The Council of Europe has strengthened its commitment to deliberative democracy in South-East Europe by certifying 26 lead facilitators of Citizens’ Assemblies. Trained in Podgorica from 16 to 19 June, these facilitators are now better equipped to support local authorities in designing and implementing high-quality and inclusive deliberative processes in line with Council of Europe standards.

Deliberative democracy helps local authorities better understand citizens’ needs and build trust in public institutions, helping to create stronger and more inclusive societies, as reflected in the New Democratic Pact for Europe. At the same time, it gives citizens a real opportunity to contribute to public decisions that affect their daily lives, while encouraging dialogue, social cohesion and trust in democratic institutions.

Lead facilitators play an important role in ensuring that Citizens’ Assemblies are well prepared, inclusive and effective, and that they lead to meaningful recommendations from citizens. “The training helped me realise how important it is to work with citizens coming from different backgrounds and have different opinions, and how to make sure that citizens feel understood and that their opinions are translated into actionable recommendations”, stated one of the new certified facilitators.

The training was organised within the project “Strengthening Innovative Democracy in South-East Europe”, which aims to enhance local democracy and promote more transparent and inclusive local governance across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The project is implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, with financial support from Germany.