The odyssey of a citizens' assembly
From 27 to 29 September 2024, the first meeting of a pilot transnational peoples’ assembly for Europe took place in Athens as part of the civil society project “Democratic Odyssey”.
The Democratic Odyssey is campaigning for a 'Permanent Peoples’ Assembly for Europe'. A broad alliance supports the initiative. 'The endeavour is inspired by tentative efforts of past EU legislatures to institutionalise citizen participation. Our goal is to push them to go further,' says the Odyssey project's website.
Citizens' Assembly meets in various cities
Like the ancient Greek hero Odysseus, the pilot Citizens' Assembly is embarking on a journey. Instead of meeting in Brussels, the mini-public will meet in various European cities, both in face-to-face meetings and online. 'The assembly will thus connect different cities as city envoys and transnational citizens bridge its different meetings, and it will plant the seed for further citizens' engagement in each port'.
The participants in the Citizens' Assembly come from all over Europe. They were selected at random. They will deliberate in several languages and will to contribute to the future agenda of the EU. The pilot Peoples' Assembly will start with 200 participants and will continue to grow as it expands to other cities. Participants will include citizens from most EU countries and some accession countries, as well as randomly selected citizens from Athens and other cities. Members of civil society organisations will also be involved.
Citizens' agenda for the EU
The Peoples‘ Assembly is to conclude with a 'Citizens' Agenda for the Future of the EU’. In the end 'the medium is the message': the organisers want explore the next frontiers of citizen engagement - from tech-enhancement to immersive debating techniques and democratising foresight. The process is described as 'radically open and inclusive'. 'As a pilot assembly, the name of the game here is experimentation and imperfection'.
The European Union already uses citizens' assemblies as a participation instrument. However, these are not a permanent body, but are convened as required. Previous mini-publics have focussed on food waste, virtual worlds, learning mobility, energy efficiency and hatred in society.
Model for a permanent citizens' assembly
The Bertelsmann Foundation had already presented a model for a permanent citizens' assembly in a report in 2022. The proposal is based on the model of the permanent citizens' dialogue in East Belgium. According to this model, the EU Citizens' Assemblies should meet annually. The assemblies would consist of 204 members from all EU member states, who would develop their recommendations in five to eight meetings. Suggestions for topics could come from the EU institutions or from the general public.