Here are slides from a presentation at an event organized by Association ADELE and officials in the field of participatory democracy on September 26th in Paris, France. The theme of the talk was "When ordinary citizens rewrite their constitution". Presentation given by Gudjon Mar Gudjonsson director at Agora and facilitator at the grassroots organized Ministry of Ideas. Political context in Iceland was discussed and the process around the Constitutional Council of 25 ordinary citizens. Additional reaction and comments where given by Bastien François who teaches political science at the University of Paris-I. Bastien François wrote a famous book for a new constitution: "The Constitution of the Sixth French Republic". Additional reaction given by Philippe Aigrain, founder and CEO of Sopinspace, Society for Public Information Spaces, a company that develops free software and provides services for the public debate of policy issues. Additional input and discussions where given by many of the participants during the session. Overall this was a great session and the atmosphere at the end gave many of the participants an inspiration that this could be a start of a movement of a new constitutional reform of France.

1. GENERAL PRESENTATION AROUND CONSTITUTION AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
DEVELOPMENTS IN ICELAND 2011

2. WORLD’S FIRST
PARLIAMENT
IN
930

3. WORLD
ICELAND
... ON A DIFFERENT FREQUENCY

4. PROTOTYPE A ON ELECTRIC CARS
PROTOTYPE B ON DATA CENTERS
PROTOTYPE C ON BATTERY CHARGING
PROTOTYPE D TRANSPORTAION BUSINESS MODEL
PROTOTYPE E ACTIVE DEMOCRATIC
PROTOTYPE F ON REALTIME CURRENCY
ALL YOU NEED
FOR A GOOD
LAB

5. VEOLIA 349.000
ICELAND 319.756
VEOLIA HAS A VISION
ICELAND’S VISION ?

6. SYSTEM COLLAPSE OCT 2008
J
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2007
2008

7. QUESTIONING LEADERSHIP
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2007
2008

8. CHANGE IN SOCIETY
BIRTH OF
NATIONAL
GAP!
ASSEMBLY
ABILITY OF THE SYSTEM TO ADAPT
TIME

9. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 2009
GRASSROOTS
ORGANISED
BY
THE
ANTHILL
1.500
PARTICIPANTS
J
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2009
2010

10. 9 AREAS x 9 GROUPS x 9 MEMBERS x 2

11. PARTICIPANTS:
1.200 RANDOM SAMPLE FROM NATIONAL REGISTRY
1.500 PEOPLE
300 CHANGE LEADERS
PLANNING:
STARTED AS A GROUP OF 9
ENDED AS 500 VOLUNTEERS

12. NATION’S RANDOM SAMPLE

13. CONSTITUTIONAL
ACT
ACCEPTED
BY
PARLIAMENT
CONSTITUTIONAL
COMMITTEE
APPOINTED
J
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2009
2010

14. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 2010
BY
THE
GOVERNMENT
1.000
PARTICIPANTS
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2011

15. CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY
ELECTIONS
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2011

16. ELECTIONS ARE VOIDED
BY THE SUPREME COURT
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2011

17. PARLIAMENT APPOINTS ELECTED MEMBERS TO CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL
CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL STARTS ITS WORK
CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL SUBMITS FINAL DRAFT TO PARLIAMENT
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18. N AT I O N A L A SS E M B LY 2 0 1 0
WISDOM OF CROWDS
HTTP://AGORA.IS/2011/03/INTRODUCTION-­‐TO-­‐THE-­‐NATIONAL-­‐ASSEMBLY-­‐ORGANISATION/

19. ORGANISER AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE
2010 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR THE
GOVERNMENT OF ICELAND
WWW.AGORA.IS

20. DOWNLOADABLE HANDBOOK
FULL TRANSPARENCY
FREE TO USE
HTTP://AGORA.IS/2011/03/NATIONAL-ASSEMBLY-FACILITATORS-HANDBOOK/

21. CAPTURING THE HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION'S CREATIVITY

22. MUTUAL
TRUST

23.
FLOW
AGORA
VISIONING
CHARACTERISTICS
DEMOCRATIC
CREATIVE
THINKING
INDEPENDENT
VIEWPOINTS
WELL
TRAINED
FACILITATORS
NEUTRAL
VIEW
OF
FACILITATORS
NO
SPEECHES
OR
SEEDING
OF
IDEAS
PARTICIPANTS
REPRESENT
JUST
THEMSELVES
DISCUSSIONS
TOPICS
ALL
DEFINED
BY
THE
FLOW

24. MULTI-FACETED PICTURE OF REALITY AND ASPIRATIONS

25. CORE
TECHNIQUE:
BRAINSTORMING
FREEDOM
SIMPLE FORMAT
EQUAL RIGHT TO EXPRESS
SIMPLICITY

26. EASY
TO
USE
TOOLS
10:00
16:00
VALUES,
INSPIRATION,
THE
WHY
THEMES
IDEAS
QUESTIONS

27. PARTICIPANTS
ENJOY
FREEDOM
NO
NEED
TO
PREPARE
FOR
THE
SESSION
REPRESENT
NO
ONE
BUT
THEMSELVES

28. FACILITATORS
ROLE
DEMONSTRATE
RESPECT
WELL
TRAINED
MASTERS
OF
THE
FLOW
FOSTERING
DYNAMIC
BRAINSTORMING
AND
FREEDOM
BRING
OUT
AS
MANY
VIEWPOINTS
AS
POSSIBLE

29. PARTICIPANTS.
1.000
PARTICIPANT
THAT
JUST
REPRESENT
THEMSELVES
AT
THE
VISIONING
EVENT.
FACILITATORS.
112
FACILITATORS,
EACH
FACILITATING
9
PARTICIPANTS
ON
ITS
TABLE.
ZONE
MASTERS.
8
ZONE
MASTERS,
EACH
HANDLING
14
FACILITATORS
WITHIN
ITS
ZONE.
RUNNERS.
FOR
EACH
ZONE
THERE
ARE
TWO
RUNNERS
THAT
HELPS
THE
ZONE
MASTERS
TO
COLLECT
MATERIAL
AND
FEED
THE
BACK-­‐OFFICE
DATA
CENTER.
MASTER
OF
CEREMONIES.
RESPONSIBLE
FOR
THE
OVERALL
TIMING
AND
SYNC
OF
EACH
ZONE
MASTERS.
THE
MC
IS
FACILITATING
EACH
OF
THE
ZONE
MASTERS.
hKp://agora.is/2011/07/roles-­‐at-­‐larger-­‐visioning-­‐assemblies/

30. THE
ORGISTRATION
OF
FACILITATION
PARTICIPANTS
FACILITATORS
ZONE
MASTERS
MASTER
OF
CEREMONIES

31. SESSION
FLOW
OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
• Discuss
expecta^ons
1ST
SESSION
• Our
values
2ND
SESSION
• Our
vision
3TH
SESSION
• Categorizing
in
themes
and
uni^ng
ideas
4TH
SESSION
• Specializa^on
and
deepening
the
consensus
5TH
SESSION
• Vote
for
main
emphases
and
a
new
way
of
thinking
6TH
SESSION
• Vision
and
Mission
Statement
of
each
group
7TH
SESSION
• Conclusions
as
Key
Ques^ons
for
each
Topics

32. 1ST
SESSION
• Our
values
The
objec)ves
of
this
session
are
twofold:
On
the
one
hand
to
find
out
what
visions
or
values
we
want
to
be
the
founda)on
of
a
new
cons)tu)on
and
on
the
other
hand
to
unite
the
par)cipants
from
the
beginning.

33. 1ST
SESSION
• Our
values
NATURE O COUNTRY AND NA
F ICELAN TION
CONSERV D,
ATION A
UTILISAT ND
ION
PEACE AND
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE, WELLBE
COOPERATION ING
AND EQUALITY
DEMOCRACY
DIVISION OF POW
ITY ER,
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
AND HUMAN RIGHTS
TRANSPARENCY

34. DIVISION OF POW
, ER,
CELAND RESPONSIBILITY
NATURE OF I COUNTRY AND NA AND
ON AND TION TRANSPARENCY
CONS ERVATI
ATION
UTILIS
JUSTICE, WELLBE
ING
AND EQUALITY
DEMOCRACY
PEACE AND
INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION
HUMAN RIGHTS
MORALITY

35. DOT VOTING
USED TO FILTER THE CRITICAL INPUT

36. CATEGORISING
IDEAS
The
facilitator
categorizes
while
the
par^cipants
reflect
and
prepare
more
ideas.
The
facilitator
is
an
ac^ve
listener
at
all
^mes.
Take
care
to
have
a
good
work
space
when
categorizing
the
idea
cards.
Clear
the
table
regularly
3
2
in
order
to
make
space.
4
1
Unite
repeated
ideas.
5
FACI
LITA
TOR
6
9 7
8

37. THE
OUTPUT
IDEAS
VALUES
A
SUMMARY
REPORT
+
STRUCTURED
DATASETS.
THEMES
SUMMARY
REPORT
INCLUDES
AN
INTERACTIVE
MIND-­‐
MAP
THAT
MAKES
IT
EASY
TO
NAVIGATE
THE
VALUES,
VISION
AND
IDEAS.
STRUCTURED
DATASETS
INCLUDE
ALL
DATA
RELATIONS
OUTPUT
ACCORDING
TO
THE
FLOW
OF
THE
ASSEMBLY.
THIS
MEANS
THAT
ALL
DATA
WILL
BE
RELATIONAL
AND
EACH
ENTRY
WILL
HAVE
ALL
ITS
RELEVANT
RAW
MATERIAL
INTERLINKED.
THE
DATA
CAN
BE
ACCESSED
VIA
RESTFUL
APIS
OR
SIMPLY
DOWNLOADED
IN
TEXT
OR
EXCEL
FORMAT.

38. CONTINUED DIALOGUE

39. COUNTRY
AND
NATION
PEACE
AND
INTERNATIONAL
MORALITY
COOPERATION
DIVISION
OF
POWER,
NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY
RESPONSIBILITY
AND
HUMAN
RIGHTS
TRANSPARENCY
2010
JUSTICE,
WELLBEING
DEMOCRACY
AND
EQUALITY
NATURE
OF
ICELAND,
CONSERVATION
AND
UTILISATION
HTTP://AGORA.IS/2011/02/SUMMARY-­‐FROM-­‐THEMES-­‐AT-­‐THE-­‐NATIONAL-­‐ASSEMBLY-­‐2010-­‐ON-­‐THE-­‐CONSTITUTION/

40. COUNTRY
AND
NATION
Values
and
related
issues
regarding
the
independence
of
the
country,
culture
and
its
advantages
such
as
vision,
the
value
of
the
Icelandic
language
and
the
country’s
rural
areas.
THE
CONSTITUTION
IS
A
COVENANT
WHICH
ENSURES
SOVEREIGNTY
AND
INDEPENDENCE
FOR
ICELANDERS
AND
IS
WRITTEN
FOR
THE
PEOPLE
IN
THE
COUNTRY.
THE
ROLE
OF
THE
CONSTITUTION
IS
TO
GUARD
THE
ICELANDIC
LANGUAGE,
ITS
CULTURE
AND
THE
NATION’S
RESOURCES.
IT
SHOULD
BE
INTRODUCED
IN
SCHOOLS
AND
IT
MUST
BE
GUARANTEED
THAT
THE
PUBLIC
CAN
HAVE
A
SAY
IN
DECISIONS
REGARDING
NATIONAL
AFFAIRS.
THE
IMAGE
OF
ICELAND
SHALL
BE
STRENGTHENED,
MULTICULTURALISM
ENCOURAGED
AS
WELL
AS
SEPARATION
BETWEEN
STATE
AND
RELIGION.

41. MORALITY
General
moral
values
without
special
connec)on
with
government
or
poli)cs
such
as
honesty,
respect,
responsibility,
tolerance,
jus)ce
and
sympathy.
THE
CONSTITUTION
SHALL
BE
BASED
ON
MORAL
VALUES.
THE
MORALITY
THEME
OF
THE
NEW
CONSTITUTION
SHALL
BE
RESPECT
FOR
HUMANS,
FREEDOM
OF
SPEECH
AND
CONSIDERATION.
AN
EMPHASIS
SHALL
BE
ON
THE
HONESTY
OF
ELECTED
REPRESENTATIVES,
PUBLIC
OFFICIALS,
LAWS
AND
LEGAL
ETHICS.
TO
STRENGTHEN
AND
IMPROVE
THE
MORALITY
OF
THE
NATION,
ETHICS
SHOULD
BE
TAUGHT
IN
THE
COUNTRY’S
SCHOOLS
AND
THE
SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
OF
THE
PUBLIC
MUST
BE
INCREASED.
IN
ICELAND
A
CLEAR
FRAMEWORK
MUST
BE
SET
UP
BY
WHICH
THE
AUTHORITIES
MUST
WORK,
FOCUSING
ON
RESPECT,
RESPONSIBILITY
AND
DUTIES
TOWARDS
THE
COUNTRY'S
PEOPLE.

42. HUMAN
RIGHTS
Values
that
are
the
basis
or
go
hand
in
hand
with
accepted
human
rights
such
as
equality,
freedom
of
speech,
educa)on,
religious
freedom
and
right
of
ownership.
EVERYONE
SHALL
ENJOY
HUMAN
RIGHTS
ACCORDING
TO
INTERNATIONAL
COVENANTS
ON
HUMAN
RIGHTS
THAT
ICELAND
HAS
PROMISED
TO
HONOUR,
SUCH
AS
FREEDOM
OF
SPEECH,
PERSONAL
PRIVACY,
RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM
AND
THE
RIGHT
OF
OWNERSHIP.
EQUALITY
SHALL
BE
GUARANTEED
BY
LAW
REGARDLESS
OF
GENDER,
RELIGION,
NATIONALITY,
RACE,
RESIDENCE
AND
SEXUAL
ORIENTATION.
EVERYONE
SHALL
HAVE
THE
SAME
OPPORTUNITY
FOR
EDUCATION,
HEALTH
CARE
AND
MINIMUM
ESSENTIALS
OF
LIVING.
EACH
VOTE
SHALL
HAVE
EQUAL
VALUE.

43. JUSTICE,
WELLBEING
AND
EQUALITY
Values
and
related
issues
regarding
general
jus)ce,
wellbeing
and
equality
in
rela)on
to
educa)on,
health
and
essen)als
of
living
etc.
ALL
PERSONS
IN
THE
COUNTRY
SHALL
BE
ENSURED
A
DECENT
LIVELIHOOD
REGARDLESS
OF
GENDER,
RACE,
AGE,
RESIDENCE,
WORK,
NATIONALITY,
RELIGIOUS
BELIEF,
FINANCIAL
SITUATION,
HANDICAP,
SEXUAL
ORIENTATION
OR
OPINIONS.
EVERYONE
SHALL
HAVE
EQUAL
RIGHT
TO
MINIMUM
ESSENTIALS
OF
LIVING,
EDUCATION,
HEALTH
CARE
AND
SOCIAL
SERVICE.
EVERYONE
SHALL
HAVE
RIGHTS
TO
PENSION
BENEFITS.
THE
VALUE
OF
VOTES
SHALL
BE
EQUAL
AND
THE
PENAL
CODE
CLEAR.

44. THE
NATURE
OF
ICELAND,
CONSERVATION
AND
UTILISATION
Values
and
related
issues
regarding
the
environment,
including
natural
resources,
such
as
conserva)on
of
the
environment
and
public
property.
THE
NATURE
AND
THE
COUNTRY’S
NATURAL
RESOURCES
ARE
UNASSIGNABLE
PUBLIC
PROPERTIES
THAT
MUST
BE
PROTECTED,
USED
AND
UTILISED
SUSTAINABLY
IN
SUCH
A
WAY
THAT
PUBLIC
ACCESS
IS
ENSURED.
CLEAR
LAWS
MUST
BE
ENACTED
REGARDING
THE
NATION’S
OWNERSHIP
AND
UTILISATION
RIGHTS
OF
NATURAL
RESOURCES,
NATURE
AND
BIOSPHERE.
ICELANDIC
NATURE
AND
RESOURCES
MUST
BE
PROTECTED
TO
THE
BENEFIT
OF
FUTURE
GENERATIONS.

45. DEMOCRACY
Values
and
related
issues
of
any
kind
rela)ng
to
the
na)on’s
par)cipa)on
in
governing
the
country,
such
as
referendum
and
vo)ng
rights.
Also
values
related
to
prerequisites
for
democracy,
such
as
communica)on
of
informa)on.
ICELAND’S
DEMOCRACY
SHALL
BE
ACTIVE
AND
TRANSPARENT.
THE
VALUE
OF
VOTES
SHALL
BE
EQUAL
IN
ONE
CONSTITUENCY,
ELECTIONS
OF
INDIVIDUAL
CANDIDATES,
LIMITED
TIME
OF
MEMBERSHIP
OF
PARLIAMENT
AND
FEWER
MEMBERS
OF
PARLIAMENT.
THE
DEMOCRACY
SHALL
BE
BASED
ON
THE
TRIPLE
DIVISION
OF
POWER
AND
CLEAR
LAWS
ON
REFERENDUM
IN
IMPORTANT
ISSUES.
THE
APPOINTMENT
OF
JUDGES
SHALL
BE
RECONSIDERED.
ONLY
VOTERS
WITH
EQUAL
VOTING
VALUE
CAN
AMEND
THE
CONSTITUTION.

46. DIVISION
OF
POWER,
RESPONSIBILITY
AND
TRANSPARENCY
Values
and
related
issues
regarding
general
development
of
the
state
and
the
use
of
state
authority
such
as
division
of
power,
transparency
and
stability.
Also
values
(and
related
issues)
regarding
the
work
of
individual
ins)tu)ons
and
the
holders
of
state
authority
and
their
responsibility.
THE
TRIPLE
DIVISION
OF
POWER
MUST
BE
GUARANTEED
WHERE
THE
ROLE
AND
RESPONSIBILITY
OF
THE
AUTHORITIES
IS
CLEAR.
MINISTERS
SHALL
NOT
SERVE
AS
MEMBERS
OF
PARLIAMENT
ALONG
WITH
THEIR
MINISTRY
POST.
THE
CONSTITUTION
SHOULD
GUARANTEE
TRANSPARENCY
AND
SUPERVISION
OF
THE
COUNTRY’S
ADMINISTRATION.
PROFESSIONAL
METHODS
SHALL
BE
USED
WHEN
RECRUITING
PEOPLE
FOR
THE
ADMINISTRATIONAL
POSITIONS.
THE
POWER
OF
THE
PRESIDENT
OF
ICELAND
SHALL
BE
RECONSIDERED
AND
A
DECISION
SHALL
BE
MADE
REGARDING
HIS
VETO.
THERE
SHOULD
BE
A
TIME
LIMIT
TO
THE
MEMBERSHIP
OF
PARLIAMENT.
THE
INDEPENDENCE
OF
THE
COURTS
SHALL
BE
GUARANTEED.

47. PEACE
AND
INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION
Values
and
related
issues
regarding
Iceland’s
posi)on
in
the
interna)onal
community,
such
as
security,
peace
and
impar)ality.
ICELAND
SHALL
BE
AN
INDEPENDENT
AND
SOVEREIGN
STATE
WHICH
EMPHASISES
COOPERATION
WITH
OTHER
NATIONS,
ESPECIALLY
IN
NORTHERN
REGIONS.
ICELAND
SHALL
BE
AN
ADVOCATE
OF
PEACE
AND
SHALL
ENGAGE
IN
INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION
WITH
THAT
PURPOSE.
THE
SECURITY
OF
THE
COUNTRY
SHALL
BE
GUARANTEED.
ICELAND
SHALL
PARTICIPATE
IN
COOPERATION
IN
PROTECTING
NATURE,
SELF-­‐SUSTAINING
USE
OF
NATURAL
RESOURCES,
PROTECTION
OF
HUMAN
RIGHTS
AND
DEVELOPMENT
AID.
ICELAND
SHALL
BE
WITHOUT
AN
ARMY
AND
FREE
OF
NUCLEAR
ARMS.

48. n Abde
and he
arrange
o my re
of scien
e these
and co
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