How Can We Make Belfast A More Democratic City?

Join us for an invigorating discussion on how to make our city more democratic. This theme is incredibly relevant, especially given the current threats to democracy across the world, and recent debates about local governance, citizen engagement, and political innovation.

We are delighted to involve an expert group of panellists, chaired by Rebekah McCabe from Involve, including Simon Hamilton, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Confluence Consulting; Dr David McCann, Deputy Editor of Slugger O’Toole; and Laura Thomas from the Innovation in Politics Institute in Vienna.  There will be ample time for audience discussion and reflection.

We want to hear your views on how to strengthen democracy in Belfast as we hope to touch on a number of important areas such as:

1. Role of Belfast City Council:
   • What are the current strengths and weaknesses of Belfast City Council in engaging citizens and addressing local issues?
   • How can the Council become more responsive to the diverse needs of the city, particularly those of under-represented groups?
2. Role of Belfast Harbour and Broader Local Governance:
   • What role do bodies like Belfast Harbour play in the city’s governance and regeneration? Are they sufficiently accountable to the public, and how can we ensure that these kinds of semi-public bodies are more transparent?
   • Could Belfast benefit from more devolution of power to local agencies and institutions to ensure decisions reflect the lived experiences of the community?
3. Directly Elected Lord Mayor:
   • Would a directly elected Lord Mayor be more effective in representing the people of Belfast compared to the current system?
   • How could such a change impact the city’s political landscape, and would it lead to greater public engagement with local leadership?
4. Political Innovation and Citizen Assemblies:
   • What types of political innovation could enhance Belfast’s democratic processes?
   • Could the introduction of citizen assemblies, where members of the public are randomly selected to participate in decision-making, foster a more inclusive democratic model?
   • How can communities have a more significant role in participatory budgeting to ensure that resources are allocated based on local needs?

Our Panel

Rebekah McCabe is Head of Northern Ireland for the UK democracy organisation Involve. Her focus is on developing the awareness, understanding, and use of participatory and deliberative tools across government and civil society. She led the implementation of the first Citizens’ Assembly for Northern Ireland in 2018. Since then, she has worked with Councils across NI, delivering training and advice, and developing processes to give residents a greater say in decisions affecting them. She recently co-authored a co-design framework for the Belfast Community Planning Partnership, which aims to equip statutory agencies and the community and voluntary sector in Belfast with the tools needed to meaningfully involve local people in the design of policies and services. Rebekah is also the founder of the all-island Better Democracy Network, and Chair of the Northern Ireland Open Government Network.

Simon Hamilton has been at the forefront of business and politics in Northern Ireland for more than a decade. After graduating with degrees in history/politics and law from Queen’s University Belfast, Simon began his career as an auditor at PwC before entering politics. Simon served as Minister of Finance, Minister of Health and Minister for the Economy in the Northern Ireland Executive. Upon leaving politics in 2019, Simon spent 4 years as Chief Executive of Belfast Chamber before becoming Managing Director and Co-Founder of Confluence Consulting.

Dr David McCann is a columnist for the Irish News, he is also the Deputy Editor of Slugger O’Toole and lectures in politics.

Laura Thomas is the European City Network Manager, based at the Innovation in Politics Institute in Vienna. Laura leads the European Capital of Democracy’s call for applicant cities and manages the European City Network’s meetings and events. She is also an Innovation in Politics Awards Representative for Ireland and the UK. Prior to this, she worked as an English language teacher in Vienna. Her educational background is in health sciences, and she gained a Master’s in Global Health from Copenhagen University, which enabled her to view global issues through a multidisciplinary lens. This now informs her work which spans various fields of democracy in a variety of local contexts across Europe.