Civic Tech Lab: Climate Assemblies

Welcome to our 2-part lab about climate assemblies!

Climate assemblies is a method where randomly selected citizens deliberate, meet experts and develop concrete recommendations for governments. They do not replace elected officials, but because they are composed of citizens from all walks of life, research shows that they can come up with new solutions and manage to reach a wider consensus.

Over the past two years, more and more assemblies have been organised all over the world. Yet very few have even heard of them in Sweden. That's why we organise these two events! We start on Tuesday with everything you need to know about climate assemblies and continue with a hands-on workshop on Thursday! (note: there's nothing on Wednesday even if Eventbrite thinks so)

When

Part 1. 18 May at 09–10:30 CEST [UTC+2]

What are citizens assemblies, why are they important and how can they help our democracy? Background and panel discussion with Klimatriksdagen and the organisers of the Danish climate assembly. Part 1 is in English, read more below.

Part 2. 20 May at 09-11 CEST [UTC+2]

How do we create a climate assembly? Hands-on workshop to build an assembly based on your own context and needs. Part 2 is in Swedish, read more below.

Where

This lab is part of Open Gov Week which this year is digital, wherever you are.

The lab is free to join and you will get a Zoom-link after you sign up.

The entry point for this lab

We are in a climate crisis and we need solutions.

An increasingly popular method for finding solutions are Citizens’ assemblies or panels. These assemblies deliberate, meet experts and develop concrete recommendations for governments. They do not replace elected officials, but because they are composed of randomly sorted citizens that are demographically representative, research shows that they can come up with new solutions and manage to reach a wider consensus.

Countries such as Denmark, France, the UK, or municipalities such as Trondheim and Warsaw have already organised climate assemblies and many more are currently taking place.

In Sweden, thousands participated in Klimatriksdagen's process in 2018 where anyone could suggest, debate and vote motions that were sent to the parliament.

Our aim for this lab is to gather climate and government experts to explore the potential benefits of climate assemblies in Sweden.

Part 1. 18 May 2021 09:00-10:30 CEST [UTC+2]

What are climate assemblies, why are they important and how can they help our democracy? (with Klimatriksdagen and organisers of the Danish Climate Assembly, in English)

On the 18th of May, we are inviting the Danish Board of Technology, which led the facilitation of the Danish climate assembly, and Klimatriksdagen to present their work. In a panel discussion they will discuss the citizen-led processes they organised. What did they achieve, what are their limits? Could Sweden benefit from more citizen participation to tackle climate change? What can citizens assemblies bring to the picture?

Agenda

• Introduction
• Experiences from the Danish Climate Assembly (15 min)
• Experiences from Klimatriksdagen (15 min)
• Pause (5 min)
• Panel discussion with questions from the public (40 min)
• Conclusion

Part 2. 20 May 2021 09:00-11:00 CEST [UTC+2]

How do we create a climate assembly? (with Digidem Lab, in Swedish)

On the 20th of May, we roll our sleeves up and put you behind the wheel. What questions would your climate assembly answer? What would be its mandate? How would you recruit the participants? How would it be facilitated?

This practical part of the lab will be facilitated by participation experts from Digidem Lab. It will be in Swedish and is designed primarily for government officials and civil society organisations that wish to organise a climate assembly. To make the most of your time, we ask you to attend part 1 or to watch the recording before participating in this practical session.

Who can participate?

All are invited and you can participate from wherever you are in the world. Part 1 is in English and Part 2 is in Swedish.

We want action, not just inspiration. We encourage you to bring more people from your organisation or cause so you can implement together what you have learned. We also recommend that you reach out to a local enabler or decision maker, like a local politician, who can help in making your assembly happen. Ask them if they want to join the lab together with you.

Facilitators

Sanna Ghotbi is co-founder and citizen participation expert at Digidem Lab. A former member of the Gothenburg city council, she now helps cities and public institutions in Sweden and around the world in designing participation processes that include citizens with the least decision making power and combining them with digital tools. She was part of the team designing the citizen assembly for the city of Madrid.

Pierre Mesure is an expert in citizen participation and digital democracy at Digidem Lab. Pierre is deeply involved in the development of the Swedish and international civic tech ecosystem, an advocate, speaker and trainer in the field of open government.

Digidem Lab is an independent democracy lab. It is currently working with cities such as Stockholm, Göteborg in Sweden or New York, Chicago and the EU commission internationally. It aims at bringing the most innovative methods and tools for participatory democracy to Sweden through an active participation in civic tech networks and international research projects such as COLDIGIT.

Open Gov Week

This lab is part of Open Gov Week 2021. Open Gov Week takes place from May 17 to May 21 and is designed for anyone who believes citizens should play a role in shaping the policies that affect their lives. Countries, citizens, governments, and civil society all over the world are taking part. See more events during Open Gov Week on their website.

Civic Tech Sweden is the growing community in Sweden for people working with technology for the common good and digital tools for community + democracy + transparency. Read more on civictech.se.

The conversation starts now

On our forum we will post more information about citizens assemblies. Feel free to ask questions in the thread as well and Sanna and Pierre will answer.

More questions?

Write your question in the forum or send us an e-mail!

• Sanna Ghotbi - sanna@digidemlab.org
• Pierre Mesure - pierre@digidemlab.org

The pictures used in the header is taken from the wonderful documentary made by our friends at All Hands On Docs (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Go and check it out!