Ongoing or planned projects
If you are interested in joining one of the projects or have a proposal to co-create a project, don’t hesitate to contact us via contact@citizens-democracy.ch
Young Climate and Biodiversity Advocates in Douala, Cameroon
Turning Dialogue into Action
Through deliberative processes like citizens’ assemblies and community monitoring points, young people in Douala are shaping local environmental solutions. By coming together, discussing challenges, and co-creating projects, they turn ideas into real, sustainable action.
Project Overview:
This initiative empowers youth across five neighborhoods—Mambanda, Makepe Missoke, New Town Airport, New Bell, and Vallée Bessengue—to protect biodiversity, address climate change, and promote a green economy. Young leaders are trained to facilitate assemblies, implement micro-projects such as waste recycling, composting, tree planting, and community gardens, and run awareness campaigns. A network of youth ambassadors ensures the continuity and impact of these actions. Over 12–18 months, the project mobilizes 250 youth leaders and establishes community monitoring points to track environmental challenges and solutions.
FIBL
An SNF project proposal in collaboration with FiBL has been submitted and is currently awaiting feedback from the Swiss National Science Foundation. The proposal focuses on sustainable Mediterranean agricultural production systems—specifically olive and almond cultivation in Spain and Portugal—and applies plural valuation approaches alongside the participatory co-creation of future scenarios for agricultural landscapes and value chains.
Further information will be shared once the evaluation results are available.
Design, Implementation and Analysis Tool (DIA Tool) for Citizens’ Assemblies in Switzerland
The DIA Tool project aims to develop an instrument that enables citizens’ assemblies to be planned, implemented and analysed. In order to develop a first prototype, we will be following the first national citizens’ council/assembly on a Common Food Policy through involvement in the research process. We will not only analyse and assess all the stages and the public perception of the proceedings but also its efficiency. From this we will develop a first prototype, which will enable us to design, implement and analyse the next national citizens’ assembly from start to finish. From this further cycle we will then develop the final tool. The aim is to develop a method that is as adapted as possible to the Swiss setting and which will enable such citizens’ councils to be used as a democracy-strengthening instrument in a targeted and efficient way. Contexts such as the choice of the various actors in the process which complies with the need for transparency and independence should be guaranteed, as should the selection of participants who actually represent the target population. The potential of innovative forms of dialogue and process design, such as the application of Theory U and Art of Hosting, should also be clearly embedded.
Finished projects
aufgedeckt – Citizens’ Assembly for Switzerland’s Food Future, FiBL, 2024
The project “aufgedeckt – Rat für Ernährung” brought together citizens from the Canton of St. Gallen to deliberate on how to build a sustainable, fair, and future-oriented food system for Switzerland.
Between late March and early June 2024, two groups of selected citizens met repeatedly in a structured, deliberative process. They studied the state of the Swiss food system through expert inputs and excursions, developed shared visions for the future, and formulated concrete proposals.
After deliberation and collective reflection, the participants agreed on a catalogue of recommended measures. They then publicly presented their work through an installation (from 26–30 June 2024 in Lichtensteig), where visitors could engage in evening table-talks and discuss the visions and proposals with assembly members.
The recommendations were scheduled to be discussed in a policy workshop in October 2024 with invited stakeholders from politics, farming organizations, food-system actors, and civil society — aiming to transform citizen-generated ideas into political and societal action.
The assembly exemplified citizens’ democracy in action: through participation, deliberation, and inclusive dialogue, it strengthened public involvement and the legitimacy of decision-making on Switzerland’s food future. Citizens’ Democracy supported the initial design of the assembly and observed the entire process, ensuring transparency, fairness, and adherence to deliberative-democratic standards.
Future Council (Zukunftsrat) U24: Empowering Young People to Shape Switzerland’s Future, Pro Futuris, 2023
Zukunftsrat U24 was a unique citizens’ council for young people aged 16–24, designed to give youth a meaningful voice in social and political decision-making in Switzerland. The council consisted of 80 randomly selected members, carefully chosen to reflect the diversity of Swiss youth in terms of age, gender, region, language, and background.
The process began with an open call, inviting young people to propose topics they cared about. A dedicated topic commission reviewed the submissions, grouped them into thematic areas, and a nationwide survey determined which issue would be addressed. In 2023, mental health was selected as the priority topic.
Over three weekends, council members came together to learn, deliberate, and develop concrete recommendations. They received expert input, engaged in discussions with stakeholders, and collaborated in structured debates, ensuring their proposals were well-informed and practical.
The entire process followed clear, transparent rules and was overseen by independent commissions to guarantee fairness, inclusivity, and representativeness. The outcome was a set of actionable recommendations for policymakers, institutions, and society — reflecting the perspectives and priorities of Switzerland’s youth.
Citizens Democracy was in the advisory council of the process board (Alexandra Gavilano) and the advisory council of the evaluation board (Bettina Duerr), Rafael Widmer was the project manager for the coordinating organisation.
Book: With a Future Council Against the Climate Crisis (Mit einem Zukunftsrat gegen die Klimakrise), 2023
With a Future Council Against the Climate Crisis (Mit einem Zukunftsrat gegen die Klimakrise), edited by Sonia I. Seneviratne, explores how Switzerland can better address long-term challenges, especially the climate crisis, by integrating citizens’ voices directly into political decision-making. The book combines expert analyses with the perspectives of ordinary Swiss residents, highlighting their experiences, concerns, and expectations for future-oriented policies.
Citizens’ Democracy wrote a dedicated chapter that examines how citizens’ assemblies — deliberative bodies composed of randomly selected citizens — can complement traditional representative and direct democracy. It explains their design, role, and potential impact in shaping public policy, showing how ordinary citizens can contribute informed, practical, and democratically legitimate proposals.
Through this combination of citizen input and expert reflection, the book argues for embedding long-term, participatory structures — such as a “future council” — into Switzerland’s democratic system, ensuring that society’s most pressing challenges are addressed with broad legitimacy.
Bibliographic details: ISBN‑13: 978‑3‑03942‑167‑1
Seneviratne, S. I., et al. (Eds.). (2023). With a Future Council Against the Climate Crisis (Mit einem Zukunftsrat gegen die Klimakrise). Scheidegger & Spiess. ISBN 978‑3‑03942‑167‑1. https://www.scheidegger-spiess.ch/produkt/mit-einem-zukunftsrat-gegen-die-klimakrise/1439
Citizens’ Assembly for Common Food Policy — Shaping the Future of Switzerland’s Food, Biovision, 2022
In 2022, Switzerland brought together 80 residents from across the country to form the Citizens’ Assembly for Common Food Policy. Randomly selected to reflect the nation’s diversity — in age, gender, region, language, and background — these participants became the voice of the people in shaping the future of food.
Over several months, the assembly tackled one central question: How should Switzerland’s common food policy ensure that, by 2030, everyone has access to healthy, sustainably and fairly produced, and animal‑friendly food?
Participants immersed themselves in the entire food system. They attended educational sessions, engaged with experts, visited farms and production facilities, and held in-depth discussions with stakeholders. This hands-on approach gave them a complete understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Swiss food production and consumption.
Through thoughtful deliberation and debate, the assembly developed over 120 recommendations covering health, environment, social fairness, production practices, economy, and governance of the food system.
The process concluded with a food system summit, where the recommendations were formally handed to policymakers and institutions. The Citizens’ Assembly demonstrated the power of deliberative democracy: bringing together a diverse cross-section of society to generate informed, practical, and democratically grounded solutions for one of Switzerland’s most important societal challenges — the sustainable transformation of its food system.
Alexandra Gavilano was commissioned by Collaboratio Helvetica to design the process for the Common Food Policy. After completing the process design, Alexandra Gavilano, Riaan Kämpfer and Bettina Duerr took the lead in the Citizens’ Democracy role, overseeing research on public perceptions of Citizens’ Assemblies and their potential as a complementary method for direct democracy.
Academic Citizens’ Assembly (ACA) — A New Model of Citizens’ Democracy, EPFL, 2021
The Academic Citizens’ Assembly (ACA) was conceived as an innovative governance process aimed at complementing traditional representative democracy with participatory, deliberative methods. Its vision was to engage all legal residents from age 14 and upward — inviting a truly inclusive public to discuss and decide on pressing societal issues through informed deliberation and collective decision-making.
ACA’s design combines rigorous, academically‑prepared, unbiased materials with structured deliberation. Participants learn through seminars and workshops, engage in balanced dialogue with people from diverse backgrounds, and finally cast an anonymous vote — all to produce proposals that reflect a well‑informed and collectively legitimate view.
The first prototype edition of ACA took place on 4 June 2021. That initial assembly was small‑scale, convened to explore what the first five years of a genuine societal transition in Switzerland towards sustainability could look like — including aspects such as food systems, energy transition, and broader social change.
During its creation and first implementation, ACA was supported by Alexandra Gavilano from Citizens’ Democracy. Citizens’ Democracy contributed to the development of the assembly’s design and observed the first 2021 assembly, helping ensure transparency, inclusivity, and adherence to deliberative‑democratic standards.
Website Academic Citizen Assembly
Anchoring Citizens’ Assemblies in the Swiss Political System, 2021 – 2023
In this project, our aim is to introduce a new direct-democracy instrument into the Swiss political system in order to make faster yet democratically-supported decisions on complex issues. After discussions with actors from politics and civil society, as well as observations made during the Corona pandemic and the debate on climate protection and agriculture, it has become clear that there has to be new forms of decision-making that are also supported by the population. With the convening of citizens’ assemblies by parliament or the people, a decision reached through this form of deliberation could already be found within a year. In order that such citizens’ assemblies are not just perceived as an interesting exercise in politics, we have developed a fact sheet as a further basis for discussion.
Milestones:
Step 1: Deliberative dialoguing with partners and interested people on how Citizen Assemblies could strengthen the Swiss direct democracy. (2021)
Step 2: 1st & 2nd round of discussions with parliamentarians for citizen’ assembly implementation as new direct democratic tool (2021/2022)
Step 3: 3rd round of discussions with parliamentarians for political motion (2023/2024)
Current status: Paused as policy dialogue has been paused as political interest has shifted of current parliamentarians.
Nova Helvetia-Participatory Reflection and Systemic Transformation , collaboratio Helvetica and u Lab, 2020
Nova Helvetia, launched by Collaboratio Helvetica in 2020, was a collaborative initiative inspired by U‑Lab methods, designed to explore systemic challenges revealed by the COVID‑19 crisis and envision a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient Switzerland. Using U‑Lab’s principles of presencing, prototyping, and co‑creation, international participants engaged in deep reflection, collective sense-making, and transformative action.
Alexandra Gavilano led the “Democracy in Transformation” working group and offcialy intrdocued Citizens; Dmeocracy as a new citizens rooted association to the international audience, focusing on alternative democratic approaches such as citizens’ assemblies and deliberative participation, exploring how these methods could strengthen inclusion, responsiveness, and collective decision-making.
During the three‑month process, thematic working groups addressed issues like education, gender & inclusion, urban living, sustainable organization, and democratic innovation. Activities included collaborative workshops, co‑budgeting of solution prototypes, and a Swiss Forum to share insights and visions.
The process culminated in the implementation of prototypes and the creation of workbooks documenting methods, results, and lessons — providing a model for participatory, citizen-driven reflection and action grounded in U‑Lab practices.
Website Nova Helvetia Democracy in Transformation
Catalyst Lab 1, Collaboratio Helvetica, 2019
Catalyst Lab, organized by collaboratio helvetica, is a learning journey for changemakers that combines systems thinking, participatory processes, and awareness-based methodologies to tackle complex societal challenges.
Alexandra Gavilano participated in the first edition of Catalyst Lab, bringing forward her proposal to connect citizen engagement and science. Through Citizens Democracy, she envisions co-creating deliberative projects that root scientific inquiry in local realities, empowering communities to actively contribute to solutions. This approach bridges participatory democracy, scientific insight, and global collaboration to build initiatives that are both scientifically informed and democratically legitimate.