The Moroccan “Citizen Labs” Initiative in the Spotlight at the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg

Strasbourg – The “Citizen Labs,” an initiative led by young Moroccans aimed at strengthening the participation of rural populations in democratic life, was presented on Tuesday at the 14th World Forum for Democracy, held at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg (November 2-3).

Based on the interplay between deliberative democracy, co-creation of solutions, and representative democracy, this initiative aims to bring to light the priorities of local populations and promote their inclusion in public policies, explained Anace Heddan, Director General of the “Citizens” association.

In his presentation, Mr. Heddan detailed the three complementary dimensions on which this citizen participation approach is based.

He particularly emphasized deliberative democracy, which, according to him, consists of offering citizens a space to express their concerns and expectations before collectively defining the priorities of their communities.

He also emphasized the importance of co-creating solutions based on identified priorities, specifying that the collectively developed proposals are then submitted to stakeholders and representatives of public authorities.

The third dimension, he continued, aims to strengthen representative democracy by establishing bridges between local initiatives and political institutions, with the objective of enabling citizen proposals to be taken into account in political agendas and government programs.

In this context, ten “Citizen Labs” have been organized across the Kingdom’s twelve regions, in order to “make dialogue between citizens and public officials a process rooted in local communities,” he indicated.

This approach has also been extended to political parties, to which some fifty local initiatives were submitted as part of the electoral process for the last legislative elections, he added.

Finally, advocating for a democracy capable of reaching out to the most isolated citizens, he emphasized that “Citizen Labs” are intended to be a space where people’s voices are heard and their proposals can be brought to the attention of decision-makers.

Mr. Heddan was speaking at a session dedicated to “Democratic Participation in the Digital Age: What Tools to Strengthen Citizen Engagement?”

The Moroccan initiative was selected as one of the three finalists, out of 21 projects presented at this Forum, which brought together some 1,400 participants from 60 countries around the theme: “Disruption or Renewal? Democratic Security for Our Future.”

Launched in 2012 by the Council of Europe, the World Forum for Democracy has become an annual event offering citizens worldwide the opportunity to question democracy, analyze its flaws and limitations, and generate innovative ideas to address the challenges it faces.