The Guangzhou Award delegation visit Boston Department of Youth Engagement and Employment.

From September 3 to 4, 2015, a Guangzhou delegation composed of a contingent from Guangzhou (China), Eskisehir (Turkey) and journalists of Citiscope visited Boston, USA to study the “Youth lead the change: Boston Participatory Budgeting” initiative. This initiative was selected as one of the 15 shortlisted initiatives to be considered for the 2nd cycle of the Guangzhou Award.

The delegation visited the Youth Engagement and Employment Department of Boston on September 3. Ms. Shari Davis, Director of the department and her staff warmly welcomed the delegation and gave them a detailed introduction to the department and its current programs.

Accompanied by Mr. Francesco Tena, Manager of the Boston Mayor’s Youth Council, the delegation visited the Paris Street Playground Upgrade and the Franklin Park Renovation, which are two achievements of the Participatory Budgeting (PB) Process.

“It’s cool that I helped change my city through PB. It enabled me to better understand how the government works”, stated a committee member of the Mayor’s Youth Council. “I can see why the PB stood out among 209 initiatives”, Mr. Gong Haijie, Deputy Secretary General of Guangzhou Municipal Government, head of the Guangzhou Award delegation stated at that time, “It’s a process that youth can propose ideas to improve their city and vote for the best. Young people also play an important role in follow-up and implementation during such a process.”