Citizens' assembly under wartime conditions
The first Citizens‘ Assembly in the country is underway in Ukraine. A mini-public under war conditions. In Zvyahel, the city council has organised this assembly with the support of the Council of Europe.
The topic of the Citizens‘ Assembly is 'Creating Urban Spaces as Public Locations for Social Interaction and Recovery'. The first assembly weekend took place on 5 and 6 October 2024. Further weekends will follow on 19 and 20 October and 2 and 3 November 2024.
City administration wants to consider proposals in future planning
Over the course of the three meetings, the assembly participants, with the support of experts and facilitators, will develop recommendations for the local authorities. The municipal authorities have expressed their commitment to considering these proposals in future planning.
The first assembly weekend was filled with expert presentations and lively discussions on the topic. After the group discussions, the participants voted to focus on four important public spaces in the city and four topics for further development of recommendations. These include:
- A parking system in the community
- Involving young people in creating and developing public spaces in rural areas
- Cleaning the riverbed and improving water quality
- Establishing spaces for psychological recovery and mental health support
‘Martial law cannot impede progress’
The event was attended by the Mayor of Zvyahel, the Deputy Mayor, the Secretary of the City Council, other representatives of local authorities, members of the Citizens' Assembly Supervisory Board, and the Council of Europe project team. Mayor Mykola Borovets listened to the Citizens' Assembly participants and emphasised his commitment to supporting the process: 'You exemplify what it means to be active and committed citizens, and I am confident that together we will see your efforts come to life in Zvyahel.'
Daryna Sokolova, Senior Project Officer, underlined: 'The Citizens’ Assembly is a pioneering tool for Ukraine, and the experience in Zvyahel will serve as a model for implementation of similar deliberative processes in Ukraine. Citizens’ Assembly ensures that the authorities listen to the voices and recommendations of the community. Today, we are proving that even martial law cannot impede this progress.'
’I am doing this for my grandchildren"
At the end of the first weekend of the Citizens' Assembly, the participants looked back on their initial experiences and explained why they are eager to participate in the upcoming sessions.
One participant explained: 'These two days of collaboration made me realise that I’m not just doing something important for the community or supporting the local authorities. I’m doing this for my family, for my grandchildren. One day, they’ll visit a beautiful park or playground in Zvyahel and say: "Grandma, look at this amazing place!" And I’ll proudly tell them, I was part of the team that made it happen.'
‘I have made friends here’
Another participant added: 'Beyond working together for the good of the community, Citizens' Assembly has introduced me to fascinating people. I’ve made friends here, and we’re eager to keep in touch beyond these walls. I’ll gladly return because we’ve already developed some exciting ideas for public spaces, and we’ll be advocating for them in the upcoming sessions.'
The organisation of the Citizens' Assembly has been a complex process in the making since March 2024. Its planning, preparation, and execution fully adhere to the Recommendation CM/Rec(2023)6 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on deliberative democracy, as well as international standards for participatory democracy.
Training, forums, supervisory bodies
The Council of Europe project ‘Strengthening Democratic Resilience through Civic Participation during War and in Post-War Contexts in Ukraine’ had previously selected organisers for the Citizens‘ Assembly and conducted training for them and for representatives of local administrations in the municipalities of Zvyahel and Slavutych, where another mini-public takes place. In each municipality, supervisory bodies were appointed and stakeholders were invited to forums to define the Citizens’ Assembly topics. The project also selected experts and facilitators to support the process.
For the Citizens' Assembly in Zvyahel, 4,000 letters of invitation were sent to randomly selected households. The assembly was composed of the applicants who had responded to the invitation in such a way as to reflect the city's population as accurately as possible in terms of age group, gender, education, and residential district.
Participation opportunities for all residents
The random selection of 45 participants (two seats were reserved for internally displaced persons) and 12 substitute members was carried out using the open-source software Panelot. To ensure that as many residents as possible, including war refugees, were part of the process, the city also offered an online platform where all residents could submit their proposals and opinions on the topic of the Citizens' Assembly.
The second Ukrainian Citizens' Assembly has begun in Slavutych on 19 October 2024. The topic there: ’How can we improve the system of household waste disposal in our community?’