How the Jenparle digital consultation platform facilitated participation in the Citizens' Convention for Climate: a participant's testimony
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The availability of Jenparle during the Citizens' Convention for Climate (CCC) was essential! Members were able to inform themselves, express themselves, exchange ideas, challenge the governance and give their opinion on the digital platform for consultation and collective intelligence: Jenparle.

A quick reminder: the Citizens' Convention for Climate took place from October 2019 to June 2020. Its aim was to involve citizens in the legislative process by asking them to define measures to accelerate the fight against climate change. The 150 randomly selected French citizens , representing the diversity of French citizens, established a series of proposals aimed at achieving a reduction of at least 40% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990) in a spirit of social justice. In total, 149 proposals emerged from this Convention.

Agnès Catoire is one of the 150 people selected by lottery . A single mother, she describes herself as "representative of a certain segment of the population," which was the objective of this selection process. A user of Jenparle , she discusses how the platform was used during the Convention's work: what it offered the 150 participants in addition to face-to-face interactions.

A widespread use of Jenparle: to get information, to discuss, to vote.

AC : On Jenparle, we shared all our ideas for measures before they were finalized. It was a bit like a collective notepad, where we sent all our ideas, and where everyone could read the proposals and give their opinion, with a thumbs up for "I approve" and a thumbs down for "I don't approve."

Every weekend, we exchanged a lot, but we couldn't absorb everything, and sometimes some people were absent. So all the information was published on Jenparle , as well as the minutes of the Governance Committee meetings, photos, etc. In addition, there were a few citizens who took the lead to ensure everyone was aware of the progress.

The platform was also used to communicate with the organizers and members of the Governance Committee. We could ask them questions, make proposals, personal requests, etc. We also had a WhatsApp group among ourselves, but Jenparle was really essential for organizing information and getting ideas validated by other users .

We also always voted on the Jenparle platform, even when we were physically present. We took out our phones to vote, and it made things easier for people who were away.

Participatory mapping: a way to centralize information

An accessible and easy-to-use platform

According to Agnès, it's an " easy-to-use and intuitive " platform that didn't require any specific training.

AG : At first, I didn't use it much because I didn't necessarily think of it, but it quickly became essential for following the progress of the groups' work, then for validating proposals and voting on amendments. Especially during lockdown. We had a lot of video conferences via Zoom, and the links were available on Jenparle: we had a summary of the information, and we could vote despite the distance .

Maintaining contact, and validating decisions

AC : With 150 people, it can be difficult to maintain contact, especially during a lockdown. Jenparle allowed us to continue communicating, both amongst ourselves and with the organizers and members of the Governance Committee. It

A tip for using the tool effectively...

AC : If I could give one piece of advice to future users, it would be to always remember to leave a comment when you downvote a post. It's good to show your disagreement, but you should explain why. You also have to make a conscious effort to use it, because it's not always second nature at first. You get used to it quickly, and it helps you keep track of everything . I think it's an essential tool for staying in touch , especially when there's distance between participants.

Mapping is a tool that allows you to geolocate contributions and information . The members of the Citizens' Convention for Climate have adopted it in their own way!

AC : The idea behind mapping, in our case, was to communicate with other members about the events we were organizing to engage with the rest of the French population about the Convention's work. It allowed us to see where we had carried out communication activities in mainland France and its overseas territories. The map showed where events were taking place and where information might still be lacking.

For example, I participated in all the " Climapéros" (Climate Talks) in the Paris region by registering through the platform. These were events where we spoke about what we were doing and to inform and exchange ideas with the rest of the population about our approach.