CAfSA News no. 3 April 2025
International
Following a 2023 paper, EU Commission has proposed to make deliberative Citizen Panels a permanent feature.
In 2024 DemocracyNext launched a report, ‘Six ways to democratise city planning: Enabling thriving and healthy cities’. The paper suggested ways to use citizen assemblies in urban planning processes, and an application process was held for cities to express their interest. Over 20 applications from cities in 17 countries around the world were received, including Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg. This led to the ‘Esch Clinics’ which explored the issues.2 In 2025, a full citizen assembly will be convened in Esch, with a long-term aim ‘to institutionalise Citizens’ Assemblies and make them a part of Esch’s expanded democratic structure’. Watch this space! Esch could be a key pioneer in how city planners use CAs.
Meanwhile, two major German cultural institutions, Bundeskunsthalle (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) in Bonn, and Dresden’s Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design), have both used citizen assemblies to enhance their programming. More details here.
National
A reminder that The Conversation has published items on CAs in the past. This one from last year, by Seána Glennon from the University of Ottawa on what Canada might learn from the Irish experience, is equally relevant to Australia.
SA
At a public meeting on 8 April Jackie Street, Rebecca Tooher and Gail Fairlamb recounted their past professional experience in SA using citizen juries to develop policy for the SA Government on topics as diverse as cycling, childhood obesity and nuclear waste. In particular, in the 2010s Gail Fairlamb’s team in the Department of Premier and Cabinet had trialled citizen’s juries and participatory budgeting, and had encouraged ministers and CEOs to do the same. As Gail observed, it was the Weatherill government that ended the heavy-handed approach of ‘announce and defend’. Nevertheless, it can hardly be said that governments in SA since have used deliberative democracy effectively.
An award-winning writer, columnist, critic, academic, broadcaster, public intellectual and former political candidate. Dr Elizabeth Farrelly is trained in architecture and philosophy.
Emma Fletcher is Co-CEO of Australia’s leading deliberative democracy company – democracyCo. In this role she designs, and project manages large and complex engagement projects.
Nicholas Gruen, CEO of Lateral Economics is a widely published policy economist, entrepreneur and commentator. He has advised Cabinet Ministers, sat on Australia’s Productivity Commission and founded Lateral Economics and Peach Financial.