Public consultations were organized on the appearance of the first urban garden in Sarajevo with sensory elements within the School for Secondary Vocational Education and Training, marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The consultations were held in an interesting, innovative way, using the Urban Lab methodology developed within the Re-Imagine My Street project implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the City of Sarajevo, the Municipality of Centar and the Faculty of Architecture.
Although the number of participants was limited due to epidemiological measures, great interest was expressed in participating in the design of the garden, which, although open to all citizens, is especially intended for children with disabilities and the elderly.
The Urban Lab was moderated by Vedad Viteškić, an expert in urban planning. At the beginning, Anja Margetić, Deputy Mayor of the City of Sarajevo, addressed the audience, emphasizing the importance of the existence of such a garden in Sarajevo, as well as the importance of joint action to provide adequate conditions for vulnerable categories, such as people with disabilities.
Expert in horticotherapy, Selma Haračić Berbić, explained to the audience what sensory elements mean, that these are the elements that affect all our senses and that, when it comes to vulnerable categories, special attention should be paid to these sensory elements, to be in accordance with the needs and capabilities of this category. Selmir Hadžić, an employee of the School of Secondary Education and Vocational Training who works directly with children with disabilities, once again emphasized the importance of sensory elements of the garden, especially in the work of school employees with children to improve their skills and knowledge.
The methodology called “Sarajevo process” developed within the Connecting Nature project funded by the Horizon 2020 program, was also used during the public consultation. In particular, the users of the Center for Healthy Aging, using one element of the Sarajevo process called “Memory Work”, gave their reflections on the photos in which they were connected with nature. The goal of the exercise is to inspire the vision of the future through the memory of the past when we were connected with nature. In this particular case, an interesting presentation by two users of the Center for Healthy Aging served as inspiration for everyone present to imagine and give their ideas for the look of an urban garden with sensory elements.
Attendees had the opportunity to present their vision of parts of the garden by choosing paintings from five categories: touch, smell, appearance, water, etc.
Among the participants were representatives of the private sector who expressed a desire to be supportive in the implementation phase of the urban garden project.
The delegation of the City of Zurich, which was on an official visit to the City of Sarajevo as part of the cooperation between the two cities, had the opportunity to participate in public consultations and draw a parallel with the same process in the City of Zurich in the process of urban planning and urban transformation.
The Urban Garden project with sensory elements is implemented by SERDA and the City of Sarajevo in cooperation with the Novo Sarajevo Municipality and the School for Vocational Secondary Education and Vocational Training, within the Connecting Nature project funded by the Horizon 2020 program.
