2023 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"

17th Edition

Phase 6 of 7

Publication Preparation 18/09/2023 - 06/11/2023

Process phases

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Réflexion 2050: bringing together Montreal stakeholders to make the voice of young people aged 4 to 35 heard.

Official proposal

06/06/2023 12:30

The Public Consultation Office of Montréal (OCPM) was mandated by the city to conduct public consultations on a vision document entitled Projet de ville (City Project). The objective of this process was to prepare Montreal's future Urbanism and Mobility Plan, with a view to making Montreal a carbon neutral, resilient and inclusive city by 2050. The approach to be implemented had to reach audiences not used to participating in public consultations, in particular young people, who will be key players in the city in 2050. Although the consultation made it possible to reach a wide range of citizens and organizations, we present here the approach taken with young people.

The OCPM is a small team. The challenge of getting to know the views, experiences and desires of a large number of children, adolescents and young adults from diverse neighborhoods and socioeconomic backgrounds was overcome by establishing partnerships with organizations that had their own networks. Based on the question "What do we want the city to be like in the future?" and guidelines provided by the OCPM on the topics to be addressed (e.g., living environments, mobility, environment), partners organized their own consultation activities or entrusted their implementation to collaborators. The OCPM produced summaries of the comments received, which were used in its report to the city.

Three partners collaborated in the consultation process to reach out to youth: Concertation Montréal (CMTL), the Montréal school community and the Service de la culture de Montréal.

Concertation Montréal, whose mission is to strengthen local democratic life, has a theoretical basis and a proven methodology for consulting children. From the outset, the CMTL took the first step by proposing to the OCPM to include activities with a hundred children aged 4 to 12, carried out in parks and early childhood centers (Centres de la Petite-Enfance - CPE). The CMTL then organized a meeting open to all members of Montreal neighborhood youth councils (aged 12 to 30) and other youth organizations, in the form of a day of discussion workshops led by the PCOM.

At the invitation of the OCPM, the Service de la culture de Montréal invited several partners from the local cultural community to organize consultation activities on cultural mediation for children and adolescents. These activities took place in Maisons de la culture, libraries, schools and at outdoor events (e.g. the Mapp Montréal Festival).

The OCPM also contacted the networks of primary, secondary and pre-university schools ("CEGEP"), and organized workshops, in French and English, in all the schools concerned.

Thanks to these activities, many young people have understood the value of speaking out for the future of Montreal and the importance of taking a critical look at their urban environment. At a time when several organizations are promoting citizen participation in Montreal, this partnership represents a change of scale, and a breeding ground for future collaborations.

https://ocpm.qc.ca/fr/consultation-publique/projet-ville