In Ostbelgien (German-speaking Belgium), parliament established a council of citizens to officially complement its parliament. The council is one of a growing list of examples of a “mini-public:” a citizen body designed to participate continuously in a democracy. (mini thread)
“The council’s inaugural twenty-four members will rotate out over an eighteen-month period; every six months, eight members will be replaced by a new group. New members will be randomly invited through a civic lottery.”
“The council has 2 roles. First, it selects up to 3 issues for citizens’ assemblies: a body of up to 50 randomly selected citizens who meet to deliberate and develop recommendations for parliament. Parliament is then required by law to debate the recommendations at least twice.”
“The council’s second role is to monitor parliamentary debates progress’ in implementing agreed-upon actions. Within a few years, every resident of Ostbelgien—a community of ~80k people—will have received an invitation to participate in either the Council or the Assembly.”
“An ongoing study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is analyzing over 700 cases of deliberative mini-publics commissioned by public authorities to inform their decisionmaking.” (More at: carnegieeurope.eu/2019/11/26/new…)
