In a rapidly changing world, driven by crises, the need for both long-term and cross-border democratic solutions have never been higher. Democratic Odyssey believes that creating a permanent, transnational and travelling Peoples’ Assembly for Europe can future-proof decision-making and amplify our collective intelligence. The key ways in which we do this?

1. Citizen engagement as a beacon – we prompt debate between skeptics and proponents of a permanent Peoples’ Assembly for Europe, with contributions from institutional representatives, MEPs, practitioners, academics, civil society and citizens. Our dedicated e-book on “Should a citizens' assembly complement the European Parliament?” develops a broader framework to our initial Assembly’s blueprint, with the debate on permanency also explored in this journal issue.
2. A Pilot Assembly – which served as ‘proof of concept’ for such a vision, starting in Athens in September 2024 and ending in Vienna in May 2025. The pilot connected with the local administrations and civil society, weaving a web of real-life democratic practices that will last beyond a single process. The Assembly delivered a set of recommendations not limited to policy and enshrined in the final Citizens’ Charter, championed by a newly formed Citizen Council.
3. A Participatory Platform - to ensure that the Assembly (a so-called “mini-public”) connects structurally with the general public. All inputs on the platform are funneled to assembly members and the platform also provided general process support, also providing an Info Hub with additional resources on the topic of the Assembly.
4. A Consortium and a Constituent Network – the bedrock of support for the Assembly process, a network of organizations and individuals who play the role of “friends of the Assembly’, helping to design, run and evaluate the pilot assembly.
5. A Modular Framework - the methodology for designing, running and evaluating a permanent Assembly, co-designed by the Constituent Network. The interdisciplinary approach opened up to the role of civic arts and AI in deliberation, as well as a pedagogy of participation that starts with the individual, locally lived experiences of assembly members.
6. A Collaborative Campaign – a crowdsourced and decentralized campaign promoting this long-term vision for democratic change in Europe. The campaign draws inspiration from the Pilot Assembly and advocates for our Beacon.