In late 2012 the Irish government established the Convention on the Constitution, which followed many of the procedures spearheaded by We The Citizens — with citizen members at the core and following carefully facilitated and informed small group discussions. In this brief video some of those involved in the Convention, as members, organisers or observers, […]
Senator Mac Conghail Welcomes Constitutional Convention
Remarks by Senator Fiach Mac Conghail in the Seanad this morning Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in relation to the announcement of a Constitutional Convention. Senator Mac Conghail chaired ‘We the Citizens’, the independent initiative which in 2011 comprehensively tested the citizens’ assembly model of democratic engagement (Executive Summary of the ‘We the Citizens’ report attached) […]
Tanaiste welcomes We the Citizens’ findings
The Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore TD, has welcomed the findings of We the Citizens, the independent initiative which this year tested the citizens’ assembly model of democratic engagement. He was attending the launch of the final report of We the Citizens, where he was presented with a copy by a group of citizens who had taken […]
Citizens’ Assembly on the Agenda
For the first time since the election, a Government Minister has said that a Citizens’ Assembly is very much on the government agenda. Minister Phil Hogan was speaking at a political scientist event at the weekend. However the Programme for Government only makes reference to a Constitutional Convention which would be made up of one […]
Belgian Deliberative Democracy
On Novermber 11th 2011, a gathering of one thousand randomly selected citizens will take place in Belgium. They will be given an opportunity to discuss, in all freedom, the future of their country. Why? Because democracy is so much more than citizens who vote and politicians who negotiate. You can find out more about the […]
We the Citizens at MacGill Summer School
Caroline Erskine – Executive Director of We the Citizens and Prof. David Farrell – Academic Director of the We the Citizens team spoke at the MacGill Summer School today. You can find a webcast of their presentations here. The theme of the discussion was called ‘Transforming our Politics – Have we the Will?’ and also […]