#TABLE1 - FULLY BOOKED! Please, pick another WG

Participatory Democracy and Institutional Politics: Cooperation or Antagonism?
President: Jón Ólafsson (University of Iceland)

The opportunities for participation are multiplying: in a disintermediated society, individuals seek new, independent forms for mobilization, choosing which cause to engage with on each occasion. How can these spontaneous forms of collective action dialogue with traditional organizational structures of institutional politics? How can political parties connect with new spaces and movements which contribute to the rise of political thought? How can the exchange of practices and ideas be facilitated among these actors? 

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#TABLE2 - FULLY BOOKED! Please, pick another WG

Participatory Green Transition: Tools and Methods
President: Sheila Holz (CES, University of Coimbra and Coordinator of the PHOENIX project)

Citizen engagement is a crucial factor for any policymaking that aims to be inclusive and sustainable. The green transition is one of the most urgent and global challenges of our time, involving citizens at multiple levels. For its legitimacy as well as its effectiveness, it requires that stakeholders participate in its implementation. Which tools and methods of Democratic Innovation are most suitable for ensuring the support for a rapid and tangible transition? Citizens' Climate Assemblies are already practised at the European level, but are they the most suitable tool for discussing transnational, complex, and intersectional issues such as the climate crisis? From the local administrative level to the national level, we will discuss tools and methods for a genuinely participatory and legitimate green transition. 

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#TABLE3 - FULLY BOOKED! Please, pick another WG

Inclusive Deliberative Pathways: How to Represent the Absent
President: Alfredo Ramos (Institute of Public Policies and Goods -CSIC)

What does it mean to be inclusive when it comes to defining deliberative processes? The selection of mini- publics or participants in citizens' assemblies must be highly representative to generate trust in deliberation. What are the best and fairest criteria for selecting participants? How can artists and facilitators bring the concerns of the absentees to the discussion table? How can we overcome the biases of "presentism" and change the deliberative framework towards greater representativeness? 

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#TABLE4

Digital Citizenship. New Generations and Participation Platforms
President: Kristina Reinsalu (e-Governance Academy)

New generations have learned to use digital platforms to connect beyond territorial limits and national borders, achieving unexpected levels of aggregation. New technologies can facilitate participation by providing not only coordination and communication tools but also ensuring the transparency of participatory processes. In what specific ways can platforms serve these purposes? What are the risks associated with e- democracy? What role do platforms play in connecting mini-publics and other political actors? What are the biases of institutional actors towards online activism, and what is the conversion rate into real-world mobilization?

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#TABLE5 - FULLY BOOKED! Please, pick another WG

Participatory Practices at Scale: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally
President: Iacopo Zetti (University of Florence)

Transnational challenges, supranational decision-making bodies and national parliaments appear distant from citizens' lives, yet their decisions have an immediate impact on the present and future. Who is responsible for bringing the concerns of territories and communities to these tables? Can deliberative and participatory assemblies be extended to citizens from different countries, starting from common challenges? How is mediation done between the outcomes of local participation and the interests of the globalized society? If the ongoing challenges are global and transnational, what makes legitimate the policies that result from the deliberation of local minipublics? 

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#TABLE6 

Informing for Deliberation: The Role of Media in Healthy Deliberative Practice
President: Kelsey Beltz (The Good Lobby)

Disinformation, polarization, and pollution of public discourse are challenges that all democracies must face. A properly informed public, equipped with the necessary resources to understand the issues on which it is called to express itself, is an irrevocable condition for the quality of participatory moments. What is the role of journalists and communicators in relation to deliberative democracy? How can correct information be provided on complex issues? What is the current media coverage of participatory practices outside of election periods? What can the media do to ensure that politics is no longer just a matter for a few?