Citizens across the world have been demanding opportunities to exercise their democratic rights to participate in the governance decisions that affect them, beyond the election of parliamentary representatives. Citizen participation is at the core of the openness agenda; it does not aim to reduce or replace the functions of parliamentarians, but to enhance them.

We invite you to start with the Introduction section which provides an explanation of the concepts and structure of this toolkit. The four sections that follow provide a sampling of existing practices and initiatives for:

(1) Educating citizens on parliament’s role and labour as well as raising awareness about opportunities for participation 

(2) Creating opportunities for citizens to participate in the legislative process

(3) Creating opportunities for citizens to participate in the budgetary process

(4) Creating regulatory frameworks for citizen participation

For additional information on this topic, please consult the ParlAmericas Toolkit on Citizen Participation in the Legislative Process.