CLIMATE AND CITIZENS' ASSEMBLIES
Dealing with climate change and its consequences will not be easy. Climate change affects human beings as a whole, and in order to deal with the damage it will cause, it is necessary to foster broad consensus in society.
This will require experimenting with more innovative and participatory models of democracy, such as deliberative democracy or citizen and participatory assemblies, seeking to increase society's commitment.
We consider that the Citizen Assembly is a valid model to increase the level of commitment of the organized community. Participatory models that promote new models of governance. And this can be of vital importance when facing challenges such as climate change.
To this end, the Telesforo Monzón think tank, TMeLab, has opened this line of reflection and experimentation.
Beyond theoretical reflection through practical experiences in order to deepen the binomial Climate Change-participatory democracy.
Although for the moment we have focused mainly on climate change, we also believe that the Citizens' Assemblies can be an instrument that can be used, in addition to the climate issue, to guide the strategic challenges for the future of Basque society.
THE FIRST CITIZENS' ASSEMBLY IN GIPUZKOA IS UNDERWAY: THE RURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE CLIMATE.
As of September 20, 2022
The Citizen Assembly on climate and the rural enviroment is already underway, which will focus on agricultural activity and climate change, promoted by the Telesforo Monzón Laboratory ofi ideas (TMeLab) and the Arantzazulab Social Innovation Laboratory. This assembly will be driven by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.
32 Gipuzkoans chosen by lottery will be called to participate in this innovative Citizen Assembly in which they will have to answer the following question: how can we guarantee the agricultural activity of Gipuzkoa to face the climate emergency?
This Citizen Assembly is the culmination of a project presented almost a year ago in Etorkizuna Eraikiz by the Telesforo Monzon laboratory of ideas of the Basque Country (TMeLab) and the Arantzazulab Social Innovation Lab. This project has been developed with the collaboration of national and international consultants, experts in deliberative democracy (OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Deliberativa Association).
OPINIONS
Unai Pascual
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Eider Mendoza
“This Citizen Assembly is part of the framework of Etorkizuna Eraikiz of the Provincial Council and reinforces the strategy of promoting collaborative governance. The development of the primary sector of the rural environment of Gipuzkoa, as well as the attention to the climatic emergency and its effects, constitutes a complex challenge to be addressed in collaboration with society. It also requires new forms of coordination and organization between agents. Therefore, this Citizen Assembly of Gipuzkoa joins our firm commitment to consolidate collaborative governance, because it opens the possibility of significantly involving the citizens of Gipuzkoa in public decisions that condition the future of our territory".
Naiara Goia Imaz
"This Citizen Assembly, together with the one we have set up in the city council of Tolosa, allows public institutions to build a space for shared deliberation with citizens, giving way to new models of relationship to increase mutual trust". With these processes, our ultimate goal is also to develop knowledge around deliberative democracy, build local capacities and create the conditions for the stabilization and institutionalization of this deliberative instrument in our institutions."
Urko Aiartza Azurtza
"Given the complex challenges that human beings are currently facing, there is a need for new ways of reflecting and deciding how to face them; the complexity of the decisions to be made and their consequences requires channeling the active participation of citizens in these processes. This project aims to experiment in this sense”
This is a pioneering and innovative process that aims to invite citizens to participate in the deliberation on relevant public issues such as agriculture and climate change.
The process has the support of all the political groups represented in the Provincial Assembly. The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa will receive from this Citizen Assembly a series of recommendations to be used to guide their actions on agricultural policy in the coming years.
In the words of the Deputy for Governance, Eider Mendoza, “this Citizen Assembly is part of the framework of Etorkizuna Eraikiz of the Provincial Council and reinforces the strategy of promoting collaborative governance. The development of the primary sector of the rural environment of Gipuzkoa, as well as the attention to the climatic emergency and its effects, constitutes a complex challenge to be addressed in collaboration with society. It also requires new forms of coordination and organization between agents. Therefore, this Citizen Assembly of Gipuzkoa joins our firm commitment to consolidate collaborative governance, because it opens the possibility of significantly involving the citizens of Gipuzkoa in public decisions that condition the future of our territory”.
Civic lottery in the Citizens’ Assembly to guarantee the plurality of Gipuzkoans
The citizens participating in the Citizens’ Assembly of Gipuzkoa will be chosen by lot. The aim of the lottery is to ensure that the citizens who will form part of the assembly reflect the diversity and population of Gipuzkoa. To this end, in a first phase, a draw has been carried out to select 15,000 addresses among all the cadastral houses and a letter will be sent to these houses inviting them to participate in the process.
Anyone over 16 years of age who receives the letter has the opportunity to register for the Citizens’ Assembly. Among all the people who receive the letter and sign up as volunteers to participate in the Assembly, a second draw will be made taking into account the following criteria: gender, age, educational level, language, geographic location and attitude towards the issue. In this way, a group of 32 people will be formed to participate in the Citizens’ Assembly.
This group will have to answer the question: How can we guarantee the agricultural activity of Gipuzkoa to face the climatic emergency?
The sessions of the Citizen Assembly will be directed and energized by people with experience in these processes. In order to participate, it is not necessary to be an expert in the subject or to have specific knowledge about it, since during the meetings the participants will be provided with the necessary information for decision making. Precisely what these processes seek is to gather the vision and experience that the citizens as neighbors of Gipuzkoa can contribute. Throughout the process, the privacy of each of the members of the Assembly will be preserved, and for participating in the sessions, citizens will receive a payment of 444 euros.
Phases of the Assembly and calendar of sessions
The Citizens’ Assembly of Gipuzkoa will meet in 4 sessions and will consist of 3 main phases: (1) The participants will be informed by experts on the proposed question (first two sessions) (2) They will reflect and deliberate on the information received (third session) (3) The citizens will answer the proposed question to the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and will elaborate and draft consensus recommendations (fourth session).
As for the schedule of the process, the sessions will be held on 4 weekends (Friday afternoon and Saturday morning): November 4-5, November 25-26, December 16-17, and January 13-14. The sessions are scheduled to be held in Donostia and Bergara.
Following the commitment made by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Assembly will analyze the recommendations made and a first return session will be held on March 15, 2023. At that session, the foral decision-makers will respond to the recommendations received from the Board.
More info at:
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