The RELIEF Centre is launching a citizens' assembly on Energy on 23rd October 2020.
The recent devastating explosion in the port of Beirut, as well as destroying lives, homes, livelihoods and dreams, has propelled Lebanon into a more profound political and economic abyss. One of the critical facilities that were damaged severely was the iconic building of Electricité du Liban, and key figures in the organisations were killed or injured. As with many other public services, electricity is a crucial sector that needs deep reforms to be able to meet the energy demands of the country. EDL became a lynchpin of the state's inability to meet the basic needs of its citizens.
After the Beirut blast, initiatives sprung almost immediately. Years of research into post-war reconstruction and recovery, urban inequalities and displacement culminated in a worldview of the explosion as a profound expression of the political and economic systems produced after the civil war ended. Beirut Urban Lab published a thoughtful piece about the risks and challenges ahead in rebuilding the city once again.
The challenges ahead are enormous, and the mood in the country has returned to one of despair, disappointment and scarcity. It is a challenging environment. As researchers, activists and citizen scientists from these communities, the value of our work is tied to our ability to affect change. At the same time, we must tend to the needs of our staff on the ground.
A necessary mission
For us, energy justice and democracy remain a critical mission to pursue. We are pushing ahead with our partners to pursue the pilot citizens' assembly in Hamra. We have engaged in serious discussions with our partners about how public engagement can take place in the context of multiple catastrophes in health, logistics, economics and politics.
Feedback to consider in re-designing the CA
To summarise our conversations with facilitators, advisors and speakers over the past month, we have compiled the following feedback:
A general mood of frustration, despair and hopelessness
Conditions of severe economic hardship and insecurity at the loss of jobs and businesses, high inflation and cost of food
High levels of anxiety and despair across all government services, particularly health, reconstruction, and economic welfare
The collapse of governance mechanisms of responsibility and accountability in critical sectors
Government officials declining invitations to engage in any public-facing events and encounters
The rise in numbers of COVID-19 cases, and unpredictable recurring lockdown measures
Increase in emigration applications with foreign embassies
Fears even among our interlocutors and collaborators that rebuilding especially of windows will not be completed before autumnal rains arrive at the end of October
Trauma and mental health effects on our staff and interlocutors
That there is no need for further postponement given the level of deep uncertainty and lack of horizon over when better circumstances will arise
Reduction in physical spaces where people can meet, for example, Chehab Gardens, the venue we had initially booked to run the event, has now shut down.
Reconstituting the public sphere in lockdown – how to run a CA
Taking these into consideration, we asked the question, how would we reconstitute a public sphere under these conditions? How would we hypothetically and practically bring people together to convene a citizen assembly? There was an agreement that:
A physical meeting is necessary and could not effectively be replaced by a digital forum.
Speaker presentations should be filmed and shared online before every deliberation session to allow time to process information and formulate questions
Physical meetings should, be short in duration, involve smaller groups, be in an outdoor or very well-ventilated space and socially distanced.
Digital engagement can happen via WhatsApp for informational purposes, but effective deliberation and discussion can take place in smaller groups
The groups can also connect digitally
Given these challenges, it will be a feat to convene any form of the citizen assembly, but postponement is not an option as the future is even more uncertain than the present.
A new format for the CA
Based on this feedback, we are proposing to convene a citizens' assembly using a hybrid physical and digital form in the following ways:
Two short evening sessions on Friday 23rd October and Friday 30th October from 6-8 pm in small groups
In the interim week, filmed speakers presentations will be shared
A final digital session on Saturday 31st October
We will share the agenda and material on here before the first session convenes.
Further adaptation to the model are as follows:
More open and flexible recruitment rather than strict sortition and stratified sampling
More active recruitment that explains the need for collective consensus-building and understanding
To be ready for an all-digital citizen assembly if lockdown conditions change
Extending the role of facilitators in designing and convening sessions
Opening up participation and intervention to all stakeholders
Invitation to speak to government officials were rejected and substituting their proposed perspective as best as possible by other experts
Watch this space!
Further Resources
Details on the Launch of the Citizens’ Assembly on Energy in Lebanon