Add your two cents: Participatory democracy in trailblazing Dudelange

It is a first for Luxembourg: a central office for participatory democracy is taking shape in Dudelange. In the midst of a growing disenchantment with democracy, a bastion of self-determination is to be created here. Isn't the best way to make people realise that their voice matters simply to listen to them? Citizen participation itself is already germinating in many places in Luxembourg. There are regular events in municipalities across the country where residents can make their voices heard. In Luxembourg City, Differdange and Roeser, among others, they can even implement small projects thanks to citizens' budgets. In Dudelange, for example, fitness trails, budgets for balanced meals for schoolchildren and "Babbelbänke" (public benches where you can exchange with others, edn.) were created in 2024 after being proposed, developed and voted on by citizens.

But in Dudelange, the ambitions are greater, explains Félix Bonne. He is Luxembourg's first full-time coordinator for participatory democracy in a municipality. His mission: to make citizen participation a normal, everyday part of all municipal services. According to Bonne, a lot of work has already been done since 2004, when the local charter for participation laid the foundations for the development of a "culture of citizen participation". The agreement with the University of Luxembourg, which has scientifically analysed the initiative, has finally turned the southern municipality into a laboratory for participatory democracy.