Monday, April 13th | Democratic Resilience: Why We Need Permanent Citizens' Assemblies

Eva Rovers is a renowned non-fiction writer and the founding director of Bureau Burgerberaad, the Dutch centre of expertise on citizens' assemblies and democratic innovation. As one of the leading advocates for deliberative democracy in the Netherlands, she has played a key role in advancing the idea of citizens' assemblies as a way to strengthen democratic decision-making.

In 2022, she published the bestselling book Now It's Up to Us (Nu is het aan ons), which sparked widespread interest in citizens' assemblies across the Netherlands and contributed to the Dutch government's decision to organise a national Climate Assembly. Her most recent book, Why We Cannot Leave Politics to Politicians Alone, argues for the establishment of permanent citizens' assemblies as a structural part of democratic governance.

Beyond her work on deliberative democracy, Eva writes and speaks about future-inclusive democracy, including how democratic systems can better represent the interests of future generations.

During her talk, "Democratic Resilience: Why We Need Permanent Citizens' Assemblies," Eva explores how citizens' assemblies can strengthen democratic resilience amid growing societal complexity and political polarisation. What if we redesigned democracy so the future itself had a seat at the table? Drawing on international examples and the Dutch experience, she shows how citizens' assemblies can complement representative politics and help societies make more thoughtful and future-oriented decisions.

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