It is vital that the young people feel respected and are comfortable with engaging in the deliberations face-to-face as well as online. In some cases, your project might be their first experience in taking part in a democratic exercise. Therefore, it is even more important that they have a good experience, so they will actually take part the next time they are invited to express their opinion. One way of ensuring that is to agree on a set of rules that should guide the deliberations. Below you will find a list of rules that has successfully been used in many face-to-face citizen participation events over the years. We hope it will inspire you to develop your own!
Before the deliberation starts you should go through your Rules for good dialogue* with the young people – in a non-lecturing way! Having a group moderator is the most efficient way to ensure that they follow these rules during the deliberations.
*For online specific rules and tips also have a look at Prepare online community management and Keep the young continuously activated and motivated online.