10 – Minskad ojämlikhet
Addressing Urban Violence and Local Security: Participatory Research with Young People in Colombia and South Africa
This report documents a persistent mismatch between official security priorities, still centred on crime and armed actors, and what young people themselvesidentify as most urgent: unemployment, lack of opportunity, and mental health. Drawing on these findings and recognising that despite being separated by continent, language, and political history, the two cities share a history of…
NORMSTORM Educational toolbox
Lessons from the Stellenbosch and Jönköping Municipal Partnership Contributors: Chantal Côte & Robin Alnäs This is a practical toolbox designed to guide the implementation of Normstorm in classrooms and communities across South Africa and beyond. Normstorm is a method designed to break the silence. It is a value-driven educational approach that engages young people through…
Alianzas Transnacionales y Gobernanza Inclusiva
Lecciones desde la cooperación intermunicipal para la garantía de derechos LGBTIQ+ en gobiernos locales Este informe analiza cómo la alianza intermunicipal entre Maicao (Colombia) y Upplands-Bro (Suecia) funciona como una herramienta estratégica para priorizar el reconocimiento de derechos de personas LGBTIQ+ en las administraciones públicas locales. Ante los vacíos institucionales históricos provocados por prejuicios yprioridades…
Participation is not enough
Women, intersectionality, and local democracy in Colombia In Colombia, participatory mechanisms have opened spaces for women, but these spaces have not enabled their political agency as expected. Often, these mechanisms have focused on “women” generically, reproducing discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, and class. Drawing on a case study of the Women’s Advisory Council (WAC) of…
Designing for Inclusion
A Municipal Accessibility Toolbox Editors: Felicia Wede and Irena Lakobrija Delić This toolbox is based on the Guidelines for Accessibility and Universal Design for Cities and Municipalities, developed by Vračar Municipality in partnership with Borås City, Sweden. It translates these guidelines into practical support for municipalities to plan and deliver accessible services, emphasising the need…
Designing participation for better health outcomes
What Local Governments Can Learn from Participatory Budgeting in Kenya Participatory budgeting is widely promoted as a way to strengthen local democracy, but evidence on its effects on concrete development outcomes – especially health – remains limited. This policy brief summarises findings from a randomised controlled trial in rural Kenya that tested three forms of…
Developing Youth Councils
This toolbox has been compiled to help local government officials and politicians who want to start, improve, and maintain their own youth councils. It provides both inspiration and a step-by-step guide for setting up and managing these councils. It also explores the questions and challenges youth councils often face and shares some of the lessons…
Borås och Vračar – ökar inkludering och tillgänglighet
Den serbiska kommunen Vračar har tagit viktiga steg för inkluderingen av personer med funktionsnedsättning. Genom sitt framgångsrika kommunala partnerskap med Borås kommun som startade 2021, med målet att öka inflytande och delaktighet för personer med funktionsnedsättning, har både organisatoriska strukturer byggts och konkreta förändringar genomförts. Ett centralt resultat är inrättandet av ett funktionshindersråd i Vračar,…
Jönköping – Stellenbosh, South Africa
Project: Youth participation in municipal decision-making The project tackles a shared challenge in both Jönköping and Stellenbosch: young people are largely excluded from municipal decision-making. Although Sweden incorporated the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into law in 2020, translating this principle into real influence for young people remains difficult. Existing structures, such…
Secure and Develop Childrens Rights
A step-by-step guide to conducting a Child Rights Ambassador Training Programme This toolbox presents a training programme for Child Rights Ambassadors, developed as part of one of four projects carried out within an ICLD-funded partnership between Region Stockholm, Sweden, and Jinja City, Uganda (2022–2025). The work was implemented by staff from Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital…
