Sangha of Auspicious Companions

How a Belgian Town Restored Trust in Government

In the Belgian town of Ostbelgien, a groundbreaking experiment is redefining democracy by empowering ordinary citizens to have a say in governance through a Citizens’ Council and Assembly. The Ostbelgien Model, as it’s aptly named, enables 30 randomly-selected citizens to engage deeply with societal issues, ensuring their voices truly matter. Participants, armed with a sense of civic duty, have successfully influenced policies on housing, youth employment, and education. This experiment is inspiring other regions to adopt similar participatory democracy measures. Paris, for instance, institutionalized a citizens’ assembly of 100 Parisians based on the Ostbelgien Model. The minister-president of Ostbelgien, Oliver Paasch, remarked, “If we want citizens to have more confidence in politicians, we, as politicians, have to give more confidence to the citizens.”

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