Deliberative democracy takes over Arantzazu

Organised by Arantzazulab and Deliberativa, the meeting of the network of promoters of deliberative democracy in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was held in Arantzazu for two days.

Representatives of various organisations and institutions from Spain and Portugal gathered at the meeting held at the Arantzazulab headquarters on 27 and 28 June. The network was launched in early 2023 and 81 people are currently taking part: Institutions (15 representatives), Designers and Organisers of processes (22 professionals), Facilitators (11 representatives), Academia (20 representatives) and Promoters (13).

These professionals, who promote, design, and implement Citizens’ Assemblies and innovative deliberation processes in different territories, and who have different roles in these processes, representatives of governments, university researchers, designers and facilitators, have worked together for two days. The construction of this collaborative network started in the last few months, during which numerous online meetings have been held. In Arantzazu, however, the first face-to-face meeting has taken place between the members of this network with the aim of getting to know each other better, exchanging experiences and defining a roadmap for the coming months.

During these days in Arantzazulab, different reflections have been made and two main areas have been discussed: the key elements to deepen the practice of deliberation, and the principles to promote deliberative democracy. The stakeholders and representatives of different organisations who came to Arantzazu positively valued this gathering.

The Arantzazulab experience

During the sessions, the Arantzazulab team shared their experience, lessons learned and next steps in regard to deliberative democracy. With the aim of putting collaborative governance into practice, Arantzazulab experimented with deliberative democracy during its first year. In this regard, two Citizens’ Assemblies were promoted and set up for the first time and in a pioneering way in the territory (Tolosa Citizens’ Assembly: Link; Gipuzkoa Citizens’ Assembly: Link). In addition, work is being carried out on the design of new processes at the level of the Basque Autonomous Community (Climate Assembly of the Basque Country, other regional deliberative processes, etc.), which will allow Arantzazulab to continue deepening in collaborative governance and democratic innovation, as well as to activate new models of relationship between public institutions and citizens. Arantzazulab’s final aim is to develop local knowledge on deliberative democracy, create the necessary local capacities, and establish the conditions to institutionalise deliberative processes in Basque institutions, incorporating this deliberative approach in a permanent way in order to involve citizens meaningfully in the public decisions of Basque institutions.