Nivek Thompson interviewt drie betrokkenen over het ontwerp en de oprichting van de Assemblée Citoyenne, de permanente Parijse burgerraad: Anouch Toranian, the loco-burgemeester van Parijs, Yves Dejaeghere, algemeen directeur van Federation for Innovation in Democracy, Europe (FIDE) en Claudia Chwalisz, leidinggevende van innovation in citizen engagement with the OECD. De Parijse burgerraad werd opgericht in 2021 en bestaat uit 100 gelote inwoners van Parijs. De raad kan gevoerd beleid evalueren, aparte burgerjury's in het even roepen en het onderwerp bepalen van het jaarlijkse burgerbudget. Het unieke is dat de gemeenteraad verantwoordelijkheid deelt met de burgerraad zelf over hoe de burgerraad werkt.
Claudia Chwalisz: 'I think it's a super-exciting example for a couple of reasons. It's unique in the fact that, as Anouch was saying at the very beginning, it has come bottom-up, from the demand of citizens. So I think this is the first time that we see a deliberative body being institutionalized because it's something that people have demanded. It has not been a top-down thing initiated by Anouch or by anybody else in the city of Paris. Of course, it has been also astounding to see that the immense political will to then take that citizen demand and actually drive it forward, and relatively quickly, and make sure that it does happen and come into place. And beyond that, it's also, I would say, the most far-reaching model of institutionalized public deliberation that we have seen anywhere in terms of the competencies that have actually been given to everyday people living in Paris.'
Bron: Real Democracy Now! podcast, 31 december 2021