How virtual hackathon draw Pärnu closer together

Pärnu is also the economic center of West-Estonia with highly developed industrial zones, start-up businesses and co-working space. We are strategically located and connected via sea, air, road and soon rail transport. Main challenges laying ahead of development are creating a buzz for new innovative entrepreneurship, building cooperation between key stakeholders that will enhance civic leadership and nurturing weak and strong ties between young start-ups and the city’s established companies. These are all questions that Pärnu is trying to answer in URBACT iPlace network while learning from other cities and finding our niche.

To bring people together and hack away the problems Pärnu invited local active people to Pärnu City Hackathon on March 25, 2021. Surprising number of people registered and participated - there were 140 people in virtual space discussing ideas and sharing dreams. There were residents and expats, commute workers local grinders, young and elderly, and everybody who has Pärnu in their hearts.  Deputy Mayor Silver Smeljanski welcomed everyone and the hackathon was divided into thematic areas. Themes were selected based on the urban strategy and the discussions became broad-based. Among the problems raised were also topics that had been in people's minds for a long time and were better articulated in the idea hack. All participants were given the opportunity to take a fresh look at the challenges, express their views and, of course, offer solutions.
At the culture and leisure group, people highlighted the lack of open physical spaces for the local cultural community, low access and willingness to involve more funding opportunities, and low cultural awareness. Creative campus as well as other cultural spaces were offered as solutions.

The group, which focused on sports and the mobile city, talked a lot about the challenges of urban planning, such as the lack of facilities and light traffic roads and the maintenance of existing ones, as well as the small number of bicycle storage spaces and high and dangerous curbs. Ideas for being healthier were the creation of new opportunities - for example, the creation of disc golf courses, skating rink, as well as teaching outdoor activities in schools and holding games that would motivate children to walk more.

The focus group on urban and natural environment discussed various aspects such as security, accessibility, but also the development of a green urban environment and way of thinking. Although the group discussed several ideas, favorites were chosen together: to create waste sorting stations with a common concept of urban space, to create a community garden, to make all events in Pärnu plastic-free and to bring Pärnu the title of European green city.

The children's and young people's theme group highlighted several concerns, such as school stress due to COVID and the environment, poor internet access and a lack of digital tools in some schools and youth centers. Also, the support of foreign language young people in Pärnu was highlighted as an important point. The solution was to create a virtual community that provides information in foreign languages about services, culture, language learning and community members.

In the field of education and lifelong learning, several problem areas were pointed out, which certainly do not apply only to Pärnu. Among others, the following concerns were mentioned more: modern approach to learning, introduction of new career paths to young people in Pärnu, raising mental health awareness and lack of teachers. New ideas were also proposed, such as setting up an outdoor classroom, organizing a hack for basic school students or creating a group of volunteers to support mental health issues for both students and teachers.

By the end of hackathon 24 ideas generated and 14 of them were submitted to participatory budget framework. This framework is a way for Pärnu residents to implement their idea with the support of the Pärnu City Government, but the project also aims to increase active citizenship and give active residents the opportunity to express their thoughts on Pärnu as a city in general. The virtual voting was carried out from 10th to 28th May via VOLIS (System for Local Democracy Procedures). 2936 people voted in referendum and 4 winning ideas were granted a budget for implementation.   

The hack of ideas showed that there is interest in discussing. Community feels the need to be involved and have a say in the development of their hometown. And when you can´t do it in physical meetings you find a way to make it happen.

Written by Ly Lumiste (Pärnu Municipality)