Creating citizenship means creating citizens, and citizens are the protagonists of Agenda 2030. For no one to feel excluded and for everyone to be part of the global effort towards sustainable development, it is necessary to strengthen the relationship between citizens and the institutions, and between the institutions themselves, worn out by the growing disaffection with politics, which is often considered inadequate to deal with the crises of our time, and by the excessive bureaucratization of public procedures, which makes access by the population complex and cumbersome.
4. Building trust at local level: key stakeholders and innovative tools. Renewed trust between institutions and citizens, including through the use of innovative tools.
So how do we do that?
To try to contextualize the main obstacles to the creation of an aware citizenship and identify new solutions, Venice City Solutions 2019 invited interlocutors from civil society organizations and local governments with the aim of setting up a debate around four themes: 1. Open government: SDGs as a tool to bring citizens closer to local institutions - transparency and accountability of institutions to build new and stronger relationships; 2. New generations: Creating the citizenship of the future - the involvement of young people in Agenda 2030 integration activities in local planning; 3. Business: how can social and economic stakeholders contribute to the implementation of SDGs at the local level? The role of social and economic stakeholders in the creation of shared value, through partnerships and collaborations that allow the networking of different expertise to achieve common goals; 98
4.1 Open government: SDGs as a tool to bring citizens closer to local institutions Through Development Goal 16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions”, Agenda 2030 recognizes, with respect to the protection of the rule of law and of human rights, the conditions necessary to build effective governance that can guarantee peace and stability to communities, fundamental elements to promote sustainable development. The topic discussed in the first working group, moderated by Diana Lopez Caramazana - Head of Unit Local Government and Decentralization of UN-HABITAT - concerned the issue of open government, intended as a tool of transparency and openness towards citizens, and the role of SDGs as facilitators of the relationship between
