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Where: Riga, Latvia
Who: Levente Polyak
With whom: The City Council of Riga and the Riga NGO House.
How: The Riga NGO House was opened in September 2013 by the city council of Riga to support NGOs, promote increased citizen awareness of local affairs and participation in municipality-related activities and implement the Riga City Society Integration Program for 2012-2017
The NGO House is a unique setting. It offers resources for capacity building, exchange of information, experience and best practices, networking and leadership training. It also promotes the processes of societal integration, social inclusion and citizen participation.
Set in a refurbished school building, the NGO House is a space where organizations can develop sustainable cooperation with the municipality; receive educational, technical, administrative and informative support; and organize various events and activities. It is also a place for raising and debating issues that are topical for civil society.
More than 47,000 people have visited he NGO house and attended events since it’s opening.
140 NGOs have organized 2,920 events over three years.
What began with 400 events in 201 has incrementally catapulted to 1,690 events taking place at the house in 2016.
Some 104 informative, educational seminars or practical workshops attended by representatives of more than 410 NGOs have been produced by NGO House staff as support measures.
The activities of the NGO House foster the development of a favorable environment for the cooperation of various associations and foundations and capacity building in the city of Riga.
Through it’s activities, the house promotes social inclusion and citizen participation.Such a model of regular, long-term cooperation of the municipality, non-governmental organizations and citizens promotes active involvement of organizations in the society integration processes and development of an empowered civil society.
Other local governments of Latvia have visited the NGO House to learn of the acquired experience.
Set in a refurbished school building, the NGO House is a space where organizations can develop sustainable cooperation with the municipality; receive educational, technical, administrative and informative support; and organize various events and activities. It is also a place for raising and debating issues that are topical for civil society.
In the coming years, one of the major tasks of administrations in European cities will be the encouragement of citizens to become civically engaged and active in putting forth proposals and initiatives for common solutions on a wide range of issues.
The success of city administrations will thus be based on the ability to listen to it’s citizens as well as the non-governmental sector, and to support NGOs, social communities or movements for the development of the city.
We believe participation and social inclusion, regardless of age, social group or ethnicity, is of the utmost importance for European municipalities. Promoting local participation and cooperation should be one of the top agenda items for any municipality, thus maximizing local potential and ensuring transparent civic participation in the future of our cities.The NGO house in Riga is a prime example of how municipalities can engage in active dialogue with NGOs and citizens, and involve them in the process or urban development.
ACTive NGO is an URBACT initiative. Levente Polyak supports the network and the development of the project as an URBACT expert.
For more information on the project and how Eutropian has acted as a consultant in aiding urban development in Riga, please reach out to him directly:
