Imagine Durban, a long-term planning project initiated by the eThekwini Municipality of Durban, South Africa from 2007 to 2009 has been nominated for the prestigious Reinhard Mohn Prize for 2011, which is themed "Vitalizing Democracy through Participation".
Imagine Durban, a long-term planning project initiated by the eThekwini Municipality of Durban, South Africa from 2007 to 2009 has been nominated for the prestigious Reinhard Mohn Prize for 2011, which is themed "Vitalizing Democracy through Participation".
Formerly called the Carl Bertelsmann Prize, the award is offered annually by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, one of Germany’s largest foundations. For 2011, it will be awarded to a governmental institution – possibly in cooperation with a non-governmental actor – that has initiated successful projects to vitalise democracy, to integrate underrepresented citizens and to establish new forms of democratic problem-solving capacities through participation. The winning entry will be announced in June 2011 in Gütersloh, Germany and will receive the €150,000 (US $200,000) prize money.
Local government leaders initiated the Imagine Durban campaign in the mid 1990s to address the injustices of South Africa's period of apartheid.
The $3.5 million campaign has created a participatory approach to government in Durban. Imagine Durban reached out to citizens through workshops, by inviting them to post on its blog, and by hosting competitions to find the best solutions to the city's problems. Based on citizens’ feedback the eThekwini Municipality devised the Imagine Durban Plan, which is the guiding document for its future action. The Municipality is now moving onto the implementation phase of the project, called Create Durban, in which it will work with key stakeholders to get their buy-in and convince them to collaborate on achieving the goals set out in Imagine Durban.
