The President of the Departmental Council of Bas-Rhin and member of Congress, Frédéric Bierry, participated in the launch of the 9th edition of the World Forum for Democracy under the theme: “Can Democracy Save the Environment?” in the presence of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, the French Minister of Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili, and the Mayor of Strasbourg, Jeanne Barseghian, on 18 November 2020, via video messages.
He recalled that the protection of the environment is a major issue at all levels of governance and that the local level has a key role to play in this area. "I defend the idea of a democracy of involvement where each of us applies the values we hold dear. The principles of defending the environment must be embodied in our public policies, in community life, in local municipal life, among local and regional councillors," he said.
Frédéric Bierry called for local and regional authorities' competence in environmental protection to be promoted, with the support of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, an assembly that represents the voice of the cities and regions of the 47 member States of the Council of Europe. "This vocation of local and regional authorities to become involved in the defense of the environment should be mirrored in all European countries. To achieve this, we could ensure that the Congress proposes an additional text to its European Charter of Local Self-Government, an international convention that guarantees the rights of local and regional authorities," he said.
This proposal would also allow local and regional authorities to make contributions that can be heard by States at the Council of Europe's World Forums for Democracy. "Local involvement, a broader involvement across the regions and a commitment at national level are necessary to ensure that this attachment to our planet is translated into concrete action," the President concluded.
On the occasion of the Forum's new "12 months, 1 question" campaign, which will run throughout 2021, the Congress will organise two events: one, jointly with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on the theme of deliberative democracy for the climate, and a second on local initiatives for the environment.
- Follow online the campaign "12 months, 1 question"
- Website of the World Forum for Democracy
- Congress and the protection of the environment (SDG 13)
Since 2012, the World Forum for Democracy has become an annual event, offering citizens from all over the world the opportunity to question democracy, analyse its flaws and limits, but also to generate new ideas to respond to the challenges facing democracy. Dedicated to responses to the environmental crisis, the 9th edition of the Forum was launched on 18 November and will mobilise intellectuals, politicians, activists, experts and young people from all over the world for a whole year until the Forum is held in Strasbourg in November 2021.
