Democratic Odyssey

The Democratic Odyssey was conceived and launched as a long-term journey through the rugged landscape of democratic contemporary pathologies. As a decentralised, collaborative and transparent exercise of crowdsourcing and co-creation, it seeks to bring together as many contributors as possible in different capacities and with different roles:

Concept and Methodology

The methodology behind the Democratic Odyssey builds on three key concepts – Citizen Assemblies, Sortition, Institutionalisation – and three key instruments – the Modular Framework, the Constituent Network, and the Flotilla. Each answers to a key question, which together guide the project’s implementation towards achieving its objectives.

Citizen Assemblies

The Democratic Odyssey centers on Citizen Assemblies, which are designed to include citizens in EU decision-making. These assemblies are transnational, interconnected, transparent, and empowering. They involve over 170 citizens from at least 15 EU Member States, engaging in multiple sessions to deliberate on key issues. The assemblies are intended to foster a sense of belonging to the EU and influence the EU through inclusive citizen participation.

Sortition

To ensure diversity, participants in the Citizen Assemblies are selected through sortition, a democratic lottery process. This method guarantees equal representation across various socio-economic backgrounds, such as age, gender, location, and ethnicity. Sortition ensures that all citizens have a fair chance of being included, thus bringing traditionally underrepresented voices into the decision-making process.

Institutionalisation

The project aims to institutionalize the Citizen Assembly concept as a lasting part of European democracy. The goal is to create a self-sustaining process of citizen participation that evolves over time. This institutionalization will embed the assemblies within the broader ecosystem of EU democracy, complementing existing participatory tools like the European Citizens’ Initiative.

Key instruments

The Modular Framework

This framework supports mutual learning and the institutionalization process by providing a knowledge base for the Citizen Assemblies. It relies on the collaborative efforts of the Constituent Network and offers a transparent and crowdsourced platform for collective decision-making.

The Constituent Network

The network consists of stakeholders like trade unions, media, NGOs, and citizens’ groups. It plays a critical role in shaping the process, providing feedback, and ensuring accountability. This network also helps expand the project’s reach and contributes to the long-term goal of establishing a permanent Citizens’ Assembly in the EU.

The Flotilla

The Flotilla is an outreach campaign designed to engage a broader public (“maxi-public”) and raise awareness about participatory and deliberative processes in the EU. It involves a community of supporters who assist in disseminating the project’s outputs and mobilizing constituencies for the institutionalization of the Citizens’ Assembly.

The core consortium

The European University Institute’s STG Transnational Democracy Programme launched the Odyssey in 2022 as the project’s lead scientific coordinators, a role they continue to fulfil. Particip’Action, the deliberative practitioners, are overseeing co-design, budgeting and facilitating for the 2024 assembly. European Alternatives, the transnational civil society organisation, are building bridges with grassroots networks, bringing minorities and non-EU citizens into the process, and introducing experimental and theatrical formats of assembly. The Citizens Takeover Europe coalition of over 60 civil society organisations is involved in co-designing the process and advocacy. The Democracy and Culture Foundation, based in Athens, contributes expertise in arts, technology and communications.

Now the Democratic Odyssey project is spearheaded by a strategic group of complementary partners, each playing a critical role in the project’s success.

European Alternatives (EA):

• Role: Project coordinator, responsible for methodology design, assembly organization, and ensuring the project’s alignment with EU civil society efforts.
• Expertise: Over a decade of experience in transnational citizen engagement, including organizing citizens’ assemblies across Europe, and extensive communication and impact evaluation skills.

European University Institute (EUI):

• Role: Academic partner, providing research expertise on European democracy and ensuring systematic mutual exchange among scholars, citizens, and decision-makers.
• Expertise: Interdisciplinary research and coordination of democratic forums, with strong administrative support for project management and evaluation.

Particip-Action (PA):

• Role: Practitioner partner, responsible for designing and facilitating transnational citizens’ assemblies and training facilitators.
• Expertise: Experience in organizing large-scale, multilingual, participatory processes, with a network extending beyond Europe to the Global North and South.

Mehr Demokratie (MD):

• Role: Civil society partner, focusing on public mobilization, campaigning, and integrating direct democracy into participatory processes.
• Expertise: Pioneering work in citizens’ assemblies and direct democracy, with a strong track record in advising on democratic innovations at multiple governance levels.

Together, these partners bring diverse expertise and resources to implement the Democratic Odyssey project, ensuring its objectives are met effectively and sustainably.

Funder and Project Partners