Understanding The Future of Role of Citizens In Cities

Gautam John is the CEO, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropy Foundation. In this episode, ‘Understanding The Future of Role of Citizens In Cities’, with Gautam John, he helps us understand the role of citizens in the urban context with regards to policy development, active participation in governance, electoral engagements and more importantly, what citizens really are. We discussed in-depth about the different sectors that are required for citizens to be empowered. We also discussed different organisations for creating awareness, facilitating connection, building capacity and driving awareness to empower the citizens. He further explained about the work being done by different organisations on the ground to bringing together communities, problem solving, making them aware of their roles and duties. We also discussed the ways in which citizens do not become just become the beneficiaries of government but they are the participating people to develop those cities, from the grassroot perspective. We emphasised on challenges created by the increasing population and the impact of mass migration to the cities. We further discussed co-creation with citizens, and what are the different things that the government or an administration body can think of for co-creation. Further, we had in-depth conversations on resilience, Samaj, Sarkar & Bazaar and the technologies that can assist citizens, keeping in mind the vast diversity that exists in India. Lastly, we discussed what are the different skill sets that would be required for the future to lead any kind of citizen movement or empowerment.