The participatory sessions will take place between October 14th and 29th, allowing for the identification of challenges and the development of concrete proposals that will subsequently be analyzed by municipal technical services. Interested individuals must register before October 7th via a form on the municipal website (www.eibar.eus). Places will be limited.
The Eibar City Council will launch a new citizen participation initiative in October called "Auzoak Martxan / Impulsa tu barrio", aiming to advance the relationship model with the neighborhoods. The goal is for residents to share their vision on their environment's needs, identify key challenges, and collaboratively work on specific improvement proposals. These will then be analyzed by municipal technical services for potential inclusion in the 2027 Municipal Budgets.
The initiative will be developed through six participatory sessions, one for each defined zone: Centro-Legarre, Errebal-Jardiñeta, Amaña, Ipurua, Urki, and Urkizu. The meetings will have a dynamic and collaborative format, organized and facilitated by the specialized company Manahmana.
The City Council plans to allocate a total of 420,000 euros to this initiative, distributed at 70,000 euros per participating neighborhood or zone, to finance actions and projects arising from the participatory process that are technically, economically, and legally viable.
Furthermore, the sessions will address topics of interest for each zone, based on participants' priorities and contributions. Areas that can be worked on include mobility and accessibility, citizen coexistence, communication with the City Council, children and youth, economy, sports, procedures and formalities, culture, Basque language, urban planning and environment, security and traffic, and equality.
“"We want citizen participation to go beyond simply conveying problems or demands to the City Council. With “Auzoak Martxan / Impulsa tu barrio”, we aim to create work spaces where people can share their experience, jointly identify the challenges of each neighborhood, and work on concrete proposals. The knowledge of those who live and make life in the neighborhoods is fundamental to continue improving Eibar, and we want to incorporate it in a structured way into the process of defining municipal actions."
“"This initiative represents an evolution of the traditional neighborhood meeting format. We want them to be spaces for work and co-creation, where participants can hear other perspectives, debate, prioritize, and move forward together towards proposals that the City Council can subsequently study."
The sessions will begin with a reception and a brief introduction by the facilitation team from Manahmana, who will explain the program's objectives and introduce the participating municipal technicians and their roles. Following this, a brief dynamic activity will be held for participants to get to know each other, before moving on to work on each neighborhood's challenges.
In the first phase, each participant will individually identify, using sticky notes, both the aspects of the neighborhood that function well and are positively valued, as well as those they believe need improvement. Ideas will then be grouped, and the main issues will be selected. Once all contributions are gathered, participants will prioritize those they deem most relevant to identify three main challenges to work on.
The next phase will focus on developing projects and proposals. Each identified challenge will be worked on at different tables, with several rounds of participation for attendees to contribute ideas and enrich the proposals. Finally, each table will complete a template detailing the characteristics of the proposal, allowing municipal technical services to analyze its feasibility.
The sessions will conclude with a closing session and a thank you to the participants, highlighting the contributions made during the meeting.
The work sessions will be held in the following spaces and times:
- Centro-Legarre: October 14th, 6:30 PM, at the Errebal building.
- Errebal-Jardiñeta: October 21st, 6:30 PM, at the Errebal building.
- Amaña: October 22nd, 6:00 PM, at the Amaña school.
- Ipurua: October 27th, 6:00 PM, at the building of the old Ipurua market square.
- Urki: October 28th, 6:00 PM, at the Urki Arrateko Andra Mari school.
- Urkizu: October 29th, 6:00 PM, at the Urkizu school.
- Centro-Legarre: October 14th, 6:30 PM, at the Errebal building.
- Errebal-Jardiñeta: October 21st, 6:30 PM, at the Errebal building.
- Amaña: October 22nd, 6:00 PM, at the Amaña school.
- Ipurua: October 27th, 6:00 PM, at the building of the old Ipurua market square.
- Urki: October 28th, 6:00 PM, at the Urki Arrateko Andra Mari school.
- Urkizu: October 29th, 6:00 PM, at the Urkizu school.
Participation is open to residents of each zone. Places for each session are limited to ensure the proper development of the participatory dynamic, requiring prior registration before October 7th by completing the form available at: https://formularioak.eibar.eus/eu/auzoakmartxan.
In the form itself, participants can indicate priority topics of interest for their area, information that will be used to guide the work of the tables during the sessions.
The contributions collected during the sessions will not automatically lead to the execution of the proposals. Once the participatory process is completed, the prioritized proposals will be forwarded to the relevant municipal technical services to study their technical, economic, and legal feasibility.
This process will allow for understanding which proposals can be carried out, which require modifications or specific conditions, and which are not viable, explaining the reasons in each case. After this analysis, viable proposals will move to a final online voting phase, where residents can prioritize the actions they deem most important for their neighborhood.
The vote will determine the actions that can ultimately be financed with the 70,000 euros allocated to each of the six participating zones, according to the criteria established for the process and up to the available budget limit. The City Council will subsequently provide information on the outcome of the process and the proposals that will finally be implemented.
“"Participation must be accompanied by a return. It's not just about asking citizens what they want for their neighborhood, but also about explaining which proposals can be made, which need adjustments, and which are not viable and why. We want participants to be able to see the journey of their contributions and also participate in the final prioritization of viable proposals."
With "Impulsa tu barrio / Auzoak Martxan", the City Council seeks to strengthen citizen participation and move towards a more direct, collaborative, and transparent relationship with the neighborhoods, incorporating citizens' knowledge and proposals into the design of future municipal actions.
