Monitoring Team to Gather
Before the WA Climate Assembly begins meeting on January 12, 2021, there will be two Monitoring Team meetings in December. As part of the oversight and accountability structure, the Monitoring Team will ensure the Assembly is transparent, non-partisan, and follows the rules.
While participant selection for the Climate Assembly is now occurring, the Monitoring Team is also being welcomed and trained. The Team will meet to review the history and structure of Citizen Assemblies and learn its responsibilities.
The Design Team, led by Marcin Gerwin, with input from the Coordinating Team, drafted and reviewed the Rulebook used for the Assembly. In the second meeting, the Monitoring Team will review the Rulebook. The self-governing Monitoring Team will then elect a Chair and a Vice-Chair. The Chair will represent the Monitoring Team in communications with other parties involved, and with the help of the Secretary, will convene and plan agendas. The Vice-Chair will fill in as needed.
Besides approving the Rulebook, the Monitoring Team will also oversee and advise the Coordinating Team to safeguard the Assembly follows the Rulebook and the general principles and standards of Citizens’ Assemblies. The Team will also resolve complaints as needed.
Who is on the Monitoring Team?
- WA State legislative branch, including a State Senator (R), one State Representative (D), and the legislative assistant to another State Representative(D) -3 members
- WA State executive branch, as employees of the Department of Ecology, and the Puget Sound Partnership – 3 members
- Representing tribal perspectives from around Washington State, either as current or former tribal employees, tribal members, or with an intertribal organization. – 6 members
- Representing different non-profits or civil society groups- 12 members
- Initiating Team- 2 members
- Academics, one from the UW, in the field of political communication, and one from WSU, in the field of civil and environmental engineering- 2 members
“The very organization of an assembly is a pleasure. It is, in fact, a celebration of democracy, an opportunity to explore a specific topic, to meet with residents and to be creative. Experiences from many countries all over the world– from Poland, Canada, Australia, the United States, Germany, Austria, Ireland or Belgium show that this form of democracy works in practice.”
Olympic Climate Action 