Last October, APF France handicap has launched a Citizens’ Debate on social protection. Through this initiative, the association wanted to experiment with a new form of democracy based on deliberation. They have recently published the result of this work in a citizen’s opinion entitled “Social protection and solidarity: what social model for tomorrow?”.
This Citizen Debate was to cross the views of people with disabilities, carers or relatives and citizens outside the disability field. A hundred or so citizens, selected by lottery, exchanged views together to imagine a new model of protection.
I agreed to take part in the APF France handicap citizen debate because I thought that for once, we citizens could perhaps propose new things. It’s all very well to grumble in your corner, but it’s better to try! — Anaïs, 35, mother with a disability.
The Citizen’s Debate allowed a diversity of views and life experiences to be expressed. The aim was also to alert the candidates in the French elections to the issues of social protection and disability. Four priority areas for transformation were identified:
- Social protection that develops an ambitious prevention policy;
- Social protection that adapts to changes in the workplace;
- Social protection that compensates for inequalities in situation, whether territorial or family-based, or linked to discrimination;
- Social protection that considers the current and future fragilities of society.
Read the full report of this debate here (in French).
Photo: ©Xavierarnau via Canva.com
