Deliberative mini-publics as a way to strengthen democracy – sharing lessons from public institutions
Time and platform
You are warmly invited to discuss and hear lessons learned from mini-publics organised in public institutions on Monday 19 October 2026, 13.00–15.45 (EEST) on Teams.
Deliberative mini-publics have increasingly been organised in public institutions. In 2025–2026, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra has also co-funded mini-publics organised by different ministries. The aim has been to embed and establish the use of mini-publics as part of decision-making in public administration.
In this webinar, we will share experiences of citizens' panels carried out in public institutions in Finland and highlight international examples of citizens’ assemblies. We will examine when a mini-publics can bring the greatest benefit in supporting decision-making, how implementation can be planned cost-effectively, and how citizens’ recommendations can be genuinely integrated into preparation and decision-making. We will also discuss what is needed to embed mini-publics in public institutions.
Registration
Register for the webinar on deliberative mini-publics by Thursday 15 October 2026. If you have any questions about participation or using Teams, please contact the organisers before the event.
Programme
13.00 Welcome
Liisa Männistö, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Justice
Minna Kaljonen, Research Professor, Finnish Environment Institute
13.05 Opening words by the Ministry of Justice
Antti Leinonen, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
13.15 How does deliberation improve decision-making?
Pauli Saloranta, Senior Lead, Sitra
Sharing lessons from public institutions in Finland
13.25 Lessons from the Ministry of the Environment's deliberative mini-publics
Kirsi-Marja Lonkila, Senior Specialist, Ministry of the Environment
13.35 Experiences from deliberative citizens' panels for children and young people
Liisa Männistö, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Justice
Laura Kuusio, Senior Specialist, National Child Strategy
13.45 Young citizens' panel on food supporting the preparation of the National food strategy
Suvi Huttunen, Leading Researcher, Finnish Environment Institute
Elina Ovaskainen, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
13.55 Building an impactful deliberative mini-public – from objectives to safe dialogue
Tiia Merenheimo, Leading Specialist, Motiva, a state-owned sustainable development company
14.05 Discussion
14.20 Break (the event continues in English)
Learnings from citizen assemblies in Europe
14.30 Welcome
Minna Kaljonen, Research Professor, Finnish Environment Institute
14.35 Two decades of European deliberative experience: where do we stand, where do we go?
Yves Dejaeghere, Executive Director, FIDE Europe
14.50 Learnings from the Young Citizens Assembly on Pollinators
Mateusz Tokarski, Policy Analyst, Joint Research Centre, European Commission
15.05 Irish experience of citizens’ assemblies and their impact on Irish society
Art O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer, The Electoral Commission of Ireland
15.15 Commentary: How to make use of European learnings in Finland?
Heli Saarikoski, Principal Researcher, Finnish Environment Institute
15.20 Discussion
15.45 End
The webinar is open to everyone and will be held on Teams. The first part of the event will be in Finnish and the second part in English. Interpretation or captioning will not be provided at the event. The event will be recorded and the recording may be published afterwards.
The webinar is organised by the Finnish Environment Institute together with the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Justice, Sitra and Motiva, a state-owned sustainable development company.
