crowdsourcing a constitution

Crowdsourcing a

Constitution in practice

Dr. Matthijs Pontier

Trust civilians vs Distrust ‘power'

Enthusiastic about tech, but alert on risks

Use tech to empower; not to repress

Free sharing of information, art and culture

Evidence-based policy with long-term vision

Stimulate self-determination, but keep rights

Basic principles Pirate Party

Matthijs Pontier, Fabcity campus Amsterdam, 26-5-2016 Crowdsourcing a constitution for the EU

• Why do we need top-down governance

when we can decide for ourselves?

Leaderless decision making

e-Democracy• Easily participate in democratic process

• Vote on ideas; not on parties or persons

• Power of Ideas replace the idea of power


Better Reykjavik

• Jon Gnarr: Comedian who

critized corruption

and became mayor

of Reykjavik

• Formal collaboration with the city of

Reykjavík connect citizens to their

representatives

• Over 70.000 of 120.000 people participated

• 15 top ideas processed every month

• 476 ideas have been approved

Better Reykjavik


Better Reykjavik

• Over 600.000 users since 2008

• Scales well, easy to translate and adapt

• Used in Iceland, Estonia, Australia, USA, UK,

and elsewhere

Your Priorities


• citizens.is

Better Alamance

• Everybody can add ideas

• Everybody can add arguments

• Erverybody can vote up / down

• Best ideas and arguments come up

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0lFd

1poJfs

How does it work?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0lFd1poJfs

• Points for and against are in different columns

which makes it hard to argue

• This encourages rational debate and helps

facilitate consensus

Don’t argue, debate!


• Prioritization of ideas and points

makes junk disappear down lists

•Users notify admins about offending

content

•Users get 3 warnings and are banned on

the 4th

• They never yet had to ban a user

Abuse protection


Loomio

Amsterdam West


http://www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/bestuur-en-organisatie/nieuws/stromende-democratie-voor-bestuurscommissie-west.9275746.lynkx

Combine online & offline

• Improve traditional democratic processes

• Brainstorm online -> assembly offline -> vote

on/offline

• Enhance offline assemblies with direct

online feedback from active audience


Constitution Iceland

• 1000 randomly selected civilians held assembly;

gave a 700-page advise about principles and

values in Constitution

• 25 elected civilians (out of 522) held assemblies

and wrote the Constitution

• Before assemblies, elected civilians asked for

feedback, leading to ~4000 comments

• 2/3 civilians supported Constitution in

referendum

• Constitution killed by conservative politicians

• Pirate party protested this, and got popular..Matthijs Pontier, Fabcity campus Amsterdam, 26-5-2016 Crowdsourcing a constitution for the EU

Crowdsourcing a constitution

for the EU Constitution was voted down in referendum

Lisbon-treaty largely same; no referendum

Symbolic for democratic deficit in EU

EU should be by the people, for the people

https://www.peoplesconstitution.eu

Twitter: @CrowdsourceEU

Facebook: Crowdsource Europe


https://www.peoplesconstitution.eu/

https://twitter.com/CrowdsourceEU

https://www.facebook.com/CrowdsourceEurope/

Accept values / ideas /

articles / amendments, when:• Popular enough

• Not too controversial


Thanks!• @Matthijs85

• Matthijs Pontier

• [email protected]

• http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthijspontier

• End of june, PPNL will elect the lead candidate for the 2017 elections.

• https://www.piratenpartij.nl

Matthijs Pontier, Fabcity campus Amsterdam, 26-5-2016

https://twitter.com/Matthijs85

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=19933074

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthijspontier

https://www.piratenpartij.nl/

crowdsourcing a constitution

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