2025 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"

Mineral de la Reforma’s "Dialogues for the Transformation” was created with the goal of improving the community's well-being, planning sustainable development, and strengthening community identity, through promoting inclusive and diverse participation in the design of the 2024-2027 Municipal Development Plan. Mineral de la Reforma, located in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, is a municipality with a rich mining history that has experienced rapid population growth in recent decades, generating major challenges such as the weakening of community identity and uncontrolled urban expansion.

This initiative sought to integrate all inhabitants, regardless of age, gender, or origin, and for the first time, include children and adolescents in the planning of the municipality. Until 2024, Mineral de la Reforma had not implemented effective participation mechanisms in the creation of previous MDPS. However, participatory planning in the municipality has emerged as a necessity given the population growth and its impacts on social, economic, environmental, and spatial dimensions.

The process was divided into five stages:

1. Design of participation mechanisms aligned with the 2030 Agenda, addressing key territorial challenges.
2. Dissemination, which presented various participation mechanisms such as forums, workshops for children and adolescents, and digital platforms.
3. Implementation of the mechanisms, considering the socio-demographic characteristics of the municipality.
4. Validation of citizen initiatives through feasibility criteria to ensure the transparency and effectiveness of proposals.
5. Accountability, where the results were presented to participants, and they were informed about the incorporation of their proposals.

In addition, a communication strategy was used, which included institutional and digital channels, such as social media and informational brochures, to promote active participation. The Planning and Forecasting Unit of the Government of Hidalgo recognized the municipality for being the first in the state to promote such processes. The initiative strengthened democracy, social responsibility, and community identity, ensuring that people felt part of designing a more sustainable future for Mineral de la Reforma.

For more information: https://dialogos.mineraldelareforma.gob.mx/ (External link)