What is a citizens’ council?
The purpose of a citizens’ council is to involve citizens more in political decision-making and to increase citizens’ confidence in politics. It consists of a group of residents of, for example, a municipality or in this case the entire country. That group meets several times in three phases.
First, the participants are informed by experts, experienced experts and interest groups. They then consult with each other under the guidance of an independent discussion leader. This ensures that everyone has their say and is heard. The groups look for solutions and recommendations.
Finally, those recommendations and solutions are voted on. The resulting recommendations will be made public, together with the voting ratio. It is then up to politicians to develop those recommendations into policy.