On March 15, 2024, the Council of Europe project “Strengthening democratic resilience through civic participation during the war and in the post-war context in Ukraine” held a conference "Visionary ways of engaging citizens: the future of deliberative democracy in Ukraine". During the event, perspectives and challenges of deliberative democracy during war and post-war period were discussed, as well as citizens' assemblies as a tool of deliberative democracy.
The foundation of deliberative democracy lies in the idea of using deliberation (thoughtful, reasoned, argumentative discussions) to find ways to address societal issues, as well as utilising the consensus potential to reconcile conflicts and consider sensitive issues.
27 participants joined the conference offline and over 30 participants - in online format, namely representatives of local, regional, and national authorities, representatives of civil society organisations, Council of Europe national and international experts.
"The great task is to engage citizens in the processes of recovery, which can become a real driver for important initiatives and changes at the local level. We have foreseen that no program should be approved without public discussions. This approach helps to find optimal solutions and ensure legitimacy. The lack of public discussion can breed suspicion, myths, and conspiracy theories, so it is important to involve the citizens in the decision-making process," emphasised Olena Shuliak, Head of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning.
"The superpower of Ukrainians has always been the ability to change political realities – often we did it thanks to such a tool as the Maidan, but fortunately, in democratic societies, there are many other instruments. And we have something to be proud of because we have these tools and really know how to use them, but sometimes we lack methodological recommendations. The work that the Council of Europe project is doing, which helps citizens feel their involvement, is vital for us," said Oleksandra Azarkhina, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure of Ukraine.
The participants of the conference discussed:
- the difference between participatory and deliberative democracy and how citizens are engaged in decision-making through deliberative tools;
- the experience of implementing deliberative mechanisms in Council of Europe member states;
- best practices and examples of organising citizens' assemblies in European countries, including in the post-war period;
- plans for piloting the mechanism of citizens' assemblies in 2024.
This year, the Council of Europe project on civic participation will provide comprehensive expert and methodological support for implementing the mechanism of citizens' assemblies in two pilot Ukrainian communities – Zvyahel and Slavutych. It will be an important step in the development of deliberative democracy in Ukraine. Therefore, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine Mr Erlend Falch signed Memorandums of Understanding with Zvyahel and Slavutych city councils.
Citizens' assemblies is one of the most widespread tool of deliberative democracy, already implemented in many countries in Europe and around the world, including Germany, Italy, France, Poland, Belgium, Canada, Australia, the USA, Colombia, South Korea, and others.
The conference was streamed on the project's Facebook page. The video can be viewed at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/CivilParticipationPlatform/videos/862894335526653/.
The Council of Europe project “Strengthening democratic resilience through civic participation during the war and in the post-war context in Ukraine” is designed to support the implementation of the objectives set out in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026) to strengthen the democratic processes and address the challenges public authorities are facing in the time of war and in post-war context through active and effective civic participation at the local, regional and national level.
Follow the news of the project on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CivilParticipationPlatform.
