The International Observatory on Participatory Democracy (IOPD) held its 21st international conference in Grenoble, France from December 7 to 10, 2022. The theme of this year's conference was "Take Action! Towards a Renewed Democracy in the Face of the Ecological, Health and Social Crisis." The Social Welfare Department of New Taipei City Government presented their training achievements and project implementation outcomes in the form of a prerecorded video.
 
New Taipei City has engaged in participatory budgeting since 2016 and has produced 46 social welfare programs; 27 of these programs—targeting children and youths, senior citizens, women, and people with disabilities—have been implemented following approval through referendum.

In the Social Welfare Department's prerecorded video, which was broadcast for the IOPD on December 8, two members of the Division of Civic Organizations, Pei-Chuan Li and Yi-Husan Shen, presented the outcomes of the social welfare programs in several communities (including Wugu, Luzhou, and Taishan) in the form of a news broadcast. Other presenters on stage that day hailed from Brazil, Russia, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, South Korea, France, Switzerland, and Belgium. The audience numbered in the hundreds.
 
The IOPD began as a European Commission project, and the founding conference was held in 2001 in Barcelona, Spain. In 2006, the IOPD began collaborating with United Cities and Local Governments to hold annual IOPD conferences, present awards, and issue publications; their goal is to create a platform for dialogue on participatory democracy for cities, organizations, and research centers around the world.
 
New Taipei City has participated in the IOPD conferences for several consecutive years. In 2019, New Taipei City accepted an invitation to attend the 19th IOPD Conference in Mexico, and, in 2021, gave a presentation during the 20th IOPD Conference, which was held virtually. Furthermore, in 2017, New Taipei City received a special mention for its "Participatory budget for the promotion of employment among people with handicaps in the district of Sanxia," and was the first participatory budget in Taiwan to receive international recognition.



Competent Authority: Social Welfare Department