The Hungarian Psychodrama Association received the Nets4Dem Emerging Innovation Award in Brussels for the work carried out within the framework of the INSPIRE research project. In mid-May, Brussels hosted the Nets4Dem conference organized by Eurocities — of which Budapest is a member — and TEPSA. The event brought together cities, EU institutions, civil society organizations, and researchers to examine how democratic resilience can be strengthened in practice and how local initiatives can encourage broader participation in democratic processes across Europe.
Nets4Dem, which connects 200 cities, 50 universities and think tanks, 400 civil society organizations, and 75 municipalities, presented awards in three categories during the conference. The Hungarian Psychodrama Association received the Emerging Innovation Award for its participatory action research conducted at Kőbányai út 22. Since the research also involved the Budapest Methodological Centre of Social Policy and Its Institutions (BMSZKI), Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), and several institutions from Budapest and Budapest’s 8th district, the organizers expressed their hope that these partners would also share news of this success.
The action research project, funded by the EU’s INSPIRE program, brought together researchers from ELTE’s Centre for Social Sciences — Dániel Oross and Eszter Kovács-Szitkay — sociodramatists from the Hungarian Psychodrama Association’s Hatókör Workshop, social workers from the No Slum office operating in K22, including Zita Becker, Eszter Juhász, Anna Légman, Angéla Simon, Zita Udvarias, and the residents themselves: formerly homeless individuals, people raised in foster care, and people living with psychological difficulties. Together, they decided which topic to investigate.
The group chose the theme of safe housing, which they explored through artistic methods. Residents then worked alongside professionals involved with the building to formulate a shared vision for the future. The project resulted in an adaptable, arts-based participatory research model that can be replicated elsewhere and led to collective action, including a community budgeting initiative launched for the building. Another important innovation was the close cooperation between researchers, social workers, and civil society actors.
The jury’s official evaluation stated:
“The Hungarian Psychodrama Association received the ‘Emerging Innovation’ award for its project ‘Safe at Home’ — a participatory action research initiative conducted in Budapest’s largest social housing building.
The jury highly valued this outstanding participatory action research project, which explores democratic decision-making in the field of housing — a policy area of great importance to communities, yet one where citizen participation remains relatively rare. Future developments could expand beyond decision-making related to the management of shared spaces toward establishing more sustainable, participatory, and democratic governance structures, while also exploring how this model could be applied in other housing buildings or neighborhoods.”
Several speakers at the conference emphasized that cities continue to serve as one of the strongest pillars of democracy because they remain close enough to people to rebuild trust through concrete actions promoting transparency, proximity, participation, and shared responsibility. Examples from various cities demonstrated that participation becomes meaningful when residents can clearly see the connection between their ideas and tangible outcomes.
The Impact Award was presented to the YUVA Association, which involved residents of İzmir in shaping local climate policy through Turkey’s first citizens’ assembly. The Inclusion Award went to the municipality of Timișoara, which launched a participatory budgeting campaign aimed at high school students.