Listening as strategy to harvesting trust: the Madrid experience

Abstract

To respond to the lack of representation and revitalize the link between citizens and public institutions, different processes of participation have been developed in recent years. The shared goal has been to deepen democracy with the inclusion of new voices, at the same time as increasing the effectiveness of public policies, increasing social welfare. However, when the languages, frameworks and interests of the actors are different, dialogue becomes difficult and, consequently, the development of mutual trust is essential. In this context, those initiatives that, although limited, promote meeting and listening as a basis for collaboration, acquire special relevance. In order to examine how they work, this article focuses on a specific experience, Madrid Escucha, a project held at Medialab-Prado in 2017 and 2019, which aimed to sit citizens and public employees together at the same table to improve the city.