by Nico Carpentier, Charles University
Looking back at the experience of being one of planners and organisers of the Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy, within the framework of the Horizon Europe research project MeDeMAP (Mapping Media for Future Democracies), I can only start by emphasising that this experience has convincingly demonstrated the importance of citizen parliaments and citizen assemblies. There are many academic publications and organisational narratives that point to the importance of creating platforms for citizens to have their voices heard and to engage in a respectful dialogue with the field of institutionalized politics, but it remains a privilege and fascinating experience to witness the actual practice of a citizen parliament in action.
In particular, the Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy has proven the capacity of ‘ordinary’ citizens to collectively rethink the role of media in democracy,in relation to three main topics: media systems, media representation and media participation. Their resolutions—included in the resolutions report—are well-considered, extensively deliberated and simply wise. We should keep in mind that there are many stereotypes about ordinary citizens, as they are often seen as passive, disinterested, selfish, incompetent and even destructive. The Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy demonstrated the opposite, through the work of the 20 deeply committed, active, engaged, caring, knowledgeable and constructive citizens, who together formed the Czech Citizen Parliament.
Maybe equally important is that they moved beyond the constraints of current legal frameworks, and beyond what may be politically possible, but instead produced a normative perspective on the future of Czech media and democracy—rooted in their minds and hearts, and driven by “what should be”, not by “what could be”.
And, thirdly, what the work of the Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy also demonstrated is the capacity of ‘ordinary’ citizens to deliberate and collaborate. In times where there is ample discussion about societal polarization, and the emphasis is placed so often on what divides us, the 20 parliamentarians—all very different people—engaged in intense and always civil discussions, defending their perspectives with passion, but then also investing their energy in making decisions, reaching a consensus when possible, but also sometimes accepting the lack of support for a particular proposal. In short, the Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy showed the beauty of democracy and deliberation.
But it also showed that ‘ordinary’ citizens are always also ‘extraordinary’.
Of course, organising the Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy took a huge effort, in time, energy and other resources. Here, we should not forget that for participatory processes to work, organisational structures are very much needed. Citizen participation is not enabled by simply locking 20 people into a room; it requires careful planning, wisely deploying structures, formats and facilitation, knowing when to intervene and when to show restraint, always with the deepest respect for the participatory process, the agency of the 20 parliamentarians and their ability to get the job done. It also requires the trust of the parliamentarians in those organisers and facilitators, who had to find the difficult balance between the desire for perfection, on the one hand, and the efficiency of decision-making and the time constraints, on the other. For this trust, I am particularly grateful to the parliamentarians.
And of course, there is space for improvement. There always is. As citizen parliaments are not very common in the Czech Republic, the Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy was still an experiment, and one with limited resources. This novelty made us more prudent, keeping the numbers of participants relatively low, and not working with the normal random selection of participants. Also the broadness of the theme (media and democracy), in combination with the limited number of sessions we could (afford to) organise, was a constraint, even though the parliamentarians performed little miracles during each session, by selecting particular areas of interest (called subtopics) within this broad theme and by working in the most efficient and effective ways possible.
This Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy does offer an opportunity for the future in two ways. First, the theme of media and democracy is important in itself, and requires much further reflection, in a variety of societal fields, including academia, politics, journalism and civil society, with its many actors. But, secondly, the concept of the citizen parliament has proven its value, and should be deployed more in the Czech Republic, in relation to other themes, and on different (local, regional and national) levels.
You may access the Resolutions report by the Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy in English and in Czech.