Living Democracy was developed by a group of citizens who have direct experience of trying to engage with the formal decision-making system on major infrastructure projects. Having failed in their efforts to have their voices heard, they started a process which has evolved into Living Democracy - a resource to facilitate and empower ordinary people to be more effective in influencing the decisions that affect them. 

Living Democracy has its origins in a seminar called “Empowering the Citizen: Do you feel you have a voice?”  It was held at Dalgan Park, Navan in October 2005 and was organised by people who had been involved with the planning process surrounding the M3 motorway and Tara.

Their experience of not being listened to forced them to think beyond the boundaries of their own local issue and they held this seminar to connect with other citizens and groups to explore the cause of their ineffectiveness. The seminar was attended by a spectrum of people including local and European politicians, academics and practitioners concerned with democracy, and groups from all over Ireland who were involved in campaigns to influence or challenge major infrastructure projects.

 Above: Flyer from seminar on empowering the citizen

Common pattern

The seminar revealed a common pattern. People who tried to engage in the planning of initiatives that affected them felt ignored, disenfranchised and frustrated. In their experience, ”public consultation processes” were a mere ‘ticking of the boxes’ and the citizen’s voice and perspective had little or no influence on decisions which had effectively already been made.

There was an absence of stewardship in relation to caring for things that matter deeply to people, but upon which official policy places little value – such as health and lifestyle concerns, sacred places, landscape and so on.

Another common pattern was an absence of accountability and stewardship in relation to critical planning decisions. Local and central government, commercial interests and activist groups are all dealing with their issues in isolation. Active citizens are dismissed. Communities are becoming divided. Development is skewed. Poor decisions are being made which may make short term sense but in the longer term often make little sense socially, environmentally or economically.

No one is thinking about the bigger picture and the longer term. Our wider social and environmental context is declining. Something important is badly wrong.

Deeper problem

They began to see their individual experiences as symptoms of a much deeper problem: a system of democracy which works in a way that excludes most of us, and is much bigger than all of us.

Meanwhile citizens also have a problem. Through their experience, individuals and groups develop a deep reservoir of expertise in relation to complex issues such as technical reports, archaeological reports, environmental impact statements, planning law, European law and so on. But because this learning is isolated, it isn’t accessible by other groups. Again and again, people are starting from scratch and reinventing the wheel. Their learning is being lost, and they are not becoming more effective as active citizens and stewards of their environment and heritage.

The Conversation

It was clear that to become more effective they would have to join together in some way. And so people involved in a variety of groups around the country came together to explore in more depth how to become more effective at having their voices heard. This process was called ‘The Conversation’ and in time, a core design group emerged to work specifically on taking these ideas forward.

Living Democracy

The result of "The Conversation" is Living Democracy. Living Democracy is not an organisation. It is a visible expression of a movement that is already happening. It is a resource for people all over the country - ordinary people like you - who are trying to be seen and heard in relation to issues they care about, that affect them.

This forum enables people like you to become visible to each other. It enables you to access each other. It enables you to learn and to share your learning with each other. It enables you to become more skilful at engaging with the decision-making process that shapes our landscapes and our lives.

Living Democracy provides one of the missing links in our democracy: the interstitial fluid that oils the wheels of the democratic process, and allows the people to become more intelligent together.

Living Democracy was granted an award from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland in 2007 to support the development of this online forum which marks the beginning of an ongoing process to lay the foundations for a movement of effective, active citizens.

Social Entrepeneurs is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to support innovative social projects. The award is a major boost for Living Democracy, providing vital funding and valuable recognition and legitimacy for this new citizens’ resource.