Page 69 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

Answer: People look for support and validation of their ideas from others. In a Citizens’ Assembly process, you are unlikely to get multiple loud activists in the room. This is because of the nature of stratified random selection.This dilutes the power from the activists as they will be involved broadly in proportion with the wider population (part of the conversation, not all of the conversation). As well as, others approaching the topic with critical thinking and patience. As well as this, the format mixes people together, involves critical thinking and the patience of supporting answers with evidence. The size of the group and the facilitation approach will influence how these personalities are included in the dialogue. 67 Common Blocker: “Loud activists will still get in the room – how will you handle this?”