Citizen Participation Has No Age Limits

Age is not an impediment to helping improve your community. High school students make up two of the ten citizen teams selected to participate in the Multi-City Challenge Mexico 2020 (MCC), an initiative where citizens and the governments of Hermosillo, Reynosa, San Nicolás, San Pedro, and Torreón are co-creating solutions to address urban challenges. The students were selected among 237 proposals received to solve the ten urban problems of the participating municipalities.

“The recycling the city deserves” (SuperRecoleccion as it is known in Spanish) is a team made up of Professor Carlos Recordón and students Eugenio Lagunes, Emily Aimé, Patricio Oseguera, Marcelo Ramos, and Fernando Hernández from PrepaTec Eugenio Garza Sada High School. The project aims to improve recycling and waste management in the Municipality of San Pedro Garza Garcia.

“Natural Infrastructure” is a team made up of Professor Gabriela Sanchez, and students Ana Laura Espinosa and Juan Sandoval from the American School Foundation of Monterrey, which aims to improve the air quality of the municipality of San Nicolás de los  Garza. 

Both teams expressed that their motivation to participate was to have a positive impact on their communities. In particular, Marcelo, a student at PrepaTec Eugenio Garza Sada High School, expressed that what motivated him to apply to the MCC was the need to do something to address the problems in his city. For his part, Juan, a student at the American School Foundation, expressed that he was motivated by the idea of ​​having the opportunity to collaborate with the public sector.  Ana Laura, who is studying at the American School Foundation, stressed that what motivated her the most was that she could contribute to solving a problem that affects her community and will "be able to see the impact because it is in my community." 

The teams are working hand in hand with public officials to create viable prototypes to test the proposed solutions and thus verify their effectiveness in addressing the issue of waste management in San Pedro and of air quality in San Nicolás. The SuperRecolección team is in the process of researching the effectiveness of establishing a waste pickup route and a waste transfer center in the town of San Pedro. For their part, the Natural Infrastructure team is exploring the technical aspect of installing and maintaining green/ecological infrastructures in public places in the city.

Green infrastructures that the Natural Infrastructure team is hoping to replicate in San Nicolas

The students expressed their excitement over innovating together with public officials to promote change in their communities. They also commented that they have learned the importance of innovation in the prototyping and problem-solving process. Eugenio, a member of the SuperRecolección team, comments that the most fundamental element is that they have learned the importance of developing solutions based on evidence. Patricio and Fernando from the PrepaTec Eugenio Garza Sada High School stated that the collaborative space offered by the MCC has been very enriching because the public officials are "receptive to our ideas." Likewise, Ana Laura said that the diversity of perspectives adds value to solving public problems. “All the members of the team play an important part. We are equitable parties with very different perspectives, and therefore, we take action against a problem in a unified way. " 

The public officials of San Pedro and San Nicolás also expressed that it has been very gratifying to work with young leaders who have been up to the task and who have done an exceptional job. They are also happy to know that the next generation has the leadership and the ability to analyze, solve problems, and contribute to the decision making process. 

According to Valeria Guerra, a public official from the municipality of San Pedro Garza Garcia, the participation of young people is vital in all spaces. While working with this team she has confirmed that “young people have a fresh perspective that strengthens the ideas of people with more experience.” Alicia Avendaño, a public official from the municipality of San Nicolas, expressed that she has loved working with young people and that they have been very open to understanding the complexities of the public sector and connecting the dots and, have incredible agility to solve the problems or barriers encountered in the development of the prototype. She also commented that "the MCC has offered us a collective intelligence cocktail and a space to exchange ideas and take advantage of the diverse team that we are in terms of gender, ages, ideas, and perceptions."

The students along with the other eight participating teams will present the results of their first round of idea validation on December 11, 2020, to the Advisory Council, where they will receive feedback to refine their prototype before the pilot implementation phase, which will begin in February 2021. 

Today, being young is not an obstacle to changing communities. As indicated by Emily, from the SuperRecoleccion team, being young allows them to bring a new perspective to the table. This is why they invite other young people to get involved in solving public problems in their community. They are a group that seeks to leave a mark in their community, and they are teaching us how!

Top L to R: Emily Gorena, Eugenio Lagunes, Patricio Oseguera, Ana Laura  Espinosa Bottom L to R: Marcelo Ramos,Fernando Hernandez,  Juan Sandoval.