South Africa’s first citizens’ assembly on transport and climate

Could You Be One of
Cape Town’s 100?

100 ordinary Capetonians, randomly selected from across the city, will come together to deliberate on transport and climate and make formal recommendations to the City of Cape Town. No expertise required. Just your experience of living here.

See who’s in the room Learn about citizens’ assemblies
100
Randomly selected
assembly members
6
Weekend deliberation
sessions
2026
Recommendations
to the City
Our assembly question
“How can Cape Town build a transport system that gives every resident an equitable, reliable, and affordable way to get around, while reducing the pollution and emissions that are harming our environment?”
What is This?

A New Kind of Democratic Process

A citizens’ assembly is a group of ordinary people, chosen at random to reflect the full diversity of a city, who come together to learn about, deliberate on, and make recommendations about a pressing issue.

Unlike surveys or public meetings, a citizens’ assembly gives participants real time to go deep. Participants hear from experts, ask questions, discuss with fellow residents from different backgrounds, and reach considered collective recommendations.

Citizens’ assemblies have shaped policy on climate, constitutional change, and social issues in Ireland, France, Scotland, and across the world. The Cape Town Assembly on Climate is the first of its kind in South Africa.

Three Founding Principles
Sortition
Members are selected at random, like jury duty, so that every Capetonian has an equal chance of participating regardless of background, education, or connections.
Deliberation
Assembly members hear evidence, ask questions of experts, share perspectives in small groups, and work through complex trade-offs together. Deliberation produces more considered recommendations than polling alone.
Mandate
The assembly’s recommendations go directly to the City of Cape Town. The process is designed to ensure that what the assembly decides has genuine weight with decision-makers.
About Our Assembly

Cape Town. Transport. Climate.

Cape Town’s transport system is one of the most unequal in the world. Millions of residents spend hours each day commuting at great cost, while emissions from road transport contribute significantly to the city’s carbon footprint. This assembly asks Cape Town’s residents what they want done about it.

📅
When Six Saturday sessions, August to October 2026
📍
Where UWC
👥
Who 100 randomly selected Cape Town residents aged 18 and older
🌐
Languages English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa
📋
Output Formal recommendations to the City of Cape Town and a published report
What to Expect Each Session
1
Welcome and orientation
Meet your fellow assembly members, understand the process, and begin exploring the question of transport in Cape Town.
2
Understanding the transport question
Expert presentations on Cape Town’s current transport infrastructure, costs, and inequality. Learning about the link between transport and climate change and what the science says about our current trajectory.
3
Lived experiences and deliberation foundations
Hearing from community members across the city about how transport shapes daily life in different neighbourhoods. Setting the tone for deliberation and harvesting from the collective intelligence of the group to get the dialogue going.
4
Deliberation I
Small group deliberation on possible recommendations, working through trade-offs and reaching consensus.
5
Deliberation II
Building recommendations in larger plenary sessions to identify and articulate the top recommendations that will be included in the final documents.
6
Finalising recommendations
Reaching final decisions on the assembly’s formal recommendations, voting on the final text, and formally presenting them to the City of Cape Town.
Who Can Join

Your Experience is Exactly What We Need

We are not looking for experts or activists. We are looking for Cape Town residents willing to commit to all six sessions, listen carefully, and share their perspective.

Any Cape Town resident aged 18 or older is eligible to register.
No prior knowledge required. You will learn everything you need during the sessions.
A payment will be offered for each session you attend.
Travel costs are fully covered for every session.
A meal is provided at every session.
Childcare is available on request at no cost.
Sessions are multilingual in English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa.
See who’s in the room
“Democracy works best when it includes everyone. Not just the people who already have a seat at the table.”
Cape Town Assembly on Climate, 2026
Registration
Closed, sortition complete
See who’s in the room →
How Selection Works

From Sign-up to Assembly

Registration is now closed. Here is exactly what happened between sign-up and the final sortition draw.

1
You enter the pool
Once you fill in your details and submit, your name is added to our registration pool. You will receive a confirmation email from us to let you know we have received your registration.
2
Random stratified selection
From everyone who has registered, we randomly select 100 participants using a process called stratified sortition. This means the selection is random, but weighted to match Cape Town’s demographic profile across age, gender, home language, and area, so the assembly is as representative of the city as possible. Because not everyone invited is able to accept, this draw runs in rounds until enough members confirm.
3
Your confirmation invitation
Those selected received an invitation asking them to confirm their place. Since not everyone invited was able to accept, this ran across three rounds of sortition until 91 members had confirmed.
💡
Curious who was chosen? Across three rounds of sortition, 91 members confirmed their place, drawn from everyone who registered and weighted to reflect Cape Town’s diversity. See who’s in the room →
Registration Closed

Sortition Complete

Registration closed on 12 August 2026. The assembly’s 100 seats were filled by random sortition, a lottery weighted to reflect the city. Thank you to everyone who registered.

✓Selected members have been notified directly
✓Sessions run on Saturdays, August to October 2026
✓Recommendations go to the City of Cape Town
✓Selection was random, anonymous, and citywide
✓
Thank you for registering
The random sortition draw is complete. Selected members have been notified directly.
See who’s in the room →
Supported by
Partner logos
The Cape Town Assembly on Climate is an independent process. Partner organisations support its delivery but do not influence the assembly’s conclusions or recommendations.