G1000
G1000 emerged from a 2011 experiment in Belgium: assembling 1,000 randomly selected citizens to deliberate on major policy questions at a time when Belgian politics was in prolonged deadlock (the country had gone without a federal government for over a year). The experiment demonstrated that ordinary citizens, given structured time and balanced information, could reach substantive and considered conclusions on hard political questions.
The original G1000 has since become a model and a reference point for citizens' assembly design internationally. The Belgian experience — particularly the contrast between what the citizens produced and what the professional political class couldn't agree on — became one of the most cited early examples in the deliberative democracy literature.
The organisation continues to work on participatory processes and to document and share what was learned from the original experiment.
Key people
- David Van Reybrouck — Belgian cultural historian and author of Against Elections: The Case for Democracy (2013), the book that brought sortition arguments to a wide international audience. Co-initiated the original 2011 G1000 experiment and has been the most visible European public advocate for citizens' assemblies.
Links
- Website: g1000.org
See also
History
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2011-11-11
G1000 Citizens' Summit — 704 randomly selected citizens deliberate in Brussels during Belgium's 541-day government crisis
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In 2011, in the midst of a political crisis in a governmentless Belgium, G1000 was a citizens' initiative aimed at breathing new life into democracy by organizing a major citizens' consultation, bringing together 1,000 randomly selected citizens to make recommendations to the political world.
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2019-02-01
Ostbelgien permanent citizen dialogue launched — the German-speaking Community's Parliament unanimously adopts a decree embedding a permanent Citizens' Council
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This initiative, launched after a petition by Cap Démocratie, marked a first for Wallonia, where citizens and politicians worked together as equals.
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