THE EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

I – Current issues of participatory democracy in Europe

For about 15 years now, we have been seeing a sharp rise in actions aimed at getting citizens involved in the process of drawing up and determining the content of decisions made in their name by the elected officials of a representative democracy. A handful of isolated experiments, such as the participatory budget of Porto Alegre, have met with a good deal of media attention, enabling the propagation of the idea of participatory democracy throughout the planet. However, many innovative initiatives remain largely unknown, particularly in Europe. And yet, participation by citizens in the decision processes of their government appears today to be one of the founding principles of legitimate public action.

Moreover, widespread protest voting can often be interpreted as an appeal for participation and involvement in determining policy. While the idea may not be new, it is no longer the exclusive province of social movements challenging the established power structure. It has now regained credence among some government authority figures who see it at times as an opportunity to improve their policies by including the expertise of usage and, at other times, to modernise administrative structures, redistribute power in a given territory or sector, re-legitimise the political system or renew the desire to take part in public affairs in citizens who have grown cynical but who stand ready to have their say if the rules of the game are not characterised by trickery. Often thought of as a way of taking action on a local scale, participatory democracy has begun to take shape at the regional level.

Thus, for two years now, the Poitou-Charentes region has been implementing a participatory budget in all of the lycées (secondary schools) that it administers, giving students, teachers, technical staff and parents power to debate and decide upon the budget priorities of their establishment. In the Tuscany region, a proposition on participatory democracy has been opened up to public discussion.

The European government, for its part, encourages actions of participatory democracy in the name of “good governance.” Thus, more and more political institutions are laying claim to the idea of participatory democracy. While the way this is carried out and the tangible forms that it takes vary (participatory budgets, juries of citizens, conferences of consensus, miscellaneous citizen committees and boards, and so on) according to the context at hand, the participatory watershed has, in a matter of just a few years, become an element of political action that cannot be ignored. In parallel to this change, current research in social sciences is quite interested in the emergence of deliberative public forums. Not only from a theoretical point of view, but also based on field research, numerous endeavours are looking at how the fundamentals of participatory democracy and new political practices are affecting the ways in which government governs.

Moreover, with an eye to developing collaborative expertise and support for participative actions, many researchers are investing in evaluation of public policy in the area. Drawing support from the twofold observation, first of all, that participatory democracy is truly emerging and secondly that there is a strong scientific interest in the matter, the European Foundation for Participatory Democracy would like to take part in facilitating meetings and dialogue amongst the various participants in this movement.

II – The Objectives of the European Foundation for Participatory Democracy

It is the aim of the European Foundation for Participatory Democracy to table a draft proposal that is of a sustainable nature. The foundation is taking part in drawing up a document of broad interest, which is not for profit. The objective of the foundation will be to develop and publish experiments, tools and knowledge meant to serve the cause of participatory democracy. The voice of the foundation will be at the crossroads of European values of democracy, liberty and solidarity.

A European forum for dialogue and reflection, the foundation will constitute a resource centre available to participants working in the field and as part of community organisations. It will draw on research to promote a culture of critical analysis that cannot be dissociated from any participative action. The fact that the foundation is based in Europe will not prevent it from acting on a broader scale. In the long run, the foundation aims to become a pivotal figure in the intercontinental dialogue on participatory democracy.

A – A Forum Serving Participants in the Field and Community Organisations

A growing consensus is being expressed in Europe to the effect that a system of participatory democracy needs to be implemented. While there are no devices or ideal models that can be directly transposed from one place to another to bring participatory democracy to life, in order to give it more depth, it must now be held up to the light of European experience.

The institutions and citizens who are committed to participatory democracy are continuously called upon to re-invent the form that their commitment will take, so that actions towards participation can be carried into the future without losing momentum. Many such citizens and institutions would like to provide fodder for their reflection and action by exchanging information on “good practices” that are already well established. Until now, relations amongst the various participants have remained relatively informal and/or limited to groups that are rather small in numbers. It therefore appears imperative that a forum be established where exchange and well-defined pooling of resources and ideas can take place.

Henceforth, it will be part of the foundation’s mission to make identified “good practices” of participatory democracy available through a common network. Through an international ripple effect, the foundation’s vocation will be to serve as a point of convergence and distribution of the experiences of participatory democracy and the analyses arising from these experiences. In this regard, the foundation will contribute to developing the most promising and effective practices, while promoting comparative assessment of actions taken by bringing together interested practitioners and researchers. Finally, by disseminating information on research work that is accessible to a broad audience, the foundation will contribute to public absorption, critical examination and better understanding of the contemporary issues of participatory democracy.

B – A Forum Serving Scientific Research and Students For researchers, the foundation’s contribution will take shape, first of all, through establishment of a (freely accessible) resource centre where documentary information on international practices and research pertaining to participatory democracy can be found in a single location.

The foundation will take care to establish close ties and a symbiotic relationship with existing documentation centres in Europe. For, as things stand now, circulation of documentation remains too confined to a narrow geographical location, and national boundaries remain difficult to cross.

The foundation therefore proposes to take part in developing a European research movement, encouraging construction of a common knowledge base through shared methods, references and lines of questioning on participatory democracy. Toward this end, the foundation will work towards broadcasting and enhancing the value of research by publishing information on certain projects on its Website and by contributing to publication and translation of these documents.

This internationalisation of research will also find expression through establishment of a directory of researchers and organisation of regular symposia, seminars and study sessions. The body of knowledge formed by these initiatives will also be able to contribute to educating students on participatory democracy. University curricula are now taking on a European dimension that could be reinforced by holding conferences, courses and seminars that will have an international impact as the scientific participants travel around the world. Eventually, bursaries for study travel could be awarded to students or young researchers.

III – Initial Perspectives

One of the first tasks of the foundation will be to establish a resource centre, making both theoretical and practical resources available to anyone who is now involved in promoting truly innovative political practices founded on a new division of decision-making power. To lend a truly international dimension to its activity, the foundation will draw support form new information and communication technologies. The activities of the foundation could start up in Autumn 2007 with the launch of a Website that includes a collaborative forum and initial contacts with institutional partners, research centres, and so on.