Skip to main content

Cookie settings

We use cookies to ensure the basic functionalities of the website and to enhance your online experience. You can configure and accept the use of the cookies, and modify your consent options, at any time.

Essential

Preferences

Analytics and statistics

Marketing

Padua: "Boosting democratic participation in cities to recharge democracy in Europe" (DeCiDE) project

Avatar: Official proposal Official proposal

The Municipality of Padua has long embedded human rights in its institutional DNA: its Statute references the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Mayor holds a mandate for peace and international cooperation, and the Social Services department delivers programmes addressing housing, non-discrimination, and civic participation. Yet Padua lacked a systematic tool to measure whether its services were genuinely delivering on these commitments. The co-creation and local implementation of a Standardised Monitoring System (SMS) for human rights fills that gap.

As an official partner and pilot city in the "Boosting Democratic Participation in Cities to Recharge Democracy in Europe" DeCiDE project, Padua's has taken strategic ownership: the Mayor formally endorsed the initiative, the Social Services departments co-chair the local M&E Working Group, a municipal representative holds a seat on the project Advisory Board, and municipal staff co-designed, validated, and are now applying standardized human rights-based indicators across public service delivery. 

The SMS was built bottom-up: Padua's officials and civil society jointly selected indicators grounded in the city's specific equality challenges, including access to services, non-discrimination, and democratic participation for women, persons with disabilities, and marginalized communities.

From January 2026, Padua is collecting annual data integrated into existing administrative structures, with findings feeding directly into Social Services planning. The M&E Working Group is constituted as a permanent local body, ensuring the system outlasts the project. By bridging Padua's local governance with transnational peer learning across eight EU cities, this practice establishes a replicable model of rights-based, evidence-driven, participatory municipal governance.

Learn more about: https://humanrightscities.net/decide-boost-democratic-participation-in-cities-to-recharge-democracy-in-europe/ 

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1873.pdf 

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1874.pdf 


QR Code

OIDP's official logo

Padua: "Boosting democratic participation in cities to recharge democracy in Europe" (DeCiDE) project

QR Code

Confirm

Please log in

The password is too short.