5. Rebuilding On Transparency: Integrated Participation

Episode Five takes us to Lezhë, Albania. In conversation with Vasilika Laska, Director of Strategic Projects for the Municipality, we explore how the city is rethinking its foundations after a severe debt crisis. How should we spend the entire budget? By opening up this rarely asked question, the municipality invites local stakeholders, including residents, businesses, and civil society, not just to decide on a small portion, but to shape priorities for the whole. In doing so, Lezhë is experimenting with a more radical approach to participation and beginning to redefine how local governance works.---We’re living through a global democratic crisis, and elections around the world are sending a clear message: the system isn’t working.It Takes a City is a podcast about participation and democracy, hosted by Stefania Kapronczay, a human rights advocate working on resilient democracies from Budapest, Hungary, and Flavio Proietti Pantosti, a social innovator and entrepreneur focused on public administration from Rome, Italy.Through conversations with practitioners, we explore lesser-known stories of participation, often from communities with limited resources. Each episode unpacks real tactics, strategic dilemmas, and honest failures, with the goal of offering practical insights.Visit https://takesacity.com/ or get in touch at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠.