Jelena Drenjanin (Sweden, EPP/CCE), Chair of the Committee on Governance and Spokesperson for Gender Equality, participated in the Security, Democracy and Cities 2021 conference organised by the European Forum for Urban Security (EFUS) from 20 to 22 October 2021.
At the closing session on 22 October, Ms Drenjanin stressed that "the issues of polarisation, radicalisation and discriminatory violence are of particular interest to the work of the Congress, whose priorities for 2021-2026 aim to support the work of local and regional authorities in promoting democratic, inclusive and non-discriminatory societies."
In 2015, the Congress developed a strategy to combat radicalisation at grassroots level, drew up guidelines for public action to encourage cities and regions to be more active in this field, and a created a toolkit to promote intercultural and inter-religious dialogue at the local level.
Ms Drenjanin also brought attention to the importance of strengthening public confidence in democratic institutions and the role of local and regional authorities through better citizen participation – especially of young people. The Congress' Governance Committee is currently preparing a report on the use of deliberative methods, and another that addresses the issue of Artificial Intelligence through Smart Cities and Regions.
With regard to urban and safe tourism, a report prepared by the Governance Committee on collaborative accommodation rental platforms to promote balanced long-term policies will be debated at the 41st session of the Congress on 26 October.
