A Citizens’ Agenda for the ACT? Lessons from Belgium’s Permanent Citizens’ Council

In the context of declining trust in our democratic institutions, parliaments and communities around the world are looking for novel ways to govern. In some jurisdictions, for example, in the United Kingdom and in Australia, parliaments have begun using innovative participatory processes, such as citizens’ juries, to engage a group of randomly selected citizens in deliberations on issues before parliamentary inquiries. In Belgium, a more permanent democratic innovation - a Citizens’ Council - has been established recently in the Parliament of the German-speaking community. The Citizens’... Mehr ...