Organized by the Laboratory for Active Citizenship (ActivLab) of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, on Tuesday, November 15, from 12:00 in the Media Center, the results of the citizen assemblies organized in Belgrade and Valjevo will be presented.

Is it possible, even in times of crisis of democracy, polarization of society and spread of misinformation, to directly and qualitatively involve citizens in making decisions that affect the quality of their lives? How knowledgeable are the citizens about local problems and how willing and capable are they to deal with those problems?

Can institutions of citizen assemblies represent a solution for reducing the democratic deficit? What do citizen assemblies look like in practice, can they contribute to hearing the voice of citizens and where is their application in representative democracy?

These are just some of the questions that were asked through the first attempt to apply this innovative model of participatory democracy in Serbia.

At the event, the results of two citizen assemblies organized in 2020 will be presented – one in Valjevo on the topic of air pollution and the other in Belgrade on the topic of mobility in the city center. In addition, specific recommendations for the implementation of the institutions of civil assemblies in Serbia will be presented.

The following will participate in the discussion: Irena Fiket, coordinator of ActivLab, Institute for Philosophy and Social Gazela Pudar Draško, director of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Vukosava Crnjanski, director of CRTA and Jelena Avramović, USAID (TBC).

IFDT Brief
 
Laboratory for Active Citizenship focus on research of institutional and extra-institutional participation of citizens. ActiveLab explore different models of participatory, deliberative and agonistic democracy and their relevance for the development of a democratic society.