Another very busy day at the Citizen’s Assembly for Northern Ireland. The assembly members were getting into the crucial work of agreeing resolutions and did the ground work for the recommendations that will be discussed and finalised tomorrow.
The resolutions so far agreed are embargoed until tomorrow at midnight so it would not be appropriate to explore them now. However in terms of the process, there were working recommendations drawn from the work done during the last weekend.
These were discussed and amended based on arguments and suggestions put forward by individual participants, and agreed via a vote of the entire assembly.
Everyone had an opportunity to express their perspectives and dissenting views, and a consensus emerged. It was very democratic, and the process worked more efficiently as members got used to how it worked. This work will be completed tomorrow, and recommendations will be finalised.
Special mention has to be made of the academic team who have volunteered so much of their time. They were working long after the meeting last night to finalise preparations for today in response to what emerged from the discussion. I for one am humbled by their commitment and generosity.
I have particularly enjoyed meeting people from different political backgrounds, and have been surprised to find so much common ground. The assembly has a lot of very wise and thoughtful members.
The nature of party politics often means that there has to be a ‘winner’ who is seen to be responsible for doing something or solving a problem, and as a result perhaps we miss out in innovative solutions to problems that would emerge if we could more effectively work together.
The Citizen’s Assembly is demonstrating that people from across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland can work effectively together and offer practical and realistic recommendations.
Regardless of the current democratic deficit in NI, I strongly believe this model of engaging citizens in the process of policy development is a real step forward in broadening democracy and citizen participation. This has been the most encouraging political development in Northern Ireland for some time.
Ulster Green 