What is a Citizens’ Assembly…
Assemblies are gatherings of regular people, brought together to discuss thorny issues – everything from regenerating a town square to the global climate crisis – and find solutions to them.
They are gatherings of people – usually 100-150 – selected to be a true snapshot of a place based on demographic criteria such as gender, age, income and education level.
Over the course of several days or weekends, these citizens learn about an issue from a wide range of experts and advocates – then deliberate together on the key problems, causes and levers.
The outcome? A series of nuanced, realistic recommendations that often go farther than politicians do – and that truly represent the voice of the population.
…and why should we care?
Assemblies are gatherings of regular people, brought together to discuss thorny issues – everything from regenerating a town square to the global climate crisis – and find solutions to them
Fascism. Cost of living. Inequality. Polarisation. Climate change. Do you believe our current systems of democracy are up to the task of fixing these insanely huge issues?
No? Then it’s time to assemble
Our democracy is in desperate need of an upgrade – it’s either that or it’ll die out. Assemblies – already proven to work – can form one part of that upgrade.
When assemblies are followed up on by governing bodies, they can lead to transformational and fair change – change we desperately need as a society.
But while citizens emerge from assemblies energised and empowered, that all disappears if their recommendations are simply ignored. That’s why we need mass awareness and advocacy for them – to make them un-ignorable
People who go through assemblies see a microcosm of the best of humanity: one where we actually talk to each other, where we actually have agency, and where we find resolution to the troubles of our lives.
If assemblies were happening all the time all over the world – and politicians couldn’t ignore them – that world would be a better, more resilient place. Let’s make that happen…