International delegations gathered for the parliamentary exchange
Art O’Leary sharing the origin story of the Irish Citizens’ Assemblies
Mario Pardo, a member of the Constitutional Council in Chile, discusses Chile's ongoing constitutional reform process
Hon. Collins Kajawa of Malawai speaks at parliamentary exchange
After having to delay Global Innovations in Democracy Parliamentary Exchange (GID) in fall 2023 due to a potential government shutdown, IDEA and the Center for Democracy Innovation at the National Civic League hosted the second GID exchange in April 2024. The exchange included delegations from nearly a dozen countries, representing Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, France, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
“We need to make democracy more democratic.” -Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
United States House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi offered remarks at the opening reception, hosted by Walter Goetz, head of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington D.C. Pelosi told the crowd, “We need to make democracy more democratic.” Pelosi described how democracy innovations can help empower women in politics and underlined the importance of having women in leadership on the global level.
The following day, American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies hosted a series of panel discussions where Members of Parliament, civil servants, academics, and thought leaders spotlighted a wide array of democratic innovations from around the globe. These innovations ranged from the Senate Machinani in Kenya, where the Senate holds its proceedings in different parts of the country and focuses on issues relevant to the area, to deliberative committees between citizens and legislators in the Brussels parliament. A panel also focused on the impact of AI and led to a discussion on how large and powerful countries have much more leverage over the AI industry, and their decisions (or lack thereof) will have powerful impacts on how the industry affects smaller and/or developing countries. Across all the discussions, participants stressed the importance of involving the public as an asset and the need for deeper constituent engagement. In a worldwide atmosphere of pessimism, concern, and confusion about democracy, the presentations showed how democracy innovation provides an undercurrent of proven practices, current and potential systemic reforms, and hope.
GID culminated in an exchange at the U.S. Capitol, where the conversation opened with U.S. Representative Nick Langworthy (R-NY), emphasizing the importance and need for international dialogue amongst leaders. Art O’Leary shared the origin story of the Irish Citizens’ Assemblies, how they have succeeded, and how they have become recognized as the way to solve hard public problems in Ireland. Participants heard details of the experiences of Belgium, France, and Germany in implementing their own Citizens’ Assemblies at the local and national levels - especially France’s experience with the Citizen Convention on the End of Life and the German Bundestag’s permanent Citizen Assembly. Throughout the exchange, participants delved into new ways to modernize how legislators worldwide engage with their citizens, and the challenges of meeting constituents' needs with limited resources.