Reinhard Mohn Prize 2011 Recife, Brazil: Participatory budgeting
guides school and city development In Recife, Brazil, members of
the public have been getting involved since 2001 to help
determine how their city develops. Out of a population of 1.6
million people, more than 100,000 adults and young people join
local forums or make themselves heard via Internet each year to
determine policymaking goals, suggest new programs and monitor
implementation of municipal activities. The city also organizes
forums on specific issues that allow residents to set priorities
in 15 different policymaking areas such as culture, education,
and senior and youth services. Every other year, moreover,
school students join in to make suggestions for improving their
educational experience and to help turn their ideas into
reality. Throughout the year, city employees and volunteers in
each of the city’s neighborhoods encourage people to get
involved. Recife’s residents elect delegates, for example, who
monitor participatory processe