Green Capital wants community participation

On Tuesday 22 April, the Jordão Theatre hosted the first meeting of the European Green Capital 2026 Community Commission with a clear objective: to involve the entire population in building a greener, healthier and more participatory city.

Councillor Adelina Pinto, president of the Community Commission, opened the session by referring to the importance of the whole community and the whole municipality, ‘an absolutely distinctive element in the whole candidature process’. Her wish, she said, is for European Green Capital 2026 to be remembered as not having been made ‘in an office behind closed doors, but with the community, listening to people, motivating everyone and working with each parish and association.’

Isabel Loureiro, Carlos Ribeiro and Dalila Sepúlveda, members of the Executive Board, presented the objectives of this Community Commission, and showed a calendar for 2026 that indicated the obligation to create community events every month. The commitment is to create micro- and macro-scale community events that are decentralised and involve as much territory and as many people as possible.

Domingos Bragança, Mayor of Guimarães and Chairman of the Executive Board, recalled the importance of the community and emphasised the impact that young people can have on these moments. ‘Unlike other countries, we don’t have the financial strength that they have,’ he said, refuting that, nevertheless, ’our strength is no less, because our base is the environmental education that we are doing.’

He then launched the challenge: ‘present projects, involve the school as you are doing, and let the municipal companies do the same and present environmental projects, as well as the various associations, institutions and organisations. We’re all invited. Let everyone think, every day, a little about how to improve this planet from Guimarães. Everyone has to do their bit.’

Ideas can be proposed from 28 April
On 28 April, a form will open in which all citizens can submit proposals for public involvement for two months. Between the closing of the form and 31 July, there will be a process of analysis of these proposals, which will be evaluated by the European Green Capital Executive Board, the Climate Transition Team and the Scientific Committee. The evaluation criteria include suitability to the objectives of the European Green Capital 2026, feasibility, innovation and replicability.