From September 18th to October 8th, all residents of Tallinn have the opportunity to submit proposals for projects that could be implemented in the city's public spaces next year through the participatory budget.

Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart says that the participatory budget provides an opportunity for city residents to have a say in the allocation of public funds and, when successful, see their ideas come to life. "This is the fourth year of the participatory budget project, and we hope to receive many interesting ideas and fresh approaches to urban development. Over the past three years, many valuable ideas have been submitted, leading to the implementation of numerous initiatives. I invite everyone to actively participate again this year, to help shape our city's environment in order to meet the expectations of our community," Kõlvart stated.

Ideas can be submitted digitally on Tallinn's participatory budget website or in paper format at district government offices and Tallinn City Service Office (Vabaduse väljak 7) from September 18th to October 8th, 2023. The proposal can be in Estonian, Russian, or English and must describe the objective of the proposal, justify its significance, specify the location of the proposal, and provide an estimated budget. It is important to remember that the proposed project should be publicly accessible and free to use.

An informational seminar (in Estonian) will be held on September 26th at 17:30 in the Microsoft Teams environment, where the conditions and timeline of the participatory budget,  will be presented. All interested parties can ask questions about both the idea collection and the participatory budget process. The link to the informational seminar is available on the participatory budget website at participatorybudget.tallinn.ee.

The feasibility of the submitted ideas will be assessed by an expert commission, and the selected ideas will be presented to the public. Residents will be able to cast a vote for their favorite projects from November 20th to December 3rd. In each city district, at least one project with the most votes that meets the criteria of the participatory budget will be implemented.

One million euros have been allocated in the 2024 budget for the realization of the ideas collected during this year. Of the total amount, 75 percent will be divided equally among city districts, and the remaining 25 percent will be allocated considering the number of residents in each district as of July 1st of the current year.

This year saw the implementation of last year’s winning projects: the Japanese-style mini-forests in Kristiine and Põhja-Tallinn, community saunas by Lake Harku, green rooftops on bus stop shelters in the city center, an outdoor classroom at a school in Pirita, and an obstacle track in Gustav Adolf Grammar school’s outside territory. In total, 16 projects have been completed throughout the city.

The idea collection is managed by Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department.

Additional information: participatorybudget.tallinn.ee.