The model that later became a template for the Irish Constitutional Convention, We the Citizens was an academic project designed to bring citizens into the heart of debates about in democracy.
Set up in the midst of an economic crisis, the motivation was to demonstrate the merits of a citizens’ assembly in Ireland involving a representative group of citizens who were randomly chosen to attend. The project tested whether deliberative democracy could work in Ireland at a time when people felt adrift and disconnected from power. The findings were presented to the leaders of every party in Ireland.