"The power to legislate derives from the knowledge of the citizenry"

Itziar González wears many hats: she is an architect, a former councillor for Barcelona's Ciutat Vella district and a social activist. She is the standard-bearer of the Institut Cartogràfic de la ReVolta Ciutadana ("Cartographic Institute of the Citizens' Revolt") and an ideologist for the Citizens' Parliament. She left regular politics after taking a stand against corruption and is now working with the Citizens' Parliament, a lobby group of and for citizens, to design a new democracy. González is a tutor in the UOC's postgraduate programme in Public Space and was a speaker at the 3rd Conference on Social Education at the UOC, which addressed the question "What is a dignified life today?", inviting reflection on social education and the collaborative world.

Itziar González wears many hats: she is an architect, a former councillor for Barcelona's Ciutat Vella district and a social activist. She is the standard-bearer of the Institut Cartogràfic de la ReVolta Ciutadana ("Cartographic Institute of the Citizens' Revolt") and an ideologist for the Citizens' Parliament. She left regular politics after taking a stand against corruption and is now working with the Citizens' Parliament, a lobby group of and for citizens, to design a new democracy. González is a tutor in the UOC's postgraduate programme in Public Space and was a speaker at the 3rd Conference on Social Education at the UOC, which addressed the question "What is a dignified life today?", inviting reflection on social education and the collaborative world.

I discussed the notion of dignity, based on my political experience as the head of an administration staffed by civil servants that had to respond to a social reality which is often excluded. I talked about how politics can dignify the way the civil service approaches a marginalized reality. This applies to the work of educators: you're often working within an institutional framework to address an informal reality that's marginalized. Social workers can act as a catalyst. In a situation of conflict, they can generate a field of learning and give people who are cut off from society a social utility that will enable them to construct and transform the world, to find something that roots them or links them to society by being agents of change. Much like architects, social workers seek to make repairs. They give marginalized people an opportunity to repair themselves while helping to repair the society that has marginalized them. The Citizens' Parliament has emerged because our representative institutions are demonstrably not working. They don't perform their basic functions; they don't engage with the public to think about what to do, and they don't ask questions. Rather than truly legislating, they bow to the will of lobbies. They don't promote political culture or public involvement. In fact, they encourage passivity. In the face of this situation, the Citizens' Parliament reflects the intuition that the power to legislate derives from the knowledge of the citizenry in many sectors. We can exercise executive capacity through civil disobedience, campaigns, social movements and actions, and spaces for learning and fostering political culture. Compared to lobbies, our strength lies in the fact that we're working for the common good in the hope of creating a collaborative world. Social education and socio-political education is what the Citizens' Parliament is all about. What educators do with children ? telling them to take responsibility for their lives, and that the world will be what they make it ? is what we're trying to do in the Citizens' Parliament. We want to tell each citizen that they shouldn't give up politics just because politicians fail to represent them. They have the right to engage in politics; it's a right we have. As we pass through the world, we should be able to play a role in transforming and improving what we find around us to the extent possible. We're going to create a digital platform so anyone who wants to change the world can find every conceivable cause there and choose the one they want to fight for. Absolutely not. If we want those elected to institutions of representative democracy to have the strength to fight against exclusive lobbies, we need to have a citizens' lobby that can act as an effective rearguard. We play an essential role. I myself was elected to government but couldn't effectively take on the hotel industry lobby. If we strengthen the citizens' lobby, a councillor who fights against the hotel lobby will have the backing of a powerful counter-lobby. The citizens' lobby can ensure that the councillor is respected by the lobby representing private interests, that they don't make threats to her life. We need to defend the common good. The pressure I came under from local residents was based on legitimate demands; the pressure from Millet [Fèlix Millet, currently on trial on corruption charges in connection with his management of Barcelona's Palau de la Música concert hall], wasn't so legitimate. The other day at the trial (for the Palau case), I spoke and all the local residents were behind me. The courtroom had been empty every day. Then the revolutionary former councillor appeared and it filled up. It's clear who's defending the common good. The public is demanding these changes. The Citizens' Parliament wouldn't have been set up if we hadn't felt it was necessary. I have a hunch it will take nine years, but we'll be there. I want to engage in politics but I can only do it in the Citizens' Parliament. So as far as I'm concerned there will be a Citizens' Parliament wherever I happen to be, even if it's just in a square with four people. It's a mix of everything. The challenge we face as a society is to overcome a lack of political culture. In Catalonia, the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship destroyed a very interesting political culture that generated incredible social experiments. That's our problem: we have a very weak political culture. But the silver lining of the current crisis is that the direct attack being launched in the war of capital is driving us to rebuild that culture. I want to see us make progress in Catalonia. I'd like to see us get to a point where we can inspire other peoples to follow our lead. Rather than standing apart from the general confusion, we should move forward, generate light and offer an example based on our actions rather than lofty rhetoric. Barcelona is suffering the effects of a tourism monoculture. The city has turned its back on diversity and specialized in making money in the most immediate way possible. Monocultures strip cities of their wealth and economic variety. Investment in the port has created a huge point of inflow and outflow, outside any political or economic control, and this is making our city a tempting destination for many criminal mafias. Someone has decided that our home is going to be a place where the criminal economy can set up shop. The big challenge for the people of Barcelona is to take a stand against this. At the moment, the few people who talk about this are being threatened, but if more people dare to speak out, the criminal mafias, which are lazy and cowardly, will pack up and go. It's nothing to be ashamed of; it happens in the world's best cities. It's not inherently good or bad; we have to decide how to manage it. Right now it's being managed by a private consortium working hand in glove with the city council, with no control by citizens. We don't know where the money goes or what benefits it brings. At the moment it's a monoculture that seals off cultural, environmental and civic values, and it's having a devastating effect, in much the same way as in Venice, Florence and many other cities with a strong cultural heritage. We're starting to wake up and we'll turn the situation around. The people of Barcelona can do it. In Barcelona we constantly neglect our historical heritage, but there have been success stories. The problem is we've been inconsistent: we fought to save the Ciutat Vella district, but then we let economic and criminal mafias parasitize it. After tourism will come culture, citizenship, sound management and self-government ? and we'll sort things out. The focus should be on taking care of it, restoring and respecting it, giving it an alternative reading ? not selling or managing it. If we don't have the money to restore it, we should give it another use, make use of it. The problem is the idea that saving our heritage means throwing money at it, without knowing exactly how it's used. Let's take a more gradual approach to restoration, but let's find a use for what we're restoring. I propose that the focus should be on revitalizing our heritage rather than just restoring it.