The project:
Hallo Bundestag
Elected.
There is only one person standing between you and every decision in the Bundestag: the Member of Parliament (MP) from your electoral district.
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But who really knows their own representatives? And how can elected representatives represent a diverse society if they have only a few points of contact with people who do not go to an office of their MP of their own accord?
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Randomly Selected.
We bring together randomly drawn people from an electoral district (=constituency) to spend a day talking to each other. The results of their discussions are discussed with the respective members of parliament of that electoral district.
This gives participants the opportunity to actively shape politics, and politicians to hear diverse perspectives on a certain political issue. We call this format Electoral District Day.
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The selection by lot has a decisive advantage here: Statistically, the characteristics of the population are distributed roughly the same as in the population as a whole, even in a small group.
And: everyone has the same chance of being drawn. We draw lots from the relevant civil registers from the age of 12. Voting rights and citizenship do not play a role.
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Together.
Hallo Bundestag is not just about bringing people together by lot and working out recommendations together. For us, it's about enriching representative democracy through an exchange of plural perspectives by both, politicians and society. That's why the exchange between members of parliament and those drawn by lot at an Electoral District Day is at core of the process for us.
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In many processes, members of parliament hardly have a chance to follow the internal discussions and deliberations in the citizens' assembly. That's why working together is so important to us. We also know from our pilot Electoral District Days that personal exchange is most important to both the delegates and the participants.
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Hallo Bundestag (January 2023 - June 2024)
builds on the experiences of the 2021 Electoral District Day pilots, where Electoral District Days were conducted in two Berlin districts: Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East in the former East and Steglitz-Zehlendorf in the former West. Based on the promising outcomes and external evaluations from these pilots, Es geht LOS developed the "Hallo Bundestag" project to determine whether Electoral District Days can be successful in all types of regions — urban or rural, economically strong or weak, with representatives from various parties or only a few MPs.
Our Goal – an Update to Represantative Democracy
We developed a format that complements democratic processes to strengthen representative democracy in Germany.
The Project Objectives in Detail
People from different social backgrounds and diverse life realities are brought together through the Outreach Random Selection Method. Individuals who would otherwise not meet come together.
The MPs engage with individuals they rarely reach, gaining new perspectives that they can incorporate into their political work.
The facilitated exchange, focusing on personal experiences, allows participants to experience constructive social interaction beyond filter bubbles. This strengthens empathy and counteracts polarization.
Participants feel a greater sense of effectiveness, are politically activated, and are motivated to engage further or connect with politicians.
Through direct exchanges with the MPs, participants’ trust in politicians, political processes, and parties is strengthened.
Additionally, politicians’ trust in the public is bolstered as they experience constructive and nuanced discussions.
Overall, the appreciative and understanding atmosphere fosters trust among individuals.
Representation in the electoral district plays a crucial role in Germany's democratic system. Electoral District Days harness the potential of this relationship, strengthening the personal connection between Members of Parliament and residents at the electoral district level.
Sustainable Approach for Strengthening Democracy
The goal is not to simply do 18 Electoral District Days. The goal is to sustainably strengthen democracy.
Usually after a participatory process like a Citizens' Assembly, participants are activated, they want to engage further, but often do not know how. The process ends and the activated energy threatens to get lost. Thats why, in order to have a sustainable effect on democracy in the long term, we invented two strategies:
- In each electoral district we conduct a Electoral District Council which consists of former participants of the Electoral District Days. They meet regularly, discuss certain topics, give feedback to their MPs. After every EDD, more participants join the Council.
- After each of the three phases of the project (in which an Electoral District Day is held in each of the six Electoral Districts) the selected by lot, the elected and a group of experts meet in Berlin. They evaluate the experiences from the Electoral District Days and develop a proposal for institutionalization.
Project Overview
The Project in Detail
The Electoral Districts
"Hallo Bundestag" aimed at exploring new ways to enhance the connection between people in the electoral districts and the Bundestag along with its representatives.
The two crucial tools to achieve this are Electoral District Days and Electoral District Councils. In order to determine whether this format could work across Germany, we tested it in six different electoral districts.
The electoral districts were selected to reflect the diversity of the 299 federal electoral districts based on various criteria while also allowing for comparisons. To draw generalizable conclusions for the institutionalization of the "Electoral District Day" format, it was important for us to include both structurally weak and strong, as well as rural and urban electoral districts in the project. Additionally, we considered the distribution of parties in the Bundestag, gender parity, and regional coverage (North, East, South, West).
Overview of the Electoral District Day
The Format
The electoral district serves as an important link between citizens and federal politics. The Electoral District Day facilitates a dialogue between Bundestag members and 25-30 randomly selected individuals aged 12 and older, focusing on political and societal issues. Key to the success of this format are well-prepared informational materials, the individual experiences of the participants, professional moderation, and various dialogue methods.
The Random Selection
Through the random selection of participants from the civil registers, the diversity of perspectives within an electoral district is represented. The applied outreach method effectively reaches individuals who typically do not participate in political events, do not vote, feel powerless, or, for various reasons, belong to "silent groups."
The Process
In the morning, the randomly selected participants engage in small group discussions about the topic at hand, developing their positions. In the afternoon, the Members of Parliament join the conversation, where experiences and aspirations of the participants are shared. The event concludes with an informal gathering featuring snacks and beverages, and possibly the presence of media representatives.
What people say who have already participated (in German):
What could the result look like?
Every member of the Bundestag already has the opportunity to invite 50 people from the electoral district to Berlin three times a year via the Federal Press Office. Travel expenses and hotel accommodation are paid for.
Why shouldn't it also be possible for members of parliament to convene an Electoral District Day once a year?
And who knows, maybe in 10 years it will be completely self-evident that MPs get qualified feedback from their electoral district on important issues and get to know the different realities of life of the local people at regular intervals?
