Why Use People's Assemblies?

Assemblies, or participatory democracy processes, are structured ways for a group of people to discuss issues or make decisions collectively, so that all voices are heard and valued equally, and no one person or group dominates the discussion.

Extinction Rebellion uses participatory democracy processes, such as people’s assemblies, in order to model participatory democracy within the movement, generate ideas, gather feedback and make decisions.

People’s assemblies have a very different purpose, structure and process to citizens’ assemblies (the central idea of our third demand) or to community assemblies (which are another form of participatory democracy XR promotes).

This grassroots method of self-organising during direct action is genuinely democratic and has been used throughout history to instigate people-powered change. People’s Assemblies were at the centre of the Arab Revolt that spread from Tunisia to Egypt in 2011, as well as the Spanish 15M movement, the Occupy movement, and the Y En A Marre movement in Senegal, and they are central to the organisation of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.

Citizens, community and people’s assemblies offer different ways for us to transform our democracy, as they offer a way of seeing democracy in action out on the streets or in a community and help people to reclaim power.

People’s Assemblies can be part of the deep adaptation that communities have to go through in order to face the growing impact of climate and biodiversity breakdown.

How can People's Assemblies be used?

Organising and Decision Making

Groups of any size can meet and discuss issues or make decisions collectively in regards to moving the aims and actions of their group. This basic participatory democracy method can be used by local/national/regional/community groups or working groups/teams/circles to make emergency decisions or for decisions on how to organise themselves.

Direct Action

Assemblies can form part of a direct action when they are held during occupations, roadblocks or other forms of peaceful civil disobedience involving groups of people holding spaces for any length of time.