The assembly itself sees the citizens gather across multiple weekends to learn, deliberate and propose solutions to the issue. But first…
Everyone needs to be taken care of. Which means…
- Everyone gets paid for their time
- Everyone gets put up at the same nice hotel (as needed)
- Parents get childcare support
- People get travel support who need it
The citizens gather to grab a coffee and feel awkward.
Facilitators run warm-up exercises to break the ice.
The citizens are seated at tables in groups of 8-10.
Seating is pre-selected to ensure a diversity of perspectives and life experiences
Together, the citizens and facilitators set some RULES of how this assembly will be run
Facilitators then run a short round on critical thinking.
With that critical setup work done, the assembly moves onto the issue at hand…
The facilitators and commissioner will set the scene – sharing the motivation behind the assembly and how committed they are to it.
The learning begins! Sometimes with commentators first, sometimes with citizens themselves talking about their knowledge of the topic.
The facilitators get a temperature check of the room. The first day would typically end here.
