The second meeting of the Riga Citizens’ Assembly took place on 5 October at @nvo_nams, where participants had the opportunity to meet landscape architect Ilze Rukšāne and imagine the city as a garden. Juris Zariņš, Head of Forest Management Planning at “Riga Forests”, spoke about Riga’s forests, and participants also had a hands-on experience with forest therapist Inga Dreimani. What can be the green solution for urban stormwater? – Nauris Linītis, planning engineer at “Riga Water”, shared his experience and knowledge on this topic. Below are some quotes from the participants:
“Targeted public involvement in policy-making and positive experiences of cooperation promote public participation in other formats, as well as citizens’ ownership of decisions, or the sense that we are all building the country together”
Kristīne Zonberga, Head of the Latvian Civic Alliance
“I think public involvement in policy-making is very important. Especially in the politics of a cohesive society. It helps to arrive at the most optimal solution, because it allows us to know the specific needs or the specific details of a group that will be affected by the decisions that will be taken. Deliberative democracy activities, which have been carried out by the Ministry of Culture for several years, are an internationally recognised method that allows us to find out the public’s perspective on specific issues.”
Jeļena Šaicāne, Director of the Department for Public Integration, Ministry of Culture
“Both the experience of other countries and the case of Estonia show that by giving people a basic understanding of a topic, by listening to and considering the views of different groups, by giving time and by helping, we end up with a united collective position.”
Maiu Lauringa (Maiu Lauring), lead consultant on Tallinn Green Capital Citizens’ Assembly
During the Assembly, participants will develop concrete proposals for the Riga Greening Plan 2027-2031. The Riga Climate Assembly is organised by “Zaļā brīvība” together with the Riga City Municipality with funding from the European Union Horizon Programme within the project “CLIMAS: Citizen Engagement Toolkit for Building Societal Resilience in the Context of Climate Change”. More information about the previous meeting can be found in the CLIMAS blog post, while an overview of the citizens’ assembly can be found on the official website.
Gallery
Picture credits: Jēkabs Vilkārsis
Press review
NABA Radio – https://naba.lsm.lv/lv/raksts/nezale/rigas-klimata-asambleja.a196604/
Latvijas sabiedriskie mediji: https://www.lsm.lv/raksts/dzive–stils/vide-un-dzivnieki/03.09.2024-riga-pirmoreiz-notiks-iedzivotaju-klimata-asambleja-lukos-pec-idejam-pilsetas-zalinasanai.a567287/
Find the Riga Climate Assembly on Social Media
Author: Zaļā brīvība
The CLIMAS Project has received funding from European Union’s Horizon Europe under Grant Agreement N° 101094021. Follow CLIMAS on LinkedIn, Instagram and X, or subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated with the latest activities!
