Events

Location: Zoom video conferencing platform,

Join the Global Citizens' Assembly Network (GloCAN) for a roundtable discussion about the internal governance of transnational deliberation processes. The participants will debate the specific challenges, creative responses, and pathways towards more equitable and sustainable ways of organising global deliberation.

Hazel Jovita (Mindanao State University) will kick off with a brief presentation of our Technical Paper on effective and accountable governance of transnational deliberation, followed by reflections by Jayne Carrick (KNOCA, University of Sheffield), Claire Mellier (Iswe Foundation, Global Assembly) and Lucy Parry (Deliberative Integrity Project), and an open discussion with the audience. GloCAN’s co-lead Nardine Alnemr (University of Canberra) will chair the roundtable.

Everyone is welcome to join the conversation on December 6th.

Location: Zoom video conferencing platform,

In the Citizens' Assembly Network, representatives from citizens' initiatives, science, administration and politics as well as mini public organisers and participants exchange views on municipal citizens' assemblies. Anyone interested is very welcome!

The topic of the next network meeting on 6 December 2023 is: The impact of citizens' assemblies

Randomly selected citizens' assemblies have an impact. They not only have an impact on the assembly participants themselves, but also on society and politics. Questions include, for example: How do citizens' assemblies affect political decisions? Are mini-publicy recommendations implemented? How do citizens' assemblies affect the political socialisation of participants? Are they politicised? If so, in which direction?

At this network meeting, we will examine scientific findings on the various effects of deliberative mini-publics.

The panellists include

• Prof Detlef Sack, Institute for Democracy and Participation Research at the University of Wuppertal
• Nora Freier, Institute for Democracy and Participation Research at the University of Wuppertal
• Janosch Pfeffer, Institute for Sustainability Governance at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Please send your registrations to info@buergerrat.de

Learn more: Citizens' Assembly Network

Location: MS Teams video conferencing platform,

Over the past few months, dpart as think tank for political participation has conducted extensive interviews with politicians and administrative staff at various levels of government in Germany, France and the UK.

The researchers were particularly interested in how these actors view proposals for the renewal of democracy. What challenges do they see in democratic participation? What experience do politicians have with innovative participation formats? And which participation formats, such as citizens' assemblies or participatory budgeting, do they consider particularly useful or less useful?

The results of these discussions will be presented as part of the study and will be presented and discussed with you during the lunch talk. This will not only provide insights into the research findings, but also formulate recommendations on how existing discrepancies in perspectives can be overcome.

MS Teams access link

Meeting-ID: 367 494 491 414
Pass code: 5FA7M5
 

Location: WebEx video conferencing platform,

What makes good facilitation in the different formats and what effect can it have on the participants? What are the prerequisites for good facilitation? And why is it necessary in a participation process - whether online, offline or hybrid? The speaker Dr. Margit Aufterbeck-Martin presents the "Golden Rules" for moderation (which can also be applied beyond participation!) and explains the effect using practical examples from her many years of experience.   

Dr. Margit Aufterbeck-Martin has both moderated and provided expert advice on a number of public participation projects, including for the Federal Environment Agency and the Burghausen Citizens' Jury at the municipal level. One of her focal points is conflict moderation, but her experience also includes citizen, expert and multi-stakeholder dialogues. Whether on stage, on location in the community hall or online: Dr Margit Aufterbeck-Martin brings more than 20 years of experience in all fields of moderation.

Location: Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Auditorium, Wilhelmstr. 18, 52070 Aachen

"How can Aachen's city centre become an attractive shopping destination again?" This was the topic of the first Citizens' Assembly in Aachen, which was held in November 2023. What was special about it was that this mini-public was the first round of an ongoing process.

Zebralog, which facilitated the citizens' assembly, will lead through the event this evening. In addition to specific recommendations, the conference will focus on the experiences of the participants. There will be an opportunity to ask questions afterwards.

On 16 January 2024, the citizens' report will be discussed in the citizens' forum. The council will then discuss and decide on the individual recommendations. At the same time, the city administration will inform citizens about this process and the corresponding implementation of the recommendations.

Read more: Citizens' discussed "Shopping destination Aachen"

Location: VHS Lüneburg Region, Haagestr. 4, 21335 Lüneburg

Participating in discussions and helping to shape policy - that's what the citizens' assembly in Lüneburg is all about. The mini-public consists of randomly selected people who gather information on a specific topic, discuss it with each other and then make recommendations for action to politicians.

Lüneburg's first citizens' assembly is centred around the Glockenhaus and the future use of the central city centre building. The invitations for the committee have now been sent out to 600 randomly selected Lüneburg residents.

The citizens' assembly will meet on around three weekends and several evenings between February and April 2024. "Our aim is to bring together a diverse group of people from as many different age groups, cultures and neighbourhoods as possible - this social mix is at the heart of citizens' assembly," says Mayor Claudia Kalisch.

The citizens' assembly is a test run that the city council recently decided on. Each assembly only deals with one topic at a time. The topic of the Glockenhaus was selected by the inter-party working group with representatives from politics, the Lüneburg Future Council and the city administration. The question: How should the Glockenhaus be used in the future - taking into account the special requirements with regard to its heritage value, pollution and spatial structure?

On 12 December, an information event on the citizens' assembly test run will take place in the adult education centre (foyer). All interested parties (regardless of whether they have been randomly selected or not) are invited to find out more and clarify any unanswered questions.

Learn more

Location: Zoom video conferencing platform,

Join the International Network of Sortition Advocates (INSA) for an enlightening dive into an underexplored dimension of sortition - its role in organisations.

The main topics that this event will explore are:

• How does sortition in organisations fit into the broader advocacy landscape?
• Learn from instances where sortition has been used within organisational setups.
• Understanding the narrative around sortition and how it can be better positioned within organisations.
• Where and how can sortition be introduced effectively within an organisational context?

**Q&A discussion to follow the presentation

About the Speaker: Ben Redhead is an Associate at Sortition Foundation and Co-Founder of INSA, He brings to the table a rich tapestry of experience. His journey as a strategy consultant, facilitator, and project manager has afforded him a unique perspective on the transformative power of sortition. Recently, he launched his own organisation, SORTED, an initiative that aims to merge innovations in democracy and organisational development. Ben's insights aren't just limited to offline platforms; he passionately shares his expertise and observations through his blog, also named "SORTED".

Location: Zoom video conferencing platform,

Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss is the fifth national assembly commissioned by the government since the first Convention on the Constitution over a decade ago. No other government in the world has made such extensive use of citizens’ assemblies. It is also the first time a national government has commissioned an assembly to consider how the state can respond to the challenge of biodiversity loss. Another first is the Children and Young People’s Assembly that ran alongside and fed into the process. 

This learning call by the Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA) will consider the experience of running the assembly and its impact to date. The final report contains 73 high-level recommendations and 86 sectoral specific actions and priorities and includes a proposal to change the Constitution to ensure people have a right to a clean, healthy, and safe environment and specific protections for nature. In December the joint committee of parliament that is considering the assembly’s report will make its recommendations to government. 

In this learning call we are joined by three individuals well placed to help us understand the Assembly process and its impacts to date: 

• Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin - the Assembly’s independent chair and an academic with a public profile on science communication
• Art O’Leary - until recently the Secretary General to the President of Ireland and who has been involved in the organisation of most of the Irish citizens’ assemblies 
• Katie Reid - worked with children and young people to co-design and deliver the Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss which took place alongside the national assembly 

Background

• Irish Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity
• Irish Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity

Location: Zoom video conferencing platform,

In recent years, numerous randomly selected citizens' assemblies on climate protection issues have taken place around the world, including in Germany. This event organised by the Klimamitbestimmung association will look at the climate assemblies in Erlangen and the federal climate assembly in Germany.

In Erlangen, the Citizens' Assembly "Climate Awakening" has worked with a group of stakeholders to develop a climate policy roadmap. Monika Nickles, Head of the Office for Citizen Participation and Volunteering, reports on the idea of splitting the assembly process in Erlangen into the mini-public itself and a group of stakeholders from business, companies, clinics, etc. She also gives a brief outlook on how the implementation of the citizens' assembly's recommendations will continue.

In 2021, 160 randomly selected people from all over Germany took part in the federal Climate Assembly to discuss climate policy recommendations for the Bundestag and the federal government. The results are numerous concrete proposals for politicians. Rabea Koss reports as press spokeswoman for the climate assembly - today she is continuing the work she started there on a voluntary basis in the public relations work of the "BürgerBegehren Klimaschutz" association.

A surprise guest will be a participant from the climate assembly's food sector. The question: What does a citizens' assembly feel like from the inside?

Location: UCL Cruciform Building, B4.04 -LT2 Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, Großbritannien

Citizens’ assemblies are increasingly proposed as ways of improving the functioning of democracy and policy-making. Yet their real-world record is mixed: while they almost always generate high-quality discussions internally, their connection to wider political processes is often challenging, meaning their impact can be limited. Careful consideration is therefore needed to what citizens’ assemblies are supposed to be for and how they can be embedded within political systems in order to achieve that.

This seminar will explore these issues with two leading experts in deliberative democracy and Martin Wolf, one of the UK’s most respected economic commentators, whose recent book, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, argued that greater use of citizens’ assemblies is needed.

Meet the speakers:

• Martin Wolf, Financial Times
• Sarah Allan, Involve
• Miriam Levin, Engage Britain

Chair: Alan Renwick

Recording

This event will be recorded and the video will be uploaded to the UCL YouTube channel.

You can subscribe to the UCL YouTube channel to be alerted when the recording is uploaded.

Location: Zoom video conferencing platform,

In the Citizens' Assembly Network, representatives from citizens' initiatives, science, administration and politics as well as mini public organisers and participants exchange views on municipal citizens' assemblies.

The main topic of the network meeting on 10 January 2024 is: Thinking citizens' assemblies and referendums together.

Critics of citizens' assemblies complain that the recommendations developed in these mini publics are not binding. Local councils and administrations are not obliged to implement the proposals of citizens' assembly participants.

One way to create more binding force is to link citizens' assemblies with referendums. In many federal states of Germany, local councils have the option of submitting certain issues to citizens for a vote. The citizens entitled to vote decide instead of the local council. The results of such referendums are binding if a quorum of approval is reached, which varies according to the federal state. Only in Hamburg is there no such voting hurdle. The results of the referendum must be implemented by the respective municipal administration. See popular initiatives in the municipalities.

In 2022/23, for the first time in Bischweier, there was not only a citizens' jury on a municipal policy issue, but subsequently also a referendum. On the site of a former chipboard factory in Bischweier, the project developer Panattoni is planning a location for production supply and pre-assembly for Mercedes-Benz AG. The so-called International Consolidation Center (ICC).

The site is directly adjacent to residential areas in Bischweier and Kuppenheim. Can the resulting challenges for traffic and the environment be managed in a compatible way? What impact will this have on the small community of Bischweier and the Mittelbaden region? How should this be regulated?

In a first step, a randomly selected citizens' forum dealt with these questions and prepared a citizens' report on the subject. Based on this, a referendum was held on 15 January 2023 on the question of whether the municipality should initiate a procedure for a project-related development plan for the site. 76.2 per cent of those voting voted in favour of the ICC. The turnout for the vote was 47.6 per cent. This means that more than the 20 per cent of all eligible voters prescribed by the municipal code also voted in favour of establishing the development plan. The result is therefore binding. See more here.

Speakers

• Robert Wein, Mayor of Bischweier
• Timo Peters, Staff Office for Civil Society and Citizen Participation in Baden-Württemberg
• Dr. Constantin Schäfer, ifok

In addition, Steffen Krenzer from Mehr Demokratie will report on a project of the association, which aims to test the combination of citizens' assembly and referendums in other municipalities.

Please register at info@buergerrat.de

Read more: Citizens' Assembly Network

Location: Restaurant Bootshaus, Hüxtertorallee 4, 23564 Lübeck

Closeness to citizens through citizens' assemblies? Will politics become more democratic with randomly selected participants? A brief observation and experience report from other countries. Lecture and discussion.

Speaker: NN

Registration: dfr.glaeser@gmx.net
free of charge / self-paying

An event organised by the German Women's Ring Lübeck

Location: K4 KommunizierBar, Pasinger Bahnhofsplatz 4, 81241 Munich

In this three-day seminar, you will learn how to successfully apply Dynamic Facilitation, a unique facilitation method, in various contexts. This ranges from the corporate sector to citizen participation, in particular the Citizens' Assembly and the Wisdom Council Process. But you will also celebrate breakthroughs in individual 1:1 coaching with Dynamic Facilitation.

Dynamic Facilitation is particularly suitable in situations where complex problems need to be solved or creative solutions developed. Here are some examples:

• Citizen participation and citizens' assemblies: Dynamic Facilitation enables citizens to actively participate in solution-finding processes. It encourages open dialogue and supports the development of solutions to societal challenges.
• Innovation processes: In companies, Dynamic Facilitation can be used to generate innovative ideas and tackle complex problems in product development or strategic planning.
• Conflict resolution: The method is also suitable for conflict resolution and mediation. It enables conflicting parties to express their concerns and worries and work together to find solutions.
• Team development: Dynamic Facilitation can be used in team development processes to strengthen cooperation and promote the creativity of team members.
• Individual coaching: In coaching, the method can be used to support individuals in solving personal challenges and activating their own creative resources.

In general, Dynamic Facilitation is always suitable when diverse perspectives and ideas need to be brought together in order to tackle complex problems and find jointly supported solutions.

The seminar will take place from 1 February to 3 February 2024 in Munich / Pasing and offers the opportunity to learn from experienced trainers and exchange ideas with other participants. Discover the potential of Dynamic Facilitation!

Location: University of Canberra, Building 11, Bruce ACT 2617, Australia

We live in a time of global challenges including the climate emergency, pandemics and populism. Deliberative democracy leads the way towards mending and transtorming soci eties. It inspires us to listen to tellow citizens and to nature Deliberative transtormations build the path towards democratic and sustainable futures.

The 6th Deliberative Democracy Summer School from 7 to 9 February 2024 brings together postgraduate students and early career researchers with leading scholars in the field. It provides a unique opportunity o discuss emerging themes, empirical findings and methodological innovations in deliberative democracy research.

Participants will have the opportunity to present their work on a wide range of topics including - but not limited to - deliberative systems, mini-publics, social movements, transnational deliberation. non-human deliberation and feminist and decolonial deliberation

Participation is free of charge. Limited financial support tor overseas travel is available.

Location: Zoom video conferencing platform,

In the Citizens' Assembly Network, representatives from citizens' initiatives, science, administration and politics as well as mini-public organisers and participants exchange views on municipal citizens' assemblies. Interested parties are welcome!

The topic of the network meeting on 7 February 2024 is: Municipal citizens' assemblies in Switzerland

Switzerland is proud of its direct democracy through referendums. Nevertheless, pioneers also want to further develop democracy there with citizens' assemblies.

Citizens' assemblies on nature conservation, climate protection and nutrition have already taken place in some municipalities and cantons. In other municipalities and cantons, citizens' assemblies were convened as part of the "Demoscan" project to compile voting information on national referendums, which was sent to all voters as a handout from a neutral organisation.

At this event, Andri Heimann from the Centre for Democracy Aarau will report on municipal citizens' assemblies in Switzerland.

Background

• Municipal citizens' assemblies in Switzerland
• Demoscan project

Please send your registrations to info@buergerrat.de

Learn more: Citizens' Assembly Network

Location: MVHS in Ramersdorf, Claudius-Keller-Str. 7, 81669 Munich

How can we develop good solutions for pressing challenges of our time? A proven method of citizen participation and decision-making is the "planning cell". With its help, different perspectives have their say and common ground can be found even on controversial issues.

The Munich Adult Education Centre invites you to get to know and try out the "planning cell" participation format together with the experienced moderator Wolfgang Scheffler. You can experience how effectively you will come to an agreement on possible solutions.

Workshop leader Wolfgang Scheffler is a physicist and inventor and has been working in development aid for 35 years, specialising in solar energy use. However, he has always been particularly interested in social inventions that improve our living together. In this context, he has been involved in the application of citizens' reports with planning cells since 2002 and is pursuing their further development.

Learn more: Planungszelle.de

Location: Heidberg Kloster, Bahnhofstr. 4, 4700 Eupen, Belgium

The G1000 Spring School on deliberative democracy. This means two days of in-depth learning and informal exchanges with world leading experts and people involved in deliberative processes on the ground. In Eupen, the beating heart of Ostbelgien model of citizens' assemblies.
 
This training is designed for civil servants, politicians, academics, practitioners, or members of civil society organisations, working on a deliberative process with randomly selected citizens to improve inclusion in policy-making.

Programme and speakers will be announced here soon.

Location: Cologne-Deutz Youth Hostel, Siegesstr. 5, 50679 Cologne

The participation of citizens in social and political decision-making processes is an elementary pillar of democracy: The democratic community needs the participation of citizens to gain acceptance and support and to become a "living" democracy. Furthermore, our society depends on the participation of citizens in order to include the knowledge and views of all stakeholders and to make forward-looking, sustainable decisions.

The "Citizen Participation Network" aims to give political participation in Germany more weight in the long term and to strengthen it at all levels (federal, state, local). The network asks how a "participatory democracy" can be shaped and advanced. It looks for ways to promote civic participation in a politically strategic way.

Based on this basic idea, the network brings together people from all areas who want to promote the participation of citizens in political decisions and help shape the future of citizen participation. The network is fed by the commitment of the individual network members. The basic idea is that networkers from the most diverse contexts and different democratic levels come into conversation and work together, that they exchange ideas, jointly develop and implement necessary initiatives and measures.

The cooperation in the Civic Participation Network thrives on the personal exchange between the networkers. At the network meeting on 7 June 2024 in Cologne, current issues, developments and projects for the further development of citizen participation will be discussed,

Learn more

Location: Berlin, (Venue follows)

In this three-day seminar you will learn how to successfully apply Dynamic Facilitation, a unique facilitation method, in different contexts. This ranges from the corporate sector to citizen participation, especially the Citizens' Assembly and the Wisdom Council Process. But you will also celebrate breakthroughs with Dynamic Facilitation in individual 1:1 coaching.

Dynamic Facilitation is particularly well suited in situations where complex problems need to be solved or creative solutions need to be developed. Here are some examples:

1. Citizen participation and citizens' assemblies: Dynamic Facilitation enables citizens to actively participate in solution-finding processes. It promotes open dialogue and supports the development of solutions to societal challenges.
2. Innovation processes: In companies, Dynamic Facilitation can be used to generate innovative ideas and address complex problems in product development or strategic planning.
3. Conflict resolution: The method is also suitable for conflict resolution and mediation. It enables parties in conflict to express their concerns and seek solutions together.
4. Team development: Dynamic Facilitation can be used in team development processes to strengthen cooperation and promote the creativity of team members.
5. Individual coaching: In coaching, the method can be used to support individuals in solving personal challenges and to activate their own creative resources.

In general, Dynamic Facilitation is suitable whenever diverse perspectives and ideas want to be brought together to tackle complex problems and find jointly supported solutions.

The seminar offers the opportunity to learn from experienced trainers and to exchange ideas with other participants. Discover the potential of Dynamic Facilitation.

Learn more