Ciudad Emergente (CEM)
The Pitch
Ciudad Emergente (CEM) mended Chile’s public trust crisis by training community leaders to organize productive discussions in public spaces.
The Problem
Vast economic disparities and a lack of trust in politicians caused a social crisis in Chile in 2019. At the time, just 3% of Chileans trusted political parties and residents often criticized the Chilean Participation Act for failing to foster dialogue between communities and local leaders.
The Process
- Created the malón model to facilitate neighbors sharing meals and dialogue in public spaces
- Supported community leaders to engage neighbors
- Coordinated the communications plans and dates for “malones”(public meals with neighbors)
- Provided a toolkit for community leaders to replicate the malón methodology, suggesting questions and games to foster dialogue
The Impact
- Trained 70 public officials in public engagement methods
- Organized meetings across all 150 of Santiago’s neighborhoods and held 213 malones in the city
- Scaled the project to reach all 10 regions in Chile: 550 meetings were held outside of Santiago, bringing a total of 25,000 people together in public spaces
- Supported hundreds of organizations to use the methodology to discuss how to mitigate street violence and address its root causes
- Improved community relationships: 80% of attendees replied to a post-survey saying the dialogue was enriching
- Provided tangible results in Chilean neighborhoods:
- In Pedro de Valvivia Norte, one malón discussed how to address climate change after experiencing 12 years of drought; as a result, neighbors funded and replanted gardens in a popular park with native, climate-resilient species—inspiring the rest of their municipality to do the same
- In Santiago Centro, a malón built safer shared streets, leading to a 560% increase in cycling
- In Providencia, a malón hosted a workshop for kids to plant potatoes and learn about local food production; This led to the creation of community gardens and encouraged discourse about healthy eating
