Hey, Do you also sometimes feel like you don't get a say when it comes to your future?
In Vorarlberg, they've developed something that changes that. That's the Citizens' Council!
Citizens' Council "Fair elections", 2022
In the Citizens' Council, the people of Vorarlberg work together to develop recommendations
for the state parliament.
And this time it's about "Fair Elections"!
You are an Austrian citizen. You can vote. I treat you fairly.
No polls on the election results.
Simply that one deals openly and honestly with the citizens.
In Vorarlberg, there have already been 13 statewide and over 60 regional and municipal citizens' councils
on various societal issues since 2006.
climate, youth, agriculture, refugees and also education.
The federal province in the west of Austria is better known as a tourist destination
between Lake Constance and the mountains.
With its citizens' council, however, it also plays a pioneering role in Europe in terms of democracy.
The country's constitution enshrines a commitment to participatory democracy.
This means that, in addition to representative democracy,
participation, and thus citizen involvement, is an important pillar of policy-making.
I think it's important to involve the population in this process, especially nowadays,
when critical voices are often raised against politics.
To really get people from the spectator’s ranks onto the playing field, so to speak.
Here, participation processes such as a citizens' council or other forms of participation
- also digital - are a good way to re-establish an exchange, a dialogue at eye level with the population.
We elect policy-makers every 5 years, but we are too fast, there is a lot of change in two years.
So it gives politics the opportunity to better understand the current situation and problems of the population.
How to start a citizens' council?
Citizens' councils can be started directly by the government or parliament.
The population can also initiate a citizens' council by collecting 1,000 signatures.
I heard about this idea that you can collect signatures and I simply got two friends on board.
We just started naively.
Anyone can sign. You don't need a passport which was very helpful. You just have to live in Vorarlberg and be over 16.
And it was not so difficult for us because we could collect the signatures online and in the streets.
Who can participate?
Participants are selected at random from the registration register,
according to the criteria of age, gender and place of residence.
That means it can be anyone, you or me. Anyone who lives in Vorarlberg, regardless of their citizenship.
To be honest, I got the letter and had no idea what a citizens’ council was.
I had to find out and research it myself first.
For me it was clear from the start, I want to participate in the citizens' council.
I want to be part of it. I want to have a say
We try to provide support to encourage participation. From childcare to free travel on public transportation.
We provide a certificate for the employer, but there is no financial compensation for participation.
How does a citizens' council work?
The citizens' council meets during 2 days, on a weekend.
The cooperation of the group is moderated such that each person can freely express their opinion on the subject.
This has had a strong impact because fundamental rights have been violated.
From your point of view.
Everyone is allowed to speak. Young people can speak, old people can speak,
and there are people who have a higher level of education than others,
and yet the knowledge from the niche reality is very important, this everyday knowledge.
It's worth the experience. You also learn a lot from it,
from the fact that there are so many different opinions and experiences, and it's incredibly fun.
The recommendations of the citizens' council are then presented to the public, online and in a citizens' café.
Other interested parties can then also discuss the recommendations.
Can the right to vote be dependent on citizenship?
We want the right to vote for non-citizens after a period of about 10 years.
In the next step, representatives from politics and administration examine
a possible implementation of the recommendations.
They complete the proposals and prepare a report.
The report is then submitted to the state parliament.
This kind of participation makes sense and is important only if it results in something.
The government takes the results seriously. You can't always implement everything.
But the results are taken up. The government has also made a voluntary commitment.
Citizens' Councils have been successful in Vorarlberg.
At the citizens' council on the future of agriculture, the participants had recommended
using more regional food in public canteens.
As a result, the initiative "Vorarlberg am Teller" (Vorarlberg on a Plate) was launched by politicians.
With a population of 400,000, we reached more than 100 schools and kindergartens last year
with Vorarlberg am Teller,
and we delivered more than 2,5 million meals through the initiative.
When I hear something like that, I would like to participate in a citizens' council myself.
And I would like my region to also offer this opportunity to have a say. What about you?