Stories of transformation and vulnerabilities: lessons from the world’s first Global Assembly

Join us as Lucas Veloso presents his dissertation findings on the world’s first Global Citizens' Assembly (GA). Drawing from the diverse journeys of assembly members, Lucas examines the conditions under which the GA transformed political identities, perspectives on the climate crisis, and even the concrete lives of its participants. On the other hand, he also considers how the GA's design unintentionally promoted vulnerabilities that asymmetrically affected their inclusivity and parity of participation. This presentation will also serve as a report back to research participants, the Global Assembly community, and the GloCAN network.

About the speaker

Lucas Veloso is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Padova and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Member of the MARGEM research group on Democracy and Justice (UFMG) and GloCAN (CDDGG - University of Canberra). His work currently focuses on democratic innovations and the governance of complex challenges to democracies, such as the climate crisis and genetic editing. He contributed to the first Global Citizens' Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Crisis and the first Brazilian Citizens' Assembly on Genetic Editing.

About the discussants

Granaz Baloch is an activist and researcher focused on gender and the climate crisis. Her recent work includes a case study on environmental justice, specifically the Mirani Movement. Granaz is featured in the Climate Change Heroes children's book, published by SOC Films. She also served as a Cluster Coordinator for the Global Citizens' Assembly.

Fatima Zamba is a Project Management Assistant in Public Innovation at the UM6P School of Collective Intelligence. She is experienced in promoting participatory democracy and civic engagement and previously served as a Cluster Coordinator for the Global Citizens' Assembly. Fatima is also a member of the third cohort of the Doha Debates Ambassador Program.

Eva Schmidt is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Political Science, University of Münster. Her dissertation explores the intersection of epistemic injustice and deliberative democracy. Recently, she published an article titled "Epistemic Injustice in Deliberative Mini Publics" in the Journal of Deliberative Democracy.