Federal citizens' assemblies

In Germany, 34 federal mini-publics have been held between 1982 and today. Here is an overview of the most important cases in recent years. A list of all citizens‘ assemblies at federal level can be found in the Citizens’ Assembly Database.

Citizens’ debate on fair taxes and finances

Lucia Hofmaier / Schöpflin Stiftung

In May and June 2025, a public debate will be held in Erfurt on the topic of tax and financial justice. From March to May, interested parties were able to contribute to the discussion online. More.

Citizens' Assembly on Education and Learning

Bürgerrat Bildung und lernen

On 24 November 2024, the German Citizens' Assembly on Education and Learning voted by a large majority in favour of children and young people being better prepared for life at school. More

Citizens' assembly "Forum against Fakes"

On 12 September 2024, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faser accepted the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly “Forum against Fakes”. It contains proposals and measures to combat disinformation. More

Citizens' Assembly "Joint transport transition in urban and rural areas"

Marco Verch / Flickr (CC BY 2.0 Deed)

"How can the transport transition in rural and urban areas succeed together?" On 27 May 2024, 50 citizens from all over Germany submitted a citizens' report with 20 recommendations to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. More

Citizens' assembly on nutrition

Deutscher Bundestag / Mehr Demokratie / Robert Boden

On 20 February 2024, the Citizens' Assembly "Nutrition in Transition" presented its recommendations to Bundestag President Bärbel Bas and the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag. More

Citizens' Assembly on Research

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung

In 2022, 55 randomly selected citizens in the Citizens' Assembly on Research thought about guiding principles and recommendations on citizen participation in research policy. More

National Citizens' Forum on the Future of Europe

Europaparlament / Brigitte Hase

The Federal Foreign Office organised a randomly selected "National Citizens' Forum" in January 2022. There, citizens could actively contribute their own ideas on the future of Europe. More

Climate Assembly

In 2021, 160 randomly selected people from all over Germany deliberated on climate policy recommendations to the Bundestag and the Federal Government at the Climate Assembly. More

Citizens' Assembly "Germany's Role in the World"

Guidelines and proposals for future German foreign policy were discussed at the 2021 Citizens' Assembly "Germany's Role in the World". More

Citizens' Assembly on Democracy

How can we improve our democracy? This was the topic of the Citizens' Assembly on Democracy in September 2019 in Leipzig. More

Database

In Germany, randomly selected bodies have been used to answer federal policy questions since the 1980s. You can find information on all mini-publics held at federal level in the Citizens' Assembly database.