Promoting Deliberative Democracy in the Basque Country

In 2021 we began our journey of exploring and deepening Deliberative Democracy in Arantzazulab. Since then, we have collaborated with different actors at local and international levels. To this end, we have carried out various initiatives, including: the design and implementation of two Citizens‘ Assemblies (in Tolosa and Gipuzkoa); participation in the design of the Basque Autonomous Community Citizens’ Assembly. We have also systematised and expanded the knowledge we have gathered, we have translated into Basque and enriched with context information the guide published by DemocracyNext ‘Design and implementation of Citizens’ Assemblies’; we continue to collaborate with different organisations and local actors in designing new deliberative processes; and in general, we explore ways to promote and institutionalise deliberative democracy in our environment.

This week we have reached an important milestone in this journey with the publication of the report ‘Promoting Deliberative Democracy in the Basque Country’, prepared in collaboration with the OECD. This report takes stock of the experience developed in the Basque Country and, focusing in particular on the Tolosa Citizens’ Assembly. The text identifies seven areas of opportunity to improve the quality and impact of future deliberative processes. In order to move from experimentation to permanent and systemic use of deliberative processes in the Basque Country, the OECD suggests 10 recommendations grouped into 3 main areas of action: 1) institutionalising deliberative practices, 2) integrating deliberation into public administration, and 3) integrating deliberation inside and outside government. These recommendations list concrete actions like:

• Building permanent deliberative institutions that provide citizens with a regular opportunity to participate and reinforce the synergies with representative institutions.
• Updating existing legislations or adopting new frameworks that enable civic lottery and remuneration.
• Building a narrative for public investment in deliberation to secure resources for future processes and enable economies of scale.
• Creating a dedicated, interdisciplinary public service for deliberation.

You can download the full report here. The report is published in English, and the executive summary in the three languages: Basque, English and Spanish. You can download the executive summary here.

We are really happy because it is an important milestone to continue promoting deliberative democracy in the Basque Country. In the coming months we will have several activities to follow up on this objective, we will keep you informed!