“Is hybrid democracy more inclusive?” was the key question in the laboratory of ideas (LAB), sponsored by the Congress and held in Strasbourg on 9 November 2017, at the World Forum for Democracy. This LAB, which was chaired by Gunn Marit HELGESEN (Norway, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress, discussed three ground-breaking initiatives with regard to participatory tools and the way in which they supplement representative democracy: #ForzaNazzjonali, in Malta, POP: Public Opinion Platform, in France, and the Poll Town project in the United States. “Hybrid democracy offers new prospects and challenges us. We must take an interest in new technologies and make better use of the opportunities they offer, in particular with a view to involving young people in decision-making processes” said Gunn Marit HELGESEN as she brought the LAB to a close.
Presidency
Marc Cools, President of the Congress
Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG) was elected President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 24 October 2023 for a mandate of two years and a half. He is currently the Communal Councillor of Uccle (Belgium) and Honorary Vice-President of the Brussels Parliament and was previously the chair of the Independent and Liberal Democrat Group in the Congress.
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The President's role is to direct the political activities of the Congress and its Chambers, to carry out Congress policy and to represent the Congress vis-à-vis other international organisations, within the context of the Council of Europe's general policy on external relations.
The President of the Congress ensures that decisions taken by the Congress are implemented and reacts on behalf of the Congress to current developments. He or she also presents the activities of the Congress and the texts that it has adopted to the Parliamentary Assembly and Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
Tunc Soyer, President of the Chamber of Regions
Tunc Soyer (Türkiye, SOC/G/PD) was elected on 25 October 2023 President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress for a two-and-a-half-year term of office.
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Bernd Vöhringer, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities
Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE) was elected on 25 October 2023 President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress for a two-and-a-half-year term of office.
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