For transitions to more sustainable societies, new ways of thinking about the organization and planning of society are required. One approach is to work with so-called citizens’ assemblies, or councils, tasked with developing proposals for transition. In this webinar representatives from different European countries and Sweden participates.
Citizens’ assemblies have been tested in various parts of Europe, and in Sweden they are being explored by institutions such as the Swedish Food Agency and the City of Gothenburg. Several ongoing research projects, such as Mistra Sustainable Consumption, are following this development.
What can we learn from citizens’ assemblies in countries such as France and Finland? How can these be implemented in practice? How can and should they be anchored, especially in relation to citizens? In this webinar with invited European guests, we will explore how citizens’ assemblies can serve as a tool for transition.
THE PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR PRESENTATIONS
- Steph Toro is a project leader and outreach strategist at Digidem Lab in Gothenburg, Sweden, and works with testing and implementing methods for participatory democracy in public institutions. See Steph’s presentation here.
- Kristina Eberth, The Administration for democracy and citizen services, and Mats Alfredsson, The Environmental Administration, City of Gothenburg.
- Heli Saarikoski is a leading researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute. Her research focuses on deliberative environmental governance and knowledge co-production in science-intensive environmental disputes. See Heli’s presentation here.
- Mathilde Bouyé co-leads democracy and climate initiatives, including a project on democratic innovation and just transition and a report on citizens’ assemblies and the climate emergency for the World Resources Institute. She previously served as a French diplomat in the SDG and climate negotiations. See Mathilde´s presentation here.
- Tim Daw is Associate Professor in Sustainability Science at Stockholm Resilience Center. He researches the potential of deliberative minipublics for sustainable transformations and is an organiser of the Swedish climate assembly in 2024. See Tim’s presentation here.
Recorded: Dec 12th, 2023
