The first meeting of the Constitution Platform – Turkey Speaks Citizens’ Assembly series was held in Ankara, followed by the second meeting in Konya and the third in Edirne.

ANKARA - The fourth meeting of the “Turkey Speaks: Citizens’ Assembly” series will be held in Diyarbakır on Sunday, February 19, 2012. The series is presented by the Constitution Platform initiative group, made up of thirteen professional organizations and trade unions.

The initiative, which was started with the slogan “Turkey Speaks” with the secretariat of TEPAV, will hold broad-participation meetings in several cities throughout 2012. The initiative, which aims to reach hundreds of participants with each meeting, will be the biggest event for deliberative democracy in Turkey.

The meetings will compile the opinions, demands and expectations of people about the new constitution on a neutral, free and civilized platform for deliberation. The framework to be drawn throughout the citizens’ meetings is expected to contribute to the establishment of consensus within the Turkish National Assembly (TNA).

The Constitution Committee, consisting of equal representation of all parties of the TNA, was briefed on the Citizens’ Meetings. Members of the Committee support the efforts and attend the meetings.

The Platform makes keen efforts to ensure the impartiality of the meetings. It uses innovative and special methods in both the identification of meeting participants and the organization of the meeting content.

The first meeting was held in Ankara

The first meeting of the Constitution Platform –Turkey Speaks Citizens’ Assembly series was held on Sunday, January 8, 2012 in Ankara, followed by the second meeting in Konya and the third in Edirne.

The meetings started with opening remarks by TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and TNA Speaker Cemil Çiçek. The opening ceremony was attended by professional organizations, union confederations and civil society organizations as well as Constitutional Committee member MPs.

How are participants selected?

Invitations to the meetings are extended not to individuals or organizations from a certain group, sector, or ideology, but to randomly selected citizens. The calls are made privately. The first method used to reach citizens is by SMS. SMS text messages and voice messages are sent to randomly selected individuals through all GSM operators. Citizens who reply in the affirmative are called back by a call center, to give them detailed information about the meetings, answer their questions and confirm their application. The application information consists of name, age, gender, education level, and contact information. In the case that the total number of applicants exceeds the pre-decided maximum number of participants, the participants are decided randomly from among the applicants.

The second group of participants is composed of members of civil society organizations, who are invited to the meetings openly. The quota for civil society organizations, which is decided depending on the capacity of the meeting hall, is allocated among organizations on the basis of application order.

Child care services to promote the participation of women…

In order to promote women’s participation, a child-care center is set up in the meeting hall to serve throughout the meeting. Children at or below the age of seven can benefit from the care services.

Common sense sought

During the Citizens’ Assembly, participants sit at a roundtable where they can easily follow the dialogue, with a maximum ten people per table. Each table has a moderator, who is responsible for managing the process and timing. Moderators are not involved in the discussions. Different from regular meetings, Citizens’ Assembly follow a system where no one gets ahead of the others, everyone has the chance to talk, and solutions are sought with common sense.

Each table discusses subjects simultaneously. The process is coordinated by a head moderator. Background information on each subject is given by the head moderator, and projected on giant screens. The participants each hold a voting device with which they will answer the questions. Their answers also are projected on the screens.

Discussions focus on constitutional issues related to almost all chapters of the constitution. The content of discussions is mounted within a framework in which citizens can easily participate and which is easily understandable by anyone who knows, reads and follows Turkey’s agenda. The meetings do not get into technical details that require legal expertise such as provision texts and the legal association of articles.

Participation and Dialogue Principles for the Citizens’ Assembly:

Citizens who have received an invitation for a meeting via one of the methods explained above and who are considering applying must be aware of and accept the principles of the meeting procedures. These are the only principles in effect regarding the meetings.

* Dialogue and Openness: Participants are expected to respect opinions other than their own, not to be biased against new and unconventional ideas, and to be reconciliatory.

* Focus on the Common Future: Participants are expected to seek a better and desired common future rather than protect their current position, no matter how advantageous it might be.

* Personal Participation: Participants are to attend the meetings on behalf of themselves, not as representatives of any opinion or organization.

* Compliance with the Modus Operandi: These are not conventional meetings that involve long speeches. Participants are expected to contribute in line with the modus operandi of the meeting. The course of discussions is build upon a certain method, to which participants are expected to comply.

* Tolerance: Any opinion is legitimate. No one can be dismissed or excluded from participation due to his or her opinions. Participants shall refrain from any assimilating behavior or action. Any participant engaging in such behavior might be dismissed from the session.

* Equality in Participation: Having a certain degree, status, power, age or profession does not bring about any privilege or prerogative during sessions. Participants do not have or are not expected to be experts on any issue.

* Voluntary Participation: It is important that citizens not participate in the meetings under the pressure of any group. Voluntary participation is crucial.

* Full Attendance: Partial attendance is not allowed. Citizens shall attend the entire meeting, since different phases of meetings are interrelated. Participants shall not use any mobile communication devices during the meeting.

* Comfortable Meeting Environment: There is no dress code for the meetings. Casual clothes are recommended for a more comfortable meeting environment.

Participants will be awarded a “Constitution Volunteer Certificate”

Participants will be awarded a “Constitution Volunteer Certificate.” The names of the participants will be listed online and in the final report to be submitted to the TNA Constitutional Committee, if permitted.

About the Constitution Platform Initiative Group

The goal of the Constitution Platform is to lay the foundations of a civil society dialogue that is nurtured by information, knowledge and technical expertise in order to facilitate the formation of a common ground for the exploration of the basic premises and principles of a new constitution, which can in turn serve as the social contract for Turkey’s future. It is a citizens’ platform. The professional organizations; unions of workers, civil servants and employers; and the confederations named below have hosted the Platform so far.

The organizations forming the platform are TOBB, TZOB, TESK, TÜRK-İŞ, TİSK, HAK-İŞ, MEMUR-SEN, KAMU-SEN, TÜRMOB, the Turkish Veterinary Medical Association, the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, and the Union of Turkish Public Notaries.

The meeting held in Ankara was attended also by TÜSİAD, TİM, MÜSİAD, TUSKON, TÜMSİAD, TÜRKONFED, KADER, the Turkish Federation of the Disabled, and the Civil Society Development Center.