The Participatory Budget (PB) is one of the most important innovations in governance and participatory democracy worldwide, with already about 30 years of existence. This will be the 4th edition at IPCA, and it is intended to have a greater participation of students this year.
According to Soraia Gonçalves, President of the Participatory Budget Monitoring Committee, “the expectation is that participation levels will increase. The idea is that this initiative, which started as part of a curricular unit of ESG, exceeds the School’s limits, reaches all Schools and is a widely participated process,” said the teacher.
This 4th edition of PB was presented during the IPCA TV broadcast, which took place on Student’s Day, with a mural alluding to the process. The objective is to create a public brainstorming, where students will point out the main needs that can be met with the allocated budget.
It should be noted that in the first editions of PB, the winning projects gave rise to what is now the Copa space, in the IPCA’s Cantina building, and to the community orchard, also in the Cantina area. Last year, the winning project aimed at installing lockers in Schools, equipped with mobile device chargers, for safe use by students, and its implementation is underway.
PB aims to encourage students to present ideas about the community’s needs, develop project plans, and vote on the best proposal, fully integrating into academic life.
All the information is available at: https://ipca.pt/orcamento-participativo-ipca/edicao-2023/.
