Part of the project is the kitchen gardening initiative which empowers local women by teaching them how to harvest crops to feed their families. With this vital knowledge, families save more income on groceries and food and women are empowered to take care of their community, family and their own needs. Through this initiative, women are given an opportunity to improve family nutrition and incomes, even within the gendered constrictions within Balochistani society.

More than 500 women in three different districts were taught by other local women studying agriculture how to maintain kitchen gardens and how to preserve and process the fruits of their labour. The participants are both women from low income to no income families and the teachers are locally trained professionals from public universities.

THMs were regular quarterly forums where all residents of Abuja could meet with the Minister and his team and raise matters of interest in a ‘no holds barred’ encounter. The THM was broadcast on radio and via a 30 minute television documentary afterwards. Over 1000 people attended the third THM, held in a suburb of the City Bwari. Many people in the community were formally invited to this event, some heard through word of mouth and others through advertisements on the radio. The participation of all six suburbs of Abuja was coordinated through the Area Council Chairpersons who helped organise the events and encouraged different categories of people to participate.

In addition to this, other communication initiatives were subsequently set up to strengthen the process and give feedback on the outcomes from the town hall meetings.

Dateline Abuja – an interactive phone-in and text-in radio programme run every fortnight on a Saturday morning on prime time national radio. A Helpline system – a series of public complaint phone numbers to process public complaints and provide feedback to the source. A team of energetic and passionate young people coordinated the helpline system. Some of them were fresh from University either on the mandatory one year of national service or fresh from service. A fact sheet of what worked well or otherwise according to feedback was circulated and taken as an integral part of memoranda to FCT executive committee. The FCT Executive Committee is the highest body responsible for policy decisions. Abuja Journal publication – an easy to read bi-monthly magazine for citizens with information about spending and policies and human interest stories. Intergenerational dialogues – with a focus on giving voice to children of primary and secondary school age. Boys and girls meet with the Minister of FCT and engage on policy matters in an informal interactive atmosphere.

http://participedia.net/sites/default/files/case-files/237_303_Case_Study_Nigeria.pdf

For Abuja Municipal Council : mail@amacng.com

Smart Aarhus addresses both technical and social problems. The city of Aarhus is integrating and synchronizing its systems for water, transportation, energy, healthcare, waste removal/recycling, and so on while simultaneously working on ways to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. Second, Smart Aarhus has been designed according to a collaborative organizational model. Cities can only become smarter by fostering greater collaboration among policymakers, companies, entrepreneurs, and citizens. Smart Aarhus was established as a “collaborative community” within the Danish frame for smart cities as set by the Danish Ministry for Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs.

As far as governance is concerned, the initiative is overseen by a steering committee, including representatives from the local business community, research institutions, and the municipality.   The Smart Aarhus secretariat works in close partnership with the municipality, Alexandra Institute, Aarhus University, and the Central Denmark Region as well as many different working groups, consisting of volunteers who work on challenges related to traffic, health, energy, culture, sustainability, and other areas.

Interview

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The ultimate goal of the Bristol Approach is the “creation of a new ‘urban commons’ where digital tools and data are used for the benefit of all”.

http://bristolapproach.tumblr.com/

Contact : carolyn@kwmc.org.uk