Crowdsourcing a Constitution : Iceland and Mexico City — Pioneers of Participation at the Highest Level

The constitution — a summary of basic principles defining the coexistence between the people within a community — forms the legal basis and core of modern states. One approach that allows citizens to participate in formulating these fundamental principles is crowdsourcing. The aim is to enable people at different levels of engagement to collectively identify, write, comment and document potential solutions. The defining elements are the initiator, the crowd and the procedure itself. Iceland and Mexico City are regarded as pioneers of this form of participation. The two procedures differ to some extent in terms of the participative process and the tools used. However, the starting point and the overall objective, the restoration of confidence in the government, were similar. Following the collapse of Icelandic banks in the wake of the financial crisis and widespread mistrust of political parties, the Icelandic Parliament decided in 2010 to revise the outdated constitution. In Mexico, Mayor Mancera called for the creation of a multi-stage, city-wide campaign in 2016, when confidence in the government was only 2% and satisfaction with democracy at a historic low of 6%(1). <a href="https://medium.com/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-digital-democracy/crowdsourcing-a-constitution-iceland-and-mexico-city-pioneers-of-participation-at-the-highest-a8a56ceb5096">Website</a>