Every Voice in the Village

How Citizen Assemblies can help all of us feel like we belong

Reimagining citizen assemblies or juries to go beyond being a consultation exercise and imbue all members in our community and country with a sense of belonging and shared responsibility is a deeply powerful intention and requires structural, cultural and community-centred design shifts.

This is about seeing the bigger picture: focusing less on a Citizen Assembly being used as an engagement tool for a decision to be made and more on encouraging greater community participation in government decision-making and ensuring all community members feel heard when they share their voice on matters which affect them.

Here are a few ideas (posed as “what if” questions) for positive change:

1.  From Decision-Making to Place-Making - what if we co-located citizen assemblies in public spaces (e.g. libraries, sports clubs, community gardens) — not in sterile civic buildings — and embedded local identity into the process? Make the engagement visible and integrated with the community itself? It would ground our decisions in place, not policy. The process would feel transparent and show that government is working with community, not merely consulting community at arm’s length. What if each Citizen Assembly or Jury ‘left something behind’ as part of the experience - a mural, a shared meal, a time capsule, or a public letter.

2.  Civic Circles, Not Just Civic Panels - what if citizens were recruited in small local circles (like neighbourhood pods or postcode groups), and have them meet regularly over months, not just one-off events? The long-term, small-group familiarity would foster trust, build communities within the broader community, and create a sense of “we”.

3.  Intergenerational & Intercultural Pairing - what if we designed Citizen Assemblies that require cross-generational and cross-cultural pairs or triads to work together — e.g. a teenager, a senior, and a recent migrant? This would model a community social contract in miniature, building empathy and deepen understanding of different lived experiences.

4.  Participatory Budgets With a Twist: “Legacy Pools” - what if Citizens’ Juries allocated small budgets specifically for projects led by the community that benefit future residents? This idea shifts thinking from consumption to stewardship and creates a culture of long-term, shared responsibility.

5.  Civic Theatre: Embodied Assemblies - what if techniques from theatre and roleplay were used to deepen the engagement - like “legislative theatre” or scenario dramatisations — to let participants act out different futures before deciding? This makes complex decisions feel more human. Reduces alienation, especially for people less confident in formal debate.

6.  Belonging Charters – Co-Written, Co-Held - what if we begin each Citizens’ Jury not with rules but with a co-created “Belonging Charter” — a living document that outlines what this community values, welcomes, and protects to help more people feel part of the process and outcome? It would reframe the process from “how do we decide?” to “who are we, together?”

7.  Global-Local Exchange Panels - what if we create occasional mixed assemblies with participants from other cities or countries doing similar work — via video link or exchange — to compare ideas? It would bulld solidarity and shared responsibility beyond borders. “We’re not the only ones trying or doing this.”

8.  Civic Apprenticeships - what if we invited residents to apply for longer-term “apprentice” roles in local governance — rotating through assemblies, local government teams, and community groups, helping to run the assemblies (not just participate in them)? This would deepen skill-building, connection, and long-term engagement beyond a single jury. Think: “resident leaders-in-training.”

9.  The Story Bench - what if we included a “story bench” or audio storytelling space at every Citizen Assembly where residents share brief personal experiences related to the issue at hand, in addition to the facts, documents and reference material participants use to inform their discussion and decision? This humanises issues, reveals emotional stakes, and builds narrative connection between participants.

10.  “Civic Gifts” at the End of Every Assembly - what if each assembly ends with participants offering a small public “gift” — not physical, but symbolic. A pledge, a piece of writing, a policy suggestion, a poem, a performance? This would reinforce the idea that everyone brings something valuable to the community. Fosters pride, identity, and co-ownership.

What do you think?