A permanent, statute-based citizens' dialogue attached to the Parliament of the German-speaking Community of Belgium: a standing Citizens' Council sets topics for randomly selected Citizens' Assemblies.
A decree of 25 February 2019 created the Bürgerdialog. A standing Bürgerrat of 24 former participants sets agendas and tracks follow-up; topic-specific Bürgerversammlungen of roughly 30 residents aged 16 or over, drawn in two lottery stages with quotas, issue recommendations to parliament and government. The first council started in September 2019, the first assembly in March 2020. The decree was amended in April 2024.
Eight topics so far, from care (assembly from 2020) to spatial planning (assembly scheduled for autumn 2026). Each cycle includes a public committee presentation, a political response and a review of follow-up some time later.
The parliament presents the Bürgerdialog as distinctive because it is permanent and institutionalised: it rests on a decree of 25 February 2019, has an annual budget, a dedicated staff member and a standing Citizens' Council. G1000, which helped design it, calls it the first permanent citizens' council.[1][2]
The 24-member Citizens' Council, drawn from former assembly participants and renewed by about one third, chooses the topics and organisation of assemblies and monitors follow-up. Assemblies of about 30 residents aged 16 or over are chosen by a two-stage lottery with quotas, starting from the national register.[1]
Each completed cycle includes public presentation of recommendations in a parliamentary committee, a public political response on how they could be implemented, and a later review of how far the recommendations inspired politicians' work.[1]