before the pandemic.

«In my view, there was a need for a Participatory Budget. We, in all universities, have a huge representation problem », he considered.

This gap is also a consequence of the «legal regulation of higher education institutions, in which university management became more concentrated, with students losing power».

 

António Fragoso – Photo: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação

 

This Participatory Budget begins with the disclosure of the process, until March 30. The submission of proposals starts on the 1st of April and will last until the 4th of May.

Then follows the technical analysis of the proposals until September 15th. Voting will take place in November and the results will be announced in December of this year.

Proposals can be built individually or by teams of up to six people.

The 80 thousand euros will be distributed as follows: 40 thousand euros for students and 40 thousand euros for teaching staff, non-teaching staff and researchers.

Each participant can submit more than one proposal, but any idea must be supported by at least 10 members of the academic community.

 

Nelson Dias, Paulo Águas, António Fragoso and Rita Tavares – Photo: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação

 

For António Fragoso, one of the main objectives of this Participatory Budget is «to wake people up, making them realize that their participation makes sense».

«When we take students or non-teaching staff out of decision-making bodies, the question the student faces is: why should I participate if my contribution has no consequences? That's what we want to change," she added.

For this first edition, the objectives of the Participatory Budget are to «reach many people, test processes and get a good volume of proposals», said António Fragoso.

In the launching session of this initiative, Paulo Águas, rector of the University of Algarve, also highlighted the fact that this is an instrument that will «foster the participation» of the academic community.

«It is a contribution to citizenship. Above all, this Participatory Budget cannot be limited to the first edition and must be an entity like a process and not a project", she concluded.

The session was also attended by Nelson Dias, one of the world's leading specialists in Participatory Budgets, who, in addition to welcoming the UAlg initiative, also provided a historical perspective on this instrument for citizen participation.

 

 

Read some more!
 
A strong region needs a strong press and, these days, the press depends on its readers. We make all Sul Infomação content available free of charge, because we believe that it is not through barriers that the public approaches responsible and quality journalism. Therefore, your contribution is essential.  
Contribute here!

 



Comments

Ads