It is hard to convey why a Citizens Assembly is so special.  OK, so 40 people from a dozen different institutions in MK gathered at Cornerstone Church for two hours on a Saturday morning to agree on their campaigns for next year. Big yawn, surely? Was it to avoid doing the Christmas shopping?

No!  It because Assemblies are fun and inspiring!  Because a buzz develops. Because that’s what happens when you have one-to-one conversations meeting new people; when you hear of campaigns making a difference in people’s lives; when you experience a different sort of democracy in action; and come to understand how we can make properly make our private concerns into public action on things that really matter to us.  It is extraordinary: an Assembly is carefully orchestrated – and yet you don’t know what will happen.  

On this occasion a member of the MK Muslim Association, attending for the first time, gave impromptu testimony, speaking right from the heart.  A new campaign was born.

Suresh Nesaratnam of MK Council of Faiths (right in picture below) said: “Regie Kpobi’s efforts to combat knife crime, through presentations to vulnerable youngsters at places of worship, sounded like a campaign that was truly needed in MK – and I duly signed-up for it.”

Rob Paton of MK Quaker Meeting (right in picture below) said: “As one of the leaders of Action on Climate and the Environment, I was astonished at how many people moved over to stand by the climate campaign placard at the end – what a boost.  I went home elated.”

Jane Whild of The Open University (third from left in picture below) said: “It was wonderful to be assembled in person again and see many new faces as well as old friends. Our Misogyny Campaign Team attracted new representatives and I look forward to planning our next actions with them in January.”

Rev Catherine Butt of St. Frideswide’s Church (front of picture below), who co-chaired the assembly, said:  “There was a great energy in the room. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and meet new people who are passionate about seeing change in our city. Here’s to an action-packed 2023!”

Lest you are thinking this is too good to be true (puff and PR, surely?) another feature of Assemblies is the rapid ‘shout-out’ evaluations at the end. 

We ask ‘How did we do?’  Indeed, one indicator of a good assembly is when lots of people stay to join in and are truthful about the shortcomings as well as the achievements. Which is exactly what happened.  In a lively few minutes we gave ourselves 8.5 out of 10 while also agreeing that we really must use microphones properly when we speak; and if we meet at this time of day, we need to offer childcare.

Assemblies are why so many of us love Citizens . Come to the next one and find out for yourself!

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