Community Assemblies

Community Assemblies provide a way for people to organise locally and to experience the power of deliberative democracy to make progress on the issues that are most important to a community. To choose our future, mitigate power and empower our communities, Community Assemblies are a powerful tool. This book gives you all you need to get the best from your experience. Your Community Assembly can also demonstrate how XR's third demand for a Citizen's Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice could work. Locally organised assemblies empower ordinary people to open converations with allies about our Third Demand, and to talk to their politicians and local or unitary authorities on the opportunity for creating change via a Citizen's Assembly at a national level. Community Assemblies can: 👥 Show what more inclusive democracy looks like 🤝 Strengthen our local alliances by collaborating with other organisations 👔 Keep up the pressure on politicians by inviting them along!

What Are Community Assemblies?



A community assembly is local people hearing, deliberating & deciding about local issues that affect community lives everyday.

The current political system is failing to take the actions we need.

It’s time to decide for ourselves, together!

Let's bring deliberative democracy into our communities to show them the power of deciding together!

By organising local Community Assemblies, we can…

Ready to co-create a beautiful bonding experience in your community alongside your local allies?

Then check out our Community Assembly Resources.

Citizens' Assemblies, People's Assemblies and Community Assemblies
XR uses three different kind of assemblies, which have some similarities and some differences: Assemblies graphic.jpg

You can find out more about the differences between the three possible models here Bear in mind too, that different organisations have different names for assemblies and there are a wide variety of structures and processes across the deliberative democracy spectrum. It's a rewarding learning curve!

How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

This manual outlines the various steps that you can take to run a community assembly in your local community. It has been created by people in XR’s Future Democracy Hub and Trust The People. This manual collates best practice from people throughout history and from all over the globe, who have used Community Assemblies to come together and achieve great things.

How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

The Three Pillars of Community Assemblies

The three pillars of Community Assemblies which support empathetic interactions are radical inclusivity, active listening and trust.

A Community Assembly differs from a debate where one person is ‘right’ and the other is ‘wrong’, or from a typical discussion or conversation where people have a tendency to dominate with questions and interjections. Community Assemblies create an inclusive space in which each participant is respected and listened to without judgement, whilst sharing from the heart. Facilitated by a trained person, each participant listens to the ideas of others.

Radical Inclusivity

Effective assemblies achieve radical inclusivity; the emphasis is on all being heard and valued equally; no voices dominate; nobody has all the answers. The collective wisdom of the assembly is harnessed. People can participate safely and openly without fear of judgement or ridicule. Radical inclusivity, therefore, also means being aware of potential barriers to full participation and working with those affected to enable their participation.

“Diversity in opinion will pay you back in the long run socially... if we don’t fix this problem to start with we are simply going to replicate existing power structures.”
- Eleanor Saitta, hacker and designer

Active Listening

Active listening means we focus on hearing someone all the way through, listening empathically and overcoming the urge to start figuring out your response in your mind whilst someone is still talking. Assemblies recognise that no one person or group holds all the answers. The collective wisdom of the crowd means we gain powerful intelligence about the issues we discuss.

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
- Aristotle

Trust

Once we agree the system and process for our assembly, we all need to trust the process, trust the facilitators and trust all people involved. Facilitators and the assembly organising team maximise this trust through sticking to the agreed process and ensuring that everyone follows the facilitators.

“I see the 15M assemblies and neighbourhood organising in retrospective and I’m amazed how it could work and most importantly all the trust that it meant.”
- Carolina, a founder of 15M and takethesquare.net
How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

Creating a Team

“I can’t change the world on my own, it’ll take at least three of us.”
- Bill Mollison

Below, we have listed a few working groups that may help you get a community assembly off the ground. They constitute best practice, not a minimum requirement. Your local group may feel that so many working groups are well beyond your capacity so don’t let this guidance discourage you! It doesn’t take an army of volunteers to put on an assembly!

Alliance Building

Importance: Essential
Timing: From project start

This is the role that you need to establish very early on in your project. At least one person in your local group should lead communications with other organisations. While it will be helpful to brainstorm in your local group around potential assembly topics and locations, you will need to discuss all of these things early on with other organisations and be open to their suggestions if you want to collaborate with them. Unless you have a political or lobbying team, this will also be the role that contacts local politicians and invites them to the assembly. On Rebel Toolkit, you can find resources for local alliance building to inform this work.

Fundraising

Importance: Nice to have
Timing: From project start

You can request financial support with your assembly by filling in this financial support form. However, it is always appreciated if your local group can try to raise as many funds as possible themselves to finance your projects. If you end up up working together with other organisations, you can explore sharing certain costs.

Outreach and Integration

Importance: Essential
Timing: From middle of project

Just like you would do outreach to promote a Heading for Extinction talk, we will do outreach to spread the word about our assemblies. At the end of your assembly, you can invite attendants to join your local group or get involved in a local campaign in which case this team will have to prepare how people can join and what tasks they can take on. You will need an outreach and integration crew later in the project once you are clear on assembly time, location, topic, etc.

More information about Outreach and Integration.

Media and Messaging Crew

Importance: Nice to have
Timing: Middle to end of project

The role of this group is to promote the assembly through the media. That could involve your local group’s own online channels and newsletter, but you could also try local press outlets or ask allied organisations to promote the event in their newsletters and social media. On top of that, this team will coordinate taking pictures of the assembly and capturing them on your social media.

If you would appreciate any support with your local media work, feel free to contact media@rebellion.earth and they can put you in touch with your regional/national Media & Messaging rep.

Facilitators

Importance: Super essential
Timing: End of project

For each Community Assembly, you will need at least one facilitator, ideally two. Facilitators maintain radical inclusivity, active listening, and trust so that all voices are heard and valued equally. They keep the discussion focused and structured and prevent it from becoming unwieldy which is absolutely crucial for a successful assembly.

Recommendations:
How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

Funding

Watch This Space! In the meantime keep in touch with your Gardener, if you have one in your region or nation, they will be among the first to hear of any new funding support for your assemblies!

We recommend that local groups wanting to run a community assembly check out General Fundraising Guidance on the Rebel Toolkit.

Potential Sources of Funds

There are now a number of players in the deliberative democracy space, some of which are either planning to access funding, or can help your organising group to raise funds or match fund. Check out:

If you come across a funder of community assemblies, please tell us about your successes in what you asked for, from whom and how. Share a link if you can via our Telegram Chat.

How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

Connecting with the Community and Allies

Relevant teams: Alliance Building, Outreach and Integration

Before you attempt to bring a community together in Assembly, you need to actually familiarise yourself with that community. This will help you to select an assembly question that matters to the people around you, and to design an assembly event that is appealing to your local community.

Think: Who makes up the community in question? Where are they? Who are the obvious future participants? Who are the less obvious ones? Which communities are hidden from you? Where are the community connections that already exist happening? Are those connections deliberate or organic/cultural? Who are the influencers, the stakeholders, or the ‘Elders’ within this community?

Whilst we are connecting with the community, we need to connect with ourselves as well. We need to ask ourselves what assumptions we carry about the community we are trying to reach. We must challenge our own blind spots and prejudices at every opportunity, and continue to do so throughout the process.

It is also vital to develop active listening skills, so that when you are engaging with others in your community, you are taking time to understand them, their needs and their wants, rather than trying to push your own agenda.

To help you better connect with your community, take a look at the following modules (downloadable as Google docs) in the Trust The People programme:

To help boost your ability to connect with those in your community, consider the following:

In the same phase of your assembly planning process, you want to put your feelers out to local organisations and see if any of them are up for organising an assembly together with you. Working together with other organisations will not only increase the diversity of your audience but will also bring new ideas to the event organising process that you might never have thought of on your own.

Dare yourself to reach out to a group that you have never been in touch with before. XR groups are most commonly in touch with unions, environmental and faith groups or unions. How about getting in touch with a local racial justice or LGBTIQ+ group?

How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

Assembly Framing, Scope and Topic

Relevant teams: Your local group and ally organisations

The exact framing and scope for the assembly need to be agreed upon before any promotional work can occur. The destination and legitimacy of the results of the assembly should be discussed and decided upon prior to convening the assembly, and it is important that all assembly participants are made aware of this information before the assembly begins.

An Assembly for Sharing and Community Building

If, for example, you are planning to host an assembly designed to bring community members together to discuss issues that are important to them in the spirit of creating community bonds and finding common ground, then the framing and scope are as follows:

Framing: The event is open to all members of the community to provide space for discussion around local issues.

Scope: No decisions are being made, so the scope is limited and does not extend beyond the sharing of ideas and feelings. The ideas and issues generated in the assembly should be fed back to the community through social media and serve as a starting point for future conversations.

An Assembly for Discussing a Specific Topic and Generating Ideas

If you are convening an assembly which focuses on specific issues and where what is discussed will be shared beyond the local community with an external body, such as a council, then the scope would be broader. Say, for example, a local sustainability group advertises an open assembly on their social media channels to discuss how the local council can act after declaring a Climate and Ecological Emergency, then the framing and scope would be as follows:

Framing: The event is open to anyone who chooses to participate to share their ideas on what the council can do.

Scope: The ideas and issues generated in the assembly could be published on the local group’s communication channels (e.g. their Facebook page or their newsletter), and also be emailed to the local Councillors asking them to take the suggestions to the next Council meeting.

An Assembly for Making Decisions and Proposals

Assemblies can also be convened to ask for the opinions of members of a group and to make decisions. Say, for example, a local group calls an assembly to discuss whether they join with a larger group for a day of action or create their own one locally, and they advertise it to all members through every channel of communication, then the framing and scope are as follows:

Framing: The event is open to the members of the group so they can share their ideas on what they would like their group to do in the action.

Scope: The assembly has the legitimacy to make the decision on behalf of that group, and the decision made during that assembly will be reported to the group and acted upon. The assembly, however, would not have the scope to make decisions beyond their own group. If, for example, that same group holds an assembly to decide if they, as a region, should combine with another region in the same manner, then the results of that assembly would be fed into a larger decision-making process that would affect other groups within the region as well.

Once you have decided on your assembly question or topic, make sure to display it clearly on your promotions materials and the assembly itself for all to see.

A good question is worded such that it is:

How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

Assembly Planning

Choose the venue

Online Assemblies

Holding your Community Assembly Online is potentially a good way to be more inclusive especially in rural areas where face to face assemblies could potentially mean long commuting to the assembly or it might be easier to attend an online assembly for parents.

In recent years Zoom has become the most common software in usage for meetings and assemblies. Here is some guidance for holding Community Assemblies via Zoom:

Advance Preparation

In the spirit of ‘radical inclusivity’ pillar of Community Assemblies and in accordance with Extinction Rebellion Principles and Values, check the Extinction Rebellion Principles of Inclusivity to ensure the Assembly is optimising access across diverse needs.

Zoom Settings Management

To create a Zoom link and publicise it everywhere, check Extinction Rebellion guidance for Zoom set up and promotion.

In your Zoom account ‘Settings’ on the left, under ‘My Meetings’, click on the meeting you are facilitating. Make sure the following settings apply:

Ask people in advance via promotions who have used Zoom before to sign in 5 minutes before the start time, and those who have not used Zoom before to sign in 10 minutes early; this allows time to work out how to use the buttons on their screen.

Penn State has an excellent guide on using Zoom for circulation to facilitators and / or participants in advance, in order to familiarise teams with options available.

Zoom Facilitator Roles

Ideally for an online Community Assembly, have facilitators with different roles, e.g.:

How to run a Zoom Assembly

The process of running an Online Community Assembly is pretty much the same as one that you would use for an in person Assembly. Break out rooms will be used for the deliberation phase. Please find more information in the Quick Start Guide section of this manual.

In-depth Plan with Timings

One Month To Go:

Two Weeks to Go:

One Week to Go:

One Day to Go:

  • Last shout-out reminder on social media.
  • Send reminder emails or messages to anyone who registered on your event page.
  • Re-check there are no issues with the venue that might affect the event such as road works etc.
  • Check in with anyone holding a role that they are all good to go and agree to meet an hour before the start time to set up.
  • Send a reminder email to your local councillors and MP.
  • One Hour to Go:

  • All crew meet at the venue at least one hour before the advertised start time.
  • Host, facilitators and the media and messaging crew run through the assembly plan together.
  • Set up and test any PA equipment being used.
  • Set up food and hot drinks, and any information that is being displayed.
  • Ideally all the crew should wear something to identify them as being part of the organising team- this will make it easier for people to ask questions about the event or the process.
  • Set up the children’s area.
  • Circulate pictures of the assembly being set up through social media channels to generate interest.
  • During the Assembly:

  • Be available to greet anyone coming in and make them feel welcome/explain the process to them.
  • Be aware of tensions and needs.
  • Be available to support anyone. Many people may find themselves moved by the experience of listening to others or having their own voices heard, and some may need space or support.
  • After the Assembly:

  • Be available to answer people’s immediate questions about the assembly process or what happens next.
  • Collect emails and contact details to ensure that people can be kept in touch with, making sure that your process for doing this is GDPR compliant.
  • Pack away all the equipment and tidy up the venue.
  • Plan for a feedback and reflection meeting with facilitators and crew, ideally following the assembly. This can be scheduled for another day, but don’t leave it too long.
  • Have a party with everyone remaining!
  • How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

    Script For In-Person People's Assembly

    This script has been written to help you organise a people's assembly.

    Please note that this script is written in such a way as to ensure that those who are new to people’s assemblies are fully supported throughout. If you are an experienced PA facilitator and are working with those who understand how PAs work, understand their history and the hand signals, you may wish to skip over certain sections. In short, please adapt this script to the needs of your situation and your audience.

    Important Things to Consider

    Script

    Input Phase
    FACILITATOR 1: Introduction Facilitator 2: Hand Signals

    HAND SIGNALS
    [As you verbally outline the hand signals, physically show them to ensure people fully understand them].

    FACILITATOR 1: Introduce the concept of a People’s Assembly

    What is a People’s Assembly?

    A people’s assembly is a structured way for a group of people to discuss issues, generate ideas and/or make decisions collectively in a manner in which all voices are heard and valued equally and no one person, or group, is able to dominate the process.

    People's assemblies are 'self selected' meaning that anyone can choose to take part. They are not to be confused with Citizens Assemblies which are randomly selected from the population by the process of Sortition, to make sure it is representative in terms of key characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, education level and geography. Citizens’ Assembly members would learn about critical thinking before they hear balanced information from experts and stakeholders. They would then spend time deliberating in small facilitated groups, similar to the break-out groups we’re going to use in this People’s Assembly.

    People’s Assemblies have been used throughout history and all over the world as a means to enable people to come together and achieve real social change:

    Inclusivity Statement

    Before we start a People’s Assembly, we like to read out this inclusivity statement

    We want to hear your voice, if you want to speak, no matter what. Whatever age you are, wherever you are from and whatever you do.

    The whole process will take about an hour and a half*, and we’d love you to stay for the whole of that, but feel free to go or come as you like or need.

    [*If you have the time, it’s good to do a TESTIFY at this point. It’ll add about 15-30 minutes to the overall length of the PA, but gets people talking about why they are at the PA before the main section of the assembly…]

    Testify

    Before we get into the section of the People’s Assembly where you will all be able to talk through our specific issue in a facilitated way, we first like to give anyone who would like an opportunity to talk about what has brought them here today.

    FACILITATOR 2: The Three Pillars

    A people’s assembly differs from debate where one person is 'right' and the other is 'wrong' and from the typical discussion or conversation where people have a tendency to dominate with questions and interjections. The assembly allows each participant to be held with respect and full attention - and no judgement - whilst sharing from the heart and for each participant to get a turn.

    It's ok not to actively share too. Witnessing the sharing of others' feelings and experiences is as important as expressing one's own.

    In an assembly, the focus is on personal feelings and experiences. Each speaker is encouraged to say 'I' - rather than 'we' or 'they' whilst sharing with others.

    This can be encapsulated within the three pillars, which are:

    THREE PILLARS:

    [Radical Inclusivity also means being aware of potential barriers to engagement and working with those affected to enable participation. Think about disabled access, sign language, whisper interpretation for those for whom English isn’t their first language and other possible means by which those barriers can be removed. Ask at the start of an assembly if there are any barriers to engagement that people need to identify and then request that the group work together to find ways to remove them.]

    FACILITATOR 1: Framing the Topic - What is the aim of THIS people’s assembly?

    BACKGROUND

    [Frame your assembly here:

    QUESTION(S)

    [State your question or topic for discussion clearly here, and if possible write it up in the exact wording you use somewhere that will remain visible to all participants throughout the assembly.

    Always ask for any clarifications at this point, and be open to working to reword the question/topic if needed you can ask for a ‘temperature check’ here to make sure the assembly agrees with the proposed wording.

    A good question is worded in accessible language, not too long, and is broad enough to allow for free discussion, but not so broad that a structured conversation around it is difficult. Likewise a very specific question won’t generate a very diverse response.

    For example, if you would like to engage people around the topic of buying local produce, you might ask:

    Deliberation Phase
    FACILITATOR 2: How does a People’s Assembly work?

    You will discuss the PA question in breakout groups of 8-10, then feedback to the entire assembly.

    Each group needs a facilitator and a note taker:

    Use the hand signals to communicate in your groups and to ensure radical inclusivity. [recap hand signals here]

    10 minutes before the end of your allocated time, the note-taker should summarise the group’s notes, then use temperature checks to identify the points that have the most support or acceptance.

    The group should then work together to reach agreement on the main points to feed back to the Assembly.

    [Decide how you want the feedback to happen. For larger assemblies ensure each group has fewer points to feed back verbally.

    Then decide what you will do with this feedback. Will the main assembly note taker make note of the most popular points? Or will the note takers from each breakout group give written points to the assembly Facilitator/Notetaker?

    Ask for clarifications on the process and then restate the questions being discussed.]

    GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    Discussion [25 mins or whatever your allocated time is]

    [After 25 minutes, warn groups that they need to round up: they have 10 minutes for…

    Integration/Output Phase

    FACILITATOR 1: Ending

    Feedback (15 minutes)

    Note-takers to deliver feedback, [or whatever form you have decided the feedback will take]

    Remember to get the names of the people giving feedback, and show appreciation.

    Thank everyone for participating. Then explain what will happen to the results of the assembly, including any possible ‘next steps’ that people could take, or plans for further assemblies.

    [at this point you can offer space for ‘shout outs’ - ‘Shout Outs’ are an invitation for those gathered to call out brief notifications such as upcoming meetings or events. These should be short and arranged with the facilitators beforehand if possible. This should take no more than 10 mins]

    Close the assembly and ideally let everyone know when the next assembly will be if appropriate.

    Appendix 1 - Dealing with Difficult Interactions

    A collection of thoughts and ideas on how to approach difficult interactions and behaviours:

    How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

    Dealing with Difficult Interactions

    Sometimes when you are running assemblies, or doing community work in general, you might have difficult interactions with people. Whilst there is no easy way to overcome these, here are some suggestions:

    How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

    What Next?

    After holding a community assembly, it is really important to think about what next? What will be done with the ideas and information discussed? This takes you to community organising. To learn about different ways to organise as a community, about the different tools in existence and about what others around the world have done, check out the Community Organising module.

    Extinction Rebellion Local Groups can use the recommendations from Community Assemblies to start a local campaign and/or pressure local politicians. For more information, see the Community Assembly Local Group Pack.

    Resources to Run an Assembly

    CommunityAssemblies-Broadcast_Banner_PurpleFunghi.png

    Local Group Pack

    Support

    We’d love to know if you are planning a Community Assembly in your local area so that we can support you with any questions you have, help obtain expert advice and possibly help provide facilitation. Please:

    Community Assembly Manual

    Community Assembly Facilitation Guide

    Community Assembly Trainings & Open Calls

    Communications.

    There's lots to do in advance and afterwards (especially to support any funding bid). We've got your back... If you need support on organising press releases, getting your assembly on XR's Events Map, or getting broadcasts out, if you can get your support request in as early as possible, you have the best chance of getting support. Go here to request Comms Support.

    Working with the Press.

    An important part of your communications plan for the assembly will be sharing your event with the press. This will include writing one or more press releases, and identifying the press contacts to share those with. To help with this please see the following resources:

    Funding

    For assemblies that happened before 17th January guidance is available on this page.

    For assemblies happening in the future, or which have happened since 17th January, check out the General Fundraising Guidance.

    Local / Combined Authorities Map

    If considering involving politicians and officers in your community assembly or escalation plans check out the Local & Regional Authorities Map


    If you have any questions on any of the above, please:

    5 Step Escalation Plan

    The Vision

    Imagine a plan to make sure the interests of people and nature are taken into careful consideration in all decisions. How might our society look if none were left behind, as we transition together to a healthier, fairer society?

    We have seen corporate offices and government buildings occupied all over the country in recent years, including those with the simple demand to follow the recommendations of a local community assembly on issues that are important to those campaigners.

    Community assemblies are one tool in the toolbox of activists; they are a great way to bring people together, bridging divides and laying out practical steps towards fair and inclusive transformation and green transition. They can be one part of making our communities more resilient and bringing us closer to community influencers.

    Without effective community decision-making, there can be no just transition; assemblies for the people, by the people help shifts in power.

    We know the voices of local communities are systematically ignored or purposefully polarised and that things are getting worse. That’s why we need stronger, engaged communities and regular assemblies everywhere to ensure we are all heard in respectful, inclusive and effective ways.

    To apply people powered pressure, you need to be clear who your target(s) is or are, e.g.

    Do invite these key decision makers to your assembly, either as expert speakers (with speech parameters set by the organising group), or as general participants, like other members of the public. We want radical inclusivity, so get them onboard. If they say no, at least you know where you stand!

    The XR Community Assemblies Campaign group believe that:

    DEMOCRATIC ASSEMBLIES + DIRECT ACTION = FAIRER SOLUTIONS EVERYWHERE

    and that there is another way to bring about change via a 5 step process...

    A Simple 5 Step Plan

    1. Research:
    1. Prepare:
    1. Act:
    1. Occupy:
    1. Escalate:

    More Info & Support

    At the end of 2023, into early 2024, over twenty local XR groups had run community assemblies, badged and unbadged. When XR funding ran out, Humanity Project took up the mantle and continued supporting what they called 'POPS' (now 'Popular assemblies'). Since then, assemblies, peoples' assemblies, peoples' juries, etc. are happening regularly around the UK.

    There are other organisations joining the push for upgrading our democracy, whom you can read about elsewhere in this book. That said, our focus in XR is our Third Demand for a Citizens' Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice. The role of the Community Assemblies Campaign crew is in helping people understand the 3rd demand, through experiencing deliberative democracy where they are and seeing how this might work at a national level.

    The assembly escalation plan has been based on a successful action by the Cornwall Climate Coalition, who consistently show what is possible with collaboration with local and district authorities. With some tailoring to the realities of specific authorities, there is no reason why their example can’t work elsewhere.

    Assembly Escalation is a direct action campaign to build community resilience and elevate our Third Demand to encourage UK-wide conversations, starting at the grassroots and taking it to the pillars of power. Organising an assembly is sowing the seed at the local level for democratic change and opening conversations on a Citizens Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice.

    Community assemblies provide an opportunity to reach out to and build alliances with local community organisations, aligning with XR UK's values as far as possible. They offer one way to give local groups a more powerful voice and help to include a more diverse range of people and viewpoints.

    We are stronger together, but unity does not mean uniformity. It is vital that local groups are prepared to stretch their comfort zones. We are all learning together through practising. We need to listen to the voices of other community groups and ensure that projects worked on together are done in the spirit of cooperation, mutual aid and common good.

    Let's adapt, unite, build together with this proven tool in our community building toolbox.

    Join the Assemblies Escalation group; the Community Assemblies team is here to help every step of our journey into upgrading our democracy together.

    Additional Learning

    More Resources

    If you are seeking one to one advice on how to organise or run your assembly, one of the Assemblies Escalation Working Group holds an 'ask anything and share experiences' drop in every Friday afternoon at 3pm. Drop in link for this.

    Training and Support

    Community Assembly Case Studies

    Additional Guides to Deliberative Democracy

    Books

    Other Resources

    Citizens' Assemblies

    See Citizens' Assemblies information on the toolkit.


    Need More Help?

    Join the Community Assemblies Telegram chat channel. Ask anything, share your positive stories.

    Email the Assemblies Escalation Campaign with your questions at communityassemblies@extinctionrebellion.uk

    General and Devolved Elections and Assemblies

    General and Devolved Elections and Assemblies

    Influencing Political Elections

    We know that politics is broken and that many rebels refuse to engage in elections, but during high pressured times such as when there are national, devolved and local elections, we can use the opportunity to pick up public interest in the climate and nature emergency and show them a new way of doing politics through community and citizens' assemblies.

    Engaging in traditional approaches such as letter writing, signing petitions, door knocking etc are not always effective and so not necessarily a good use of rebels' time and energy. Targeting marginal seats is a good way to really get candidates to listen, however. For example, during the 2024 General Election, XR designed a Map of XR Local Groups within marginal Westminster seats

    Feel like today's politics keeps you in the dark and feeds you bullshit - then think Community Assembly

    Elections Landscape of Opportunity

    Why Local Issues Matter

    Local elections provide opportunities to:

    'Persuade Elections' Candidates Commit to:

    Three Questions to Get Started With
    1. Is there an election in your area? Use the VoteClimate Local Elections Finder or view them on a map.
    2. What is your council’s performance on the climate emergency scorecard? Use My Society and the Climate Action score rating websites to find out.
    3. Have your constituency boundaries changed? They will be of particular interest to the media as they could indicate the outcome of the next General Election.  Look for the key battleground seats analysis on the VoteClimate website.

    What Can We Do?

    Guides to Running Hustings In-Person or Online:

    General and Devolved Elections and Assemblies

    Escalatory Potential in a Run Up to Elections

    The Bigger Picture

    Community Assemblies are part of a bigger plan for Extinction Rebellion and these are also to some degree, driven by significant times in the electoral calendar, such as general, devolved, or local elections. Community Assemblies could be a useful route to escalate issues raised at local assemblies, all the way up to Westminster.

    During key points in our election cycles, highlighting XR's 3rd Demand to local politicians - or even local officers and councillors in your local authority - gets the idea of real democracy and participation on the radar of those in power, opening conversations on upgrading our democratic systems.

    By building understanding of deliberative democracy in relation to a key area of policy, which has been poorly enacted, namely our climate and ecological crisis, we can advocate for our 3rd demand to demonstrate that there are options to upgrade our democracy generally, beginning with a citizens' assembly on climate and ecological justice.

    In The Climate Concerned Mix

    Politicians and Officers of Authorities

    Remember, that each local area will have different political backdrops. Some local authorities may have declared a climate emergency, while others may still be resisting change. Even where a climate emergency is publicly announced, this may yet not be turning into adaptation and mitigation measures where you are.

    Your local group or grassroots campaign may or may not have established links with local candidates, politicians, local officers of the council, or may be aware of whom among your politicians is supporting the Climate and Ecology Bill.

    Community Groups

    There are so many urgent issues facing communities around the UK, whatever the focus for your community assembly, it's all of value in building active engagement in citizenship, which can only strengthen democratic principles and practices, as face down the risks of societal breakdown through climate catastrophes we are yet to face.

    You may be working alongside allied organisations, who share these concerns, or your groups still may be in the process of building connections and relationships, e.g. through climate centres. More resources will be added to over time on our Resources page to help you map your local community and identify whom you can benefit from working with, but we also recommend talking to umbrella organisations for signposting such as the Council for Voluntary Organisations / Associations where you are.

    Local community organisers may wish to hold an assembly on a topic important to local people. This may or may not have the aim of making assembly recommendations to take to your local or regional authority. We strongly recommend that your organising group decide in advance of your assembly which outcomes you all want to achieve when deciding your topic for deliberation. What happens afterwards? Might you want to escalate action if local authorities are not responsive to recommendations you share with them (more on this later)?

    Seize The Moment!

    In the lead up to a General Election, local election, or during the company reporting season (at the end of Q4 / 4th Quarter i.e. March annually) we all have greater influence on power brokers than at any other time.

    In particular, where politicians are in deadlock over issues around our climate and ecological emergency, we can open up conversations around community assemblies and a Citizen's Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice. We can also help to amplify complementary aims of for instance the Sortition Foundation, Humanity Project, Assemble, or others in the democracy building space. Reach out to anyone who share your values and aspirations, because we have strength in numbers.

    The principle of "Here Comes Everyone" still applies in relation to XR's movement building strategy.

    If your local authorities are obstructive or dragging their feet on issues of concern to you and others, then alongside your community allies, that is the perfect time to share the ideas arising from local Community Assemblies on those issues and think about how you can best get other groups on board to push for change at a time when party candidates are jockeying for position in elections!

    Tips on How To Engage Your Local or Unitary Authority

    1. Be aware that Council elections usually have low turnout and that this helps you! Local politicians are sensitive to changes in community opinions, particularly those of influential groups. Identifying such groups and finding common ground with them will help strengthen your campaign and reach more people.

    Map out your key organisations via this Power Map tool

    Outreach_CAB_Power Mapping community groups.jpg

    1. Local politicians are likely to be quite scared of dealing with XR, so start gently. To begin, contact them by email, attend a surgery, or phone them. Invite them to attend your local assembly or ask for their support for a campaign. Think about whatever could work locally.

    2. Try to make an appointment to meet with the relevant Chair of Committee or Portfolio Holder responsible for the issue you’re raising, to discuss an assembly or particular campaign ideas. If you can, offer your local XR group's support for a policy that politician is involved with; it will be appreciated and helps to build trust. Talk to XR UK's Political Circle / Political Engagement Cymru for help.

    3. In advance of your assembly, give the impression of having lots of local support for the issue you're raising (which of course may be the case, such as water pollution). Build your credibility by raising a petition; focus this on local people, they probably won't be interested in the views of others! Alternatively, set up a gathering, run a survey, use social media, take photographs, etc. Contact Councillors to alert them to what you're doing and talk about support gained.

    4. Follow up what you do by submitting Questions to Full Council, which will make the Council’s response public, may be reported in the media, and with prior permission you can film the response and use in social media, to grow interest.

    Tipping Point of Community Power!

    Extinction Rebellion's strategic aim is to achieve a tipping point of local support that pushes the conversation about a Citizen's Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice.

    Ultimately, we want to reach Westminster ears, plus our devolved and regional authorities. This can only come from grassroots in numbers, i.e. us, the people, alongside our allies in the deliberative democracy sphere and elsewhere.

    We know our political systems are broken. Imagine a proven and more inclusive method of decision making that ensures the interests of people and nature are taken into careful consideration, in all decisions. Imagine decision making where no one is left behind and we transition together, collaboratively to a healthier, fairer society. Mobilising and empowering local people at the grassroots is the starting point...

    XR's approach is that over those months leading up to elections, local groups could be taking up nonviolent direct action around their local authorities who refuse to engage with the people.

    Of course, your devolved local or regional authority might already be in agreement to implement recommendations from local assemblies... It's already starting to happen. (See Case Studies).

    But What if Your Powers that Be Are Not Listening?

    If your local authority, a company, or whomever you need to listen doesn't want to take those recommendations on board, or engage with improving community participation in democratic decisions and citizenship, this is the time to consider escalation.

    So for instance, if your local authority will not support your community in the following ways, you may consider occupying uncollaborative local or unitary authorities, or corporate offices.

    XR Local Groups have had great success with getting support from allies in some of the following situations where authorities are not collaborating or engaging:

    What Does Escalation Mean?

    An Assembly Escalation Plan begins with organising your local Community Assembly and collating recommendations for sharing with the decision maker. This could be a local council, regional authority, or even a company such as your local water services provider. In election run-ups, assemblies can have real impact, as candidates want to be seen to be listening to their constituents.

    When you share those requests and recommendations with that authority's officers, or local parliamentary / constituency candidates, they may or may not engage. That gives your group the opportunity to build on the original purpose of your assembly with escalatory measures to influence processes. The 'escalatory' approach means applying pressure on local/regional politicians or company board members, to bring about meaningful change, based on the aspirations coming out of your local deliberations.

    Find out more on how your campaigning group could follow a set of simple steps to be heard here: 5 Step Escalation Plan .

    Need More Pointers?

    If you have any questions on any of the choices of direction you face, or just need to bounce ideas around join our Assemblies Sharing Chat.

    Whatever your concerns, take from this guidance what is relevant to your local situation.

    General and Devolved Elections and Assemblies

    Elections Action Pack

    Upgrade Democracy Time

    It’s time to harness the despair and feelings of betrayal, to re-establish democracy and give power and influence back to people.

    This pack gives you everything you need in one place to take action to build connections with local people and groups on local issues.

    Educate, inform and engage them in Community Assemblies and deliberative democracy.

    Imagine we’re like a Wood Wide Web

    A social ecosystem connected through common needs, shared resources and a desire to flourish.

    Tree and Mushroom Roots Graphic.png

    The Myceleia Network is a shared biome, where ecosystems flourish without greed, sharing resources where needed. The mycelium underfoot ensures close-by neighbouring trees and plants have the resources (nutrients, water, etc.) they need to flourish. They also have evolved ways to distribute nutrients across an entire network.

    This short video shows how Community Assemblies connect us.


    mushroom

    The Communities Assemblies Escalation Plan was part of the 2024 XRUK Action’s Strategy to upgrade democracy. The current 2025 Movement Strategy also refers to how community assemblies fit into our overall movement building aims and our 2025 Actions Strategy will be out imminently.

    Local Authority Performance Intel

    Go to My Society to find out where your local authority is at in relation to declarations on the climate emergency and decarbonisation planning. Also, the Climate Action score rating website may help you to find out more detail.

    Survey Boards Work

    Why Community Assemblies Matter

    How a Community Assembly Might Apply Well-Timed Pressure

    What Next?

    Assets

    Resources and Support

    General and Devolved Elections and Assemblies

    Example Questions for Candidates

    Example Questions for Party Candidates in Local or National Elections

    Questions for Police and Crime Commissioner Candidates

    General and Devolved Elections and Assemblies

    Resources From Non-XR Organisations

    Massembly Resources

    Massembly Resources

    Massembly Links

    Thank you for taking part in the Massembly

    Please follow the links below to the following resources:

    Massembly Information Cards

    Click here to access Pol.is - Pol.is sometimes closed between assemblies or for an update

    See a summary of the Massembly results from 31st August

    See a summary of the Massembly results from 13th October

    Find out what happens next


    Massembly Resources

    What happens next?

    We hope that you have enjoyed taking part in the online assembly, and experiencing first-hand what it feels like to participate in deliberative democracy! Hopefully you should now have a clearer idea about how democracy could be upgraded and what XR is doing about it. So what happens next?

    See the results from the original Massembly on 31st August in the summary report

    See the results from the 13th October online assembly in the summary report

    Encourage others to join the conversation

    Join XR!

    Other ways to learn more and get involved:

    Massembly Resources

    Summary of Massembly Results: 31st August 2024

    Here are the results from Saturday 31st August's in-person and online Massemblies.

    Over 450 people took part in our incredible Massembly at Upgrade Democracy, to discuss the question: "How can we take meaningful steps to Upgrade Democracy?"

    1. Citizens' Assemblies and Participatory Democracy

    2. Civic and Political Education

    3. Accountability and Transparency in Politics

    4. Political Reform and Representation

    5. Environmental Protection and Rights of Nature

    6. Building Trust and Confidence in Democracy

    7. Long-term and Future-focused Governance

    Massembly Resources

    Summary of Massembly Results: 13th October 2024

    Here are the results from Sunday 13 October online Massembly.

    We discussed the question: "How can we take meaningful steps to Upgrade Democracy?"

    447 participants voted, 43,153 votes were cast, 96.54 votes per participant on average, 137 commented, 453 comments submitted.

    1. Citizens' Assemblies and Participatory Democracy

    2. Education for Democratic Participation

    3. Reducing Corporate and Private Influence

    4. Long-term Thinking and Future Generations

    5. Transparency and Accountability in Governance

    6. Inclusivity and Diversity in Decision-Making

    7. Reforming Democratic Structures

    Massembly Resources

    Have your say via Pol.is

    Pol.is voting is currently closed.

    Extinction Rebellion UK is developing our own Pol.is platform. Check back here for the link to XRUK's Pol.is - coming soon!

    Massembly Resources

    Online Assembly

    This event is now over and result can be found here

    As a continuation of the Massembly in August, we are organising a further online assembly on Sunday 13th October, 18:30-21:00 to once again consider the question:

    “How might we take meaningful steps to upgrade democracy?”

    Bring your ideas and imagination, discuss these with others and decide together. This is deliberative democracy in action!

    Register for the online assembly here

    Note: We recommend joining on a laptop. Tech support will be available.

    Be prepared!

    What happens next

    A summary of the results will be made available after the assembly, together with suggestions of steps to take forward.

    More information on deliberative democracy:

    Cornwall's NVDA Assembly to Local Government Representation

    Cornwall local XR group were the first to really get success in using NVDA as a tactic, running alongside community assemblies to achieve support from the local authority, initially, then later representation on the District Council.

    What follows is the background for everyone to delve into and follow the example of to empower your local community to be heard by local government decision makers and be invited to participate in the statutory decision making process.

    How Escalation From Assembly to NVDA and Council Decision Making Inclusion Began

    In this video, Myghal Rual, an assembly organiser, talks about Cornwall's Community Assembly here

    Prior to the Festival of Resistance in 2022, in his own words, Myghal wrote the following summary of how their escalation process from assembly to NVDA began:

    "Just a quick background story to how we held a People's Assembly about the climate and nature crisis. Bringing together Climate Activists and Cornwall Councillors .

    We occupied Cornwall County Hall. The seat of power in Cornwall. We were asked to leave by the police and council officials, we held our ground and had our first Peoples Assembly inside county hall. We went on to have many PAs inside county hall.
    We have built up constructive dialogue with Cornwall Council. We now have a 4 person team who meet leaders of the council. Ensuring transparency and accountability on a regular basis.

    We also occupied Truro Cathedral and asked for a PA in the Cathedral. That PA happened inside the Cathedral on April 6th 2024 with nearly 100 people present."

    He goes into more detail on the Assembly escalation process as follows:

    "In September 2021 we held a large protest of community coalition groups including Greenpeace, Green Party and XR, outside of our Cornwall County Council building. We decided to go inside the building to hold a People's Assembly on a climate related theme.

    We then established contact with the Leader of the Council and other leading Council officials, with the aim of creating constructive dialoge with them.

    We now have regular meetings with these council officials and present the feedback from our regular People's Assemblies at County Hall to council officials.

    Some councillors have also joined us at our Peoples Assemblies inside the building, in recognition of the spirit of deliberative democracy.

    We have also have a working group who engage with the council's carbon neutral team.

    In June 2022 we set up a Marquee on Council grounds for a two week occupation. During these two weeks we camped in the County Council grounds and offered an extensive programme of educational events made available to the public and councillors. Initially we were asked to leave. We held firm and eventually Cornwall Council accepted our decision to stay.

    These two weeks were an outstanding success, the Leader of the Council even gave a speech as did the Director of Public Health Cornwall, in the marquee. Extensive publicity was generated, largely positive.

    Cornwall Council have an aim of Cornwall as a whole reaching net zero by 2030. We aim to ensure that by action, accountability and transparency this target is met."

    People's Assembly Held on 29th November 2022 - Summary

    PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY AT COUNTY HALL, TRURO ON TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29th 2022 Attending: 48

    Six breakout groups selected their top priorities.

    QUESTION 1

    QUESTION 2

    Following this initial assembly, more organisations came on board via an online assembly, as can be seen the following month...

    Assembly Held on 15th December 2022

    Cornwall Council and Members of Cornwall Climate Action Coalition Summary points Topic: Climate Commission Model - continuation

    Attendees: Cornwall Council (CC) Cllr Martyn Alvey: Portfolio holder for Environment and Climate Change Mark Holmes: Manager, Carbon Neutral Cornwall Cllr Linda Taylor: Leader Cornwall Council Cllr Louis Gardener: Portfolio holder for Economy, good growth fund, SPF, LUF, energy policy parts of NQ airport & spaceport and councillor for NQ & Pentire Cornwall Climate Action Coalition (CCAC) Karen Jeffereys John Carley Helen Angel Tom Pine Andrew Stott

    QUESTION 1: The Climate Commission What has the Council found out about the climate commission model from their contact with ‘Place based Climate Action Network (PCAN)?

    QUESTION 2: Timeline and budget

    Please outline what is the timeline and process for adding an item to the annual budget?

    ** Useful background reading** - (Link to PCAN): What is a local climate commission? | Place Based Climate Action Network (pcancities.org.uk) ** For reference CC shared a link to the new reports page on the Hive (This brings together key Cornish reports, including links to the action plan, inventories and performance reports. This was something promised at a previous meeting and the Climate Change pages on the CC website are also under review). In depth notes of the meeting are available via: Karenjeffereys@tiscali.co.uk

    Start Here

    In this book you will find information on different types of assemblies and further reading on more detailed descriptions of these. You will also find practical support on how to set up and run community assemblies.

    The XRUK Assemblies team are here to support the movement by ensuring:

    If you have any questions, or need any support, please contact us: