Deliberating Universities Network (Unidelib)

[Photo by Lina Prokofieff]

Students' Citizen Assembly (SCA) is an experimental adaptation of the French Climate citizen assembly, on a different theme every year, which objective is to gather various speakers to present ideas on a specific topic for students to reflect and delibirate on which solutions could be implemented [2]. It was created by Institut d'Études Politiques Fontainebleau (IEP) and the Living Algopo Lab as a participatory mechanism that aims to respond to local issues, at the level of the university and the local authorities. The convention's mandate is to define a series of measures and recommendations on the theme of food, in order to respond to the environmental emergency in a spirit of social justice and taking into account health issues.

The objective of the SCA is to produce a first series of measures and recommendations which will be discussed within the decision-making bodies of the university and local authorities. It is organised as a means for students to deliberate on un to date issues [5].

https://youtu.be/PsmO5unst-I

Context and objectives of the original SCA

• Climate and biodiversity emergency. Importance of updating our teaching, research and university functioning to make them sustainable.
• Taking advantage of the opening of the Institut of Political Studies and the Algopo Living Lab in Fontainebleau to teach and conduct research differently.
• Deciding what sustainability is and how to become more sustainable in a democratic manner. Changing the decision-making process and question hierarchies (horizontality, collaboration, interdisciplinarity, research & training, expertise and lay knowledge). Making concrete proposals for living in a more ecological and inclusive society.
• Starting with the 40,000 students and staff of UPEC but extending our reflections and proposals to the territories surrounding our campuses and think in a systemic way with the intention of making our action radiate.
• Transposing the Climate Citizen Assembly to the university's level and finding a mode of action that can take place in other universities and organizations/communities [2].

Each October there is an opening of a new CCE event and daily informational sessions and debates with speakers in addition to deliberative sessions during which participants will exchange ideas, debate, and draft proposals and recommendations for 3 days. During the plenary sessions, speakers give talks in a variety of settings:

• keynote speeches,
• round-table discussions,
• testimonies,
• thematic speeches.

The deliberative sessions will alternate between work and debriefing sessions. There are three types of work sessions:

• Those driven by thematic subgroups
• Those managed by thematic groups
• Plenary work sessions.

The 2022 SCA distinguishes itself by several new features, including the integration of students in both the actual conference and speeches, in addition to their participation as special consultants, fact-checkers, and research assistants.

Follow-up workshops take place after the launch of the Assembly (as two thematic events occurring between the launch and at the end of the Convention). After the launch of the SCA and up until the end, different thematic meetings help participants to continue initial brainstorming activities among different working groups. These workshops will assume various formats: brainstorming sessions, conferences, theatrical exercises or even hackathons. They may also include the participation of partners and local secondary schools, not to mention different entities of the University (Créteil, Fontainebleau, etc.) and online.

Similar to the launch of the first SCA on food sources, a low-tech hackathon are organized on October 31 on the central campus at Créteil. This hackathon brings together political scientists, engineers, and several lawyers who will examine together ways to expand upon certain identified projects during the launch of the SCA. Students are organized into several groups and are invited to concretize their projects as the academic year unfolds. During the two-day closure sessions, students have an opportunity to present the work of each of the thematic groups to their partners. Their comments and reactions lead to a final summative project. The final proposals are then approved in person or online.

The Assembly's closure leads to research output, which stems from the investigations carried out during the SCA. Participants perform theater scenes to remind others of the tasks accomplished. (After the Assembly's closure, these scenes could in fact be performed in different schools and different university settings, etc.)

After the Convention's closure, student project leaders meet different actors and partners to put into practice the new proposals born out of the SCA. Eco-delegates not only insure that these propositions are put into practice but also continue to monitor new proposals of future SCA's, which will be available on Decidim platform created for keeping proposals, as well as voting and commenting them.

Among the tools to be employed during the Student Citizens' Assembly is Decidim, which was used previously during the first Assembly. Decidim is a sofware product dedicated to free deliberation. Decidim constitutes an open platform for the Assembly, and the proposals that arise during the program's three-day launch are stored on the site. Participants can modify, complete, amend, and reject proposals. At the same time, those interested in participating in online discussions, including at the end of the meeting, can consult the site as well. Decidim thus eventually serves as a tool to advance our discussions and proposals of the SCA. In addition, Decidim allows to archive our discussions, resources, data, and events and guarantee the transparence of the entire process. The platform will also highlight news to participants so that they can continue to follow pertinent information, most notably by accessing regular informational bulletins.

• Facilitators are responsible for accompanying thematic groups in brainstorming activities, thus promoting discussions, mutual respect, and a clear understanding of the groups' objectives.
• Leaders take charge of round tables; thematic workshops that will be organized during the two preceding months prior to the closure of the Assembly; and the digital and climate workshops.
• Participants participate in discussions and join different thematic groups.
• Collaborators are present during discussions and take into account the work accomplished by the groups, so that participants will be able to understand the arguments advanced.
• Research Advisors oversee proposals to insure that they are in line with the general themes of the Assembly. They are also responsible to share their knowledge and methods with participants.
• Researchers and fact-checkers are responsible for quantitative and qualitative investigations and the verification of information and data.
• Communication specialists are in charge of the “SCA” via Decidim, Instagram, Twitter, etc., will serve as co-pilots and ambassadors of the environmental projects carried out within the University. They are also responsible for overseeing that the proposals of the SCA come to fruition.
• Eco-delegates serve as co-pilots and ambassadors of the environmental projects carried out within the University. They will also be responsible for overseeing that the proposals of the SCA come to fruition.

• Keynote speakers speak about the main issues associated with the digital age for 25-30 minutes during the plenary sessions in the theater.
• Round-table participants lead round-table discussions during plenary sessions in the theater.
• Key witnesses share with participants their experiences associated with different themes.
• Moderators contribute to thematic group meetings by adding clarifications. They also contribute to thematic workshops during the two months following the Assembly's launch that takes place at or outside of the University of Paris Est Créteil.
• Research referees are present during the discussion sessions to respond to participant questions.

As a result of SCA 2021, the following key proposals have been emphasised and implemented in one way or another [3]:

• Change of university governance
• Evolution of the budget of the Student and Campus Life Contribution (CVEC) commission
• Establishment of eco-delegates at the university
• Distribution of organic baskets to students
• Recycling our bio-waste at the University
• Climate “Back-to-School”
• Creation of a Climate and Digital Fresco Centre
• Production of balanced/local/batchcooking recipe tutorials in video form
• Installation of sorting bins on the Fontainebleau campus
• Forum theatre to prevent cyberbullying
• Creation of solidarity grocery shops on the different campuses of UPEC
• Creation of a shared garden at the university
• Creation of the digital and solidarity mediation centre

As a result of SCA 2021, the following key proposals have been emphasised [4]:

• Centralized platform for UPEC
• Expand and improve the Eduroam WIFI network
• Submit UPEC's digital tools to the Référentiel général d'amélioration de l'accessibilité (RGAA), which describes the level of accessibility of software and sites for people with disabilities
• Create a pole against digital exclusion
• Training of the teaching staff on mental health issues of students
• Demonstrate energy and digital sobriety on UPEC's campuses
• Allow students to pay in cash at CROUS cafeterias and canteens

Impact of SCA. Which solutions were implemented based on SCA restitutions.

There are several aspects of the university activity improvement that are gained during a SCA event:

• Pedagogical. Understanding of complex problems and issue, project-oriented, more systemic, interdisciplinary, less compartmentalized and hierarchical work, changing roles and positions, getting over the role of the passive student. Job opportunities and switching to new interests and careers.
• Research. Initition to research, collaborative constation and analysis of a corpus.
• Outreach. Within the university. Institutionalization (models, propagation), meetings with RESES, universities, CESE, organizations.
• Student and university engagement. Citizenship, listening, reflecting, ebating and working together.
• Action. Implemented proposals (VP RSU, eco-delegates, training, internships, CVEC line, media, solidarity grocery storem intergenerational garden, waste sorting and recovery) [2].

Register here to participate in discussions and to express your support for the proposals of your choice.

See our partners: https://citizens-assembly.org/doku.php?id=network

1. Frenkiel E., Galley C., Haidaraly I., Lafi S, Mesguen A., Student Citizens' Assembly (SCA) Informational Booklet 2022 Edition, UPEC, SCA, 2022.
2. Frenkiel E., Students' Citizen Assembly, Presentation, UPEC, 2022.
3. Henriques V.P., Proposals Completion Monitoring Report, UPEC, CSA, 2022.
4. Henriques V.P., Christeler T., Millot S., Hergunac E., Guellec H., SCA Synthesis 2022-2023, UPEC, SCA, 2023.
5. Université Paris-Est Créteil, CONVENTION CITOYENNE ÉTUDIANTE DE L'UPEC.