Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture’s second annual Participate campaign concluded with the selection of Civil Initiative and Green Wave projects that will be implemented in 2020. As with the first Participate campaign, the projects were proposed by the citizens of Rijeka and selected by the Citizens’ Council, who had been trained and familiarised with the selection criteria in order to make the best decisions.
It should be borne in mind that in both of the Participate campaigns, citizens were invited to submit ideas for a better, more beautiful and cleaner city as part of the Civil Initiatives and Green Wave programmes and decide on the submitted ideas by joining the Citizens’ Council, as well as to sign up as volunteers in the project. The Civil Initiatives were aimed at projects that enhance the local community with socio-cultural and art campaigns, while the projects submitted as part of the Green Wave programme sought to create greener and tidier public spaces and encourage fellow citizens to be more environmentally friendly.
While the projects selected in the first Participate campaign were being implemented, on which we regularly reported, a new Participate campaign was launched on 6 May and lasted until 19 June 2019, which was the deadline for submitting projects, though the deadline for applying for the Citizens’ Council was somewhat shorter and given as 10 June. After the members of the Citizens’ Council had been selected in a public draw, they were trained by the managers of the SMART Volunteer Centre and then decided which projects would be funded by Rijeka 2020 – European Capital Culture and implemented in 2020.
38 proposals were submitted for the Civil Initiatives programme, 35 of which met the requirements set out in the public tender, while 23 projects were submitted for the Green Wave programme, 17 of which met the requirements set out in the public tender. Individual support for the project ranged from HRK 10,000 to HRK 30,000, with the Civil Initiatives and Green Wave programmes receiving HRK 150,000 each.
The Civil Initiatives’ Citizens’ Council decided that the following projects would be implemented in 2020*:
- Project no. 20, named Museum for All, submitted by the Rikordi Rijeka Association
- Project no. 8, named Festival of Sustainability, submitted by the Rijeka Transitional Initiative
- Project no. 9, named Film for All, submitted by the Istra Film Association
- Project no. 19, named Mosaic for Kružna, submitted by the Women Citizens’ Initiative – led by Tiha Naglić
- Project no. 15, named Kozala – Lodis Cinema, submitted by the PUŽ (Pleasant Living Area) Citizens’ Initiative
- Project no. 27, named Promenade Concert at Tito’s Bridge, submitted by the Sušak Residents’ Club
It was also decided that the back-up projects would be as follows:
- Project no. 5, named Ghosts of the Rječina River, submitted by the Ghosts of the Rječina River Citizens’ Group
- Project no. 25, named Painted Comber_Wooden Boat, submitted by the OKODOKO Association
- Project no. 30, Dance Evenings in Rijeka for Pensioners and the Elderly 2020, submitted by the Rijeka Dance Evenings Civil Initiative
- Project no. 13, named Oral Tradition, submitted by the Kolektiv JA:TO Citizens’ Initiative
Following the decision on which citizens’ proposals would be implemented as part of the Green Wave programme, the Citizens’ Council selected the following projects for funding*:
- Project no. 9, named Pop-up Park, submitted by the Women Citizens’ Initiative – led by Daria Vozila
- Project no. 14, named Senzo(Ri) – Krnjevo Preschool Sensory Garden, submitted by the Citizens’ Group – led by Sandra Turina Miočić
- Project no. 10, named Rijeka Edible City – Part 2, submitted by the Rijeka Transitional initiative
- Project no. 22, named Green Gallery and Pašca Library, submitted by the Green Gallery and Pašca Library Citizens’ Initiative
- Project no. 8, named Laurel Park, submitted by the Kamenjak Mountaineering Club
- Project no. 7, named Revitalise the Playgrounds!, submitted by the Youth Section – DAR Association
With a list of the following back-up projects:
- Project no. 4, named Krnjevo Mediterranean Classroom, submitted by the Citizens’ Initiative – led by Elinka Barišić
- Project no. 10, named Hanging Gardens of Rijeka 1, submitted by the Hedera Fiumana Citizens’ Group
- Project no. 11, named Hanging Gardens of Rijeka 2, submitted by the Hedera Fiumana Citizens’ Group
- Project no. 17, named Plastic-Free Farmers’ Market, submitted by the Dijete Planete Citizens’ Initiative
The Citizens’ Council made a big and important decision in the selection of projects that will make Rijeka a more liveable city. We are currently in talks with the submitters of the selected projects and will soon present more details on them, so – follow us!
*If the funding of a selected project ceases due to an inability to implement the project, a project from the so-called back-up list will be funded instead, as per the designated numerical order.
