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In the municipality of Groningen, a citizen assembly decides over the new waste policy. 120 carefully selected participants engage in dialogue regarding waste reduction, and formulate their recommendations towards the city council. A citizen assembly is one of the highest forms of citizen engagement...

We spoke with Berber Snippe, who recently completed an internship with the Speak Up project at the municipality of Groningen. Her work focused on researching how food councils function, and how Groningen could found one. In this interview, we discuss her main findings and the transnationality of suc...

On May 20th, Speak Up hosted a webinar on Hoogkerk’s (Netherlands) innovative participatory budgeting method. Through community dialogues and voting, this initiative enables citizens to have a say on some of the village’s budgeting expenses, directly responding to their needs. This event featured Ma...

On June 4th 2025, over 60 participants gathered in Skive for the conference Driving Climate Action Through Citizen Engagement, organised by Skive Kommune and VIA University College. It was the second external conference hosted by the Speak Up partnership. The event brought together local practitione...

In the heart of the Marlborough neighborhood in Saint-Martin-Boulogne, France, a modest café named Le Nid has blossomed into a symbol of community empowerment and cohesion. Entirely managed by local residents, Le Nid began as a response to the community's desire for a welcoming space to connect. Wit...

On Tuesday 20 May, Speak Up will host its second webinar. During this webinar, the municipality of Groningen will talk about the citizens' budget they have established in a village in their municipality. The citizens' budget is called Sterk Hoogkerk (Strong Hoogkerk) and is a unique participation pr...

Digital tools can be a great way to improve engagement between government and citizens. In this article, we speak with Luuk Davidsz (Groningen Municipality), Anne de Zeeuw (Province of Drenthe) and Jasmien Wellens (Roeselare Municipality) to learn more about how digital platforms help their organisa...

On April 1st, Speak Up successfully hosted its first webinar, bringing together around 50 participants. The event featured Louise Bonnevier (City of Malmö) and Julia Jokiaho (Stockholm Environment Institute), who introduced their innovative approach to community-based dialogues in Malmö. These dialo...

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