This summer, 30,000 citizens in Gentofte Municipality received an invitation to participate in the climate citizen gathering that Gentofte Municipality, in collaboration with We Do Democracy, has now launched. 330 citizens signed up to participate, from which 36 representatively selected citizens eventually got a place in the collection.
The 36 Gentofteborgers met for the first time on September 16th and will meet 5 times during the fall to develop and formulate concrete recommendations for municipal politicians on how to ensure a sustainable green transition that takes into account the different needs of citizens.
Citizens’ assemblies like this help to create legitimacy in political decision-making processes because citizens’ voices are engaged and heard to a greater extent than we are used to in democratic decision-making processes. One of the strengths of the deliberative process is that it allows citizens to look each other in the eye, hear and understand other perspectives, and build a bigger picture of how to ensure sustainable solutions to complex challenges. The process ultimately gives the citizen assembly’s recommendations a broader scope, which creates a higher degree of inclusion and legitimacy in the political decisions of local politicians.
We are incredibly excited to facilitate the climate town hall meeting, and we look forward to working together to find green solutions to the climate challenges of the future.
The next meeting will be held on November 18th and recommendations should be ready for politicians on Monday. December 18, 2023.
Follow us on social media for regular updates.