Thorsten SterkDo multilingual citizens’ assemblies work, and how? Find out the answers at a @demnext online event on 11 June.
https://demnext.substack.com/p/do-multilingual-citizens-assemblies
Nordic cities and regions have experimented with Citizens’ Assemblies in local policy development and decision making.
What are the barriers towards implementing a permanent Citizens’ Assembly in local government? How can we make Citizens’ Assembly components permanent tools in the municipal toolkit?
These questions and many more, the Nordic Deliberation Network hopes to explore together in the next Nordic Deliberation learning call on June 10.
„We think we reinvented democracy in the 18th century, but we didn’t. We invented a form of legitimate oligarchy based on popular consent - one where power is not truly shared equally. It’s concentrated at the top: among the wealthy, the educated, people with connections and a certain psychological predisposition to want to rule“, political scientist Hélène Landemore says in an interview with @demnext CEO @claudiachwalisz.
https://demnext.substack.com/p/politics-without-politicians-a-conversation
For a long time, Hamburg was the only German state where a mini-public had never been held. That changed in 2026.
The city of Brussels successfully used random selection to solve a mediaeval crisis – and could do so again.
Great read from @hughpope
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sortition-goes-back-further-brussels-than-many-people-hugh-pope-73rmf
Sortition goes back further in Brussels than many people think
The city successfully used random selection to solve a mediaeval crisis – and could do so again Sortition – the random selection of groups of people to study, deliberate and decide on a disputed topic – struggles to be seen as a credible option for making policy. Quite often, people haven’t even hea
Flensburg is the first local authority in Schleswig-Holstein to hold a Citizens’ Jury followed by a local referendum. On 30 May 2026, the mini-public adopted 29 recommendations on the future of transport in the Baltic Sea city.
https://www.buergerrat.de/en/news/citizens-jury-with-referendum-in-flensburg/
On 30 May 2026, the “Rheinisches Revier” Citizens’ Assembly has started, providing residents with an opportunity to play an active role in shaping their region and to put forward ideas for structural change.
https://www.buergerrat.de/en/news/shaping-the-future-in-the-rhineland-mining-area/
In December 2025, the Netherlands’ first national Citizens’ Climate Assembly had handed over 82 recommendations to the government. On 29 May 2026, the government announced that it would implement at least half of the citizens’ proposals.
https://www.buergerrat.de/en/news/your-voice-has-been-heard/
In the Berlin district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf, a citizens’ jury has drawn up 28 recommendations on the topic of ‘heat protection’ in Marzahn-Nord. In a residents’ survey, the majority supported the jury’s key recommendations.
https://www.buergerrat.de/en/news/heat-protection-for-marzahn-nord/
Between March and May 2026, 150 citizens selected at random from all 27 EU Member States discussed the topic of preparedness in a Citizens’ Panel. This resulted in 20 recommendations.
https://www.buergerrat.de/en/news/citizens-advise-eu-on-preparedness/
