Our town is not a hotel: a manifesto for Active Citizenship and moving from sidelines to centre stage.

There is a precise moment when our relationship with our town begins to crack. It happens when we walk down the street and see that pavement that has been broken for months. Or when we walk past a park with overgrown grass and rusty swings. Or when rubbish is left abandoned where it shouldn't be (fly-tipping).

In that moment, something dangerous triggers: resignation. Or worse, cynicism. We pull out our phones, write an indignant post on social media, look for someone to blame, and then... we go home, close the door, and feel powerless.

We have become used to treating our town as if it were a hotel: we pay (our taxes) and expect "someone" to fix everything, immediately, without us having to do anything other than complain if the service isn't up to scratch. We have delegated the care of our shared spaces exclusively to Administrators, turning ourselves into dissatisfied customers.

The end of the era of passive delegation

Let's be honest with ourselves: the old model no longer works. We can no longer afford to be residents who simply mark an 'X' on a ballot paper every five years, and then wash our hands of everything until the next election. It is a luxury our community can no longer sustain.

On the other side, Public Administrators can no longer afford to govern while locked away in offices, isolated from the reality of the streets, buried in red tape, and deaf to the voices of those who live in the neighbourhoods every day.

The town needs a new pact. A pact of trust. A pact of listening. A pact of shared action.

It is a luxury our community can no longer sustain. This is where Active Citizenship becomes essential.

Imagine your town as a team

Imagine if we started seeing our Council not as an opponent, but as a teammate. In this team, everyone has an irreplaceable role:

The Resident is the Guardian. You are the eyes on the ground. You are the one who lives on the street, who sees the problem before anyone else, who loves the neighbourhood because your children grow up there. You are not a "snitch" reporting issues out of malice, but a custodian reporting them because you care.

The Administrator is the Coordinator. They are the ones who listen, plan, and act. They are not an enemy to be fought, but the director who needs the right information to make the machine work.

If the resident reports with precision and a constructive spirit, and the Administrator responds with transparency and speed, magic happens: trust is reborn.

From spectators to active participants

The time has come to stop watching our town from the sidelines, criticising the match. It's time to get on the pitch.

You don't need to be a hero. You just need to change your perspective. That pothole isn't "the Council's problem," it's a danger to our neighbours. That broken streetlight isn't just "inefficiency," it makes our street less safe. Sending a report isn't complaining, it's an act of care. It says: "I am here. I see. I participate."

Things can change. We can improve our quality of life, the look of our streets, and the value of our communities. But we can only do it if we start working together.

Let's not wait for "others" to solve the problems. Let's become the solution we've been waiting for. The future of our town is in the hands of those who have the courage to care for it. This is the true meaning of Active Citizenship.

Together.

---

Marco Bonifaccino

Founder & Project Leader of IOparteciPA

He believes that technology should do more than just streamline processes; it must rebuild trust between people and institutions. With B Solutions Technology (a Benefit Company), he created IOparteciPA to transform every resident into an active guardian and every Council into a responsive ally.

His mission? To prove that a more liveable community is built on listening and collaboration, one click at a time.