The Referendum is an attractive democratic tool – ‘let the people decide!’
However, the practice can often differ from the theory, as the world has witnessed in recent years – the 1973 Border Poll, the Good Friday Belfast Agreement vote in 1998, the Alternative Vote outing in 2011, Scottish independence referendum in 2014, the Brexit disaster of 2016, and many in the Republic of Ireland (Lisbon, Nice, families and care, divorce, abortion, equal marriage et al) – should these give us pause for thought?
With the possibility of another Border Ballot / Reunification Poll across this island, what are the issues surrounding this device – the people have spoken? It is easy to demand that the people’s voice be heard – but harder to implement successfully; most referendums are lost; many intensify division; only some settle the argument.
In this event, we shall explore the dynamics and explain the pitfalls.
And try your luck in our Referendum Quiz – how much do you actually know?
Chair:
Mark Devenport (former BBC NI Political Editor)
Speakers:
Emma DeSouza is a journalist, award-winning campaigner, and peace activist who changed UK law in a landmark human rights case relating to the Good Friday Agreement. She is the founder and co-facilitator of Irish deliberative democracy platform The Civic Initiative, Director of the Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy in New York, and an advisor on peace processes and civic innovation.
Aaron Callan is a graduate of Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast with experience at Danske Bank and PwC. He currently works as a Parliamentary Researcher for Gregory Campbell CBE MP and serves as an Alderman representing Limavady on Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Quizmaster:
Quintin Oliver is an NGO activist and political lobbyist, who ran the successful “YES” Campaign in the 1998 referendum on the Belfast Agreement. He now runs the political consultancy ‘Stratagem’, and an international referendum group ‘Politicks’.)
And if you’d like to do some background reading before the event…
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