Citizens’ Parliaments – what are they? Citizens’ Parliaments are assemblies where ordinary people come together – citizens like you and me. The discussions focus on important topics such as media and democracy.
Between March and May 2025, such parliaments were held in Austria, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. These meetings took place under the title “Learnings for Democratic Innovation.” The participants showed great commitment, discussed crucial public issues, and thereby demonstrated the value of Citizens’ Parliaments. These parliaments were part of the EU research project MeDeMAP.
On September 24, 2025, a round table was held at the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten as a follow-up event to the parliaments. Experts from Austria, the Czech Republic, Ireland, and Slovenia met there to discuss the results and insights.
The program was hosted by Helmut Peissl, Managing Director of COMMIT, the Community Media Institute for Training, Research, and Consulting.
Speakers included:
- Brankica Petkovic, Slovenia
- Rosemary Day, Ireland
- Laurence Monnot, Austria
They presented the outcomes of the Citizens’ Parliaments from their respective countries.
At the round table, Nico Carpentier from the Czech Republic also participated. Unfortunately, the audio quality of his presentation was so poor that this part had to be removed. After the four presentations, there was also a discussion with Austrian experts, but this part did not make it into the broadcast either.
All content is available to read at medemap.commit.at.
- Show design: Sabine Hubner
The illustration was made with AI.
