by Lori Šramel Čebular, Peace Institute, Ljubljana
After a month-long break, the final session of the citizens‘ parliament on Media and Democracy in Slovenia took place on Saturday, 10 May 2025, organized by the Peace Institute. This last gathering focused on the topic of media and participation and featured guest speaker Kaja Jakopič, the Digital Content Director at Radio Television Slovenia, a public service media. With this, the four-part series officially concluded. Over the course of the sessions, citizens collectively formulated 30 demands, which will be presented already in June to decision makers in the fields of media policy and media practices in Slovenia.
Expert insight: “One hateful comment can drown out the good, but it shouldn’t.”
The final session of the citizens’ parliament began with a presentation by Kaja Jakopič, Digital content director at Radio Television Slovenia (RTV Slovenia), the country’s public service media outlet. Highlighting the opportunities created by the digital sphere, Jakopič explained how RTV Slovenia strategically fosters audience participation. From managing comments to launching surveys that allow people to express their opinions and preferences, she outlined the various ways RTV Slovenia engages with the public and incorporates their voices.
Following the presentation, citizens joined the discussion, posing a range of questions from technical inquiries like where to find participatory features on the public service media outlets’ website, to more content-focused concerns such as how the platform addresses hate speech. More importantly, the room soon filled with suggestions on how to encourage even greater audience participation, putting the very concept they were discussing into practice in real time. Wrapping up the session, Jakopič reflected: “Sometimes we feel like one bad, hateful comment overshadows all the others, but there are still many positive contributions that foster productive discussion on our channels.”
Shared responsibility in focus as demands address both media outlets and the authorities
In light of the focus of the session, participants chose to explore three key topics in greater depth: “regulatory obligations of media to enable participation,” “plural and safe participation,” and “media literacy as citizen empowerment for participation.” They examined participation from two crucial angles: the responsibility of media to create a safe, inclusive environment for public engagement, and the role of individuals in contributing to greater participation. Throughout the discussions, the importance of education consistently emerged as a central theme. Participants emphasized that media literacy and understanding participation should not be limited to the youth but must also include older generations. As one participant put it: “Participation is key, but if we wish to achieve it, we need to understand why it matters,” another agreed: “This is the foundation of everything.”
The citizens’ parliaments conclude, but the journey toward direct democracy has just begun
At the end of this session citizens formulated 7 new demands, bringing the total to 30[BP4] demands developed over the course of four sessions. This marks a significant moment, as it is one of the few times that media and democracy have been addressed through a citizen-led process rooted in the principles of direct democracy in Slovenia.
While the citizens’ parliament sessions may have concluded, the process is far from over. Citizens will gather again already in June to present their demands to decision makers in the fields of media policy and media practices in Slovenia. Additionally, the demands of this citizens’ parliament will be presented together with the resolutions of the citizens’ parliaments in Austria, the Czech Republic, Ireland, and Germany at the EU level in early 2026.