New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Regaining a sense of belonging

Email user
aleksandrs.abramovs@cesunovads.lv

Basic information
Initiative title
Cēsis Youth and Children's Vote

Full initiative Title
Cēsis Youth and Children's Vote "Democracy begins in the family"

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
Cēsis Youth and Children's Vote was a pilot-project taking place alongside Latvia's Parliamentary elections on October 1, 2022. Aimed at revitalizing civic engagement, by providing a platform for democracy and encouraging the younger generation of Cēsis to have a say in the development of their town, it boosted the voter turnout in the general elections. The Cēsis Municipality co-created the project with the Design Department of the Latvian Academy of Arts and the Central Election Commission.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Local

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Latvia

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Cēsis Municipality

Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): Cēsis Municipality
  Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local)
  First name of representative: Atis
  Last name of representative: Egliņš-Eglītis
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Latvia
  If relevant, please select your other nationality: Latvia
  Function: Vice Mayor of Cēsis Municipality
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Raunas Street 4
  Town: Cēsis
  Postal code: LV-4101
  Country: Latvia
  Direct Tel: +371 29 343 731
  E-mail: atis.eglins@cesunovads.lv
  Website: http://www.cesis.lv/
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.facebook.com/CesuNovads/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #cēsunovads #cēsis
- URL: https://twitter.com/Cesis_lv
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #cēsunovads #cēsis
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/cesis_lv/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #cēsunovads #cēsis
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
On the day of the Saeima elections, October 1, 2022, a total of 1,311 votes were cast in the Cēsis Youth and Children's Vote "Democracy begins in the family".

During the project, students of Cēsis educational institutions voted for what they think are the best urban environment solutions for Cēsis. Kindergarteners and first-graders voted on the color of flowers in the Maija Park playground for summer 2023. 2nd to 7th grade students chose the playground equipment in Maija Park, while youth from 8th until the 12th grade chose a place in the city where a drinking water fountain should be installed.

The vote took place alongside the election of the Latvian Parliament - in the same locations, with designated areas, volunteers that helped kids and their parents, specially designed voting ballots and ballot boxes.

The underlying motive of the project was to ensure both - that young people of Cēsis get used to their voice being heard and that their willingness to go out and vote in the voting precincts of Cēsis would increase the voter turnout of the general election, since they would most probably be accompanied by their parents.

The total project voting activity across all youth and children's age groups was 36%. For comparison, 34% of the voting population participated in the previous municipal elections in Latvia. The urban solutions voted on will be implemented in the spring/summer season of 2023.

The Vote's idea was created by two students of the Design Department of the Latvian Academy of Arts, Ulla Ozollapa and Beatrise Lasmane, who approached the Cēsis Municipality to implement it as a pilot project, with the support of the Central Election Commission. The positive results and feedback received for the project have cemented the commitment to repeat the project in the next elections - this time, on the regioanl scale, with all towns and rural areas of the Cēsis Municipality included.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
Youth

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Democracy

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Engagement

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Vote

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Design

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The project tackles the sustainability of the democratic process. By encouraging young people that their voices matter and showing them the immediate results of their vote, "Democracy begind in the family" lays the groundwork for the next generation of voters to be better prepared and more civically engaged. It also indirectly influenced the outcome of the general Parliamentary election, with kids dragging their parents along for the vote - not the usual other way around.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The design of the project was intentionally created bright, colorful, attention-grabbing and simple to perceive at the same time. Since the younger generation of the project's voters did not neccessarily know how to read yet, the ballots of the Vote were designed to be universally understandable and easy to fill out. The same principles of design were used for the outdoor campaign of the project as well as for the interior spaces of the voting precincts where the project's volunteers and ballot boxes were placed.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The project was intended to be inclusive of every child in the kindergartens and schools of Cēsis, regardless of ther social, financial or other backgrounds. Since the project's main idea was to promote democracy and its values, every kid in the educational system of Cēsis received a ballot (and an instructional letter) before the Vote. To ensure the project met its goals, the staff of Cēsis educational institutions were also instructed on how to help their students with understanding the vote, its process and the voting itself.

Regarding the physical accessibility of the precincts, they followed the same norms as the precincts of the general election, since - for the puproses of the project - they were located in the same facilities.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
The underlying motive of the project was to ensure both - that young people of Cēsis get used to their voice being heard and that their willingness to go out and vote in the voting precincts of Cēsis would increase the voter turnout of the general election, since they would most probably be accompanied by their parents.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
The Cēsis Municipality implemented the pilot project in cooperation with the Design Department of the Latvian Academy of Arts and the Central Election Commission. To ensure the project's success, the schools and kindergartens of Cēsis were also onboarded as the main target groups.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
The project included design of voting, democracy, user experience, youth and civic engagement. There were three main stakeholders of the project - the designers from the Design Department of the Latvian Academy of Arts, the municipality and the Central Election Commission (the local Election commission included). The project planning started eight months in advance, with regular meetings and brainstorming to develop the strategies and best possible user experience for a pilot project never been done before. With the project taking form, schools, kindergartens as well as the city planners and architects of Cēsis were brought onboard to finalize the details of the project to make sure the vote would produce sustainable, implementable and concrete results.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
Never before have any similar youth votes been implemented in Latvia to tackle both – the civic engagement of kids and subsequently their parents. Additionally, not only was the vote customized to fit specific target age groups, but it also brought together local, academic and national institutions in a unified attempt to test this approach that has now been politically approved as an accompanying project for future elections. It also featured a new way to design the democratic process, showing the interlinked nature and importance of discussing democracy between children and their parents.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
Communication campaign, process of school and kindergarten (and their staff) onboarding, selection of objects for voting, general design.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
The methodology included careful prior preparation and UX design of the voting process itself as well as direct voting on the day of the project whereupon the children and youth of Cēsis were able to choose between three various solutions to three urban infrastructure questions depending on their age group.

The approach was based in interdisciplinary cooperation amongst academic, educational, municipal and state institutions with the common goal of encouraging the civic engagement of young people, subsequently driving the voter turnout of their parents in the Parliamentary elections.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
The main challenge at the base of the project is the civic engagement of youth – or lack thereof. Young people remain an inactive, underrepresented part of the voter pool in Western democracies – with some of the lowest voter activity figures among all age groups. The project provides a platform for the youth to not only recognise the validity of their opinion and voice but also to practice taking part in a democratic process with concrete, visible results in their local vicinity.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
As a pilot project “Democracy begins in the family” achieved a 36% or 1311 voter turnout of the total number of children and youth in the schools and kindergartens of town of Cēsis. Since the voters needed to make their way to the voting precincts to turn their votes in (same as with general elections in Latvia), the scope of reach for this first-time engagement project can be considered a success. For reference, the average national voter turnout of the municipal election the year before was 34%.

Additionally, “Democracy begins in the family” was heavily featured in Latvian national media as well as social media, making the idea behind the project widely known in the general population.

Due to the nature of the Latvian climate, the vote’s results will be physically implemented this year, in the spring/summer season of 2023, thus ensuring another possibility to remind people of the project in the medium term.

Another benefit of the project is the expressed political will to continue the project in the elections to come – this time including not only the town of Cēsis, but also all of the rural areas of the Cēsis Municipality with their own customised objects for the vote.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
Web link
Web link
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
The very essence of the project tackles the sustainability and longevity of the democratic process itself. By actively including kindergarteners, schoolchildren, their teachers, parents, municipal professionals, design academia as well as the Election Commission, “Democracy begins in the family” tries to ensure that the new generations entering the voter pool have a better understanding of the election process and their (and their parents’) part in it.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes