The importance of building inclusive and diverse communities, where the sense of belonging reflects the coexistence of different cultures, religions and languages, is relevant. We recognize that diversity is an opportunity for enrichment, but also presents challenges such as exclusion and inequalities, which is why it is essential to promote genuine bonds, personal contact and narratives that strengthen the social fabric based on respect, equality and active participation.
Likewise, we highlight the importance of forming a critical and free citizenry, capable of participating in the construction of the local future. For this reason, it is necessary to promote critical thinking in the face of populist discourses, sectarianism, simplifications and manipulations on social networks, which often spread false and biased information. We also want to point out that on the internet, although everything seems free, in reality we pay with our data and attention, which influences our decisions.
On the other hand, creativity education has been undervalued, often seen only as something for artists, when in reality it is an innate capacity of all human beings. Educating in creativity involves developing skills to generate new and valuable ideas that can transform and promote changes in different areas. The ability to create and innovate is essential to face the future challenges of cities, which is why it is crucial to meet the cultural and educational needs of citizens, promoting programs that strengthen their creative capacities and, thus, strengthen social capital.
The construction of the city/community in increasingly complex contexts.
The construction of an inclusive and open “WE” that defines the feeling of free belonging to the city.
Everyone's city.
Our cities now have a greater diversity than we could observe twenty years ago. In these last two decades, this has been one of the most relevant elements in terms of the transformation that has occurred in urban areas. Areas that are increasingly diverse and plural that, at the same time, are containers for many communities: cultural, religious, linguistic... This diversity is an open door to great opportunities and a generator of great wealth, but at the same time it is also a generator of great complexity. And it can also be a generator of processes of exclusion.
At the same time, community life is not free from tensions and conflicts; knowing how to address them and find ways of dialogue is crucial for establishing agreements that can improve civic coexistence. In this sense, conflict can become a tool for building community.
One of the challenges that local governments must face is how, from respect for each constituent community, we build the "COMMON WE", inclusive and open, what makes us feel that we are part of a community where we all fit in, which is the city. A community of which we are part through bonds that we build from freedom. Where the individual can develop their essence, in harmony with community life.
We need to know and recognize others. To have contact and establish bonds precisely with those who are not like us, with those who think or believe differently from how we do. In a world that is highly interconnected through technologies, we can observe, however, that personal contact with physical people, presence, is missing more than ever.
On the other hand, inequalities are growing disproportionately. Inequalities that generate exclusion and require policies that recognize them and, above all, act to reduce them.
In our municipalities, identity conflicts are present. And against those who preach about multiple identities and their virtues, there are those who do so on the basis of identity essentialism. Some act in favor of miscegenation, while others do it in the opposite direction, to preserve the “purity of the original essence”.
Everything we have mentioned so far comes together in the “right to the city” of any person and group. A right that David Harvey considers to be not simply the right of access to what already exists, but the right to change it based on our deepest desires.
In these "new" scenarios we will necessarily preserve the old traditions and old myths, but perhaps it is time to think together that we must build new narratives that represent us all and that allow us to create a community fabric.
For this reason, we call on the member municipalities of the IAICE and those others who wish to join them, to share their experiences with us on this axis, specifically:
Actions that promote intercultural dialogue, that create spaces for dialogue and conversation between different cultural, religious and linguistic communities.
Initiatives that build a “We.” Experiences that contribute to building a sense of inclusive community, where differences are recognized and respected, and a sense of shared belonging is fostered.
Projects that celebrate diversity and plurality, showing how these characteristics enrich urban life and contribute to the city's identity.
Educational and cultural experiences that address and seek to reduce inequalities and processes of exclusion and segregation, promoting policies and actions that benefit the community as a whole.
Experiences that facilitate personal contact and physical interaction between individuals of different origins, counteracting the dehumanization that can arise in a digitalized world.
Proposals that take cultural diversity into account and invite reflection on identity conflicts, promoting an approach that values both multiple identities and the need for a cohesive community fabric, in which the feeling of belonging is reinforced.
Interventions that address the concept of the "right to the city", allowing citizens to actively participate in the transformation of their urban environment.
Programs/projects that seek to create new myths and narratives that represent all communities, contributing to the construction of a richer and more diverse collective identity.
The development of a critical and free citizenship to participate in the construction of the local future. Training and promotion of the CRITICAL THINKING to acquire tools against sectarianism, populist discourses, simplifications and information manipulations.
We are seeing a surprising growth in movements that question scientific evidence. There are more and more followers of outlandish theories, sometimes dangerous attitudes, such as the anti-vaccine movement or "surprising and naive" ones like the flat-earthers, for example. At times, it seems as if the Enlightenment had never existed, that we are returning to the times of obscurantism.
In a recent article, the director of the Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona, Judit Carreras, quoted Kant, and recalled the three questions: What can I know? What should I do? What can I hope for? And she pointed out, three hundred years later, that knowledge, action and hope are the enlightened legacy on which to think critically about the present, learn from the wounds of the past and reinvent a world that has stopped believing in the future.
He continued to explain that the foundations of this future must be creativity, imagination, strengthening political and emotional solidarities and thinking critically. We need to do this because we are in a moment of extreme ideological polarization of our societies. Convictions, attitudes and uncritical convictions that make many people identify absolutely with a certain group and not question any of their decisions or actions. Groups that are increasingly relevant in our societies and that act in an increasingly sectarian way.
Another issue, which contributes to this new reality, is the information published and that which is disseminated through social networks. Information that overwhelms us, that we cannot digest, and that reaches us directed and loaded with simplifications, manipulations and falsehoods. With media that are increasingly less free, that act more as levers in the service of economic interests, and that present some dangerous biases, such as the invisibility of certain groups and the omnipresence of others.
Apparently everything we have on the internet is free. We browse without any cost, but we pay the price for the algorithms that personalize the commercial stimuli we receive. And not just commercial ones.
We must promote free and responsible citizenship to be, not just consumers or customers, but active citizens who take part and participate in the construction of the present and future of our cities.
For this reason, we call on the member municipalities of the IAICE and those others who wish to join them, to share their experiences with us on this axis, specifically:
Experiences that promote critical thinking and reflection on the information we consume, helping citizens to question and analyze sources of knowledge.
Projects that address the phenomenon of disinformation on social networks and media, that educate about the scientific method, the importance of evidence and how to discern between truthful information and unfounded theories.
Creation of programs that analyze the impact of digital technologies on our lives, discussing both their benefits and risks.
Experiences that give voice to different groups, especially those that are usually made invisible.
Initiatives that foster active participation, promoting spaces for dialogue where people can express their ideas, listen to different points of view and learn to argue in a respectful and well-founded way.
Projects that invite citizens to collaborate in urban, educational, cultural transformation initiatives, etc., that require analysis, evaluation of options and informed decision-making, with a view to strengthening their critical-analytical capacity and with it local democracy.
Initiatives to resolve social conflicts, community mediation and promote a culture of peace through dialogue.
Projects that strengthen participatory democracy and the collective construction of the city.
The development of a creative citizenship that promotes new sensitivities, strategies and tools to face the challenges of their society.
Education towards creativity has always been quite devalued by educational systems and society in general. There has always been a misunderstanding of the utilitarian meaning of education.
There has also been a conceptual confusion between the terms innovation and creativity. And it has been simplified into the idea that creativity is “the domain of artists”, as if this capacity were not inherent to human beings. Educating is precisely about generating capacities, one of which is creativity.
Angélica Sátiro, educator and specialist in creative citizenship, believes that creating is generating new and better ideas. Ideas that can be applied in various fields through different languages. And these valuable ideas are the ones that transform and promote change. The ability to create and innovate is necessary to face the future challenges of our cities, which are increasingly complex.
We understand that to generate social capital it is essential to develop the creative capacity of citizens. For this reason, it is absolutely essential to meet their cultural and educational needs and promote programs for their development. A good social and creative fabric is a good basis for providing answers to current challenges.
For this reason, we call on the member municipalities of the IAICE and those others who wish to join them, to share their experiences with us on this axis, specifically:
Examples of successful educational initiatives that have integrated creativity into their programs.
Transformative education models that combine creativity and innovation in different contexts, such as community, technological or cultural projects.
Projects that promote citizen creativity: workshops, activities and programs that allow citizens to explore and develop their creative potential.
Cultural events or workshops where citizens can express themselves creatively, reflect on their environment and propose innovative ideas through art, music, theater or writing.
Platforms or collaborative spaces that facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experiences and good practices, strengthening collective creativity.
Co-creation initiatives between citizens and the municipality's cultural centers, where artists, young people and adults can express themselves, experiment and share their creative ideas.
Educational and cultural experiences aimed at responding to creative challenges that use technology and social networks to share ideas, collaborate on projects and participate.