David Farrell, graduate of University College of Dublin, and Jane Suiter, graduate of Dublin City University, were the 2019 winners of the Brown Democracy Medal.  This award honors thought-provoking leaders who work to sustain democracy by shining light on the positive aspects of democracy rather than the negative aspects of it.  The Brown Democracy Medal honors these type of positive leaders because focusing on the negative aspects of democracy overwhelms society and hinders the potential of democracy.  Farrell and Suiter won the 2019 Brown Democracy Medal for their efforts through the Irish Citizens’ Assembly Project to enact more deliberative reform in democracy. They sought to enact this reform by being more invested in politics; believing they could make a difference; and being involved in the Irish Constitutional Convention and Assembly.

In his acceptance speech, Farrell talked about a recent trip to Auschwitz in Birkenau, Poland to gain a sense of history.  This trip allowed him to see and think more deeply about what can happen when democracy fails. Through this experience, he saw the brutality and corruption that can result from a failing government.  Moreover, Farrell went on to identify key indicators of a failing democracy; these indicators include a decline in trust, fewer citizens voting, voting in opposite parties, and a rise in extremism.

Farrell also yielded questions from the audience.  In response to a question about democracy being too complex for the average citizen, Farrell disagreed and claimed that the mindset of it being too complex underestimates the power of innovation through democracy.  Through this answer, it can be inferred that although it might require work, democracy has the greatest potential for effectively and innovatively governing a society of people. Moreover, Farrell has the vision that citizens are meaningful, involved, and invested in society, and he believes that citizens have the capabilities to fulfill this vision. 

Farrell went on to tell the story of the founding of the Irish Citizens’ Assembly.  Farrell shared that Ireland was facing the worst recession and was greatly affected in that the nation lost all banks and unemployment doubled.  As a result, there was significant political turmoil. This turmoil led to the incumbents being voted out of office and other political reforms. With that, the Citizens’ Assembly developed.  This assembly consisted of a random selection of individual citizens, a deliberation that included open discussion and reflective dialogue, and experts to increase knowledge and understanding of the members.  However, this innovation received pushback that claimed that the citizens could not do this in Ireland and that Parliament would prevent the success of this initiative. Despite the pushback, in 2011, Farrell shared that they traveled around Ireland, met with Irish departments, and established Ireland’s First Citizens’ Assembly.

Jane Suiter then took the opportunity to share her experiences with the audience.  She discussed how the first convention had an eclectic agenda that focused on marriage equality, blasphemy, role of women, electoral reform, parliamentary reform, and voting age.  This agenda reflects the vision that the project sought to instill in its people. Concerning these issues, Suiter shared that Ireland’s Marriage Equality Referendum received 62.1 percent yes and 37.9 percent no in May 2018; the people wanted to reform Parliament as they felt that it is heavily dominated by those at the center; and citizens want to get involved with abortion as the Abortion Referendum received a split vote.  

Suiter expressed that these efforts enable politicians to change their minds, improve policy and media relationships, and improve citizens’ trust.  Furthermore, Suiter feels that this assembly approach can be implemented in other nations as well and that the driving force of this approach is that the working citizens can be listened to and trusted.