For 8 months, we accompanied the Commission dedicated to Citizen Engagement (CEC) of the city of New York in the implementation of the participatory budget for young people.

In the midst of a pandemic, this first case of use in the United States has allowed us to understand and adapt to the culture of New York citizen participation inspired by community organizing . A strong emphasis is placed oninclusion by multiplying the modalities of participation, partnerships with local organizations to target marginalized audiences, systematic multilingualism etc.

In partnership with Digidem Lab, we organised a series of workshops and training sessions with the CEC team to frame each step of the participatory budget in the best possible way, to think about mobilisation mechanisms and to articulate the global project with the participation functionalities offered by the Decidim tool. This first project is part of a series of participatory budgets and a global approach to participation in New York City.

Thanks to the work of the consortium of partners and despite a pandemic context that questions traditional participatory processes, the participatory budget was successfully launched on 19 November 2020. We are delighted to welcome New York City to the Decidim community.

After organizing more than 10 participatory budgets on the Decidim tool, we have a proven structure and methodology. This first project with CEC allowed us to discover a different and innovative approach.

• The structure of the site and the contents have been thought out and adapted for a young audience. The result: the statements are short and easy to understand, the navigation is uncluttered, the colours and visuals show the dynamism of the approach;
• Several tools and participation channels are implemented to accommodate different audiences. SMS, video-conferencing, written proposals, short questionnaires... everything is done to ensure that everyone finds what they are looking for and that participation is pleasant and progressive;
• Special emphasis is placed on mobilizing youth associations and collectives: participation spaces are dedicated to them, they can plan video-conferences with the organizers;
• The young people will carry out the winning projects themselves.