A Citizens' Assembly in Los Angeles, USA?
Plus, Founder Claudia Chwalisz speaks at the United Nations in Geneva and more
An Assembly in the City of Angels
You read that right — could Los Angeles, a city of nearly 4 million people, be the next to launch a Citizens’ Assembly? That’s exactly what our Founding Head of Research and Learning Ieva Česnulaitytė explored in panel discussion this week, hosted by the Hannah Arendt Center. In the wake of scandal after scandal in LA, some locals believe a citizens’ assembly may finally offer a solution to the problem of endemic corruption among ruling politicians. Watch here — Ieva’s presentation begins at 31:20, though all of the speakers are fantastic and well worth listening to:
DemocracyNext at the United Nations
Last month, our Founder and CEO had the chance to speak about Citizens’ Assemblies in a space where talk of “democracy” is common, but actions are sometimes harder to comeby: United Nations headquarters in Geneva. At the UN’s 4th Session Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law, Claudia was asked to speak about ways to strengthen democracy, and so she asked an audience of delegates and leaders from around the world, “What if elections were not the heart of democracy? What if we shifted legislative power to everyday people?”
Below are some highlights of her talk — the full speech can be found here.
We’re Everywhere on Social Media
Speaking of which, the above video can be found on all of our new social media channels: DemocracyNext is on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Mastadon, Medium, and of course, on Substack, where we’ve moved our newsletters past and present (they can also be received directly on LinkedIn, if you prefer to subscribe over there). We’re either @DemNext or @DemocracyNext on most of these platforms, and where we aren’t, we might be soon.
Wherever people are, we want to connect. Please give us a follow, like, subscribe, etc., and let your friends know where to find us, too!
A New Citizens’ Convention in France
DemocracyNext advisory board member, Yale professor, and close collaborator Hélène Landemore has been appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron to help guide another Citizens’ Assembly in France - this time, focused on reconsidering laws on assisted suicide, euthanasia, and end of life. The new assembly will consist of 170 randomly selected French citizens. “I’m very proud that I get to play a role in shaping the convention,” Hélène told YaleNews. “In the best-case scenario, it will provide a path to institutionalizing citizens’ conventions in France.” This is really exciting news, and we’re looking forward to observing how the convention unfolds and what conclusions it reaches.
Preparing for Next Year’s Biden Democracy Summit
The Biden Democracy Summit, hosted by the Biden Administration in the United States on March 29-30 in 2023, , will be a major opportunity for DemocracyNext to share our vision and learn from others around the globe. For the first time in history, the summit will include a Deliberative Democracy and Citizens’ Assemblies Cohort (sponsored by the Irish Government and European Commission), and DemocracyNext is among them!
Together, we are working on a letter that will go out to national governments, asking them to sign on to shared commitments to bring citizens to the heart of decision making by applying the principles of deliberation and sortition. We are also closely involved in working groups around the following commitments:
1. Establishing a Global What Works Centre for Deliberative Democracy
2. Developing a Marshall Plan for Democracy, which focuses on Support for Deliberative Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe
As we get closer to the summit, we’ll continue to share more information with you — stay tuned!
🙏 As always, thanks for reading and your interest in helping us build the next democratic paradigm for a more just and joyful future. You can comment on this newsletter via Substack, or contact us at hello@demnext.org to get in touch. Onward!