AT THE final We The Citizens event, which took place in Athlone last night, chairman Fiach McConghail said he was surprised by the lack of negativity at the meetings.
“What I am surprised about is the lack of anger against the political system.
“They are bringing an anger in to the meetings but it is a positive anger, it’s about how to make things better.
“Originally when we started this we set aside a lot more time for people to get over their anger and get over their negativity, that has been minimal, that’s one extraordinary thing,” Mr McConghail added.
Sponsored by Atlantic Philanthropes, We The Citizens is a national independent initiative aimed at showing how Ireland could benefit from public engagement in decision making.
The initiative will culminate with a national citizens assembly in Dublin later this month.
Mr McConghail described the work of the body as a “present” to the political structure.
“Bottom up empowerment, that’s all it is about, ” he explained.
We The Citizens began hosting citizens events in May to engage with Irish citizens on a range of issues of the public’s choosing.
The most common themes were equality, empowering communities, and political transparency.
