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Presentation by The Rt Hon George Reid at NICVA\'s Annual Conference on 21st November 2008
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ENGAGING THE CITIZENFutures For Civil Society
The Rt Hon George Reid
•The Drivers of Change
•The Challenge of Politics
“The development of a dynamic and responsive strategy for outreach and public engagement”
“We must try to accept that we have a shared past and try to learn from it.
“The differences in our societies must cease to be barriers between us.
“We must learn to live together – not only to be supportive of our respective individual diversities but indeed to be champions of respect and tolerance of others”
N.I. CHALLENGES
• Promotion of Vision and Values
• Division on Religious Boundaries
• Tolerance of Difference
• Collective Campaigns
• Trust in|from the Assembly
• Dependency on State Funding
• Clear unifying Agenda
GOALS OF INQUIRY
• Explore threats and opportunities
• Identify how policy and practice can be enhanced
• Improve ability of civil society to meet future challenges
WHAT IS CIVIL SOCIETY?
• Associational Life• The ‘good’ society
• Arenas for public deliberation
“Civil Society is a goal to aim for, a means to achieve it and a framework for engaging with
each other about ends and means”
FUTURES THINKING
“The purpose of looking at the future is to disturb the present”
PLEASE, NO CONSULTANT SPEAK!
FAULT LINES
• Challenge of Sustainability
• Isolation of the Poorest
• Social Cohesion under Pressure
• Shifting Activism and increasing obstacles to
engaging with civil society
FAULT LINES
• Application of Technology
• Voluntary & Community Organisations lose their
Distinctiveness
• Diminishing Areas for Public Deliberation
• Marginalisation of Dissent
LOCAL LIFE
DIVERSITY WARS
ATHENIAN VOICES
GLOBAL COMPACT
WHAT NEXT?
• Social Justice and Climate Change
• Financial Industry
• The Media
• The Deliberative Process
• Marginalisation of Dissent
ANOTHER FAULT LINE
• Devolution as a Driver of Change
• State no longer sole source of authority
• Responsibility for Civil Society largely
devolved
QUESTION 1
Is Devolution Decentralisation,
power handed down from the Centre?
Or is Devolution a dynamic process,
power rising up from the People?
QUESTION 2
Does the Northern Ireland Assembly
practise Representative Democracy?
Or does the Northern Ireland Assembly
practise Participative Democracy?
COMPARISONS
• Architecture
• Accessibility
• Accountability
• Equal Opportunities
• Sharing of Power
“The development of a dynamic and responsive strategy for outreach and public engagement”
• A People’s Parliament
• Politics too important to leave to the politicians
• Let the People in
• Let the People have their say
• Let the People change law
•
“We must learn to live together – not only to be supportive of our respective individual diversities but indeed to be champions of respect and tolerance of others”
A Civic Agenda?
• Decide Representative or Participative
Democracy
• Decide Decentralisation or
Devolution
A Futures Agenda
• Think Needs not Positions
• Consult with Civic Society
• Open the Assembly to the People
• Agree a Petitions System
• Stand for Election
“Look to the Future. Accept the Challenges. Society fails if the citizen is not engaged.
“Setting an agenda for change is not a burden. It’s a responsibility. And an opportunity to change for good”