Lisbon’s Citizens’ Council: Embedding Deliberation into Local Governance

participation is the first pillar of its <a href="https://www.lisboa.pt/fileadmin/download_center/orcamento/2022/gop/GOP_2022_2026.pdf" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Municipal Plan</a>, intending to build “alternative mechanisms for democratic participation, capable of mobilising people’s knowledge.” To translate this into action, the City established <a href="https://cidadania.lisboa.pt/participacao/conselho-de-cidadaos" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">its first Citizens’ Council</a>, a decision-making body that is “representative of Lisbon’s population, while being impartial and independent from political parties.” Lisbon’s Citizens’ Council is a microcosm of the city’s population Anyone over 16 years of age who lives, studies, or works in Lisbon is eligible to become a member of the Citizens’ Council. For the first edition, the recruitment process consisted of two stages: <a href="https://medium.com/participo/lisbons-citizens-council-embedding-deliberation-into-local-governance-a4e366755c0f">Website</a>