Citizens' Assembly online seminar

The Citizens' Assembly "Germany's Role in the World" has been running since 13 January 2021. Under the patronage of Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble, 160 randomly drawn people from all over the republic deliberate online on foreign policy recommendations for the Federal Government and the Bundestag.

The majority of the Bundestag's Council of Elders voted in favour of the topic "Germany's role in the world" around June 2019. In addition to the substantive topic, the aim is to test and develop a new form of citizen participation in parliament. The results and recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly are to be handed over to the Bundestag on 19 March 2021, where they will be discussed during this legislative period.

In a seminar on 8 February, initiators and implementers reported on the development and status of the Citizens' Assembly. The following informed

•     Marianne Birthler, Chairperson of the Citizens' Assembly
•     Claudine Nierth, spokesperson for Mehr Demokratie's national executive board
•     Dr. Christine von Blanckenburg, Nexus Institute
•     Jacob Birkenhäger, ifok.

It was explained how the topics for the second nationwide Citizens' Assembly came about. It was made transparent how the experts were selected. The challenges and lessons of a purely digital citizens' assembly were discussed. And it was discussed how to deal with transparency through live broadcasts while at the same time needing a protected discussion space.