Following a successful online edition in 2020, the 19th Week of Regions and Cities will take place between 12 and 14 October 2021. The four-day event will focus on EU recovery and will explore themes related to the green transition, cohesion, digital transition and citizen engagement.
During this year’s online event, Transparency International will share its experience of engaging citizens through Integrity Pacts a civic monitoring tool designed to safeguard public contracting from fraud and corruption. Since 2016, Transparency International and the European Commission have been piloting Integrity Pacts across 11 EU Member States.
Below you can find a description of the two sessions that will feature Integrity Pacts:
Adapting to climate change: Collaborative approaches for building resilient infrastructure
Date: 12/10/2021 , 16:30 – 18:00 CET
Global warming increases the likelihood of extreme weather and events such as floods. To overcome these challenges, we need a multistakeholder approach to plan and implement climate-resilient infrastructure in a fair and transparent way.
The EBRD Green Cities, the ADAPT initiative and the Integrity Pacts project will present ways for authorities to develop joint climate adaption action plans in collaboration with civil society.
The session will touch on the issues of green transition and citizen engagement in the planning and monitoring of climate resilient investments. Participants will find out how different projects promote awareness around the need to rethink urban areas in light of climate change while also increasing citizens’ understanding of and adaption to flood prevention solutions.
Interpretation will be offered in Hungarian, English and Italian
Read more about the session and register here.
Find out more about the monitoring work of Transparency International Hungary under the Integrity Pact project.
Find a short video about the Tisza-Túr flood reservoir below.
From the EU to me: safeguarding EU funds for and with citizens
Date: 12/10/2021, 9:30 – 11:00 CET
The European Commission (DG REGIO) and Transparency International are piloting Integrity Pacts, which aim to curb corruption in procurement through civic monitoring. These ensure that money is not lost to fraud and corruption in EU projects and foster civic engagement.
This session will present the dual role of IPs: 1) the independent monitoring activities, safeguarding the EU funds in specific projects, and 2) the active involvement of citizens in the monitoring of public contracting. We will also be launching a call to action for national authorities to utilise IPs in the new programming period, in order to bridge the gap between the EU, public institutions, and citizens.
Read more about the session and register here.
Find a short video about the Integrity Pact projects and participants below.
Many other sessions will also be taking place over the four days. Follow this link to explore the agenda and sign up for those that interest you.
About the European Week of Regions and Cities
The European Week of Regions and Cities is an annual event co-organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. Find out more about the event by following this link.
About Integrity Pacts
Since 2016, the DG REGIO-financed Integrity Pacts – Civil Control Mechanism for Safeguarding EU Funds project has helped civil society to build their capacity to play a leading role in monitoring use of ESIF funding and in stimulating broader engagement. Learn more about the project and its partners here.