Citizens’ Assembly for Northern Ireland

In Nord-Irland werden sich im Oktober/November 2018 im Rahmen einer sogenannte Citizens’ Assembly 50 bis 100 zufällig ausgewählte Bürger mit der Zukunft des dortigen Sozialsystems beschäftigen.

The Citizens’ Assembly for Northern Ireland is a democratic innovation that will put people at the heart of decision-making on an important issue. The Assembly will consist of 50 to 100 citizens, selected to be broadly representative of Northern Ireland’s population. It will meet over two weekends in Autumn 2018. The Citizens’ Assembly will consider what the public’s aspirations are for a social care system fit for the future. It will give particular consideration to the respective roles played by the health service, communities and individuals.
As well as helping to break the deadlock around the issue of social care, it is intended that the Citizens’ Assembly pilot a model of deliberative engagement that may be adopted by the Northern Ireland Executive, the Northern Ireland Assembly and/or the Northern Ireland Office, to address further contested issues.
What is a Citizens’ Assembly?
A citizens’ assembly is a group of people who are brought together to discuss an issue or issues, and reach a conclusion about what they think should happen. Those who take part are chosen to reflect the wider population – in terms of demographics (e.g. age, gender, ethnicity, social class) and sometimes relevant attitudes (e.g. preferences for a small or large state).
Citizens’ assemblies give members of the public the time and opportunity to learn about and discuss a topic, before reaching conclusions. Assembly members are asked to make trade-offs and arrive at workable recommendations.

Mehr dazu hier: http://citizensassemblyni.org/

Citizens’ Assemblies gab es unter anderem bereits in Kanada, Irland und England.