Iceland's home-made Constitution – lessons for Scotland; Committee Room 1, Scottish Parliament 6-8.30 March 29. Hosted by the Icelandic Embassy
Iceland has made a steady recovery since the banking crash of 2008 when the country was placed on the UK Terrorism Register. Slowly but surely this Nordic nation of just 300,000 people has been making sure such a crisis can never undermine the whole country again. The 1944 Constitution needed major revision. A random sample of the population set the framework for a Constitutional Council (ICC) composed of 25 ordinary folk elected from 550 self nominating volunteers. The ICC took 4 months to write the world's newest Constitution with input by e-mail and social media (2/3s of Icelanders are on Facebook). The resulting People's Constitution will be voted on this summer. How did Icelanders manage to take the political initiative? What lessons can Scots learn as we embark on our own constitutional referendum process?
Sign up for this Nordic Horizons event in the Scottish Parliament on March 29 hosted by the Icelandic Embassy with economist Professor Thorvaldur Gylfason who won the highest number of votes in the ICC -- and Scottish speakers to be confirmed. Journalist Lesley Riddoch will chair the round table discussion. Places are free but Parliamentary security means we must provide a list of those attending. Email Dan nordichorizons@hotmail.co.uk. Or visit the Nordic Horizons Facebook page and click "going" to this event NOW.
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