Citizens´ assemblies for Dülmen: Democracy for everyone!

At a time when trust in politics – and indeed in democracy as the best possible form of government – is waning, more and more citizens are calling for greater transparency in decision-making processes, credible political communication and concrete opportunities to have a say on issues affecting the future of their local communities. Citizens’ Assemblies offer a unique opportunity for participation in this regard.

What makes the Citizens’ Assembly special is that participants are selected at random from the general public. When drawing up a list of potential participants, care is taken to ensure that the Citizens’ Assembly is representative of the population in terms of criteria such as age, gender, education and place of residence. The topic under discussion is thus examined from a variety of perspectives, which are incorporated into the jointly developed recommendations for the city council.

Whilst politicians decide on convening a Citizens’ Assembly and setting the topic – and are ultimately not bound by the recommendations – the Citizens’ Assembly is therefore not a parallel parliament without legitimacy, as is so often feared – it does, however, offer the opportunity to reach out to and re-engage those people who have already withdrawn from the democratic process. In terms of strengthening our democracy, this is an invaluable advantage compared to other forms of participation.

On 24 November, citizens’ assembly expert Thorsten Sterk from Mehr Demokratie will talk about the procedures and practice of randomly selected citizens’ assemblies, offer advice and be available to answer further questions.

This information event for the citizens of Dülmen is being held at the invitation of the Citizens’ Assembly Initiative for Dülmen.